By Alex Soloducha

Saskatchewanderer takes in the north in summer

Jun 15, 2015 | 6:31 AM

Northern Saskatchewan has been facing forest fires in the last couple of weeks and the scenery may look a little different.

Ashlyn George, The Saskatchewanderer, had the opportunity to explore the north before any damage was done and shared her experiences with paNOW.  

“I was just up north last week,” said George. “I flew into Pine Island Resort, which is one of Saskatchewan’s northern fishing camp resorts.”

George flew out of Missinippi with Osprey Wings, a Northern Saskatchewan Air Charter. She was able to travel the 40 kilometres in 15 air minutes.

“I had never done anything like that before. That’s the farthest north I’ve been in the province now,” she said.

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According to George, it ended up being quite the experience.

“It was really fun, I caught lots of fish,” she said. “I caught 20 or 25 fish. I pulled in a huge one, he was about 43 inches. We didn’t officially measure it but it was about 25 pounds.”

“The north is one of the best places to go fishing, Saskatchewan as a whole has pretty amazing fishing. We’ve got lots of world records here.”

George also had the opportunity to take in the scenery, which she describes as “beautiful.”

Good morning world! Welcome to sunrise over #Saskatchewan‘s great North! #LacLaRonge #exploresask #summertime pic.twitter.com/4jz8tCblAQ

— Saskatchewanderer (@SkWanderer) June 3, 2015

“I love the boreal forest,” said George. “It’s one of my favourite places to be in the province.” She even has a blog post on why she loves Northern Saskatchewan.

George also said she recommends exploring the Pine Island resort path.

“It’s so quiet and peaceful and you know you can be sitting on the edge of some of the rocks on an island and you can be listening to the loons call. You can watch the pelicans fly by. We went through a couple sets of just smaller rapids and there are lots of pelicans fishing.”

 

On the blog today I wrote about five reasons I love northern Saskatchewan and think you should visit. One of those reasons is right behind me in this photo! If you’re interested in reading it, the link is in my profile! #saskatchewan #saskatchewanderer #northernsask #borealforest #exploresask #exploreyxe

A photo posted by Saskwanderer (@saskatchewanderer) on Jun 10, 2015 at 7:36pm PDT

Pine Island Resorts main clientele, surprisingly, come from Europe or from the United States, specifically Colorado.  Less of their visitors are from Saskatchewan.

“It’s really beautiful and it’s a place I wish more people in Southern Saskatchewan travelled up to.”

George said the north offers a multitude of “outdoor adventures,” listing the rapids and lakes as great places to explore and enjoy canoeing, camping and paddle boarding.

“There’s a lot of places to get off the beaten track which is fantastic,” she said.

The Saskatchewan flag is green on top and yellow the bottom, George reminded, and said the forests in the north being a nice change from the rolling prairies.

“Just getting away from city life, and a change of scenery.”

George has been travelling around the province as an ambassador since January and will be in the position until December.

Currently she’s in the Watrous and Manitou area. According to her she’s been exploring lesser known sights such as a combine that was in the movie Twister, and an old CBC broadcast studio.

Hanging out spending the day exploring @Watrous_Manitou in the sunshine and water! ☺️

— Saskatchewanderer (@SkWanderer) June 11, 2015

“There’s just lots of little things that you don’t always hear about. It doesn’t always have to be a big event or a big tourist draw.

“I kind of like those little things that you don’t always hear about too.”

Next, George will be on her way to the Cypress Hills area and then back up north with a team of geologists called the rock docs. 

To keep up with George on her journey you can visit The Saskatchewanderer website, her twitter account, her Facebook page and her Instagram.

asoloducha@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha