Exploring Saskatoon in style

Today I have a little bit of Fashion Friday and a little bit of travel for you all in one short post! Hubby and I spent three days this week representing our church at a denominational conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. While most of our time was spent in meetings, we had some free time to do a bit of exploring on Wednesday afternoon. We decided to spend it walking a small portion of the Meewasin Trail, a scenic multi-use pathway that stretches over 105 km in and around the city, mainly along the South Saskatchewan River.

A big question for me was what to wear when I would be spending a significant amount of time in an air-conditioned venue, but also a couple of hours walking outdoors in 32ºC (90ºF) heat!! Here’s what I chose.

The white jeans were a thrift store purchase several summers ago and have appeared on the blog before, but the open-weave crocheted top, worn here over a white cami, is a recent acquisition purchased at a new consignment shop in our area. The sunglasses in my left hand and the hat were very important accessories on such a hot, sunny day and I also wore my Ecco Yucatan walking sandals that provided much needed support as we ended up walking 7 km (4.3 miles) on paved pathways.

We accessed the trail and started our walk across the street from the historic Knox United Church. Built between 1912 and 1914, it is a designated municipal heritage building.

Another historic building along our route was the iconic Bessborough Hotel, Saskatoon’s castle on the river, which is presently closed for major interior renovations.

A little further along, we passed some much more modern architecture.

The beautiful Zhongshan Ting pagoda in Victoria Park was donated to the city in 2015 to commemorate the first Chinese immigrants and their contributions to early Saskatoon.

Fragrant blossoms and the presence of many pairs of Canada Geese were signs of the season. This fellow kept a close eye on us as while his partner grazed and we were careful not to annoy him. While these large birds become very comfortable in urban areas, they can also be highly aggressive, especially during their spring breeding and nesting seasons.

For the last bit of our walk back to the vehicle, we left the riverside and walked along Spadina Crescent. There, we came across one of the most recognized and photographed landmarks in the area, the Tribute to Youth statue. The life-sized bronze sculpture featuring five children with interlocked limbs forms a sphere and captures a sense of childlike play and energy. They definitely appeared to have more energy than I did at the end of our 7 km walk!

The Great Sand Hills

Today’s photos might lead one to believe that we traveled to Morocco or Mongolia, but we were actually exploring a very unique bit of Canada, the Great Sand Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan! 

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The Great Sand Hills is approximately 1,900 square kilometres (730 square miles) of desert-like sand dunes, native grasses, and small trees and shrubs. Sediment deposited by glacial meltwater during the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet approximately 13,000 years ago, then shaped and reshaped by strong winds, created this unique landscape. The first of the giant sand hills is just a short walk from the parking lot. Climbing up the dune, you truly feel like you’ve entered a different world, a world of sand and sky!

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We soon spotted a series of faint trails leading off toward more dunes in the distance, so of course we had to investigate. 

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Climbing up the steep side of the dune, we were greeted by another vast expanse of soft, powdery sand. After walking around a bit, I had to take my shoes off and feel its warmth between my toes! 

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Can you spot Richard on the horizon below? 

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Canada has it all… mountains, prairies, forests, rugged coastlines, rivers, lakes, and even a wee bit of desert!