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Photo essay: Touring southern Saskatchewan (Includes first-hand account)

Starting in the town of Coronach, a local tour takes individuals and groups for guided tours that can take anywhere from three to six hours and span nearly 200 km. Along the way, you’ll learn about outlaws, see some amazing natural sites and delve into Aboriginal history.

Castle Butte

Castle Butte

Perhaps the most popular site on the tour is Castle Butte. Not actually a castle, this butte (an isolated, unsupported hill) makes for quite the majestic sight. On dry days, visitors can scale the walls.

The butte is comprised of sandstone, clay, alkali and coal.

Wooden buggy constructed by Burgess Ranch owner Tamela Burgess

Wooden buggy constructed by Burgess Ranch owner Tamela Burgess

Another stop on the tour will take visitors to the sprawling Burgess Ranch, located just a few miles from the Montana border. Tamela Burgess — historian, author, painter, carpenter, you name it — will tell a story of the various outlaws whose main trade was stealing livestock and selling it down south.

Canada may have a reputation for being a polite country, but people like Sam Kelly show the country’s violent side. Then there are characters like the affable Dutch Henry, who was so charming he could convince anyone to do less-than-legal things for, and less than bright outlaws like Bloody Knife.

One of the Sam Kelly Outlaw Caves  where horse thieves would hide when posses were out looking for t...

One of the Sam Kelly Outlaw Caves, where horse thieves would hide when posses were out looking for them.

Not too far from the Burgess Ranch are the Sam Kelly Outlaw Caves. Time and weather has eroded some of them, and a few are now propped up with wood or concrete, but still give a good feeling as to what it was like as thieves spent multiple hours in the confined spaces.

The Paisley Brook Schoolhouse  established 1916 and used until 1957

The Paisley Brook Schoolhouse, established 1916 and used until 1957

Elsewhere is the Paisley Brook School, named after the town in Ontario. The schoolhouse operated for a little more than 40 years and held about 25 desks or so.

Turtle effigy  about 30 feet across

Turtle effigy, about 30 feet across

Up high, just past the Outlaw Caves, is a turtle effigy. An effigy is a collection of stones in a particular shape, and were used by Natives in the area to honour an important person who has died. Though the picture doesn’t do it justice, the rocks form a turtle shape. This effigy is “medium-sized”; the larger the effigy, the more important the person was.

Other stops on the tour, not pictured, include the community of Big Beaver (14 people), which houses Aust’s, one of Canada’s few remaining general store. Visitors can also view a buffalo effigy and visit a former site for the Northwest Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

Peaked Butte  with a Canadian flag perched at the top. The flag is replaced each year  and the Unite...

Peaked Butte, with a Canadian flag perched at the top. The flag is replaced each year, and the United States has long since stopped putting up its flag.


View of Montana and Saskatchewan from a high elevation

View of Montana and Saskatchewan from a high elevation

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