Taking part in YXE Winter Bingo, Saskatoon

A few months ago, my sister sent me a post shared by Outter Limits in Saskatoon. The YXE Outdoor Bingo is created by a collaboration of local businesses with the goal of getting people out and enjoying the city. It looked fun, so we both decided to take part! Here are the activities that I managed to accomplish. Now my fingers are crossed that they release a summer bingo.

Make a sling for your arm with a piece of clothing. I overthought this one. My mind was full of complex ideas to tie up a jacket or pair of pants and create an impressive looking sling. In reality, if you find yourself in a situation where you need a sling in the outdoors, you likely won’t go out of your way to make it fancy. After a quick browse on YouTube, I made the easiest sling I could imagine out of a simple T-Shirt. All you do is place it over your head like a necklace, and put your wrist through the opposite arm hole, while using the rest of the material to support your arm. Easy peasy!

Hop online to learn about Zwift bike training. This activity has apparently exploded since the pandemic hit, with people looking to keep their physical activity closer to home. We learned a bit about how it all works and the programs do look wonderful. With my current budget, I will stick to running around outside, but it is a great idea for avid bikers or people looking to explore from the comfort and safety of their homes!

Cross country ski at one of the cities maintained trails. I loved this one, and try to get out on the trails as much as I can in the winter. My sister and I went to Diefenbaker park and enjoyed the loop as well as a beautiful sunset.

Enjoy some hot cocoa outside. Okay, the picture makes it tricky to see, but I swear there is a hot chocolate in there! My sister and I took the dogs for a walk on Blackstrap Lake with some hot drinks. The trickiest park was trying to keep three rowdy dogs from knocking over our precious beverages.

Make snow angel. This is another activity that is a little trickier with dogs, you have to avoid wet noses and playful paw slaps.

Try a new winter activity. Piper and I tried Skijoring together for the first time this winter and it was a blast! As a retired sled dog, she knew exactly what to do and it was mostly up to me to get used to it. We skied along the Finlayson Island trails in North Battleford and had an amazing adventure.

Find some animal tracks in the snow. With all of the snow and cold at the beginning of this winter, the deer moved in to Shields. I wake up in the morning to chewed up trees in my front yard and little deer prints up to my front door, if only I would just let them in.

Go for a winter run. We checked out Blackstrap Provincial Park for a quiet walk in the snow. After startling a nearby owl, the dogs decided that we should probably run the trails instead of walking them. This was fine by me because I do want to start Canicross in the summer. Lets go dogs!

Explore the river by the old farmers market. My cousin had sent me a message saying we should meet up for a distance walk. We grabbed some hot drinks from a nearby café and strolled down the riverside. It was colder than expected, and I probably should have layered up more! I was glad to have a break from dogs trying to chase my resident deer while out walking, only to be rudely reminded that Saskatoon is filled with jackrabbits. We still had a great time, but it was not the leisurely river walk that I envisioned!

Take a selfie in your favourite winter spot. Choosing one favourite spot is a tough one for me, so instead I chose a selfie! We decided to give Optimist Hill a try on sleds one evening and had a great time zooming down the hill.

Enjoy the night sky. I have been lucky to have many evenings to enjoy the night sky this season, especially after moving out to the lake. This particular evening we decided to ski along the river at night. It was fantastic!

Go for a winter adventure at Cranberry Flats. If you stop and look, you’ll see so many amazing features that make the prairies truly special. There is one large main trail and plenty of smaller little offshoot trails to explore with a lookout point that gives you a fantastic view of the river.

Getting lost along the Meewasin trails. This one was easy as pie because I often find myself lost along these trails. Well.. not lost lost, but I have thought I was coming up to return to the main trail before and accidentally found myself in someone’s yard, oops. My Piper girl enjoys the trails just as much as I do so we don’t mind a wrong turn every now and then. It’s important to keep an eye out and share the trails with mountain bikers, but I have never had any issues. Most people that you come across are incredibly kind.

I would have liked to check more items off of the list, but I will be excited to give it a try the next time an opportunity like this is offered! What a fun way to engage the community in the outdoors in a safe way. Huge thanks to all of the small businesses that put this idea together.

Happy exploring!