Yellowhead
Trans Canada

Keynote
Communities
Manitoba
Sask
Alberta
BC
Summary

</FONT><FONT SIZE="-1" COLOR="#FFFFFF">Air Highway</FONT><FONT SIZE="-1">s


,dffd

Adventure
Roads
Alaska Hwy
Rogers Pass
Okanagan
Columbia
Icefields Pkwy
Goldrush Trail
Pacific Route
99 and 1-5
Sea to Sky
Yellowhead

Yellowhead
Trans Canada

Keynote
Communities
Manitoba
Sask
Alberta
BC
Summary


Adventure
Roads
Alaska Hwy
Rogers Pass
Okanagan
Columbia
Icefields Pkwy
Goldrush Trail
Pacific Route
99 and 1-5
Sea to Sky
Yellowhead


I am the Yellowhead
by Jerry W. Bird

While tumbleweed blow across the grassy plains and an ocean of golden grain bows to the wind, a few hundred miles north there is water, water, everywhere. Some experts claim that 100,000 lakes dot the face of Saskatchewan. Over half contain fish - and 90 percent of those have never been fished. With 68 species hatching every year, small wonder our forefathers kept a spare canoe in the driveway. Canada's breadbasket begins at the Saskatchewan border, as you enter a land where the highway meets the sky at all points on the horizon. Just imagine these plains inhabited by buffalo herds stretching as far as the eye could see. Another common sigh on the prairies that's fast disappearing is the familiar country elevator, so count yourself lucky to be traveling the Yellowhead at this time, when they are still releatively abundant. If you have time, stop and see how fascinating the process of grain storage is.

Throughout the grain-growing regions of North America, the small country grain elevator is becoming obsolete as transportation methods and storage needs change. Many country elevators have been abandoned when the equipment fails, too much maintenance is required, or the railroad lease becomes unaffordable. Others are destroyed when there is a liability threat or there is a need for a large, modern facility. As these symbols of an earlier era of prosperity disappear from the landscape, so does their history if there is no effort to document and preserve their records and stories. The establishment of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society is one way this heritage can be preserved.

Yorkton
Thanks to its strategic location, Yorkton has become Saskatchewan's third largest trading area, now serving over 250,000. Founded in 1882 by a group representing Ontario's York County, the early settlement, then part of the Northwest Territories, was relocated several miles to the newly constructed railway line. This move and the railway's continuing efforts in promoting Western Canada prepared the way to a major influx of settlers from Europe, which added a new vitality to the growing community and the province.
The promise of a homestead in Canada, with fertile farmland and a place to grow, became the main attraction for these hardy pioneers, many of whom came from Ukraine. Most had experience with farming on similar terrain. Their hard work, dedication and philosophy of community cooperation and cultural pride helped Yorkton to prosper and become the thriving city it is today. Your first important stop in the Province of Saskatchewan is Yorkton, with its Western Development Museum.

Further down the Yellowhead is Big Quill Lake, one of the hundred thousand we mentioned.

Foam Lake
From the highway you would never guess that the Town of Foam Lake is a bustling hive of activity. There are so many little gems like Foam Lake along the Trans Canada Yellowhead and unless you take a few minutes to explore.... you may never experience these wonderful jewels. Community Centre. This facility has been completely built by volunteers and is state of the art construction with floating hardwood floor surface for sports or as Ray mentioned..."it's great for dancing on"

Wynyard
to come

Lanigan and Watrous
. A side trip from Lanigan leads to Watrous and Lake Manitou, (Lake of Good Spirit), whose mineral waters rank with Europe's great spas. After 18 holes at Manitou Beach Club, a plunge will set you up for dinner.

Humboldt
to come

Side trip: Prince Albert National Park: White pelicans, bald eagles, beaver, badgers, bison, wapiti and woodland caribou, plus numerous species of fish and fowl -- it's like Noah's Ark. And the hills are alive with flora; meadow rue, prickly rose, high-bush cranberry and wild sarsaparilla, aspen parkland and boreal forest. Small wonder, world famous naturalist Grey Owl, called it home. At Waskesui Lake, a golf course, riding stables, paddle-wheeler cruise, and interpretive center await visitors. Lobsticks -- trees from which Indian trailblazers lopped off the lower branches, mark some of the park's 140 km of hiking path.

Saskatoon
A 'Toon' with a Berry Named After it.
"Saskatoon" is derived from 'mis-sask-quah-toomina', the Cree Indian name for a local indigenous berry. The Saskatoon area has been inhabited for some 6,000 years; however, it was not until the summer of 1883 that the first settlers began to arrive and subsequently in 1903 that the town charter was obtained. Today it is Saskatchewan's largest city and major university centre. The Ukrainian Museum of Canada salutes an ethnic group whose names appear in cities, hamlets and hockey rinks throughout the west. A center of scientific research, Wanuskewin Heritage Park has an on-site archaeological lab, diggings and trails devoted to the Plains Indians cultural legacy.

An hour north of here at Batoche is a sadder legacy -- one of civil unrest. A Gattling gun, military installations, and grave sites, give testament to the last armed conflict on Canadian soil. An audio visual show at Batoche National Historic Site, north of the city, relives the days during the 1880s Northwest Rebellion, when Louis Reil's Metis faced off against the British Empire.

Side trip: Prince Albert National Park and Waskesui Lake

The Battlefords
Hollywood's Mountie movies pale compared to the real McCoy. Fort Battleford National Historic Site is an example. Here on the Battle River, Chief Poundmaker's Cree ransacked Battleford, then Capital of the Northwest Territories, sending 400 settlers scurrying to the fort's sanctuary, and Colonel Otter's force off in hot pursuit. Government House,the stockade, and several original buildings remain. North Battleford and nearby Fort Battleford National Historic Site are steeped in plains history. Here on the Battle River, Chief Poundmaker's Cree ransacked Battleford, then Capital of the Northwest Territories, sending 400 settlers scurrying to the fort's sanctuary, and Colonel Otter's force off in hot pursuit. Government House,the stockade, and several original buildings remain.

Lloydminster
Yes Virginia, there is a Lloydminster, Sask, and a Lloydminster, Alberta living peacefully, side by side. That causes a kaffuffle when daylight saving time rolls around. The town's Antique Museum honors England's Barr Colonists

Continued: Alberta

Footnotes: The following excerpt is from a delightful couple from Bozeman, Montana, I had the good fortune to meet in Vancouver at the Grain Handling Convention several years ago. they are dedicated to the preservation of one of the most important symbols on our prairies. Throughout the grain-growing regions of North America, the small country grain elevator is becoming obsolete as transportation methods and storage needs change. Many country elevators have been abandoned when the equipment fails, too much maintenance is required, or the railroad lease becomes unaffordable. Others are destroyed when there is a liability threat or there is a need for a large, modern facility. As these symbols of an earlier era of prosperity disappear from the landscape, so does their history if there is no effort to document and preserve their records and stories. The establishment of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society is one way this heritage can be preserved. Throughout the grain-growing regions of North America, the small country grain elevator is becoming obsolete as transportation methods and storage needs change. Many country elevators have been abandoned when the equipment fails, too much maintenance is required, or the railroad lease becomes unaffordable. Others are destroyed when there is a liability threat or there is a need for a large, modern facility.

As these symbols of an earlier era of prosperity disappear from the landscape, so does their history if there is no effort to document and preserve their records and stories. The establishment of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society is one way this heritage can be preserved.

http://www.country-grain-elevator-historical-society.org/

adventures

rivers

air shows

fishing

seaplanes

hotels

train travel

airports
air shows

events
rivers

shopping

hotels

drives

airways