Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Opened in 1935, the Bessborough Hotel in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is one of Canada's grand railway hotels. Originally built for Canadian National Railway, today the property remains a luxury hotel and one of Saskatchewan's distinct architectural landmarks.

A Few Days of Exploring in Saskatchewan

It's been a few years since I was last in Saskatchewan to do some dedicated exploring. The motivation this time was to catch up with friends, which actually opened the door to play tourist for a change. From staying at some iconic hotels to checking out the new Remai Modern in Saskatoon to retracing my past steps at the University of Regina, the visit turned into a series of completely new experiences in a place that I had previously thought had become too familiar. 

What better excuse to explore and put some extra time on my Canada Day long weekend to use? Stay tuned as the new images debut in the Hey, Canada photo series.
 

Saskatch-a-toon and INXS

In the summer of 2006 I took a long overdue road trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with my friend Daunean to see INXS in concert (which I was just reminded of when I heard on the news last week that they broke up).  This wasn't really about the show though. It was about escaping my humdrum summer job and catching up with a few friends.  Then again, I've never needed much convincing when it's come to road trips.


Daunean got the tickets, I drove from Medicine Hat to Regina to pick her up, and from there we took the short drive to Saskatoon for the show and to meet up with our buddy Kelly.  What was especially memorable about the trip was that I immediately got a flat tire in the Buick after leaving.  I was delayed a few hours, but eventually made it to Regina for the night.

On the road the next day we took our time driving to Saskatoon by stopping at every random roadside attraction along the way.  This was my first trip to Saskatoon and so I really wanted to soak in the local culture - I know it may not be clear but I'm laying the sarcasm on pretty thick here.  

We checked out the giant coffeepot and metal sculptures in Davidson, we grabbed snacks in Chamberlain, took a brief drive around Lumsden, and explored Kenaston, the Blizzard Capital of Saskatchewan.  Kenaston is also pronounced exactly the same as the yeast infection medication, which I found particularly hilarious at the time.

Once in Saskatoon we headed over to the University of Saskatchewan campus to explore and kill some time.  It really is a beautiful place, although I don't think that I knew how to take a serious picture of myself at that point (and maybe I still don't).

A.A. Lake has the best pose I have ever seen.

At our cheap hotel we sauced up for the concert and Kelly came by.  We joked that our room looked like a hooker was probably murdered in it, and Daunean was kind enough to reenact what that might have looked like.

I vaguely remember the concert, but I actually really enjoyed that album INXS released with J.D. Fortune as their lead singer. What I remember most from that night though is being happily drunk, rolling around on the grass and a middle aged woman saying she wanted to sit on my face, and Creed front-man Scott Stapp opening the show by preaching about his life and drug use. It was a strange, ridiculous, and hilarious evening.

We hit up the waterslide in our motel before leaving, grabbed lunch at Fuddruckers, and then it was back home. It was a great weekend with Daunean and Kelly, and I was especially happy to discover all of these pictures that I shot from the brief visit. Saskatch-a-toon! What a place!