Day 1

Upon leaving Regina, you will gradually take in the awesome, yet subtle spectacle of this glacially shaped landscape. As we leave the cultivated lands of the grain belt, you will immediately be struck by the prehistoric flavour of the territory. We are willing to bet that you will get an uncontrollable urge to get out of the vehicle and want to view up close this carpet of unique plants with ingenious sets of survival mechanisms. The elegant blue gramma will enchant you. The speargrass will strike you as almost intelligent with its seed dispersal strategy.

You will be staying in a painstakingly restored Catholic convent turned bed and breakfast located on the edge of peaceful Val Marie. From there, ''70-Mile Butte'' -- often home to a pair of golden eagles -- is just a stone's throw away.

Day 2

Now that you have taken in the general landscape, you are ready for a more in depth exploration. We will start the day at the Parks Canada interpretative centre. Here is an ecosystem that can withstand the extreme cold of the winter as well as the minimalist rainfalls of searingly hot summers. We will explore it section by section. Depending on the time of the year, we may have had an early start to view the sage grouse on their dancing grounds (leks). You'll hear and see the black-tailed prairie dog barking in the background. The colony - the only one in Canada - is as large as a football field. We may chance an excursion to the rattlesnake pit. We may witness the biologists' efforts to return cultivated areas to their pristine natural prairie state. We'll see a buffalo rubbing stone and some tepee rings left by early inhabitants of centuries past.If time permits, we will meet ranchers who still live much the way early settlers did. There may even be an old fashion cattle drive. We will stop at Lise Perreault's Museum. One of those visionary ranchers who had the foresight to protect the endangered prairie dogs and rattlesnakes, her passion for the local history makes here one of Val Marie's real assets.

Day 3

Today we extend our range to the East Block of Grasslands National Park, famous for its badlands. We will devote a good part of our day to their exploration. But the culmination really will come when we arrive to Wood Mountain, for tonight starts the Wood Mountain Stampede (July 7-9). This is the oldest continuous rodeo in Canada: the 110th annual. It is a CCA sanctioned rodeo with complete events, 4-H show and sale, team roping jackpot, amateur horse pull, Christian cowboy service, cowboy poetry readings and a dance. We will camp not far from there which will give us chance to familiarize ourselves with the intricacies of this small town tradition in a delightful setting.

Day 4

We will spend the morning at the rodeo and at the Wood Mountain Provincial Historic Post. In the afternoon, we proceed to St Victor's Petroglyphs. This is one of the most striking remnants of the Plains' aboriginal people's past. Rock art sites are not common on the plains because of the lack of suitable outcrops. But these petroglyphs or carvings into rock faces are even rarer by the fact that carvings occur on both horizontal and vertical faces of the rock. The view, the sound of the larks, the feel of the wind and the magnitude of the work itself contribute to make us believe that this site was very important to the First Nations.The best time top view the petroglyphs is when the sun is low. We will then move on to our last campsite in the Jean-Louis L�gar� Regional Park.

Day 5

Return by travelling by Willow Bunch and the Cactus Hills, through historic downtown Moose Jaw and ultimately to Regina.

Package includes: All sleeping accommodations, including tents, camping equipment, all home-cooked meals including wine and other refreshments, fees, applicable taxes, professional guide and all transportation from point of departure to point of return. Sleeping bags not included.