"A drive in the Prairies" Netherhill by Bwana_Brown

Netherhill Travel Guide: 4 reviews and 6 photos

Distant Pronghorns in a Praire field - Netherhill

Over a 3-day long weekend in November, I decided to make the 8.5-hour drive from Regina, Saskatchewan to just outside the Red Deer, Alberta area in order to help my youngest daughter and her husband with the building of their new house. The snow flurries have already begun for the winter so it was 'all hands to the pumps' to get the structure ready as soon as possible. This page simply shows a few of the sights I saw in southwestern Saskatchewan (between Saskatoon and the Alberta border) as I motored along at a steady 110-kph, not being able to stop hardly at all if I was going to make it to my destination before darkness.

This Intro photo was taken on a narrow and bumpy secondary highway near Mantario that took me literally out into the middle of nowhere. For miles and miles as I drove along, with no sign of civilization in sight in any direction as far as I could see, there were not even power lines or communication towers or anything man-made except the narrow strip of road. However, it was interesting to see these specks of Pronghorn Antelope distantly keeping an eye on my progress from the endless prairie field they were standing in! Inhabiting western North America from the southern Prairies all the way to Mexico, their claim to fame is that they can run at speeds of up to 98 kmp (61 mph), making them second only to the Cheetah as the fastest land mammal in the world.

This drive across the Prairie also meant a milestone for me - although I had already been to all ten Canadian provinces, when I finally passed through Hanna, Alberta it marked the final link in my having actually driven completely across North America from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans! My wife and I had been by road to the northeastern tip of Newfoundland in 2001 and to the western shores of Vancouver Island in 1999. In between, we had driven from Vancouver to Hanna on our various trips in the west and my recent drive from New Brunswick to Saskatchewan had closed out the remainder of the continent (except for the Regina to Hanna gap)!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Some amazingly wide vistas
Cons:You are a long way from help
In a nutshell:I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this new territory!

Last visit to Netherhill: Nov 2007
Intro Updated May 4, 2008
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Reviews (4)

Abandoned highway bridge beside Hwy 15 - Netherhill

Dipping into the South Saskatchewan... Things to Do (3)

After driving on relatively flat land for long stretches, it was always nice to dip into a river valley now and then for... more travel advice

Using the main highway for a cattle drive - Netherhill

Cattle drive! Local Customs (1)

I stopped in the small community of Broderick, Saskatchewan to get a snack at one point in my drive. When I came back... more travel advice

No longer scanning the skies - Netherhill

A relic of the Cold War Things to Do (3)

Just outside Alsask (an apt name for a tiny community located directly on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border) a relic of... more travel advice

Weather-beaten building and a straight road - Netherhill

Lots of interesting buildings Things to Do (3)

Rural Saskatchewan has loads of interesting buildings - I just didn't have time to stop to admire any of them on this... more travel advice

Comments (11)

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Trekki Nov 21, 2008 at 11:36 PM

Good old cattle herd country :-)) I really like the imagination to see cowboys leading the cattle over roads and land :-)
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robertgaz May 5, 2008 at 4:11 PM

Even rural Saskatchewan has it's little houses on the prairie!
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JLBG Mar 10, 2008 at 2:56 PM

Your photos make me feel that driving across the Prairies is almost like driving across the Sahara (when on a proper road)!
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kyoub Feb 28, 2008 at 2:56 AM

A flash of the past. The radar station would make a good look-out for wildlife.
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SLLiew Dec 19, 2007 at 6:36 AM

Stunning as fas the eyes can see landscapes. Enjoyed reading your adventures here. Cheers, SL :)
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antistar Dec 11, 2007 at 3:25 PM

Cowboys, epic car journeys and relics of the cold war. A very interesting page for such a small place :).
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starship Dec 4, 2007 at 5:48 PM

Glenn, I really like the way you've captured the sights on your drive across the Canadian prairies. It's really nice to know that there are still huge places that are still virtually pristine nature! Great page!
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Dabs Dec 1, 2007 at 2:12 PM

Ha ha, that looks as flat as Illinois and Indiana, I used to hate the drive down to Bloomington IN until we got somewhere with a little bit of topography ;-)
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tiabunna Nov 30, 2007 at 5:07 AM

A little like some of the long flat straight roads in Oz, Glenn. After a while, anything to break the monotony becomes welcome! You were fortunate to find some things which are interesting and different.
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toonsarah Nov 28, 2007 at 12:07 PM

I grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder (the books, not the pale TV imitations) so I really enjoyed this glimpse of the prairies