        I tend not to venture too far from the southeast these days, it seems like there’s always something that should be covered and I always feel bad leaving Lynne to try to get everywhere on her own. But, having said that, I did take 10 days off recently and it was a great adventure.
               Now, there’s a ton to do in the southeast, but I’m going to tell you about my recent trip out to the Cypress Hills… which I would definitely recommend as something to do if you’re looking for a change. Now, why the Cypress Hills? Well, since I grew up in the southwest, we typically spent a couple of weeks there each year, so I knew it was a beautiful spot and the friends I was meeting with are from Calgary. Cypress was kind of a halfway point for us to meet.
               We found ourselves simply relaxing and enjoying the first couple of days on the beach, mostly reading and doing a little bit of kayaking. We found ourselves exploring Fort Walsh – an outpost built by North West Mounted Police after American wolf hunters and whiskey runners massacred many First Nations over a misunderstanding about a horse. The British didn’t want the Americans to be running amok in their Western territory and sent out a police force to deal with it.
               After visiting Fort Walsh, we stopped in Maple Creek and partook in a food tour. Royce Pettyjohn of Maple Creek took us around on a historical tour. We learned how Maple Creek got its start and how it has grown into what it is today. Not to mention we stopped by six different restaurants/bars and enjoyed absolutely amazing food along the way. I was blown away by each dish and very impressed by the variety and depth of the restaurants there.
               A recent addition to Cypress… well recent as in it wasn’t there when I was a kid, was the TreeOSix zip lines. These were an absolute blast… after you got over the wobbly climb up a rope ladder to reach 40 ft in the air. We had two awesome guides who were encouraging and got everyone up and through the course… they even taught us how to lean back and go upside down if we wanted – so, I did give it a go and managed to zip across fully inverted.
               Another unique feature we found included Goat Yoga in Maple Creek at Grotto Gardens. This was quite interesting. I’ve never actually taken a yoga class before… and although I did my best, I definitely got distracted a little bit by the goats and snapped a couple selfies as I tried not to fall over while contorting myself and trying to balance in the poses.
               That evening the observatory was open, so although it was a little cloudy out we went over to check it out as both Cypress and Grasslands National Park in the southwest are dark sky preserves. Through the clouds we didn’t get to see too much, but did get a close up of the moon and saw Saturn.
               On the Friday, we parted ways, and I was off to Lac Pelletier just south of Swift Current to visit friends and family… I missed out on eating at Clancy’s on the Beach though. It’s the restaurant I used to work at in the summers growing up and the food is always amazing… burgers, the beef dip, Eggs Clancy, and the absolute must-have: hashbrowns – seriously no one makes them like Clancy’s.
               So, although we have so much to do in the southeast, it is fun to take a little time and take in even more beauty of the prairies.
