With seven bridge spans across the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon has been referred to by some as the Paris of the Prairies.
Certainly, at night, with the glowing lights on the bridges and the Delta Bessborough hotel, this reference can be understood.
Wow, it’s already May! Working with our sponsor Landsharkz, we have finalized the designs of the official event geocoins, so we thought we’d share a sneak peek at the “Regular Edition” Living Skies 2014 geocoin art. The pre-registration edition will have alternate colourways.
We will also have a special edition of the geocoin for volunteers and those who complete a new “Adventure Trail” we have planned in the south of the province.
Remember, if you would like to volunteer, visit the volunteer page and see if there’s any roles you might like to contribute to! We want to make sure that we will have enough special edition coins for all of the volunteers, so sign up before May 23rd.
The geocoins will look awesome when you see the real thing! They will be polished nickel with 2d dies, IHE and translucent enamels (which appear solid in this preview) with gritty texture beneath the aurora and text.
The die-cast has been set, and they are ready to go into production as soon as we confirm our numbers after the May 23rd cutoff! Please confirm your orders before then via the registration page.
Station Arts Centre
A great thing to do while is Rosthern is to take in a production at the Station Arts Centre.
During July the production being staged at the Centre is a comedy called ‘Hilda’s Yard’. This show is set in 1956 as a couple is celebrating being empty nesters, when surprisingly their children return home.
The show runs Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm, with a dinner available beforehand with a reservation. A matinee performance is available on Wednesday and Sunday. Tickets are $23 for adults and $21 for students and seniors. Continue reading
Big Muddy Valley
Photo credit: Tourism Saskatchewan / Douglas E. Walker
Travel 200 kilometres south of Regina and you will find yourself in the setting of an old Western movie. The Big Muddy Badlands are a desolate desert area of Saskatchewan, an area sculpted by an ancient glacial melt. The flood plain is 3km wide and 60km long.
In the past the area was home to horse thieves and bandits because of its isolation and proximity to the United States border.
This is a fantastic area to explore and take in some unique views of the province.
There are only 30 days left until Friday, May 23rd – the last date to order the official Mega event geocoins, geocoin event coins, and t-shirts!
Get your registrations and swag orders in by then to ensure you receive the items when you attend. If you haven’t done so yet, you visit the registration page now. If you have already registered previously, you are welcome to purchase additional geocoins in a second order.
As far as the geocoins go, we are just finalizing the designs and colours and will have a preview to unveil to everyone shortly!
Lighthouse on the Prairie
Photo credit: From log by CDNWhiteHawk
Yes, its true! There is an actual lighthouse in Saskatchewan. It sits upon an isthmus between two lakes that was created by glaciers.
This lighthouse was built in 1989, initiated by the first mayor of Cochin, SK. It is a hexagonal tower and 11.5m high.
Be prepared for the hike up to this cache! Its 152 steps to the top. Its worth it for the view!
Our hiders have been busy acquiring, painting, camo’ing and otherwise preparing a horde of caches to place in the coming months. Here is little sneak peak at just some of the geocaches we have so far for the Mega. You are looking at over 300 containers, not counting the 165 film containers in the water jug. 🙂 Among these are caches donated by deadman’sangel, schnor, grdelainey, Dragonfly E&N, OneEyedWillys, and our sponsors GeoWyrm’s Geocaching Supplies. A few of the larger containers have smaller containers inside that still need to be cammo’ed. Now for the snow to finish melting so we can get out and hide them!
Windscape Kite Festival
Photo credit: Tourism Saskatchewan/ Greg Huszar Photography
If you’ve ever spent any time on the prairies, you know this already. Its often windy. Really windy!
Some have even taken up kite boarding, an impressive way to snowboard or ski using the wind instead of going down hills. There is a group that does this near Regina, and it is amazing to see the wind harnessed this way.
Of course, most aren’t up for this extreme, but anyone can fly a kite! This is a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon, and can be quite the challenge with two string trick kites.
There is also the annual Windscape Kite Festival in Swift Current, taking place on June 21st and 22nd. This is a great event designed for the whole family, with kids activities, entertainment, and expert kite flyers.
The great thing about kite flying is that you can enjoy it anywhere, and space is abundant on the prairies!
Great Sand Hills
Photo credit: Tourism Saskatchewan/ Douglas E. Walker
Scattered across a 1900 square kilometre area, some of the Great Sand Hills rise 15-20 metres above the surrounding rugged landscape. A truly unique place to visit, this area is home to large active sand dunes that are constantly being reshaped and moved due to the wind.
Skipping Rocks
Photo credit: Ryan Goolevitch
Here in Regina our yard is still completely covered in snow. The snow even reaches about 4 feet high in our front yard. Thursday, I woke up to fresh snow on the ground. Thankfully, the weather is looking up this weekend!
Looking at pictures for this feature makes me itchy for not just spring, but SUMMER. Bring on the hot weather! Bring on the days at the lake, the sweltering afternoons with the paddling pool in the backyard, popsicles, bubbles, and bike rides. Bring on the BBQs, the campfires…at this point I’m even accepting of the inevitable mosquitoes. Continue reading
