I just moved to rural south east Saskatchewan from the Greater Toronto Area. I absolutely love how empty it is. Never have to deal with traffic again. That alone makes it worth it. I went from Hamilton, approx. 700000 people to Stockholm Sask that has 300 people. Bast decision of my life.
@DanoFSmith-yc9tg :Have you ever spent the weekend out on your boat,blasting down the Detroit river,with the wind in your face,the sun burning and glistening off tge water? When I was young I did,ND when I got home I was windburnt and sunburnt,and it's actually exhausting! So,the prairies are like being on the river, getting windburnt,and sunburnt,and the wind NEVER STOPS BLOWING ! But the rents a lot cheaper! But buy a case of chapstick,and skin lotion! Thhe other thing about rural life is the loneliness, all by yourself or with your sweet heart!
5 дней назад
You went through my home town. Frobisher. I remember taking pop bottles into Rennie’s store. Mr. Rennie would give us 1 cent per bottle if we wanted cash or 2 cents credit if we wanted candy. And the lady that use to live in the house you showed when you mentioned times being more prosperous, made homemade peanut brittle every Halloween. SOOOO GOOD
@@rockhopperadventures The 2 cents was the deposit that was yours not Mr. Rennie . Mr. Rennie like a lot of corner stores were small time crooks . When i was a little i had this pulled on me by these slime balls too . I lived in Regina 59 to 61 .
During initial settlement, a standard farm was 140 acres. Even a big family couldn't handle any more. Then came the threshing machine, and tractors, and the bigger farms kept buying the small ones, only using the land and the grain bins.
And that was the beginning of the end for the family farm! And the boomers headed for the big city jobs,and only a few stuck around! You can't make a living om 160 acres of land,has to be 1000 acre or more,up into 20,000 acres!
1896-1905…Settlement policy, set by the federal government, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Hudson's Bay Company and associated land companies encouraged immigration. The key event was the decision to emulate the American Homestead Law by offering, at no cost, 160 acres of farmland to any man over 18 (or to a woman head of family) who settled there. Many Canadian citizens today identify with Saskatchewan as where their family started from over 100 years ago. I’m one of them…..Gravelbourgh.
Nice trip along Hwy 18. Souris is the main river in SE Sask running down past Minot ND and back up into Manitoba. If you happened to see (or signs to) Rafferty Dam when approaching Estevan from the west, that's a dam on the Souris. Or Mouse River (French to English) in North Dakota. I grew up a few miles north of Estevan, was back for harvest 6 weeks ago.
Saskatchewan is a victim of corporate farming. As the farming industry became more and more mechanized farmers could farm larger and larger tracts. These larger farms no longer required the manpower per acre that the smaller farms did so there was a reduction in the need for the small towns as the people moved on to areas where there was more work available. The same thing is happening in Manitoba and Alberta to the farm industry. In addition, the automotive industry and the building of better high speed roads has helped to kill small farming. At the turn of the last century it might take a day with horse and wagon to go to town 15 miles away and return home. Today, a pickup truck will go 150 miles and do much the same thing. It is sad but true, small farming is a thing of the past.
@@oh8wingman each homestead was on its own quarter, so housewives in particular were terribly isolated. I imagine that they didn’t visit neighbours more than once a week for mass.
This is a reality. Unfortunately the urban masters in BC believe that small farmers should be forced to farm their one or two acres. They are looking at punishing anyone who lives on designated agricultural land and isn't farming it. They believe that having land with the government designation of "agriculture" means it can be farmed. They forget, or don't care, that farming is a business. They also ignore small facts like water rights, accessibility to markets, extreme restrictions and fees for farming, etc. If one was a conspiracy theorist, one would think they are maliciously trying to force rural folk into cities. I however believe they are just stupid, arrogant, and domineering.
Lol 150 miles. I was putting 1800km per day on my truck at one point moving from Ontario to rural Sask. 2 full tanks I'd burn in a day, 900km each tank. 18 hour shifts. 3-3.5 days straight one way. Drop off a load and turn around for another, or fly back and get another truck and trailer, depending on what number trip it was. I did the trip driving 7 times last year one way. 5 times west bound, 2 times eastbound. Flew back twice. Bought a truck at 340000km, today 18 months later, it has 494000km. Lol.
Great video, I’m an Albertan living many years in Edmonton. I come from southern Alberta originally and know little about our neighbouring province of Saskatchewan. I didn’t realize how empty the southern part of the province is, my husband has great memories of fishing up in the Canadian Shield of Northern Saskatchewan. A stunningly beautiful and untouched area with the most pristine lakes ever. I have heard many good things about Saskatchewan in general. Interesting how different one province is from the other.
The reason many of these towns are deserted is because with modern roads and vehicles, many of the farm families now live is the nearest cities. Another factor is most farms do not have livestock, so the farmer shows up for planting and harvesting.
Currently living in Rockglen, SK. A bustling little village of about 450 people and still going strong. The surrounding terrain is quite hilly with long valleys and lots of coulees filled with mule and whitetail deer, the odd moose and cougar, coyotes, foxes, etc. You took a quick shot of our village sign but didn't stop. Oh well.
