Day 42: Harris, SK -> Saskatoon, SK

Date: Monday, June 26, 2023
Start: Harris, SK (Wild-ish camping)
End: Saskatoon, SK (Staying with family)
Distance: 108km

It was a bright and sunny morning when I woke.  A very pleasant change from the night before!  I woke up knowing that I was getting to a city I'd been wanting to see for quite a while, and got a good start on the day.  I packed up my gear, and set the parts of my tent out in the sun to dry off before putting them away.  One of the secrets to being happy is having dry gear!

I decided not to make breakfast and ate a few odds and ends I had and got on the road around 8:30 after the gear had dried.  It was going to be a slightly shorter day into Saskatoon and I was in no hurry!

The first stop I made was down the road.  Harris, Saskatchewan is a small hamlet beside the highway with it's own historic grain elevator, museum, and main street.  I biked into town hoping to scrounge up some coffee or a pastry at the general store but was foiled.  So many things in smaller towns are closed on Mondays, and the Harris General Store was no exception!  I instead stopped at the town museum only to find it was also closed on Mondays.  It had an old water tower for the railway and a caboose that was in very fine condition!  I saw what I could from the outside and set off out of town after about 25 minutes of exploring the area.  I took a lot of photos though, including this one of a real gem of a story about the town:

The ride along the highway was mostly me passing smaller towns, each with it's own grain elevator.  The next one down the road was Tessier, which consists of this grain elevator and - as far as I could tell - only one remaining farm.  Their grain elevator was a real treat though!

I finished off my last audiobook from the library.  I have a lot on hold, but none are available right now.  With the land stretching out in every direction around me and the sky nearly void of clouds I decided to switch to music.  What to listen to while pedaling across open country in Canada?  My father had recommended the album Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen.  I popped it in and listened to it's haunting, reverb filled melodies.  It's good music for being alone in a big place.  Probably better enjoyed on a highway at night, but it worked for this time too.  As my friend Scott recently said, "Music is very time/mood dependent."  This album struck the right note.  I recommend the entire album, but here's a track that kept me pushing along:

After two runs through that album I switched it up to two tracks from Oscar Peterson's Canadiana Suite.  I'm a huge Oscar Peterson fan - he's a native Montrealer! - and will 100% be talking more about his music throughout the trip.  Being out West, I chose Wheatland and Blues Of The Prairies.  Jazz on the flat and rolling landscape was a welcome contrast.  I wondered if he'd traveled out here and was inspired to write by what he saw.

Ever since the Drumheller area I'm frequently being passed by trucks with wide loads.  In the more oil intense area of Kindersley they would include a pickup truck in the front and back which would alert me to overloaded semi approaching.  But recently the trucks haven't had that kind of support.  And I've been passed by more farm machinery and grain bins on flatbeds than oil equipment of late.  Here's a taste of what it looks like once it goes by:

It's so flat out here that I can see the buildings of upcoming towns up to almost 20km away.  As I approached the next town on the highway I took note of this.  Anyway here's a song that I wrote, recorded, and produced about the experience (I listened to this for a while as I biked and waiting for the approaching town to get bigger!):

The next town coming up was Delisle, Saskatchewan.  Another of the highway towns that was rather quaint, it seemed to rely mostly of agriculture, potash, and the rail line.  It was big enough for it's own tiny water tower though!

I pulled into the convenience store/gas station and grabbed an ice cream bar, chocolate milk, and soda.  I was craving a lot of sugar which was probably a sign I was just hungry.  But after 50km my willpower just wasn't up to the task of having lunch.  I stood outside in the shade and ate/drank.  I did a quick reconnoiter to get a feel for the town and decided to head out.  Saskatoon wasn't far, and I wanted to get there with time to spare!

I started closing in on Saskatoon.

In the distance was a definite industrial building of some sort.  As I got closer I recognized the logo was for Nutrien, a company known for mining potash and making fertilizer.  This was one of their major mining operations for potash, and it was clear they're an industrial power out here and a big employer for the city (they're headquartered in Saskatoon).

