I took Hwy 16 to Saskatoon, a distance of about 100 miles or so. My first stop in Saskatoon was the Western Development Museum, which tells the story of the westward expansion following Canada obtaining Dominion status in 1867. The museum was well-done and I thought it was pretty interesting. Here are a couple of shots of "Main Street", where they had interesting shops and vehicles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries:
Here is Sgt. Preston of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police hard at work in his office bringing desperadoes to justice:
The RCMP was established in 1873 and by 1910 had grown to 650 men serving Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Not an easy job.
One thing I did learn today had to do with Expo '67, the World's Fair held in Montreal in 1967 to celebrate 100 years of Canadian Independence. As part of the celebration, they held the Voyageur Canoe Pageant, in which 100 young (and fit) men, representing eight provinces and two territories paddled ten canoes from Rocky Mountain House in Alberta to Montreal, a trip that took 104 days and covered over 3,500 miles. This is the canoe the team from Saskatchewan used:
And here you can read more about the event:
Incidentally, Pat attended Expo '67, but she has never mentioned the canoers.
After digesting a good bit of Canadian history (the museum is worth the visit), I headed out of Saskatoon on Hwy 7 toward Calgary. Just out of town is the Saskatchewan Railroad Museum, where I stopped for an hour or so. Very interesting, and I got to take a ride in a Doodlebug:
That was pretty much it for excitement today. I have mentioned that it is very flat out here, right? Tomorrow it's over to Calgary, Alberta and then up north through Banff and Jasper National Parks. Getting closer to the Alaska Hiway by the day!
Miles today: 349
Total: 3,139
