The Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, and Tasting Poutine

I went to the Regina Tourist Information Center this morning to get suggestions for things to see today in Regina, and possible places to stop when I drive to Calgary later this week.

The lady who helped me gave me several suggestions, some brochures, and a map of Saskatchewan. I asked her about poutine. I had looked on the web and saw several positive reviews about Costco's poutine. She had never tried Costco's, but told me the "New York Fries" restaurant chain makes really good poutine.

The Royal Sascatchewan Museum sounded interesting, so that was my first stop. It actually was very interesting and I spent most of the afternoon there.

What I found so interesting is that it covered the geography and wildlife of Saskatchewan, Canada, from the north to the south. It also had information about climate change and the indigenous people of Saskatchewan.

The museum described four ecozones. From north to south, the ecozones are the Taiga Shield, Boreal Shield, Boreal Plains, and Prairie. The first image, below is of the Taiga Shield ecozone. The northern area of Canada has always intrigued me. The following image from northern Saskatchewan is beautiful!

The path through the museum started with a photo of each zone and a brief description.

A map of Saskatchewan shows many lakes in the north. The most plentiful wildlife up there are insects, though!

As I walked through the museum, I viewed a series of lifesize dioramas, with trees, stuffed birds and wildlife. Among other information describing each scene, a small silhouette of the scene outlines all the plants and animals in the scene, assigns each a number, and provides a corresponding numbered list of names of the trees, plants, birds,and other wildlife. 

The scene below, for example has a moose, trees, and groundcover such as lichen.

The museum is full of such scenes. I'll only show parts of a couple of them. The Lynx and rabbit were part of a larger scene. It might have been the one that included the wolves and ravens.

Most, if not all of the scenes, included birds. Several scenes included owls such as the one below. Some scenes included noises such as birds singing.

I thought this little shrew was interesing. It is so small, and was one of the little animals on the ground in one of the scenes!

Some of the animals were displayed without being part of a scene, such as the bison and small animals in the photo below.

The needles on the Tamarack tree look unique. I'd like to see a Tamarack tree sometime.

A large sphere in one room had projected images on its surface. The default image was a spinning globe, but a touchscreen menu on the wall lets you select educational movies to be projected on the globe. I saw a similar globe in the Smithsonium Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

One movie showed a time lapse of several decades of the earth's surface temperature changes over time, with temperatures identified by color intensity from blue (coldest) to red (hottest). Another movie shwed wind patterns as arrows.

The scene below was part of a movie that discussed global weather changes and their affect on wildlife.

The main floor had a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletion that was discovered in Saskatchewan. Skeletons, bones, a mastodon tusk, and information about other dinosaurs that lived in the Saskatchewan area were also on display.

The basement of the museum has artifacts, dioramas, and other information about the indigenous people of Canada. I gained a better appreciation for their customs, ceremonies, artwork, and history.

For example, "some places were considered sacred because the presence of the Creator was immediately felt there. People went to these places to be closer to the spiritual world".

The hair locks tied together and hanging from the neck on the shirt below represent that the wearer was responsible for the safety of the band.

Each Indian nation has its own set of designs and colors. "Woods Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, and Dene use soft muted colours that suggest forest and earth, plants and animals viewed in sunlight filtered through trees. The hide or fabric itself forms the background."

"Plains Cree, Dakota, Assiniboin, and Blackfoot use strong clear bright colours, reminiscent of the clear sky and the brilliance of objects viewed in direct sunlight. Geometric patterns or, more rarely, highly styized floral designs are placed on blue or white beaded backgrounds."

There was a description of traditional activities for each season. The one below was for the Fall season. They would capture and slaughter the bison in the Fall because their coats would be thick that time of year, in preparation for winter. The bison would also have more meat after feeding all Summer.

It was interesting that the Indians observed that a moose would double back after eating, and rest downwind from where it was eating, so it would catch the scent of anyone folowing it. Therefore, instead of following the moose after it eats, the Indians waited and approached it from downwind.

Indians did not have a concept of land ownership. They believed the land and its resources were shared, and not owned. The different Indian nations had regions they considered their home territory, though.

I really liked this museum, and spent more time there than I expected. The museum is dedicated to "the pioneers who came from many lands to settle in this part of Canada".

The grounds around the museum are beautiful with their Fall colors. 

One of the other places the lady at the tourist information center recommended was the RCMP Heritage Centre. I didn't visit it on this trip because I visited it several years ago. I really liked it, though. It tells the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has interesting artifacts, a mock crime lab, etc. For anyone who might visit Regina in the future, I highly recommend visiting the RCMP Heritage Centre.  I'd rank it as the #1 place to visit in Regina.

I was hungry after spending the afternoon at the museum, so I followed the tourist information center employee's advice and went to one of the "New York Fries" restaurants for some poutine. When I talked with her this morning, she told me I could order the poutine with meat (not just gravy). Pulled pork and butter chicken are two options. She told me butter chicken is her favorite! 

I ordered the butter chicken poutine... french fries, cheese curds, with butter chicken sauce on top.

The spices in the butter chicken tasted like they were from a India. That doesn't surprise me, as there are a lot of ethnic Indians (from India) in Canada. The poutine was okay, but I wouldn't order the butter chicken again. I think I would have liked plain gravy better.  Before giving a final verdict on poutine, I'll have to try the classical poutine with gravy before I leave Canada.

I walked around the mall after eating dinner. Did I mention that it gets dark early around here? After dinner I went to the library to use the wifi for a while, and then went back to the Esso gas station parking lot to spend the night.

I saw a discarded cigarette box on the ground this morning. The health warnings on cigarette packages in Canada are a lot more graphic than those in the United States! I almost hesitate to post this photo. I'll post a small image ofthe warning that cigarettes cause gum disease.