What is it about the southland of Saskatchewan that makes it so fascinating, interesting, and unique?
For some, it’s a mystery. But for those who live here, not so much.
Some folks have quickly and glibly dismissed Saskatchewan as being dull, boring, and uninteresting. It’s flat and lacks colour, and is void of beauty, they say. Who are these imbiciles anyway? They obviously can’t see past their nose, and must never have travelled off the TransCanada Highway. Saskatchewan is so vast and expansive - about the size of France and Germany combined. It’s home to nearly 1.2 million people.
There is just so much here to see. Two thirds of Saskatchewan - the North country - is Boreal Forest, rivers, and lakes. Ten per cent of Saskatchewan’s total 651,900 square kilometers is, in fact, home to more than 100,000 beautiful fresh water lakes. One third of the province - the Southlands - is made up of rich, fertile farmland, rolling hills, and large, sprawling ranchlands. The beauty of the southland may be a mystery to some - and make no mistake - there is indeed beauty here. Incredible beauty. But to those of us who live here, it’s a well-kept and carefully guarded secret. And that’s just the way we like it.
Some ninety minutes south of Moose Jaw - on the Number 2 Highway - lies a wonderful little hidden gem. It’s a quaint little place called Rockglen that came by its name honestly. Rock. Glen. One does not have to wonder how it got its name. It’s plain to see. Once called Valley City, Rockglen was incorporated in 1927. It’s located in the Burning hills of the Wood Mountain Uplands, some 30 minutes north of the Canada / U.S. border. It’s growing population of 400 residents is a treasured mix of young and old alike, and everything in between. Its progressive and modern, and a wonderful place to live.
Those who visit Rockglen are curiously fascinated with its obvious charm, and undeniable beauty. Nestled quietly in the rolling hills of the uplands, it’s surrounded by large tracts of beautiful ranchland and well-kept farms.
Some say that Rockglen is a magical place, casting its spell on all who visit. No one seems to know for certain what it is that makes this place so special. Some say its charm lies in the grass. Others say it’s in the hills. Still others say it’s in the blue skies and puffy white clouds. Whatever it is, it’s pure magic. No one can deny that. Its gentle rolling hills call one’s name into a world of quiet peace and sweet solitude - a perfect place for hiking, meditation, and relaxation.
Rockglen is the geographical center of the southlands of Saskatchewan. Just ten minutes north east of town, is beautiful Fife Lake, which offers boating, water sports, camping, and fishing. Forty minutes to the east of Rockglen is the Big Muddy Badlands boasting a ‘wild-west’ history second to none. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid occasionally hung out here, along with Old Dutch Henry and the infamous Jones/Nelson gang. Sitting Bull - the most feared man in all of North America at the time - fled to Canada with some 5,000 members of his Lakota Sioux nation and settled near Rockglen in the Wood Mountains to escape persecution from the US Army after defeating General Custer at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1875. Forty-five minutes to the West of Rockglen, is the unbelievable splendor and beauty of the East Bloc of the Grasslands National Park. Its spectacular panoramas and vistas are simply unbelievable and breathtaking.
It was here, in the Killdeer Badlands that the first dinosaur in Canada was discovered by George Mercer Dawson in 1874. Dawson was an amateur archaeologist and head of the Boundary Commision of Canada, in charge of surveying the Canada / US border. After discovering a hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur here in the badlands, he quickly summoned a palaeontologist friend from the United States to come and verify his discovery. Local farmers and ranchers from the area were hired with their horses and wagons to haul the excavated bones to Moose Jaw where they were placed on a train and shipped east to McGill University in Montreal for further study. They remain there to this very day.
Also in 1874, several NWMP forts, including one in Wood Mountain, were built in the west by the Canadian government to establish and maintain law and order between the outlaws, whiskey traders, farmers and ranchers, and First Nations of the area. Valley County, just across the border in Montana, was said to have been the most lawless county in all of the United States at the time. Every law abiding citizen there was delighted to have the Canadian Mounties on patrol on both sides of the border. The police detachment in Wood Mountain was in fact, deemed so important to the law and order of the area, that the editor and publisher of the Fort Benton ‘Record’ newspaper boldly declared that the NWMP Post in Wood Mountain changed the course of North American history.
A bit further to the west of Rockglen and the East Bloc, is the West Bloc of the Grasslands National Park. It also has a colourful past and ‘wild-west’ history, which includes that of Will James, an artist and aspiring young writer of the American West from Montreal. In search of fame and adventure, James ventured west to Saskatchewan and settled in the Frenchman River valley east of Val Marie. Much to his liking, Will James - not his real name - went on to become famous around the world for his writing and western art.
Finally, to the north of Rockglen is the renowned St. Victor Petroglyph escarpment, a sacred First Nation’s carving and ‘rock-art’ site. Nearly 400 carvings grace this important and magnificent place. The carvings here are thousands of years old. It is a ‘world-class’ heritage site, second to none anywhere in North America.
In conclusion, everyone who visits Rockglen in the heart of the south, feels its magic, and leaves deeply moved and impacted. Picturesque, quaint, yet modern, Rockglen is a delightful destination and experience not soon forgotten.
