Back from Waskesiu - a little bit of heaven in Saskatchewan

[bobofthenorth]

We stopped spending our summers at Waskesiu about 5 years ago for a bunch of reasons - the lake was so low you could hardly launch a boat, the spruce budworms were taking over the park & the greens wouldn't let them spray, the park nazis were getting even more overbearing than they usually are, it was too far away from our jobs, etc.  A week ago we were back there for a 100th birthday party & we remembered what we have been missing. 

The lake is back up & the cabin owners finally persuaded the park to spray the town so the bugs are under control.  What a wonderful place it is.  Anyone who can work Waskesiu into their travels really should.  Its a bit off the beaten path but well worth the detour.  For the golfers it has two world class courses - the Lobstick in the park and Elk Ridge just outside the park gates.  There's fishing to no end in the park and now that the lake is back up it is once again a great watersport destination.  But the best part of Waskesiu is the community.  We like to walk uptown in the evening, buy a cup of tea and sit in the adirondack chairs in front of the general store watching the world go by.  With the trees and lake in the background and a people parade in the foreground it is truly a wonderul way to end the day.  I think I have only ever seen two bus conversions in the trailer park at Waskesiu - ours and George Lowry's.  We had lots of lookie-lous going by every night.

Only 275 more sleeps until we move out of the house & into the bus permanently - we'll certainly be spending more time at Waskesiu in the future.

[plyonsMC9]

Thanks for the post Bob - it sounds very peaceful and idealic.  What a great destination. 

Kind Regards, Phil

[bobofthenorth]

Waskesiu is a really neat place with some history.  When I was a kid they had what they called "shack tents" - I've never seen or heard of them anyplace else.  They were structures about 20' square with plywood walls and canvas roofs.  Every spring the "cabin owners" would set up their shack tents and every fall they would take them down and the park would store them for the winter.  I guess the idea was that no permanent structures would be permitted in the National Park.  Whatever the reason all these shack tents would go up every summer and people would go spend their summers in them.  I'm not sure exactly when they stopped doing that - sometime in the 60's I believe but when they did the shack tents evolved into small cabins.  The cabin area still has vestiges of the old shack tents.  The public shower rooms are going to be taken out this year but they are still there.  The lots are very small and occasionally you will see a tiny little cabin that is just one of the old shack tents with a real roof on it.  That is getting less and less common now but there are still a couple left. 

If anyone is doing a cross Canada tour it is worth the detour north of Prince Albert to visit Waskesiu.