Saskatchewan and Other Open Spaces

Posted by Jill Browne Jun 17, 2007

In my article Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan: Accessible Accommodation in a Beautiful Provincial ParkI wrote about a place which is truly dear to my heart.

And, no offence to the good people of Saskatchewan, but I think they would agree, this place is beautiful because it is so natural and not built-up. Some people might even (shock, horror) say it's boring and that there's nothing to do!

Don't get me wrong. I love the creature comforts, and there's nothing wrong with being warm and dry in winter, or cool and ... dry again! ... in summer. But we don't need theme parks, shopping malls, cars and roads and the whole human foofarrah to have a really top-quality vacation.

I know this is absolutely obvious to lots of people, but for some it's a hard sell. Offer a child a choice of Disneyland or a trip to a cabin by the lake. If they pick Disneyland, it's not because they're unable to appreciate nature, it's probably because of the super-effective marketing the Disney people do.

And by the way, I had a wonderful time at Disneyland - but I don't need a theme park to make me happy.

To put it another way, is it getting harder to take a vacation in a quiet, natural place and come home without feeling you missed something by NOT doing the whirlwind consumer-driven type of holiday?

I wonder.

I hope that the Saskatchewan tourism people, and their counterparts in every rural, natural, and calm place, are able to keep their "visitor experience" as unspoiled and low-key as it now is. That means we tourists need to cast our vote by going to the places that mean the most to us.

It is all the more important to make such places accessible for all who want to experience them. No one should be denied a close encounter with nature because of any sort of disability.