The predominant crop is mid-north Saskatchewan is canola and the yellow fields were gorgeous
When I'm on the east coast I love to find the lighthouses, and here in Saskatchewan I decided that should be the Grain Elevators. The grain elevators in Saskatchewan, and the other western provinces, have for years been referred to as a prairie icon, prairie cathedrals or prairie sentinels and they are a visual symbol of what farming in this part of Canada is all about. In the 1930s it was estimated there were as many as 6000 of these grain elevators across the prairie provinces - they dominated the prairie landscape for more than a century with every community having at least one. That number is estimated to be less than 200 across Saskatchewan now.
The grain elevators were the first step in a grain trading process that moves the grain from producer to worldwide markets. The grain elevator was a strictly utilitarian building, now considered by nearly everyone that views them to be anything but that. They were designed for one purpose, getting the grain into railway boxcars. The farmers, at first had to shovel their grain into 2-bushel sacks which they then transported to a loading platform along the rain line, then they emptied the sacks into a waiting boxcar - a back-breaking and inefficient job. They needed something much better if the west was to grow - a means of storing and shipping grain quickly. This brought about the small, one-storey wood frame warehouses erected by farmers. The railways demanded larger, vertical warehouses that could take advantage of gravity to empty the grain and a mechanism known as the "leg" was installed, an endless belt with cups or scoops attached was devised to load the grain into the elevators.
And one of the best things about purposely looking for these old grain elevators is that it took me into some very small communities and off the beaten track.
I think this one was my most favourite of all the ones I saw
In the southern part of the province, the predominant crop changes from canola, to wheat
My goal tonight was to see a prairie sunset if at all possible, in "the land of endless skies". In order to do so I had to get out of a city, and of course I had no idea whether the weather would cooperate or not.
As always, all good things must come to an end, and it was time to be heading for home. Only in the prairies could there be a wheat field and hay bales immediately beside the runway at the airport!
Leaving the prairies behind
Not too easy to capture a sunset when you're flying east...I'm thinking the passengers in the other plane had a better view.
And landing in an urban centre, the likes of which do not exist anywhere in Saskatchewan
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