The past few weeks have been really busy for me, with a lot more time at the office and a lot less time travelling. Thankfully, the weekend is just around the corner and with it comes the possibility of a two day vacation. Having traveled to Lac La Ronge earlier this month, I've been thinking more and more about these short trips and how rejuvenating they can be.

Unfortunately, I haven't done as much travelling around Saskatchewan as I'd like, so I wasn't sure what the best places to visit were. There were of course the obvious choices such as Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, but I wanted someplace remote, yet somewhat close. For this project I approached some of my fellow travel bloggers and I got some ideas of what to go do and see for a weekend. I went through their ideas and came up with this short list of 5 weekend destinations in Saskatchewan.

Thanks to TELUS' incredible network, sections of Saskatchewan that once never had coverage can now be fully explored while still being connected to your mobile device. No matter where you travel in Saskatchewan -- or even in Canada -- this summer, you can rely on TELUS' mobile network to keep you connected.

When you are looking to book a vacation, you probably have your go-to websites to find the best places to eat, shop or sightsee. You might even look to see if any shows or performances are going on while you are in the area. But I often look for something else. Instead of fun, exciting, and entertaining locations, I love visiting the odd, obscure, and scary places. I love "dark tourism" and if you are reading this, you probably do too. Nothing thrills me more than going to a spot of a murder, an execution, a natural disaster, or the site of a dark, arcane ritual. So, in the spirit of Halloween, I decided to put together a list of some of the scariest places I have ever been. Hopefully, as the years go by, I can add even more places to this list.

Xochimilco is a suburb on the edge of Mexico City, floating on the remains of the canals that once fed into the metropolis.

If you were to visit these canals, you will find them filled with colourful boats, cheerful mariachi bands, shopkeepers, food, liquor, and plenty of tourists. But if you go beyond the music, noise, and excitement, the waters turn black like oil. The music fades away, the laugher vanishes, and you find yourself deep within one of the most haunted spots in Mexico City. These canals have seen centuries of violence, with their waters running red with blood more than once. Yes, these are the same canals where La Llorona is said to haunt and kidnap unsuspecting children. But we aren't here for her.

About five years ago I tried my first escape room, and I've been a fan ever since. Solving puzzles is something the web developer in me absolutely loves, and I've lost count of the amount of escape rooms I've attempted. Each one I've done has been fun, challenging and rewarding, although often very frustrating – all of which keeps me going back for more.

Many escape rooms offer board games, food and drinks before the "big escape" but Escape Manor's new Saskatoon location brings entertainment to a whole new level. Along with drinks and delicious food from partnerships with a select group of restaurants downtown. They also have custom board games, axe-throwing and bocce ball. Axe-throwing is something I've seen before (and, yes, thank you everybody who messaged me on social media – I know there are axe-throwing places in Regina...) but I've never seen it offered in an escape room setting. After I saw it, I thought it fit in perfectly. The gleaming axes and splintered wood go along perfect with the lanterns, chains and distant screams of madness from down the hall.

Saskatoon's Escape Manor also has a pillory as opposed to the Regina's Escape Manor's electric chair. I'm not sure which one I like more, since both are very cool, and very uncomfortable, but it does give the location an iconic touch.