The Hotel in Saskatoon we stayed in is the first hotel in town (1908). It is a lovely 2 story building in the middle of town within walking distance from the river. We were welcomed by Pablo, the maintenance manager of the hotel. He was very enthusiastic about the hotel and our camper trip. He showed us the hidden decorations of this old hotel and, since he also brews beer, gave us 4 large cans of his IPA beer for the trip. It was our 31st wedding anniversary, so we decided to treat ourselves with a nice dinner in town and a comfortable night in the hotel. The city has no tall buildings and the rectangular street plan has wide streets without much traffic. Along the Saskatchewan river is a large memorial park. The annual Jazz festival is ongoing but it was a bit too far for us to walk to. The next day (after a simple breakfast in the hotel), we drove to the Wanuskewn Heritage park which is some 17 km out of town. There they have some bison’s in a field close by. The modern museum explains the history of the Wanuskewn people and how they lived . Outside there is a lovely walk from the plateau down into a valley. This drop-off was used to lead a stampeding herd of bison over the cliff so that they could easily be killed for their meat and hide. A staff member performed a very interesting hoop dance with some 36 hoops. He weaved the hoops into each other and around his body. In this way he symbolised butterflies, birds, snakes and several other animals.
We drove on to North Battlefort where we camped at Wal-Mart and visited the local heritage museum the next day. This museum has many wooden building with original furniture from times gone by. Many of the building are in a questionable state. I am not sure how long they will still be there. The site has also a large collection of steam tractors and vintage cars and the original Grain Pool Elevator.
Rudy Welling's Travels 