The Big Muddy

No matter how wired or worldly we may be, the old-fashioned romance of the outlaw hiding in wide-open spaces never seems to fade. Just north of the U.S. border, Canada's wild west lies in the rugged middle of the country, in Saskatchewan's Big Muddy Valley. Its remote badlands proved an ideal hideout for famed bandits such as Sam Kelly, Dutch Henry, and the Sundance Kid—and continue to enthrall today.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was easy for bank robbers and horse thieves to "disappear" in the sweeping landscape of Big Muddy Valley, which extends from Saskatchewan to northeast Montana. Today, the region, with its wind-carved buttes, prickly pear cacti, and deep-cut sandstone ravines, still "draws people in," says local innkeeper Linda Kirby. "They're attracted to the beauty and the vastness of it all. When you come to Big Muddy, it's easy to see there's truth to those horse-stealing stories. The border is only 12 miles away, and the outlaw caves are only one hill from the border."

The valley also is dotted with strange ancient aboriginal stone effigies with names such as Minton Turtle and the Big Beaver Buffalo, which add to the mystery and magic of the landscape.