Wanaskewin~ meeting place

Wanaskewin. It literally means meeting place in the Cree language. For thousands of years Aboriginal people have been meeting in this area to hunt bison. This meeting place is a natural valley with the South Saskatchewan river flowing at one side and a steep edge on one side, this makes it a perfect buffalo jump.

An Aboriginal person dressed in skins with the intent to blend in with the near by herd of bison.

This is the entrance way into the valley.

Far in the distance is a circle of teepee's, the traditional housing of the Plains Indians. This is a relatively small grouping of teepees. In each tribe their would be anywhere from 50 to upwards of 400 hundred teepees. Teepees are not only practical housing for their lifestyle it is also very effective at being warm in the harsh winters and cool in the hot summers.

Steve running with the buffalo.....he's not going to win.

Some traditional Cree stories tell of buffalo springing from stones and filling the plains.

Steve acting like a stereotypical Chief......


This is a very small teepee.....made that way for an indoor display. Most teepee's were made of about 15-20 buffalo hides. They were not any bigger because they had to transport them when they followed the buffalo herds.......and they weren't any smaller because, well they had to house families.


Steve dressed in a small buffalo hide.

*sigh* me looking really impressed.....I think Steve said something that I either thought was way off base or just Steve like.


Steve in front of a buffalo pound. This is and other way to hunt bison. The hunters would make a large pen of trees from the area. They would start the herd stampeding towards the pound with barriers on either side (large heaps of stones or outriders to discourage the buffalo from that particular path). Once inside the pound (they would have a sort of curd gate or ramp leading into the pound) they could start killing the buffalo with considerable less chance of harm.


This is Steve heading up to the famous "I got attacked by a hawk" site. I think this has got to be in his top 5 things that he did/happened while he was in Canada. He is on his way up to a rubbing stone.

Looks like a pleasant view? This is about 5 minutes outside of where I live. This is also at the very top of the ridge I previously mentioned. Hunters would stampede the buffalo towards this point. They would not be able to see the steepness of the ridge until they were upon it, and at that point they have the pressure of the herd coming after them so they can't stop. The buffalo would fall and either die upon contact or be severally hampered by their wounds that, yet again, would lower the chance of injury to the hunters.

This is a shot of the visitor's center from the valley.

The sunsets here are amazing.



This is a rubbing stone, so named because when buffalo had itches they would rub up against these stones. Over time they have become worn down and smooth in some parts due to the constant use.

The Wedding

As most of you know this was the big reason why I skipped out on the last couple months of my contract. Wow was it a good time.......and productive!!!! I saw all my family in the space of three days and was able to look so fab in my new dress. Please admire me in all my glory.......oh and admire my arm candy as well.

Before all the major craziness started. When we got to that church things were cracking!! Might I add I did a flawless job doing my reading for the happy couple.

All the Kings men....before they where put on stage.

The portion of my family that didn't walk down the aisle....we are looking goooooooood.

The celebration

The girls breaking it out.

The happy couple.

The boys getting the party started.

The second beautiful most couple........I may be bias....

The other boys. Ones missing though!!!! These guys are a part of my extended family.

The Korean Couple shirt.............it bombed in Canada. I expect these are now being used for rags, and yet it was still worth bringing them back.

What Calgary was about...

Calgary Alberta. This is where I picked up the Brit to start his adventure in Canada off with a bang. Unfortunately we forgot to take many pictures!!! Or maybe it was we forgot the batteries.......either way not too many pictures from this.

These pictures are from the Calgary Stampeed. The Calgary Stampeed is the largest rodeo in the world. The rodeo has everything that you would like to see. Bull riding, bronco riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and steer tie down.

Around the Stampeed is a very large fair that has all the tasty, fatty treats that we all know and love, granted under different names. Our favorite snack was a bison burger. Oh so yummy and with less fat and a stronger flavor than beef!!

The second part of the Stampeed is the evening show. But before that happens you get to watch the chuck wagon races!! Each team consists of one chuckwagon (with four horses) and 4 out riders. That was an exciting time.

This is a picture of the chuckwagons racing across the finish line.

While we were in Calgary I was able to catch up with my best girl!!!! Don't worry I only put the pictures on here that make us look good!!!

Ahhhh the gopher. Some thought it was a made up animal, others are just amused by it's ability to make a grown man jump when they aren't expecting it.

At the Calgary zoo they have many animals/reptiles that you won't see in most of the world. One is right behind us........

This would be another one. Hello mister bison.

We stole this one............

These too......... in all their plump glory...

Taste of Saskatchewan.....the flat part

This is my beloved Saskatchewan. Where if you dog supposedly ran away you could see him for three days. Why anyone let their dog run away for three days is anyone's guess.

Saskatchewan. Where the roads seem endless and the curves are few. Where the snow is deeper than your shoe. Where the wildlife that you see dead by the road entertains English men who have come so far to see this little portion of Canada (seriously, this boy made bets on what was coming next).

Saskatchewan is flat and ideal for farming. In fact we produce 28% of the worlds grain. In the northern portion of the province is all woodlands. So getting away and going camping is just a few hours away. Steve was very impressed by this. In fact he was complaining a few times that the trees were blocking his view!! I knew he could adapt to prairie lifestyle.

Saskatchewan is tagged "land of living skies". Since most of our population lives in the "flat" part, we also have a benefit of having the most amazing skies to look up at. Thunder storms, sunsets or sunrises, the night sky or just looking out during the day to see how the clouds are rolling by. When the Northern lights come out to play it's a beautiful sight to see........and with nothing hampering your view.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm choked how most of Canada and the States (those who have knowledge of Canadian provinces anyway) make these types of comments when they have never been to Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is not for big city people, it's for nature lovers.