Happy Thanksgiving

A bus shelter decorated for the long weekend.

Photographed near Rhein, Saskatchewan on October 9, 2025.

Boots

The Great Sandhills is a natural area in southwest Saskatchewan and is the largest set of active sand dunes in all of Canada. The landscape is ever changing.

The Hanging Cowboy Boots Arch is located above the parking area. It was built by local rancher John Both as a display of his appreciation and love of life. He understood this fragile landscape and believed in its preservation. Some of his ashes are spread beneath the arch.

Yes, there are sand dunes in Saskatchewan.

Photographed south of Sceptre, Saskatchewan on October 26, 2024.

Congregational Church Cemetery

An abandoned cemetery not far from Surprise, Saskatchewan.

Looks like the wooden cross has been "at rest" for a couple of decades or more now and the barbed wire fence is in a state of disrepair as well.  All this amounts to the very definition of "abandoned".    

No headstones...just indentations in the ground.  But, tiny as it may be, those buried here have a wonderful view of the vast prairie landscape.  

Photographed on October 27. 2024.

Return to the Witch House

Missed my annual spring road trip to the Witch House earlier this year but made up for it today.  Enjoy!

It had rained heavily the night before so the road (really just a graded trail) to the site was not worth the risk to drive so I parked the car and walked the mile round trip there and back through the ditch.  Managed to get plenty wet and muddy in the process but I definitely got my exercise for the day.  Back at the car I was off to Jack's Cafe in Eastend for lunch.  

Photographed near Dollard, Saskatchewan on July 18, 2025.

Coming out of the Barrels

Something appropriate for stampede season...

Photographed in Saint Walburg, Saskatchewan on July 16, 2023.

Saint Asaph's near Bangor

A look inside Saint Asaph's Anglican Church...

The church was established in 1905 by Welsh settlers.

To quote a plaque in the nearby Llewelyn Cemetery:

"To be born Welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but with poetry in your blood and music in your soul."

Love and appreciation with heart and soul.

The church hasn't been used in years but is still in reasonably good condition.  That new metal roof should keep it safe for many years to come.

A shot of the church from the Llewelyn Cemetery.

This is the trail that leads from the cemetery to the church.

And this is the sign just off the main road. 

Photographed near Bangor, Saskatchewan on July 22, 2022.

Castleton United Church

Welcome neighbors and passers-by...

...to Castleton United Church.

The stone cairn and plaque were dedicated in 1968.  The plaque reads:

"Castleton United Church

This cairn is erected in memory of the pioneers of the Rothbury, Castleton, Pennock and Chatsworth Districts.

During the 1890's and early 1900's, these early pioneers felt the need for spiritual guidance and fellowship.  They were also concerned with the religious education of the young people and did their best to provide it.

The first church was built in 1913 and a new one was built in 1928.

This cairn is also dedicated to those who built on this well-laid foundation of our pioneers."

A few shots inside the church...frugal yet charming.

For King and Country...a framed document listing those members of Castleton United Church who volunteered for active service with Canada's Fighting Forces.

This little country church is well worth a visit when you're in the area.

 

Photographed near Saltcoats, Saskatchewan on October 10, 2020.

A Beautiful Place Out in the Country

More to see here: Буковина

Saint Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Cemetery was photographed near Lepine, Saskatchewan on August 4, 2020.

Easter

Greetings from Hope Lutheran Church in Kayville, Saskatchewan.

Enjoy your Easter weekend.

Photographed on January 26, 2022.

Jerald

So young.

Photographed at Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Cemetery near Pierceland, Saskatchewan on July 17, 2023.

Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church

Holy Family is a country church and cemetery just seventeen miles north of the Canada/U.S.A. border.  I believe it is the southernmost Ukrainian church in all of Saskatchewan.

Settlers arrived to the area in 1905 and lived in dug outs and hillside shelters in those early days.  Frequent prairie fires added even more hardship to their meagre existence, and, the original chapel built around 1919 was completely destroyed in a storm only a few years later.  They truly had a hard life.  

But perseverance prevailed...

Over two decades later the congregation was finally able to build a new church in 1944 after one of the founding parishioners died and left a quarter section of land to the church.  The profits from this generous donation enabled the congregation to erect the new church, and only four years later, completely renovate and enlarge it.  Now that's a success story if I ever heard one.  

The wooden mission cross that stands midway between the church and cemetery commemorates the Holy Missions of 1956 and 1964.

The church was seventy-nine years old at the time of my visit.  My thanks to all those at Holy Family who still love and care for this little church out in the country.

Information courtesy of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon.

Photographed near Maxim, Saskatchewan on September 13, 2023.

Kaplychka

A favourite place to drop by for a visit...the "little chapel" in the countryside near Rhein, Saskatchewan is now one hundred and twenty-five years old...and that's definitely a cause for celebration.

More about this historical landmark here:

Kaplychka

Photographed on October 13, 2022.

Annie & John

Two oldtimers spending eternity together at Saint Joseph's Parish Cemetery.  Good for them. 

Photographed near Candiac, Saskatchewan on May 19, 2021.

A Few Days Ago at Zion Lutheran Church

Photographed near Horsham, Saskatchewan on February 13, 2025.

A Few Months Ago at Zion Lutheran Church

Photographed near Horsham, Saskatchewan on October 27, 2024.