Virtual Saskatchewan

by Dave Yanko

I love finding a ''new'' place to visit in Saskatchewan. And it's all the better if it has some cultural character in addition to natural and recreational charms. That's the way it was last summer when we visited Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, a wee bit of an acquired taste kind of place that rewards the curious as well as those looking for nothing more than a great beach and a weekend reboot. I'd driven past this park a number of times and never stopped but once, for just a few minutes at the side of the adjacent highway. That pause gave me no particular taste for the place and, frankly, no urges to return. But now I see the light.

It has been my experience through years of camping that I don't really get a feel for a place until I wake up and begin a new day in it. What I missed on our first day, maybe in part due to our mid afternoon arrival and an enthusiastic welcoming committee of hungry mosquitoes, slowly and surely revealed itself to me on the afternoon of the second day. That's when I felt something eerie yet beautiful, warm and nostalgic about my surroundings. For a while, I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me. The deep yellow hues of late afternoon were very much the same values I experienced as a youngster during weiner roasts at Boggy Creek and hanging out at Katepwa and Echo lakes near Fort Qu'Appelle. This place had the same feel to it. It was really nice.

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park is situated at the south end of Lake Diefenbaker.

I mused and marvelled at the complexion of a willow trunk just a few metres away from me, and the way the sun painted golden highlights on the khaki-green hills on the other side of the river. It occurred to me that I've lived in central Saskatchewan for about as long as I had lived in the south. I've become accustomed to the colours of country and city in these more northerly climes. The colours I encountered at Sask Landing park evoked a warm and nostalgic air because they're the same ones that lit my early life. I'd returned to my default palette.

I know some photographer out there is thinking, ''Dave, you irredeemable stooge, of course light, colour and hue vary by latitude.'' Well, I guess I knew that. But I never suspected that sunshine a couple of degrees south of my usual environment could so profoundly affect my feelings for a place. Now, I love this southerly spot.

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park is set in the South Saskatchewan River Valley about a half hour's drive north of Swift Current. It takes its name from the term used to describe a place where river crossings occur. Before Europeans arrived, the area was popular with Indian and Métis bison hunters. Later, it became the site of a steamboat landing and ferry crossing that served traffic on the historic trail that linked the railway line at Swift Current to Battleford, then the capital of the North-West Territories.

Erosion creates sharp breaks in the gently undulating landscape.

The park is divided neatly into four sections, with north and south separated by the South Saskatchewan River, and east and west by Highway 4. The northeast quadrant is home to most of the campgrounds. The other three sections feature a unique beach, hiking trails, historic artefacts, the interpretive centre, as well as group and equestrian camping facilities.

The mosquitoes were horrible—August was a big month for biters in much of southwestern Saskatchewan. Our poor French camping neighbours took their meals in their gazebo and even admired their evening campfire à la screen. We slathered on the Off, but the effects didn't last long, especially while setting up camp on a hot, late summer afternoon. We praised the breeze, a constant daytime companion outside our sheltered campsite.

The beach was flooded and it was drizzling on the day we went to explore it. It's situated in northwest quadrant in a beautiful hollow dominated by giant cottonwood trees, one of which provided leak-proof shelter to a family that wasn't about to let a little light rain spoil their picnic. The popular Saskatchewan Landing Golf Resort was busy through rain and shine during our visit, while the neatly spaced slips in the nearby marina reminded me of a mini version of Elbow marina, located further north on the east side of Lake Diefenbaker. If you're into mini-golf, don't miss the new 18-hole, landscaped course beside the marina. We were surprised to see very few using the paved walking/cycling path that runs up and down through the coulees east of the marina.

The sagebrush flats and the ridges where praire breaks into valley remain largely untouched by human endeavour.

Goodwin House, a large and attractive fieldstone building named after the Mountie who built it as his home in 1900, today serves as the park visitor centre. There you'll find displays of local fossils and wildlife—the durability of skin shed by snakes is remarkable—as well as oodles of information on area history and ecology. Most of the park is native prairie, one of the most endangered ecosystems in Canada. Check here to view the wide variety of hiking and interpretive trails, as well as other things to do in the park.

We enjoyed one of our most pleasant outdoor experiences on the afternoon before we returned home. With our two mutts in tow, Renée and I went exploring some of the offroad trails at the southeast perimeter of the park and discovered a perfectly delightful promontory overlooking the river below. We kicked back into our camping chairs, broke out a picnic lunch and watched the boaters, sailors, skiers and tubers play out the season on the shimmering water. It was one of those iconic days marked by a perfect balance of warmth and breeze, all the more precious because it was, for all intents and purposes, the last one of summer.