Road Trips
One of my favorite things to do is to take little adventures off the beaten path, sometimes while on the way to bigger adventures. I’ll be adding more to this page as time goes on and adventures accumulate
Aylesbury, Saskatchewan – The World Famous Elephant Bar – A quick google search on a road trip to Moosejaw, Saskatchewan with friends and family revealed that the Aylesbury Hotel was worth a stop! This place was cool! Mid afternoon when we stopped so not busy but the owners were there and gave us the rundown on how things have been going since they purchased the hotel. Sounds like a great success with lots of local and not local support! Super friendly and informative they were! We enjoyed a beverage and a couple of games of pool. I successfully sank the 8 ball (before I was supposed to). There are photos all over the walls of prior patrons and I understand they have a homemade burger and fries day which fills the house! I also couldn’t help but notice walking by, the ladies washroom is painted a super fluorescent lime green! The photographer in me wanted to ask if I could go in and snap a few photos, regret that I didn’t! Do stop by here, it’s well worth the visit. Support our local small town Saskatchewan businesses! We want to see them succeed and keep them around!
Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan - Lill's Diner
I had no idea what to expect, well I kind of did since I checked out the reviews in advance! The menu was light but filled with all the important things you might expect in a small town cafe. Somehow small towns always scream burger and fries, gravy is kind of a no brainer. There are exceptions to city rules!!! A Quick Look at the menu revealed the obvious. Loaded burger including bacon, mushrooms, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. I think I read at least one review mentioning large portions. Yes, that’s what they say in Saskatoon too, more like small portions, large prices. I remained cautiously optimistic. After all this wasn’t Saskatoon…………but the price, $14.95! Can’t expect much for that anywhere! So didn’t take long and the stuffed yummy juicy burger of goodness with a large portion of fries topped with oink “me” sufficient dark brown gravy was thrown in front of my face. Okay not thrown, placed but you know what I’m sayin. Mmmmm, delicious from start to finish! I was so pleased to know the good life still exists out there somewhere and I found it in Blaine lake, Saskatchewan. It was a hot afternoon and my seat was in the sunny window, even though the blinds were mostly drawn, I could feel the heat. No air conditioning here, well maybe there was but it wasn’t turned on but I didn’t mind! Life was better before all of our modern conveniences!! Small price to pay! I was stuffed after devouring every last bit so I’m sad to say I never got to try one of their homemade pies! So, homework project, return!!!! The lady working asked me if I wanted to bypass the tip option, what??!! This may well be a case of reverse phycology I was thinking. Of course I didn’t want to bypass the tip menu since she asked. It was a nice gesture though and not something you would ever hear in Saskatoon! DO stop here is passing through and even in the off lake season, take a road trip here for the fun of it, it’s worth the drive!
Davidson, Saskatchewan – Keeper’s Restaurant and Lounge – If you’re road trip to anywhere involves driving by Davidson, Saskatchewan, STOP!!! At Keeper’s Restaurant and Lounge. A lot of the food is homemade and home style. Incredible breakfast, burgers and fries. Pickles were delish and the dill dip was super tasty and fresh! The server we had was extremely informative and gave us all the details on the food and the restaurant. If you’re on a day trip, you’ll want to stop by here on the return portion as well so that you can sample something else on the menu!
Elsewhere in Davidson, they have the best Home Hardware store. It reminds me so much of the Mayfair Hardware store in Saskatoon. Everything under the sun is crammed into every available space! I’m convinced everything you need to survive including not just the kitchen sink but the house if you look in every corner are in there somewhere! Staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable as well. Which reminds me, everyone in town was super friendly. When people you don’t know wave at you as you pass by, you know you’ve travelled back in time to an era when people were generally friendly to everyone, what a refreshing change!
Sad to see that the local hotel is no longer open. Small town hotels fascinate me, the history and the stories to be told!! If you have anything to share regarding this hotel please send me a message on the contact page or comment on the blog page!
Dundurn, Saskatchewan
Big Mur's Tavern
Exterior
Interior
Men's Restroom
Food & Beverages
This is the most unique small town bar we’ve visited to date! Definitely add this to your stop here list if you happen to be driving by and if you are anywhere else but here, make this a destination trip. It’s well worth the drive and visit!
A friend of mine and I went on a road trip the other day with the goal being breakfast in Davidson, then stop at every town on the way back to Saskatoon with Dundurn being the last stop.
From the first glance of the place from the outside, it was obvious this wasn’t going to be an ordinary small town bar experience (a lineup of snowmobiles on the roof for example, unless this is how they park them when visiting the pub in Dundurn) but how do they get them up there? Maybe these particular patrons had a few too many and their snowmobile’s were temporarily confiscated by staff for safety reasons? The unique signage and engine paraphernalia were also of visual interest and triggered feelings of anticipation for what we might find inside. Still, we weren’t expecting anything too spectacular, it is a small town bar after all. Can it really be that exciting?
