A Long Day of Touring.

Spencer, Jesse, Katarina, Stuti, and Cheryl were assigned to Tour #2  Saskatoon – Western Development Museum / Wanuskewin Heritage Park. It was an early morning ride for the five Finalists having to go down to the bus at 6AM for a 6:30 departure. They were not impressed. The theme of the Western Development Museum branch in Saskatoon is 1910 Boomtown Street. This recreation of a typical prairie town in 1910 contains replicas of over 30 typical businesses. Other exhibits include the transportation gallery, the Cancer Bomb, Votes for Women: Towards Equality and tractors and farm machinery. The feature exhibit, Winning the Prairie Gamble, celebrates 100 years of Saskatchewan.

Creepy dolls

Boomtown butcher

                 

Jesse likes the selfies

The tour then took the five Finalists to Wanuskewin Heritage Park which sits above Opimihaw Creek and the South Saskatchewan River near Saskatoon – a window into a part of Canada’s history that remains largely undiscovered, and a link to our past unlike any other National Historic Site in Canada. Wanuskewin’s uniqueness is not just the fact that there exists evidence of ancient peoples, but rather the composition of many different aspects of habitation, hunting and gathering, and spirituality – all in one place. Their visit here included a DVD presentation, access to all the trails, activity room and exhibits as well as hands-on program that will examine the archaelogy, history, significance of the Bison, connections to Earth and significant cultural aspects of the site at Wanuskewin and Northern Plains Indigenous culture.

Jesse was afraid of the ticks

Katarina

Katarina walking on the prairie

Tour #2

Spencer took good care of our younger Finalists. It was a long bus ride back to the University of Regina. Spencer, Cheryl, and Stuti were exhausted. 

Susan, Winnie and Jenny went on Tour #11 Yorkton – Young’s Equipment / Lajord Hutterite Colony / Western Development Museum. Regina  to Yorkton is 191 km northeast, the three left at 7:45 after a quick breakfast and a very reluctant wakeup! This tour kicks off a visit to Young’s Equipment – a leading agricultural equipment dealer that services farmers in southern Saskatchewan. The mechanization of farming is considered one of the top ten engineering accomplishments of the 20th century. During their visit at Young’s Equipment, they were able to see some of the latest technology in agriculture machinery – and learn about career options in this field as well!

The 620 Case tractor Jenny and Winnie are pictured with can cost up to $900,000 and has 620 horsepower that can boost to 900 hp

The next stop on the tour is a visit to the Lajord Hutterite Colony. Established in 1979, it houses 104 people, 24 families living as a community and farming 21000 acres in southeastern Saskatchewan. Carolyn, one of the young women, toured Susan, Winnie and Jenny through the church, kitchen, school, carpentry shop, and automotive garage and cheerfully explained their communal system and answered every question put to her. The Hutterite people live in colonies belonging to the largest, oldest, and most successful communal society in the Western World. Contrary to the Amish, the Hutterite people have embraced technology to the finest degree for the well-being of their community. The tour embraced their hospitality and willingness to open their lives to us and share their unique lifestyle, their knowledge, their faith in the health system, their love of the land and their spirituality. Not only were Susan, Winnie and Jenny guided by young Hutterite women, they also had a wonderful conversation with them about their way of life.

They raise chickens and dairy cattle, plant 8 acres of vegetable garden and varied crops on the remaining over  21000 acres. The three South Fraser members were served a fabulous meal prepared by the women. Many went back for seconds of the very fresh tender chicken and Saskatoon berry pie. They came away with an understanding and respect for their seemingly  very caring and managed way of life as well as an awareness of its limitations.

After a wonderful home-cooked lunch, prepared with Colony harvested food, the group got on the open road and travel to Yorkton. It is the largest city in east-central Saskatchewan. Located 120 km east of Regina, the community of 16,000 has a large Ukrainian and German population. The Western development museum in Yorkton reflects the  history of people settling this region with artifacts from their homes and farms. Quite a contrast to Young's Equipment! This day gave Susan, Winnie and Jenny some insight into settlement, early farming, modern agriculture and an alternative way of living in Saskatchewan. Distances between stops allowed time to appreciate the open spaces and prairie skies. An interesting observation today...,,gas is $.96-99 / litre in Saskatchewan!

After Charles completed his IB exam, we returned to the university to get a bit more rest before going down to meet the CWSF tour organizer. We accompanied him to pick up lunch for Tour #13 who were stopped at the Royal Regina Museum. This museum furthers an understanding of Saskatchewan's natural history and aboriginal cultures, past and present. Explore specimens and artifacts in each gallery, including the new We are All Treaty People exhibit.

The next stop and the beginning of Charles' and my tour was to the RCMP Academy "Depot" Division. Since 1885, Depot has been training members of Canada's national police force. We toured Depot and learn about its history as the headquarters of the North West Mounted Police and its current role as a training academy. The Finalists on the tour performed the same drills cadets experience and watch the Sergeant Major's Parade which includes a roll call and inspection of the troops, accompanied by the Cadet Band.

We stopped into the chapel which has been here since 1885. Originally, it was a mess hall and canteen, but one of the past commissioners felt  there needed a place of faith within the RCMP.

One of the beautiful stained glass windows at the RCMP Depot Chapel

The RCMP academy uses simulators to train their cadets. Here are about a dozen cadets learning maneuvers virtually. 

Cadets learning how to deploy spike belts

Our guide demonstrated how an arrest is made on one of Team BC's Finalists. We also stopped at the pool and fitness training course. The Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation (PARE) is an occupational test used to assess a person's ability to perform the physical demands of police work by simulating a critical incident of chasing, controlling, and apprehending a suspect. Our guide performed a demonstration of the circuit. 

Our Finalists and Delegates, had a very long day. With a number of us having left this morning at 6AM and returned back to the residences at 7PM, Susan and I felt that the scheduled "night out on the town" would be too exhausting to them. Instead we ordered pizza and  had supper together as a team in our residence lounge.