Rock Glen is awesome. And the #1 highway--or the railways--were not built to hit the "pretty" spots. It was all about flat, flat, flat easy to build. Of course! Get a few km off highway #1 and Saskatchewan is pretty damn cool. OK--I may be a bit biased but...what I am saying is not wrong. Northern Saskatchewan is a totally different landscape...twice over. We got a VERY "tall" chunk of real estate. Do some research.
I remember visiting my uncle bob and aunt mabels farm just outside lang. After they retired in the 90s it became another corporate farm, and the house is no longer there. My entire family used to live in that area.
Have travelled many of those roads on motorbikes and pickup trucks. Friends left Lake Alma in the 1980s after years of drought and moved to the South Peace country in Alberta, where we got to know them.
Souris River runs through this area. And the Rafferty hydro electric dam is I believe on the Souris near Macoun Saskatchewan. Not too far from Estavan. Now I could have some of this not completely accurate, as I am born and raised in Ontario. But my Norwegian Grandfather homesteaded land near Macoun. And my mother told me how he would dig coal from the strip mine,and haul it back to their farm by horse drawn wagon, during the 20’s and 30’s. Beautiful area, I have only visited there twice, but I hope to go again. Thanks for taking us on your road trip
Rafferty is just a few miles west of Estevan - road goes across the top of the dam connecting Hwy 18 and Hwy 39. Not a nice paved road but it's there - the water backs up from the dam to/past Macoun. Rafferty is not hydroelectric - all the generating stations in SE Sask (Boundary and Shand at Estevan, Coronach) are coal-fired gens.
@@johnconrad8796 thanks for clearing this up for me, it’s been quite a while since I was out to visit my cousins in that area . I was quite amazed at the giant dump trucks going from the strip mine to the coal fired generator. I remember being in Macoun in the 60’s and visiting Mainprice Park, and seeing the community pasture, all of which became flooded when the dam was built.
My Ex's Dad was the Economist that made the report Rafferty was not feasible. He got fired, won $250k for wrongful dismissal, bought a house in Vancouver, restored it, flipped it.
On summer holidays my family and I would travel from east-central Alberta, first heading south on Highway 21 and on down to the Trans-Canada Highway. I always loved that moment when we reached the crest of a hill and suddenly the Prairies spilled out before us. We were on our way to Calgary and Banff/Lake Louise and yet that moment always stood out more in my memory than first seeing the Rockies rising in the west beyond Calgary. Times change and next generations find their way to places completely opposite to the big sky country. I lived for five months in one of the densest cities in the world - Manila, Philippines - and yet few places, if any, have impacted me more than the Canadian prairies. I wish I could drive over that crest in the hill every single day, my heart full of possibilities and my eyes full of endless hope.
Look the hydro's still hooked up! Your dream home on the prairies awaits you! No construction permits required! Just needs a few windows and 50 gal of sealer paint! Even comes with a viewing platform to watch the sunsets on real exciting prairie days! Just 76 miles to town!😊 That'd be a realtors listing!
A few years ago I drove Highway 18 from Frontier to Estevan on a Sunday. There were a few hundred kilometres without a gas station that wasn’t a card lock. I don’t plan on driving that highway again any time soon. And I’ve travelled much of Saskatchewan.
Born and raised in Estevan. First 9 years we lived in Roche Percee (Pierced Rock in English) where there are unique outcrops of sandstone and a great place to explore. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t go that route and drive the Souris valley to Oxbow as it has some interesting history. Thanks for your video which was a walk down memory lane. 👏👏🍁
A word of caution when wandering those old farms. They all had a well, most were not filled in when folks left. Falling in a well or root cellar when alone could be bad news.
My grandparents had farms near Grenfell and Peebles I left for the west coast in the late 80s and my parents just after 2000 Not an easy life and harsh weather Should have a capital system with basic income to make it easier to stay on the land Dont know how they did it but had to be resourceful with gardening raising chickens baking own bread doing things not using much money Last year drove from chilliwack to winnipeg return all on secondary highways and was reminded of how large that part of Canada is
Took my family on a road trip from east-central Alberta all the way to Toronto and back. Neither my wife’s car nor my car had air conditioning, so we rented a large sedan with unlimited mileage on offer. I’m sure when I returned the car someone in corporate wondered about the continued feasibility of renting anything with ‘unlimited mileage’. We sure enjoyed the air conditioning and it was more difficult for the kids to hit one another in the large back seat! I’ve always loved driving through the Prairies and fortunately my wife and children slept a lot during those long, flat stretches. There’s something spiritual about those drives.
The relaxing sound of your voice and choice of music are perfect match. Best twenty minutes watching a very well produced travel video. I have to add that I've never swithed to Celsius. Nice seeing 104F
I spent the first five years of life in Wood Mountain, my father taught at the local high school in the late 1970's. It was a bit of an artists town where the landscape and history inspired the creative. I've thought of moving back now that I work from home.
