The Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip! {Letter “R”}

I am very excited to be taking part in the Blogging A to Z Challenge 2013.  This is actually my third challenge; the first year I featured a recipe for each letter and last year I drew on  my nursing background and used “parts of the human body” as my inspiration!

This year I have decided to change things up a bit.  I live in Canada and believe it is one of the most beautiful countries on the planet; so I have decided to feature a different Canadian “place”, for each letter of the challenge.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets the Challenge and I would love to have you join me, as I crisscross this vast country on my Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!

So, without further ado, “R” is for Regina, Saskatchewan

Sadly, I have never been to Regina, or to Saskatchewan for that matter.  However, I have been dreaming of a cross Canada trip and I am looking forward to visiting Saskatchewan someday in the not to, to distant future.  {To my family and friends; I have nothing planned but a girl can dream!}

From Pile o’ Bones to bustling urban centre:  Canada’s Queen City started out as Pile o’ Bones, a humble tent settlement on treeless plain near a small, winding creek. Today it is the provincial capital with an urban forest of more than 350,000 hand-planted trees, an extensive park system, major attractions, and a rich, colourful heritage.

Population:  Urban 192,756 / Metro 210,556 {2011 census}

Notable persons who were born, grew up in or established their fame in Regina, Saskatchewan:

• Colin James, a six-time Juno award winning blues-rock musician
• Thomas Clement “Tommy” Douglas, Douglas’ number one concern was the creation of Medicare and he is known as the Father of Medicare.  In 2004, voted “The Greatest Canadian” by a viewer-supported survey.
• Leslie Nielsen, actor whose credits include Airplane!, Naked Gun and Scary Movie 4
• Several members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• Murray Edwards, one of the richest Canadians
• Murray Crewe, principal bass trombonist, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• Ryan Getzlaf, NHL player

History:  Regina, established in 1882, was incorporated as a city in 1903, and was proclaimed the capital of the province of Saskatchewan on 23 May 1906.

Regina was previously the seat of government of the North-West Territories, of which the current provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta originally formed part, and of the District of Assiniboia. It was named in 1882 after Queen Victoria, Victoria Regina, by her daughter Princess Louise, wife of the Marquess of Lorne, then the Governor General of Canada.

The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. In 2013, Regina was named the 6th best Canadian mid-sized city (17th best overall) in which to live by MoneySense magazine.

Geography and climate: The city is situated on a broad, flat, treeless and largely waterless plain – at the time of its founding, a matter of national scandal and notoriety as to corrupt dealings at the time, since it is immediately adjacent to amply watered and treed rolling parklands.

Regina experiences a dry humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2a) with warm summers and cold, dry winters, prone to extremes at all times of the year.  The average daily temperature for the year is 2.8 °C (37.0 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −50 °C (−58 °F) on 1 January 1885, while the highest recorded temperature was 43.3 °C (109.9 °F) on 5 July 1937

 The “Regina Cyclone”:  The “Regina Cyclone” was a tornado which devastated the city 30 June 1912 and remains the deadliest tornado in Canadian history, with a total of 28 fatalities, the population of the city having been 30,213 in 1911.

Culture: Regina has a substantial cultural life in music, theatre and dance, supported by the fine arts constituency at the University of Regina, which has faculties of music, theatre and arts.

 Buildings in Downtown Regina as seen from Victoria Park in fall 2012 {Photo attribution: Ccyyrree (CC)}

 Regina at Sunrise, view from Wascana Hill  {Photo attribution: Daniel Paquet (CC)}

We had a very, very long drive today to get to the awesome city of Regina; it was so much fun to explore and discover this beautiful city.  It has been a very long day and I am heading to my hotel room for some rest and relaxation and much needed sleep.  I will see you  on Monday when we will be at our next destination, somewhere beginning with the letter “S”.  Hope you have a great week-end!

Past visits on the A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip:

• A is for Alma, New Brunswick
• B is for Banff, Alberta
• C is for Cornwall, Ontario
• D is for Dawson City, Yukon
• E is for Edmonton, Alberta
• Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Virtual  Road Trip & Actual Road Trip! 
• L is for London, Ontario {Resumption of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!}
• M is for Montreal, Quebec
• N is for Nanaimo, BC (with recipe)
• O is for Ottawa, Ontario
• P is for Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia
• Q is for Quispamsis, New Brunswick

Complete listing of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 participants.

CREDITS – Map source – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_Saskatchewan_location_map.svg  (altered to add place name).  Information contained in this post was obtained from Wikipedia, Wikipedia Lists, Tourism Saskatchewan, MoneySense and City of Regina