Highs and a low in Saskatchewan
From mouth-watering barbecue to locked toilets and no showers
We were on a high as we headed east toward Ontario after our stay at fabulous Grassland National Park. Little did we know that during a single day in Saskatchewan, we would go from a huge high to a nice high to a crappy low.
We were driving east on Saskatchewan Highway 13, well south of the faster, less scenic Trans-Canada Highway, following the Red Coat Trail, named after the scarlet tunics of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounties, when they were known as the North-West Mounted Police, took this route across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta when they brought law and order to the Wild West.
As we approached mid-day and the mid-point of our 500-kilometre run to overnight at Moose Mountain Provincial Park, stomachs started to rumble. We were looking for a place to stop and have quick tortilla wrap for lunch when we spotted a BBQ sign on the highway just outside Ogema, population 403. Obviously, it was meant to be.
Between the bowling alley and fire hall on the main drag in tiny Ogema, there it was, Bud’s BBQ. As soon as we parked, we were met by the unmistakable aroma of Texas-style barbecue. Oh, boy, it was meant to be!
Once inside, we were warmly welcomed by Adam Mazer, the chef and owner who introduced his wife, Kaitlyn, the baker and co-owner. We ordered up a Doubledown Platter featuring Brisket, Pulled Pork, and Smoked Chicken, with sides of Mac and Cheese and Baked Beans. So delicious! Washed down with a local Brave Noise Ale. With Pumpkin Pie and Apple Crumble to go for a treat later in the day.
All in all, quite the unexpected feast in what we tourists would call the middle of nowhere. For Adam and Kaitlyn it’s the heart of all they hold dear.
Ogema is Adam’s hometown where he and Kaitlyn live and raise two children. Kaitlyn’s hometown, Rocanville, only slightly bigger than Ogema, is a couple of hours to the northeast. They met in 2011 during culinary school in Saskatoon, both graduating at the top of their class. They spent the next few years in Regina, working their way up in well respected restaurants and learning as much as they could from some of the top people in Regina's food service industry.
In 2015, Kaitlyn was accepted at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. That spring, Adam and Kaitlyn loaded up their dog and their knife kits and drove across the country to their new home. There they experienced a different perspective of food culture, how fresh and simple great food could be, and gained a respect for locally sourced food.
The next year, Kaitlyn was asked to compete on Team Canada's Junior Team at the International Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, where they placed first in both programs they competed in.
With gold medals around Kaitlyn’s neck and each full of inspiration, they moved home to Saskatchewan where Adam developed his management skillset as a Head Chef in Regina's culinary scene, and Kaitlyn did the same as a Head Baker.
The next thing they knew, their first child was on the way, and the desire for a return to small town Saskatchewan grew. Not long after their daughter, Charlotte, was born, paperwork was signed to purchase a restaurant in Ogema, and Bud’s BBQ was born in April, 2020. Two years later they purchased The Iced Cream Shoppe across the street.
Bud's BBQ is named after Maurice "Bud" Greer, Adam’s grandfather. Bud was a major inspiration for Adam to pursue a career in the culinary industry.
When Adam was young, he would often be up early during family gatherings at Grandpa Bud and Grandma Katie’s house, and Grandpa Bud could always be found in the kitchen cooking up his famous “Grease Fix” breakfast with mounds of bacon, saving every drop of rendered bacon grease to fry the eggs and potatoes in, hence the name.
Ogema is a town with a population of 403 located in south Central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 115 kilometres south of Saskatchewan's capital city, Regina, and about midway between Weyburn and Assiniboia on Saskatchewan Highway 13.
The small community got its first settlers in 1908. Most of those settlers came from Bruce and Huron counties in Ontario.
In 1911 a post office was established with the first homesteaders selecting “Omega” as its name. “Omega” is a Greek term for the word “end.” The settlers chose this name because, at the time of settlement, it was the end of the rail-line. When it came time to register the name, they learned another town had already registered with that name. So it came to be that two letters were switched, and “Ogema” came to be. Ogema is an Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) word meaning “Chief.”
Bellies full, we continued on our journey to the east, to Moose Mountain Provincial Park where we planned to overnight.
What a total disappointment!
No staff to be found at the park entrance, or anywhere else. No warning that the comfort stations and toilets would be closed and locked. With only a solitary portable toilet—with a door that did not close fully—stationed in front of the locked comfort station.
Not convenient for us tent campers. Not everyone travels in a RV or trailer. We would have skipped this campground altogether!
We reserved our campsite months earlier and paid in full at the time. Saskatchewan Parks knew we were coming. They had our email and mobile telephone number. But no word about the park being essentially closed.
It was the deepest low of our entire trip.
TRIP DATA
· Day 34: 7,687 kilometres from home
· Next stop: Visit with Cheesemaker Dustin Peltier at Loaf & Honey near Winnipeg
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