Whenever my Alberta-born and raised husband wants to get a rise out of me, all he has to say is, “Saskatchewan is s-o-o flat!” and the battle is on.
“Saskatchewan is NOT flat!” I declare.
Which got me to wondering: Why do people think Saskatchewan is flat?
I think it has to do with where the horizon is. If you come from a place of mountains or forests or cities, you have to look up, w-a-a-y up to see the horizon. In Saskatchewan, the horizon is down around your knees. Maybe even your ankles. It is OUT there, not UP there. It is “space,” writ large. As one of my uncles said, “You sure can exercise your eyeballs there.”
So, yes, you can see yesterday leaving and tomorrow coming. Yes, you can see your dog running away for three days. But that doesn’t mean it is flat! We have valleys – the Frenchman, the Qu’Appelle, the South and North Saskatchewan river valleys, the Assiniboine. We have uplands – Moose Mountain, Duck Mountain, the Porcupine Hills, the Missouri Coteau, the Wood Mountain Uplands, Cypress Hills, Old Man on His Back.
Another factor may be that people drive through Saskatchewan on the Trans-Canada Highway which, surely, is the least interesting part of the province (note, I did not say “the most boring” part). The route was probably chosen because it was the least demanding, and therefore the cheapest, route on which to build a highway. Furthermore, it connects three major cities – Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current – which, I grant, have their own charms.
But if you want to see the Other Saskatchewan, the Definitely Not Flat Saskatchewan, turn left at Moosomin (if you’re coming from the east) or right at Maple Creek (if you’re coming from the west) and head south to Highways 13 and 18. That’s where I grew up and where we (my family and I) spent the occasional week when farming duties permitted. I will introduce you to some of those places in my next posts.
I guarantee you will see the definitely Not Flat Saskatchewan.
#Saskatchewan #Highway13 #Highway18 #SouthernSaskatchewan #Saskatchewan History #SaskatchewanArchaeology #SaskatchewanHistoricPlaces #MargaretGHanna
A Prairie Perspective 
Perhaps refer your husband to one of the recognized experts at the Saskatchewan Natural History Museum.
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I did. He said that expert didn’t know a mountain from a mole hill. The expert begged to differ. The matter stands unresolved.
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Sasflatchewan is not the correct spelling?
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For a while, you could buy a T-shirt bearing the outline of Saskatchewan and a caption reading: “Saskatchewan — easy to draw, hard to spell.”
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You must be headed to Grasslands or Big Muddy Badlands. Big sky, big hills and long distances. Love it down there. My neck of the woods also.
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Yes. Next up – Grasslands National Park. Maybe Old Man On His Back Nature Conservancy if I can find photos.
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I loved Grasslands! It was new to us this year. The Big Muddy was my backyard growing up.
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So do I — beautiful country. I miscalculated my posts on my previous reply — Grasslands won’t be coming up for another two or three weeks. But it IS coming.
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I have had the pleasure of spending time in the Waskesiu Lake area and the Cypress Hills. Both beautiful and far from flat country. The same can be said for traveling the Yellowhead Hwy. (Hwy 16) from Lloydminster to North Battleford.
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So true, and yet the “Flat” myth persists. Maybe one day I will present Northern Saskatchewan as Not-Flat country.
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