Travel Route
Starting in the southeast is North Portal or the Port of North Portal customs which is the province's only duty-free shop. Coalfields No. 4 rural municipality is dependent upon its grazing lands, oil wells and coal mining. The land on either side of the Souris River is too stony for agricultural purposes. The little hamlet of Pinto comprises post office and rail siding. Roche Percée, an unorganized area is named after a geophysical feature of the area. Short Creek Cairn is near the Roche Percee turn off from Highway 39. Located just off of Sk Hwy 39, are two arches created by limestone rocks upon which historic animals, and initials are carved. The local first nation found this site to be a power centre. This Short Creek Cairn is also a resting place for the North-West Mounted Police in 1874 on the Great March West. Henri Julien of the NWMP ride wrote in 1874, that the base was 140 ft 0 in (42.67 m) and about 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m) high. Although the underground coal mines which lined the Souris River valley have closed, there are two large dragline surface coal mines still operating supplementing agricultural income for residents of Bienfait and Roche Percée.
Estevan, the power center and eighth largest city of Saskatchewan offers tours of the Rafferty Dam, Boundary Dam Power Station, Boundary Dam Mine, the Shand Power Station and Shand Greenhouse. The city of Estevan is nicknamed Saskatchewan's Energy Capital, as it is provided with coal, natural gas, and oil resources. Prairie Mines & Royalty Ltd. (PMRL) operates the two large coal mines, The Boundary Dam Mine and Bienfait Mine supplying 6.1 million cubic tons of coal to the Shand Power Station and Boundary Dam Power Station. Estevan Heritage Walking Tour and the Historic Driving Tour through the Souris Valley brochures are both available at the Saskatchewan Visitor Information booth. Woodlawn Regional Park features the Souris Valley Theatre which puts on live plays.
Weyburn, the opportunity city, has also been dubbed the Soo Line City due its connection with Chicago on the Soo Line of the Canadian Pacific Railway CPR. The city of 9,433 people is situated on Sk Hwy 35, Sk Hwy 39, and Sk Hwy 13. The small towns of Exon and Converge have been absorbed into the city of Weyburn today. The Pasqua branch or the Souris, Arcola, Weyburn, Regina CPR branch, Portal Section CPR on the Soo Line, Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Shaunavon, Lethbridge section CPR, The Brandon, Marfield, Carlyle, Lampman, Radville, Willow Bunch sectionCNR, and the Regina, Weyburn, Radville, Estevan, Northgate section CNR have all run through Weyburn. Weyburn is located astride the Williston geological Basin which contains oil deposits, and several wells operate in the vicinity. Weyburn features roadside attractions of a large Lighthouse Water Tower, Wheat sheaves and Prairie Lily. Weyburn is situated near the upper delta of the 470-mile (760 km) long Souris River. The Souris River continues southeast through North Dakota eventually meeting the Assiniboine River in Manitoba. In the 1800s this area was known as an extension of the Greater Yellow Grass Marsh. "Extensive flood control programs have created reservoirs, parks and waterfowl centres along the Souris River." Between 1988 to 1995, the Rafferty-Alameda Project was constructed to alleviate spring flooding problems created by the Souris River.
Rouleau was the host town for the popular Canadian sitcom, Corner Gas, which is airing its final season in Canada. The show was set in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan.
Near the northern terminus is Moose Jaw, also called "Little Chicago". Moose Jaw, is a city of 32,132 at the Sk Hwy 1 Trans–Canada and Sk Hwy 2 intersection. Capone's Car, Moose Family and Mac the Moose are all large roadside attractions of Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw Trolley Company (1912) is still an operating electric cable trolleys offering tours of Moose Jaw. Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort, Tunnels of Moose Jaw, and History of Transportation Western Development Museum. are major sites of interest of this city. The juncture of Moose Jaw and Thunder Creek produced the best source of water for steam engines, and Moose Jaw became the CPR divisional point. AgPro Inland Grain Terminal operated by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. These large capacity concrete grain terminals are replacing the smaller grain elevators which were numerous along the highway, sentinels of most communities along the route. Improved technology for harvest, transport and road construction have made the large inland terminals more viable economically. The rural governing body around Moose Jaw is Moose Jaw No 161 which serves 1,228 residents (2006 census) which includes the Moose Jaw, Canadian Forces Base. Meat-processing plants, salt, potash, urea fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia and ethanol producers abound in this area with easy transport access to the Trans–Canada Highway.
Read more about this topic: Saskatchewan Highway 39
Famous quotes containing the words travel and/or route:
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—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)