A very warm welcome to everyone near and far. Thanks for dropping in to our little corner of the Interweb.

In the summer of 1996, my brother Paul and I set off for Grey Owl's Cabin in Prince Albert National Park to do research into the first feature story to appear in Virtual Saskatchewan On-line Magazine. Much work and planning, by many in addition to Paul and I, came to fruition in late winter of 1997 when we launched our "webzine.''

Ten years and many stories later, Virtual Saskatchewan is alive and well. And if we're not quite yet a media giant, we have staked our claim as the first publication to reflect all things Saskatchewan exclusively on this still young medium. You keep us going. Thanks for supporting virtualsk.com.

One of the biggest and what will surely be one of the most popular attractions in Saskatchewan is scheduled to open this summer. The RCMP Heritage Centre, in Regina, is a $40-million, 70,000 sq. ft. (6,503 m2) project designed by world-renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. The facility is located on the grounds of the RCMP Academy near the west end of Dewdney Avenue.

According to promotional material for the centre, the facility will be "modern, interactive and experiential,'' with much multimedia and technology employed to tell the story of the Mounties. The Men in Red have encountered a few controversies over the years—especially at the administrative level. But anyone with a passing interest in history knows that the North West Mounted Police, who later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, played a crucial role in the development of Western Canada and are essential keepers of the peace, today.

And they're really colourful, too. Who in the developed world is not familiar with that iconic figure in red tunic and Stetson (world leaders excluded)? If you are one of the hundreds of thousands who toured the old RCMP Centennial Museum (it's now closed, by the way), you'll have a good notion as to just how good this new centre should be when they sparkle up the presentation and add all the new features. I'm setting aside a full day. . . .

. . . Over in Esterhazy, meanwhile, there's the new Saskatchewan Potash Interpretive Centre. Yes, you're not likely to find an abundance of Hollywood movies about potash, but there's some very interesting stuff there, nonetheless. The Saskatchewan Potash industry is based on 10 mines that do more than $2 billion annually in revenues—we have enough potash to supply world demand for several hundred years.

Esterhazy, located in southeast Saskatchewan, is home to the province's first potash mine and it's now the biggest in the world. The centre, funded by industry, major industry suppliers and governments, features a realistic mine display that tells the story of how potash is mined, refined and transported around the world. Curious factoid: It took five years of innovative drilling, sometimes through water and quicksand, to reach the first potash deposits more than 1,000 metres below the surface. . . .

. . . That Saskatchewan has some 100,000 lakes is a strong point this particular guy seldom tires of reciting to visitors from out of province. Saskatchewanians need go no further than Meadow Lake Provincial Park to see how popular are our clean lakes with our friends from Alberta. It's sometimes hard to find Saskatchewan license plates at some of the park's resorts.

This summer, you can help the province keep your favourite lake clean by volunteering to participate in The Great Saskatchewan Secchi Dip! (Secchi sounds like "Becky''). It's a project aimed at measuring the water quality of 50 Saskatchewan lakes. If you'd like to volunteer, all you have to do is choose a lake to monitor and then agree to make four Secchi disk measurements over the course of the summer—you'll be given a range of dates to choose from. You can share measurement responsibilities with others at your favourite lake, but all volunteers will need access to a boat.

A Secchi disk is a CD-sized object that is lowered into the water on a rope, according to Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. Volunteers simply mark the rope to indicate the depth at which the disk disappears. Secchi depth is an indicator of water quality.

For more information, e-mail sksecchi@swa.ca or phone Kim toll free at 1-866-499-4420. . . .

. . . That's it for now. Time to put your feet up, grab a coffee or tea and a free slice of virtual saskatoon berry pie, and explore Virtual Saskatchewan. Thanks for dropping by!

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