As I passed that place the traffic picked up.  I was clearly entering a metropolis.  Luckily I was clued in by a family member that the first exit off the highway would take me into the city on a quieter road, and so I did, taking 11th Street West into town.  I passed this hulking building and wondered if it was still in use.  I've seen other cities cover them with murals or transform them into climbing gyms.  So many possibilities!

At some point I reached the mighty South Saskatchewan River, the lifeblood of the city.  I turned into a quiet neighbourhood with beautiful tree lined streets that vaulted every street in the neighbourhood.  The trees looked to be elms, which was a wonder as a disease wiped out elm trees in whole parts of North America.  But Saskatoon looks to have been spared and these neighbourhoods are all in the shade.  The neighbourhood is called Riversdale, and it's full of older and smaller homes but is clearly gentrifying.  I suspect it was one of the older areas of the city.  It's a wonderful place!

I followed my nose and immediately found myself at an ice cream shop that used local flavours and ingredients.  Hipsters love their ice cream.  A scoop of sour cherry cheesecake put some kick in my step!  Thank you to Fable Ice Cream for a great taste of Saskatoon to start off the visit!

I rode through the neighbourhood and back to the river where I caught Saskatoon's incredible pathway system along the water.  And then I saw the bridges.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Saskatoon is nicknamed "The Paris Of The Prairies" because of the number of bridges spanning the river.  It was an awesome sight and one I'd been anticipating for quite some time!

I rode along until I found an outdoor gear shop to buy some more camp fuel.  I was almost out and this was a needed resupply!  Thanks to Escape Sports, who is experiencing a boom sales thanks to the popularity of disk golf.  Not the first time on this trip I've heard about this growing sport.

From there I went back to the river pathways and followed them through downtown.  My goal was the University of Saskatchewan which I'd been told was a sight to behold.  I snapped some pictures of downtown.

Then crossed over and snapped more pictures.

At some point I arrived on campus and immediately found my first goal: The Diefenbaker Centre.  Named after our 13th Prime Minister - John Diefenbaker - who is buried nearby.  It's difficult to try to explain Diefenbaker to someone who doesn't know about him.  He was a populist from Saskatchewan who won the largest election majority in Canadian history up to that point.  Diefen-mania was a real thing.  Perhaps best remembered for the Canadian Bill Of Rights and granting the vote to First Nations and Inuit peoples of Canada, he was also a deeply paranoid and flawed human being.  Whatever your opinion of him, he left his mark on Canada.  He's buried on the University campus overlooking the river and the city.  I made my pilgrimage to where he and his wife Olive are buried and spent some time reflecting on his life and work.

I set off touring the campus, but was unsure of where to go or what to look for.  And that's when I stumbled upon the university farm.  OF COURSE uSask has a farm on campus!  Their a big horticulture, animal science, and agriculture school!

Further touring revealed some incredible buildings.  All in the same stone and the same low style.  It was really surprising as I'd consider Western Canadian universities to be newer, but this one looked like it could be hundreds of years old based on the architecture.  The Province of Saskatchewan really stood up and built something incredible here!

These memorial gates were built as a monument to the students and faculty who fought and died in WWI.  My thesis supervisor mentioned that they were worth checking out, and they were really something grand.  They were dedicated by the King and Queen during a Royal Tour in 1939 during which thousands upon thousands flocked from around the province to see the monarch as they visited Saskatoon.  The names of those students and faculty are engraved here, a reminder of the potential that was snuffed out by WWI.

The University of Saskatchewan might not be one that you hear of in the list of great Canadian universities, but I promise you it's campus is one of the nicest I've seen in this country.  On that basis alone, I now hold it in very high esteem!

After this I headed back to where I would be staying for the next two nights: my cousin Amanda's house!  On the way I saw this incredible school and snapped a picture.  I later learned it's being demolished.  A real shame, as it looks like quite a piece of architecture!

I reached their house and had a happy reunion with Amanda and members of her family who I haven't seen in probably 25 years.  More on them later.

For now, that was the day that got me to Saskatoon!  Another city to visit, but more on that in the next post too!