Apparently it can be and cautious optimism didn’t last long because from the first second in the door there was eye candy everywhere!! Not the people kind (although to be fair that may have been true as well) but the unique things to look at kind! The photographer and creative mind in me wanted to capture everything (one of the first things that caught my eye was an actual car tire and rim table with a glass top) but I tried to refrain from generating that look of “oh those people are from out of town and have obviously never been here before” look.
After standing and staring at things for a while in awe, we stopped at the bar for a menu and decided to sit at the “kitchen table,” an obvious choice we decided. Everyone had one of these tables at some point – built to last a lifetime and maybe even survive a small meteor crash. Very retro and cool!
Our servers (shift change so there were two) were super friendly, informative and accommodating even given the deer in headlights look we probably had on our faces the entire time.
I’m not going to give up all of the secrets of this bar (although a quick google search indicates we may have literally been the last to know of this place). You really do have to visit and go for the live experience. This place is truly unique, one of a kind! There is also a great story behind this bar and how it came to be what it is today. A perfect example of how creative thinking can turn a difficult situation into a success story.
I can say the drinks and food were exceptional and we would go back without question. I already can’t wait for the next visit! And they have what is likely the most unique and incredible outdoor deck/s I’ve ever seen, looking at the patron posted Google Photos. Can’t wait for summer!
Finally, there is one thing that deserves extra special mention. You know how restaurants and bars tend to be crazy noisy and there is always at least one table (or several) that has patrons that need to be both seen and heard? We noticed that everyone was conversing so quietly you hardly noticed they were there. What a refreshing change! Quiet is also contagious, so it made for a super enjoyable afternoon out.
One more side note. Small business websites tend to not be very flattering but this one looks simple, organized, informative and clean, great job!
Enjoy!!
Spiritwood, Saskatchewan - Merchants Cafe
When I was planning my day trip to Spiritwood, I of course googled best restaurants in Spiritwood. Merchants Cafe came out at the top with 4.9 stars. The first impression was interesting, modern and clean plus if a photo is worth a thousand words, the pics of the food kind of said it all. After photographing the local elevators which was on the to do list, and driving around town to get a general feeling for the community, off to the cafe I went. Before I continue, I should add the locals seemed friendly, waving as I drove by a house with a yard sale and a gentleman barbecuing seemed to be motioning me to drop in. Tempting! The cafe was conviently located on Main Street and arriving mid afternoon, I perused the dessert display. Not seeing cinnamon buns but instead, a gooey sugary empty display looking like it needed the company of something loaded with goodness, I took a chance and asked if they had cinnamon buns. The young lady at the counter developed a not so promising look but said she would go check the kitchen. She came back and replied there were two. Now there were none! Sold! Plus two Nanaimo bars and two haskamp bars all to go for sampling later. The staff member was super friendly and polite and let me say the pricing seems to be completely back in time. When you are used to Saskatoon prices…………beautiful! I was feeling a tad hungry but I thought I would save my appetite for a late lunch in Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan on my way home! The Merchants Cafe is a must visit. I will be back for more! Be sure to check out the reviews, menu and photos by clicking on the link below. Also, check out my review of Blaine Lake on this page (alpabetical order by community name).
Watrous, Saskatchewan - Mulligans Grill
This restaurant was recommended by Michelle from Centennial Ford in Watrous. Thanks Michelle!! We’ve made many trips to Watrous but somehow it never occurred to us to go here, maybe because we usually walk and don’t accept the offer of a courtesy car (this restaurant is at the golf course maybe 5km away from the dealership). Anyway, Michelle mentioned that a gentleman by the name of Richard manages this place and that he is a chef and that the food is spectacular! As we were sitting perusing the menu out loud wondering if they serve margaritas, a voice from two tables down commented, yes we do and the cocktails are on the last two pages of the menu. Turns out it was Richard lol! We ordered a margarita to start and keep us occupied while we reviewed the menu further (hey it was a road trip day)! Richard prepared our margaritas which came in an actual (glass) margarita glass and well done we might add! We ordered a breakfast skillet and we were surprised and impressed! Really, really, really good! Watching other food dishes pass us by, everything else also looked good enough to snatch out of the waitresses hands as she walked by! We ended up having a few chats with Richard and accumulated a lot of knowledge about him and the restaurant. Turns out he does pretty much everything including brewing his own beer! We were left wondering how is all that possible and where does he find the time??!! This was an unexpected find and those are often the best kind!! If you are ever in Watrous, DO stop here, you won’t regret it! Thanks Richard, for doing what you do and doing it well! We loved everything about the food and the visit and will be back!! Obviously all your reviews are 5 stars for a reason and we can confirm that they are well deserved!
