Saskatchewan Kenobi

Even though Google Maps suggested I drive north to Edmonton and take Highway 16 to Saskatoon, I decided instead to head due east from Red Deer and travel as the crow flies. Surely a straight line must be faster than a “v” I thought, and I made great time through Alberta. As soon as I reached the Saskatchewan border however, it became apparent that it was going to take a long time to reach Saskatoon. In hind sight it should have been obvious that in a Province with an oil based economy like Alberta, the roads will get a frequent coat of new asphalt, but in Saskatchewan, wheat does not make good asphalt.

So Google Maps was right this time, and I didn’t make it to Saskatoon. I instead stayed the night in Biggar, Saskatchewan in a cinder block motel with an amphitheatre-like ability to transmit sound. At the hotel I met a few residents of Biggar and they seemed very guarded; particularly the women. I suspect they’re shy around strangers or maybe the women have a general suspicion of men, who are known carriers of the dreaded affliction known as unplanned pregnancy, which I understand is pandemic in places where winter lasts 6 months. Obi Wan Kenobi said “We must be cautious”, and the women of Biggar seem to be.

Then again, perhaps it is bigger than the women of Biggar. Perhaps the entire Province of Saskatchewan is solemn because they have heard one too many tractor joke or have had one too many relative lose a limb in a combine harvester related accident. Would a Province wide chain of hot dog stands called “Saskatcheweiners” bring joy to them? Perhaps.