The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Why Saskatchewan?

Thought we might tell you a little about the province of Saskatchewan. Many of our readers outside of Canada (and probably some inside Canada!) may not know very much about this province or why we chose to come here. We think it's actually fairly interesting, so read on...

First, a few facts...

The province of Saskatchewan. The blue placemark is where we are located.

Saskatchewan is a huge land area, about the size of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado all put together. But hardly anybody lives here! The total population of the whole province is only 1.1 million people! And, they're almost all in the southern half of the province.

There is a migration underway though, and has been for the past several years. Why? Well, the economy of Saskatchewan is booming!

The province currently has an unemployment rate of only 3.9%. Compare that to the national average of 7.2%. Essentially, anybody who wants to work, is actually working. And because of the lack of workers, salaries have gone up. That's one of the reasons we're here. The pay for what we're doing is actually quite good compared to what we would have made elsewhere in the country. I would have no problem telling you what we make, except part of the contract we signed includes a confidentiality clause. So we can't publicly discuss the terms of our contract.

The province has a budget surplus, and has had for the past few years (sure wish they would spend some of it on the roads!). It's all about resources. Besides excellent agricultural conditions, recent mining activity is a big support behind the boom. Saskatchewan has the worlds largest potash deposits (for fertilizer production) and the worlds largest supply of uranium (for nuclear power production), and there are several new mines currently under development. One of them will employ over 2,000 people!

But although much of the southern part of the province is totally flat and not that scenic, there are pockets of attractiveness. There are 2 large National Parks, as well as 34 Provincial Parks. And of course 92 Regional Parks that are similar to the one we are working at. And there are over 100,000 lakes in the province, although most of them are in the northern half.

Hope you've learned something about Saskatchewan, It's not a bad part of the world, although we wouldn't want to be here during the winter! 

Meanwhile, back at the park...spring cleanup continues...

Ruth decided to give the leaf blower a go.

But the job is better shared!

This guy had a winter stash of food hidden under a stack of leaves. When we blew them away, he went right  to work carrying them up into his tree!

The beach will look a lot more inviting once the ice is gone from the lake!

This is my workshop and tool shed. The major capital expenditure on the agenda for this year is the building of a single garage and workshop.

The main parking lot for the store and restaurant.

Notice the blue sky. We've been having great weather and there's no rain the forecast. Blue sky and sunshine again today, so we're headed outside to do some more work!

25 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. We have been told that the lake we are on (Sturgeon Lake) is great for fishing. Kevin has to empty the fish guts from the fish shack twice a day, just to give you an example.

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  2. You did a great write up on one of our provinces. The place is looking good.

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  3. Sounds like a great summer choice. Poor squirrel, all that extra work! Which do you like better Ruth the rake or the blower?? I'm a raker myself.

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    1. I think the rake. The leaf blower is definitely quicker so it is nice to use that to round up the leaves but it is loud. I am now finishing up with the rake.

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  4. Lots of coal down by Estevan also.

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  5. Great synopsis of the area. Thanks. I've heard that 3% unemployment is essentially anyone who wants a job, can have one. "Confidentiality" usually implies that whoever requested it, doesn't want others to know how high they're willing to pay for something.

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    1. Yep, those that don't have a job here, just don't want a job.

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  6. I've done my time with one of those back pack type of leaf blowers, but man they get hot and heavy! Ended up buying a hand held one for the school, which I wish I still had access to. Just might have to go shopping.
    I could handle the "no people" idea, but I think I'd be doing it *without spouse* though...

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    1. Kevin had the leaf blower on longer than I did and he said it wasn't too bad but his trigger finger and hand got sore if he used it for too long.

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  7. Thanks for the information, another reason I like reading your blog, the things I learn from you! :c)

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  8. You make Saskatchewan sound like a great destination. Hummmm.

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    1. It all depends on what people are looking for. It's certainly not high on the tourist's must see list but if you like the outdoors you definitely can find lots to do here. We have found that you can find things to do just about anywhere.

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  9. Love the background information - keep it coming. Lots of US citizens probably don't even have a clue where you are! Sad!

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    1. There are probably a lot of Canadians that don't know where we are either!

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  10. Yes, thanks for the info - enjoy learning about other parts of the world - looks like our kind of place - we like "unpopulated!" What's good to eat at the restaurant? Where's the cloest airport?

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    1. Connie, you and Barry would definitely love it here. Too be honest we haven't looked at their menu so we really are not sure. We've been cooking all our own meals.

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  11. Whoops - Where's the closest airport?

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    1. The closest real airport would be Saskatoon which is 172km or 106 miles away. Prince Albert also has an airport but it is really only a small local one.

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  12. Such beautiful country there, but like you said , not in the winter.
    We met a Canadian Mountie from Saskatchwen in Quartziste Arizona, during the Rv show in January and had our picture take with him.

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    1. Bet he wasn't dressed up in his Royal Mounted Police uniform for that picture though.

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  13. We love driving the Red Coat Trail through Southern Saskatchewan especially as you near Eastend. We stopped right on the highway took out our lawn chairs and had lunch with a hundred mile view, and a colony of prairie dogs. The only thing that past us in the half hour we sat there was the prairie wind. Truly an amazing experience.

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    1. There's not too man places that you can do that it, just wouldn't want to do it in the dead of winter.

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