Day 14 - Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park is a 5 hours drive from Saskatoon, south on Hwy 7 and Hwy 4. I had this idea in mind that I want to stop for lunch only at Val Marie, the entry point to Grasslands National Park. I read about a country inn in Val Marie, so I was sure about my meal. The way down south was the usual prairie picture. Endless fields of wheat and sometimes a grain elevator filling up a 100+ car long cargo train. Arriving in Val Marie at The Convent, the owner said they don't run the restaurant anymore...ooops. There I was at the furthest end of Saskatchewan (maybe also the world) in a small town boosting a population number of 150 and the only restaurant listed doesn't exist anymore. Lesson 2 learned on the road...very similar to the empty tank lesson: If you get hungry, eat at the first spot you have a chance to eat. Don't be picky, it might be there is nothing else around within 100km. Luckily there was another hotel in Val Marie having a restaurant. Well, it's the pub, billiard room and meeting room of the town. You know, it's the place where everybody has his own seat and you eat what is prepared, not what you want. And now we were sitting at somebody's table.

The Grasslands National Park entry is next to Val Marie and you can do a self-drive tour on a gravel road leading you through the park. You are warned that there are rattle snake, black widow spiders and scorpions in the area. However, the first animal you will meet is the black-tailed prairie dog. They have a huge network of burrows across both sides of the road and once they spot you they begin their alarming system. Prairie dogs look like ground squirrels but are bigger. They usually stand tall on their hole looking out for danger (you), and the closest one to you makes a funny barking kind of noise, signalling with this to the others. Once you get too close to this fellow, he gets too excited and escapes into his hole and another fellow starts squeaking/barking. They are so funny and entertaining...imagine a field of 100-200 holes.

The park is a treeless and a desert of grassy hills where you wouldn't want to get stuck. The sunshine is hotter than anywhere and burns your skin. When you spot the first cactus you know that this is a different geographical setting than where you started your morning.

We couldn't see the bisons that supposed to be here, but the road crosses only a small part of the park, so chances seemed low that the bisons will be in viewing distance. But I already saw some already at Riding Mountain. I also couldn't find any rattle snake. I was actually getting out of the car at stops and trails and wandered through the area but couldn't find any. Although I am not sure if I am lucky or not that I didn't see any.

We spent too much time in the park, and didn't notice that we have a 4-hour drive to our next stop, Cypress Hills Provincial Park. The road was quite adventurous as I took some short-cuts through gravel backroads to make it there faster...2,5 hours instead. But farmers might have reported a red arrow stirring up the dirt on the roads way too much that night.