Why these rabid junior hockey fans from the U.S. are on a whirlwind trip through Saskatchewan

Spending $2,800 USD on a 10-day trip to Saskatchewan and Manitoba might not be high on many people’s priority list. For a group from Portland, Oregon, they couldn't have been happier to be spending time on the prairies during January.

"You got to see it to believe it, that's why we are the junior leagues," said Portland Winterhawks Booster Club President Stuart Kemp.

In total, 28 Booster Club members were at the Saskatoon Blades game on Wednesday to watch their Winterhawks fight for a crucial two points. The tour left Portland on Jan. 5, stopping in Regina, Winnipeg, Brandon, Prince Albert, Fleming, Sask., Moose Jaw and Swift Current, catching six games.

"Not only do you get to see the Canadian fans, who are tremendous, but you also get to see the sights," said Kemp. "It's the hotel that we stay at, the game, Sardinia's Restaurant, I mean, all these different things that we get to see that you wouldn't have otherwise the chance to do so. That's what we're here for."

The trip has fans ranging in age from 14-years-old all the way to Booster Club members in their late nineties.

Twenty-eight members of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club were in Saskatoon Wednesday, following their team across western Canada.

Ninety-seven-year-old Ardyce Moore was one of the first two people to sign up.

"I loved seeing all the places, the only thing strange is your scenery, it never changes. It's wide, wide, once in a while we see a house or something there," said Moore. "I don't want to go anywhere where I don't know somebody."

Moore has been a season ticket holder of the Winterhawks since 1976, the year the club was founded. In addition to the games, the tour makes stops at tourist spots like the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg, Northern Lights Casino in Prince Albert and Lucky Bastard Distillery in Saskatoon.

Paying thousands of dollars to come to the prairies in the middle of winter might not be the most appealing choice for a trip to many people. Moore says she thinks she has been to Saskatchewan one other time when she and her late husband used to travel behind the team to catch games.

This trip though, is one she wouldn't trade in for many others.

"I wanted to be with my Winterhawks fans and we wanted to see the country," said Moore. "My husband and I used to come and we were able to make a few of them (games) but we used to come in our car and I just keep the memory. I just tell ‘em he's up there watching on me because I'm still getting into trouble."

Winterhawks Captain and Prince Albert product Gabe Klassen greets fans who braved the cold and came to his home province for the team's eastern road trip.

At Tuesday's game the Winterhawks won 3-1 over the Saskatoon Blades. Winterhawks Captain, and Prince Albert product Gabe Klassen smiles at fans braving the cold and coming to his home province for the team's eastern road trip.

"For them to come out here, in the middle of January to Saskatchewan, it's not a hot spot for sure so it means a ton to us," said Klassen. "A bunch of the boys who have never been out here and they're complaining about the cold but you guys are working through it."

Fans greeted players after the game, then boarded the bus to head back to their hotel in Saskatoon.

The group departed Thursday morning for Swift Current where it will visit the Swift Current Broncos arena and pay their respects at the site of the Swift Current Broncos 1986 bus crash site – "4 Broncos Memorial."