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| "Land doesn't
belong to anyone. The land belongs to everyone.
We should be able to go anywhere we want to
go." (Out-of-country tourist to rural
Saskatchewan.) Real comments from real tourists
sometimes make farmers from the Canadian prairies
nervous, especially given that the tourist in
question didn't appear to believe that his call
for common land applied to his own suburban lot,
house and garage. |
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| Prairie land, is farm land |
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All that apparently
empty land across the prairies does, in fact,
belong to someone. It belongs to a prairie farmer
who, when asked, is usually more than happy to
welcome tourists who are willing to follow some
simple rules. |
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A ramble through one of
Saskatchewan's coulees, an hour listening to
yellow-headed blackbirds swaying on catkins at
the edge of a sapphire prairie slough, an evening
spent photographing a spectacular sunset spread
across a never ending horizon, a day of
discovering bison herds and flocks of ostrich, a
weekend of bird watching - Saskatchewan offers
endless opportunities to enjoy easily accessible
nature.
There are a few rules. |
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First, bring along
your favorite bug repellent. It hasn't been proven that,
before half ton trucks and buses, rural kids travelled to
and from school on two-seater mosquitoes, but the
province does provide a safe home to some very hungry
bugs. Don't forget your sunscreen and a good sun hat.
Cold and windy in the winter - very hot and windy in the
summer - that's Saskatchewan. Wrap-around skirts are not
advised unless the wearer also carries a package of
safety pins. |
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Please don't drive
across fields. An apparently barren piece of land
might have been recently planted. The ruts you
cut aren't going to have harvest any easier.
Driving across dry stubble or hay can cause
fires. Ask permission of the land owner and
establish the routes that you can take to the
site of your planned adventure or photo shoot. |
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| It is possible to find
the land owner. If he isn't home and if his kids
are at school and his wife is at work in town, a
neighbor or someone in the nearest town will know
how to find him. Many farm couples carry cell
phones. Your first purchase should be an R. M.
(Rural Municipality) map - or several of them. |
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| A fiery Prairie sunset |
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They aren't
expensive and they will make great souvenirs and
conversation pieces when you get back home, especially if
you editorialize them and make them your own. Remember -
there's lots of nature fun to be found in rural
Saskatchewan, but there's no fun to be had when you
discover you are lost on a gravel road and can't find
anyone home to sort you out. As farms get bigger and more
farm families work off the land for necessary extra
income, there is no longer the pioneer sureness of
finding someone home every quarter mile. |
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