A late August Sunday night on the prairies meant you could already feel the seasons changing as we drove about a half hour west to Farm One Forty in Vanscoy, SK. As a result of the pandemic, my wife and I had not had a meal in a restaurant in over five months and we were looking forward to an outdoor farm dinner prepared by a favourite restaurant in Saskatoon, Odla.
Most people know the prairie stereotype of Saskatchewan and imagine farmers fields stretching to the horizon and beyond. There’s a lot of that here, but there is also a significant diversity of landscapes if you go looking for it. On a Friday vacation day in August, I took off on a road trip ninety minutes south of Saskatoon and headed for a hike on sand dunes in Douglas Provincial Park. You heard me correctly… sand dunes.
Before there could be sand dunes there was a hike from the trailhead through a typical prairie landscape.
On a Sunday afternoon in August, the idea of driving to Humboldt for some McDonalds fries seemed like a perfectly acceptable premise for a road trip. We piled into the car as a full family (also know as: taking the dog along for the ride) for the one hour drive east for our first visit to Humboldt since moving to Saskatchewan more than four years ago.
Favourite 2019 travel photos. Kyoto, Japan. October 2019.
2020 is shaping up as the first year in my life I won’t get to stand on the shore of an ocean, dip my feet in, and gaze out over the water. Living on the prairies, I’ve cut it a bit close in the previous four years, but there has always been an ocean somewhere in my travels. Landlocked in Saskatchewan, I felt the need to improvise this year, and luckily the mighty shores of Manitou Beach are renowned for their salt water. That’s right, a salt water lake in Saskatchewan.
2020 has been a year of making the best of things, but honestly, standing at the water’s edge, I was simply just happy to be looking out over a body of water.
In the grips of a global pandemic, as spring turned to summer, it became obvious that the only way I’d feel comfortable scratching my travel itch was to get behind the wheel of my car for some good old fashioned local exploring. And while I’ve lived in Saskatchewan for a bit over four years and owing to my province’s immense size and my proclivity to wander in foreign lands over my own backyard, I’ve seen precious little of my home province. I made a list of places relatively close to Saskatoon, booked off a few Friday vacation days, and have set off on some prairie road trips.
First up was the town of Nokomis, population 436. Located an hour and a half drive away, the attraction for me was one of my favourite craft breweries in Saskatchewan – Nokomis Craft Ales. On the drive south and east to Nokomis, I had the sunroof open and the stereo up loud listing to the new July Talk album, “Pray For It”. The open road, never-ending prairie skies and some great tunes had me feeling like this was a true vacation day and an escape from the pandemic-induced feeling like no day was different from all of the others.
Under the threat of a severe thunderstorm, I arrived in Nokomis to have my first beer on a patio other than my own back deck since November.
Almost eight months later, I have a vivid, yet simple memory. My wife and I were in the Calgary airport on Christmas night enroute to Vancouver for a short vacation. We were happy to be getting away to a favourite city for a few days and to be able to exchange our Saskatoon parkas for lighter rain jackets as we escaped from a prairie winter. My memory now of that night, through a prism of a pandemic that has grounded my traveling in 2020, is just of the simple, unadulterated happiness I get from traveling. As we sat waiting for our flight on to Vancouver, sharing a snack to tide us over before a very late night McDonalds run after we landed, I remember feeling at peace. And I wonder when I’ll be able to enjoy sitting in an airport again.
More than just sitting in an airport, I’m looking forward to eating and drinking in public establishments around the world again. On Boxing Day morning, as soon as it opened, I wandered into La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop, one of a number of “must visit” places every time I’m in Vancouver.
Favourite 2019 travel photos. Tokyo, Japan. October 2019.
When I moved away from the east coast more than four years ago, there was comfort in knowing that family back east were just a day and an overpriced airline ticket away. Now in pandemic times and with the borders to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia remaining effectively closed, I haven’t been back to visit family since late fall last year. I’m sitting on a host of Air Canada flight credits for trips that were cancelled with no prognosis on when I’ll be able to use them. Even worse, the small airport in my parents’ home town of Bathurst was taken off of Air Canada’s roster of places they fly, meaning this view I had on landing there last November is something I may never see again.
While I was in Phoenix late in 2019, the Roosevelt Row area became a bit of a repeated destination for me. Initially, much of that had to do with my attraction to the amazing outdoor beer garden at Arizona Wilderness. On my walks to and from my downtown hotel to the bar, I took meandering routes as I discovered the neighbourhood was home to a plethora of vibrant murals. Here are some of my favourites from my time spent wandering around the Roosevelt Row area just to the north of Phoenix’s downtown.
On the side of Angels Trumpet Ale House (where I enjoyed a delicious outdoor pint one evening):
Bluenose Traveler 