The Saskatchewan Traveller ... Afternoon Delight

Trudy and Dale Buxton Publishers, Biggar Independent Let’s take a break on the B.C. trip for this week and give you a new ride that we just did. It’s Friday afternoon and shaping up to be a good day. Shall we travel south or shall we travel north? That’s the tough question being answered as [...] The post The Saskatchewan Traveller ... Afternoon Delight first appeared on Prince Albert Daily Herald .

Trudy and Dale Buxton Publishers, Biggar Independent Let’s take a break on the B.C. trip for this week and give you a new ride that we just did. It’s Friday afternoon and shaping up to be a good day. Shall we travel south or shall we travel north?

That’s the tough question being answered as we headed north towards Battleford. Highway 4 north is really in good shape. However, just north of Cando you have to pay particular attention to the horses that are running wild – they tend to get alongside the highway to feed on the fresh grass.

Battleford is such a nice community. Coming into Battleford you see the history that has shaped this community. The town is not overloaded with all of the modern buildings that you see in other urban areas.

Some of the main observations are the Battleford Post Office, built in 1911 with red brick and the clock that adorns the top of the building. There is Fort Battleford, once the scene of many conflicts in the past was restored in 1876. There are the historic Town Hall and Opera House, which was constructed in 1912, again in that red brick style.

The Government House or the remains of, which is just outside of Battleford was constructed in 1876. Battleford was at one time the capital of the North-West Territories from 1876 to 1883, and the Government House served as the first seat of power. The Fred Light Museum holds a massive amount of antiques and military artifacts.

Did you know that the largest baseball bat in Canada reside at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Battleford. Many historic events took place in Battleford and these events helped shape Western Canada to what it is today. On this day we took the bike across on the bridges that are still standing, this bridge goes over to the island that is on the river, the other bridge is closed completely to any traffic due to its safety concern.

Looking at the North Saskatchewan River, the water is quite high and not a lot of room on the banks of the river for more water. After our little tour of Battleford, we decide to head over to Cut Knife for dinner. Did you know that Cut Knife has the world’s largest tomahawk?

Named after Cut Knife Hill, which is now called Chief Poundmaker Hill situated on the Poundmaker reserve. The hill was named Cut Knife Hill after a Sarcee chief who was killed on this hill by the Cree First Nations in the 1840’s during a conflict. This area as well is home to much conflict and history from the 1800’s, a famous battle took place called the Battle of Cut Knife during the North-West Rebellion.

The town today has a population close to 600 with a vibrate downtown and active community. The main street going into town has a beautiful centre area that consists of trees and shrubs and very wide streets downtown. We decided to have dinner at the Motor Inn, which is at the entrance of the town, a little outdated but clean, good service, and great food.

After eating it was off to Unity and home – a great way to spend a Friday afternoon and complete a circular trip. Stay tuned for next week as we continue our British Columbia story.