This past October, I took a needed week off of work, but due to rising pandemic case counts, my travel options were severely limited. I’m normally the type of person who wouldn’t dream of spending a handful of vacation days in my own city. I’ve always felt that a proper vacation needs a hotel and a plane ticket (or at worst, a very, very long road trip). 2020 threw up a lot of constraints for planning a proper week off, so I embraced the idea of a staycation to shake me out of the doldrums of what was a year of too much sameness for my restless spirit. So here’s my Saskatoon (and extended area) staycation in five parts.

Part 1 – An afternoon of mural exploration

I drove downtown, parked the car, and armed with nothing more than a list of interesting murals on my phone, wandered around my city as I might do when visiting a new place. This simple act made for a lovely afternoon and helped me see parts of Saskatoon through a fresh lens. I spent most of my afternoon wandering around the Riversdale neighbourhood where there is a wealth of vibrant public art in the form of murals. Here’s a small selection of what I explored.

To cap off that afternoon, on my way back to my car I walked past this mural while its artist, Lee Cooney, was both touching it up, and adding some new details in the process. We had a great chat about his painting and how he wanted to show the act of wearing a mask to be something we do as a symbol of love for each other.

Part 2 – A sub-zero hike along the river

Fall weather in Saskatoon can be all over the map. While my week was dry with gorgeous blue prairie skies overhead, the temperatures had plummeted well below zero (and below normal!). Not to worry, I pulled my lighter winter jacket out of the closet, bundled up a bit more than what I’d want to do for an early October day, and headed out to Cranberry Flats just on the southern outskirts of the city. Owing to the breezy, cold day, I had the place entirely to myself to explore.

It was stunning out there – I love how close this is to the city, yet how wild it feels. My favourite part of the hike was watching two bald eagles circling over the river above me, just gliding, wings outstretched.

Part 3 – Trying some “new to me” restaurants

When I visit new cities, I’m always excited to eat at a variety of restaurants. On my staycation, I ordered take-out from a few restaurants in Saskatoon I had yet to try to help make my week feel more like a trip. I loved the Pad Thai, tomato curry and spring rolls from Odd Couple, an Asian fusion restaurant I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t eaten at since moving here almost five years ago.

I also loved this taste of Jamaica from Jamaica Food Basket of fried plantain, a meat patty, and some exceptional jerk chicken.

And on the one-year anniversary of being stranded in Osaka due to a canceled flight, I ordered up a selection of tasty Japanese snacks from Ko Chicken + Ramen (and nicely washed down by a New England IPA from Malty National Brewery in Regina). I ate very well this week!

Part 4 – Road trip

On most of my trips I plan a day trip somewhere interesting to change up the scenery, and I decided to do the same thing for my staycation. I took a ninety minute drive to Cochin to visit this oddity – a lighthouse on the prairies!

I climbed the 153 steps up the hill on which the lighthouse is perched and wondered how many errant vessels were saved from the savage shore of Jackfish Lake? I can honestly say I never expected to visit a lighthouse in Saskatchewan. Maybe a touch odd, but it was a spectacular view from up here!

On my way back from Cochin, I popped into the Cup Cafe & Bakery in North Battleford and picked up a delicious mixed fruit muffin and a perfect cup of coffee for the drive back to Saskatoon.

Part 5 – Patio beers in spite of the temperatures

What would any vacation or staycation be without a few patio beers? On my way back from a hike, I stopped at a cider place that happens to have a couple of craft beer taps and enjoyed this brown ale from Armoury Brewery in North Battleford.

A couple of days later I headed downtown to visit one of my favourite Saskatoon craft breweries, Shelter Brewing. On a windy, cold afternoon, I enjoyed a tasting flight of four new beers by Shelter – the one on the far right, an apricot crisp sour ale was one of my favourite beers I tried in all of 2020.

Shelter has committed to leaving their patio open all winter and I applaud them for that. A cold day enjoying a patio beer is always better than no patio beer at all. Sitting here on a weekday was the sort of indulgent behaviour that made this staycation feel like a reasonable substitute to my normal travels… at least for this year.