Saskatoon can get quite cold... People up here tend to discuss the weather. We have fairly dramatic seasonal changes. In winter, the temperature drops to below -40 degrees C., while in summer, it rises to +40 degrees C (thats -40 to +105 degrees F).

It is -30 degrees in this picture. The only reason that there is any open water is because there is a power plant upstream, which exhasts a lot of heat into the river. Just for a lark, I have taken a canoe out twice in this weather. At this temperature, the paddles get thicker and thicker as the ice accumulates on them. The hull of the canoe gets sheathed in a layer of ice almost a 1/4 of an inch thick. You don't want to fall in...

The hoar frost can be remarkable. I have seen chain link fences become solid as the frost completely fills in the gaps.

The weather can be extremely pleasant in the summer though... This is Sandy sitting with Keiran on the river bank. Our house is only a hundred yards from the river.

The weather can be fickle too. Here we are, back from mountain biking along the river banks. The date is May 5.

This is me, on my way to work 3 days later. The date is May 8.

Conversely, here is an early blizzard. It dropped 2 feet of heavy snow on trees that were totally unprepared.

Then, 4 weeks later, we get this gorgeous fall.

For a small town, lots of things happen here. This is the Saskatchewan River Roar. This is the only stop in Canada for the Formula 1 hydroplanes.

Here is our Dragon Boat team:

This is the start of the Saskatoon Marathon. Sandy is somewhere in that bunch, running her first half-marathon.

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Email me! warren.long@shaw.ca