Souris River flows north out of the Dakotas and wanders thru eastern Saskatchewan and Western Manitoba before joining the Assiniboine River and eventually the Red River which flows North to Hudson Bay. If you followed the Souris River to its source in the south, it would be a skip and a hop across the plains of North Dakota into the Misouri River system which would (eventually) get you to New Orleans.
Man, i really hope that you took the opportunity to stay up late and look UP while in the grasslands area in Saskatchewan. If you know, you know. Couple other places you might have missed but, ya can't get everywhere.
Thanks for sharing your adventures! You gave me some great info for nice quiet places to stop and explore. I’m flying out to Alberta Wednesday picking up an RV before snow hits and driving east..pick up my dog in Ontario then south and west on Route 66. Never been to Southwest … I have been to Havre Montana tho 🤣🥰🫡‼️
Many of the towns which You visited are located along or near the Souris river or its basin , hence the Souris St. FYI when that river meanders across the border into the USA , it becomes the Mouse River { French for mouse is Souris } & when it returns to Canada its becomes the Souris river again
I moved to Gainsborough, the water is free, it comes from a spring well water, so saved money there, beautiful home bought for 60K, retired, cost of living is low, the cost of food a little on the high side, but not much higher than Winnipeg for example. My first winter was reasonable, I'll see how it is this upcoming winter. So, I can save $12K a year living here. Yes it may be costly driving to and fro, but that drive to the store or bank, isn't all that bad, you get to see the most beautiful animals, sunsets, sunrises and landscapes in Canada. Flat as an ocean iin some cases. Yet the people are friendly and the nights are quiet. Furthermore, with the internet, television, and mobile phone, what's to miss about city life, where homes cost almost half a million dollars, there's traffic jams, pollution, high taxes, potholes, stop signs and red lights everywhere, not to forget crime. You are reborn out on the prairies with a feeling of regeneration, as you watch cities struggle to just keep up with their mass population and non stop construction. Take Toronto for example, no one's going anywhere but in debt, and this is happening all across Canada in every major city. So, I'm going to leave you now, go upstairs, smoke a joint and play chess. I'm loving my time here in the best kept secret in the country, of a life without any hassles and economically inexpensive.
I was in the RCAF stationed in Moose Jaw in the mid to late 60’s. I few jets and our training area was south of Moose Jaw. and flew over Old Wives Lake, Mossbank, Gravelbourg, Congress, Assinboia etc. Had to be careful not the cross the border into the US. It was said if we ever got lost fly down to see what name was on the grain elevator. One guy said all these towns are called Pioneer
Hey had troubles with some " stealing gas " later car stalled likely bad gas. They left me walking to get help. Got a ride RCMP ( GRC - gravel road cop lol ) was told would take 2 hrs for Police lol
As a former resident from near Tisdale which is heavily a Canola farmed area I am disappointed in the direction the farmers have gone. Canola is to your cardiovascular system as animal fat is to your kitchen drain. If you pour it in there you will get clogged up and require emergency service. Canola is death to humans. Same with Soy, Palm and Sunflower Oil. It would be more humanitarian to plant garlic instead. And it can be done. Plus the farmers would reap much better profits from garlic compared any grain they produced. Do some reading and you will find I speak the truth.
@@billfarley9167 I thought you were joking but I check on gooole and there is such a place, I bet the ladies love it their. There was also a place called Kunt in Wales.
Estaven was a city. 12 Km from US border on main Hwy to US from Regina Sk the Captal ( has 400 th ? Maybe more now ) nope 233 th only lol. Saskatton is larger lol.
You will see forgotten towns anywhere there is agriculture because farms even if family owned are scaling up, the fact that one farmer can probably do the work that took 50 plus people 60 to 70 years ago has more to do with it than anything. In pure farming country there used to be a town every 10 or less miles now there is less and less reason for anywhere near that many settlements.
That was really good thank you. The why is beyond me on abandonment of the small farm and towns that supported them. GMO food may be one of the problems, take less water and labor to produce.
I'm surprised ots 104 farenheight! I worked in Saskatoon back in 2013 and in June through July it only hit 35 Celsius which us about 95 farenheight. So in 10 years the temperature has gone up 10 degrees. But back in 07 it hit 112 in Windsor ontario in July or early August. Don't forget how flicking cold it gets,minus 40 or more! It's not as warn M as Toronto
Oil industry keeps Oxbow alive, i think. I have childhood memories of visiting relatives in Oxbow in the ‘50s and ‘60s. My farming parents had left after the depression for the west coast. Typical.
Carp are notorious for doing that, and people actually have bad accidents water skiing when they run over one. Also, we dont call those lakes, they are slews. The nickname for carp is "slewsnake" They probably eating the cow turds that floated through the culvert. Did he say he was swimming there? hmm
@@boburuncle41 I live in the southeast and fish here do that in ponds in the heat sometimes. Tried to lookup slew but came up with slough because I have never heard of that. Thanks for the information.
