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Tourism ambassador enjoys visit to the southeast

Kevin Dunn was impressed with the time he spent in southeast Saskatchewan in late August. Dunn, who is this year’s Saskatchewanderer tourism ambassador, visited the Moose Mountain Provincial Park, where he spent two nights camping.
Saskatchewanderer
Saskatchewanderer Kevin Dunn was in Moose Mountain Provincial Park recently. Photo by the Saskatchewanderer.

Kevin Dunn was impressed with the time he spent in southeast Saskatchewan in late August.

Dunn, who is this year’s Saskatchewanderer tourism ambassador, visited the Moose Mountain Provincial Park, where he spent two nights camping. He also visited the communities of Carlyle, Arcola and Stoughton.

“I spent two days just touring the park by myself, and getting a good feel of the whole area,” said Dunn.

One of the first amenities that caught his attention was the beautiful chalet that serves as the park’s visitor centre. In his travels across the province this year, he has not seen such a well-kept building, which he believes could be on used for a movie set or a theme park.

“Seeing the chalet on the lake front, and getting a look inside and reading a little bit about the history, that was one of the first highlights I saw driving into the park,” said Dunn.

Golf Kenosee was also impressive. The clubhouse and the first hole provide a great view of the park, and he enjoyed eating a meal and talking to the golfers who were at the course.

The only downside is he didn’t bring his golf clubs with him. 

“The next time I do roll through the area, I’m definitely going to have my clubs with me, because those views and the rolling hills are just incredible,” said Dunn.

He didn’t expect to find such vegetation, trees and the rolling hills at the park, either.

Also enjoyable was spending time on the beach for Kenosee Lake, and riding his bicycle through the park’s trails and along the road.

“It has the same feel of being in northern Saskatchewan, which I thought was something else, because … the stereotype from what I hear around where I am, around where I grew up, is things are flat, there’s not much vegetation, not a whole lot of lakes, but that was the total opposite of what I found when I went down to Moose Mountain,” said Dunn. “And that’s what I wanted to bring to the attention of other people around the province.”

He had seen pictures of the park before coming to Moose Mountain, and he had heard about some of the amenities, such as Golf Kenosee and the fishing.

Dunn also toured around Carlyle, Arcola and some of the other neighbouring communities, and spent time chatting with locals.

“I pulled over on the side of the grid road, and I just took in the fresh air and the sound of the combines that were beginning to roll out at that time, and so you could hear them in the distance. There was just that real connection that I really enjoyed while I was touring around that area, heading towards Moose Mountain,” said Dunn.

When he was in Carlyle, he strolled through the downtown area and watched the people and the motorists pass by. He called Carlyle “a beautiful town” and he loved their Main Street.

The time spent in southeast Saskatchewan was another highlight for Dunn this year. He has never had a year like this one, either.

“I’ve met more people in the last nine months than in my entire life, and it’s just been a journey that not too many people get to experience. And so seeing a lot of the areas, and experiencing some of these trips where I’ve never been able to go to some of the areas, and showcasing it even through photographs or even through short video, has been the highlight of my journey this year.”

When he was in Moosomin, for example, he captured moments from the community, and presented them through aerial photography. Dunn took a photograph of the landscape from up above, and used it to explain things that are happening in the community.

A lot of people who replied back to him said they didn’t expect that from Moosomin.

“That was the biggest thing that stood out for me in that area, was that this was something I wanted to bring across, and it really connected back with people, but it really opened up people’s eyes as well.”

He hasn’t been to Estevan yet, but he plans to make it to the Energy City and other southeast communities before the end of the year, as he knows there are some events coming up in the city that would make for great opportunities to document for the rest of the province.