Additional comments from the present (Nov. 14, 2019): I didn’t know it at the time, but this day would turn out to be another great day meeting lifelong friends. At least I hope they turn out to be lifelong friends… read on to find out more!
July 25, 2019
A new day, a new province. But first some exploration.
Early day so I could check out the badlands more. Went in search of hoodoos the back way. Could have just taken the main road, but that wouldn’t be fun.
Found a neat suspension bridge first, so walked across that. The swaying is a touch scary, but not too bad. You can see through to the water as well. Good stop.
The hoodoos are located at a pay parking lot. You can go in for a toonie. There is a ton of area to explore, it the main attractions are fenced off. Formed by hard rocks laying on sandstone providing some protection, they stand like alien pillars against the landscape. They aren’t massive, but they are neat.
The whole area looks more like Tatooine than anything else. I was actually waiting to find Jabba’s palace. But no… it was not meant to be. Fun area to walk around at least.
From there I headed towards Saskatchewan. Absolutely beautiful weather until the last 2-3 hours. Then it was absolutely miserable.
It poured the entire time. It was cold. In fact, still raining. Come on!
Tomorrow might be better, right?
Gonna go explore.
Odo Start: 23,690
Odo End: 23,992
Daily Miles: 302
Cum. Miles: 9,419
Additional comments from the present (Nov. 14, 2019): So I get to town, finally find lodging, and the rain stops. Of course it does… brilliant. I had different plans, but man the weather just does not cooperate consistently. But who the hell wants to discuss the weather? Not me!
So I decided to wander around Saskatoon, and I was incredibly surprised. My expectations would likely make any Saskatchewanian (is that what they are called? I’m calling them that…) very angry. They were not high expectations, and honestly, the fact that they have a real downtown was a shocker itself. Yes, I’m an awful person. Sorry.
My first order of business was to find a brewery. My second was to find a circuitous route there. As soon as my destination was locked in I walked the complete opposite direction. A choice that would actually lead me to see most of the downtown, as well as get to make fun of a bald eagle. Yes, I clowned on a bald eagle. The thing was begging for it – trust me.
Eventually I found myself at Shelter Brewing Company, and it’s a pretty cool place. The kind of place that would fit in nearly any city. Good beers, too!
While I was enjoying a beverage a couple sat behind me, and I overhead them talking about taking a photo “for the gram”. Now, I’m not usually one to be overly social (I’m really not), but for some reason I decided to say something idiotic like, “you better make it a boomerang”, and quite honestly I’m glad I did.
It would turn out that the couple was there on business from Vancouver Island. Well, Adrian was, and Liz tagged along. It would also turn out that they are cool as all get out. Further, it would turn out that we’d basically become best friends, and hang out all night.
Totally serious, we really did end up having dinner, then more drinks together. They’re wicked rad, and super cool. So cool that a few months down the road they would bring their kids to California, and I’d make a trip to spend the evening with them. So yeah, that’s pretty rad-tastic. I’m gonna even make a trip up there.
It’s crazy how some of the people you meet on these trips become a part of your life that… sticks. Even those insane guys from Jersey. Guys I still talk to a decent amount of time. Good stuff.
Ryan Cavalier 