Winnipeg, Canada

Today Rae and I criss crossed the city a couple of times. I was able to see many of the old haunts as well as some of the new neighbourhoods. Winnipeg seems to be growing in leaps and bounds, and is stretching out closer and closer to the perimeter highway. There is even an IKEA!

Rae and I were up and out early this morning to head south to the hugely popular St. Norbert Farmers Market. It is one of the most diverse, largest and busiest farmers markets I’ve seen. The diverse cultures represented in Winnipeg (especially eastern European) were on display with the various types of food on sale, and we supported the local economy at several of the booths including a great breakfast of sausage on a bun.

As teenagers, Rae and I both worked at the Zoo at Assiniboine Park, so one of the places I wanted to go visit was the Zoo. I’m not a huge fan of zoos, but they have a great new Polar Bear Conservancy Centre, an education, research and transition facility within the Journey to Churchill exhibit. It seems to be really closely monitored and operating within a very well defined mandate that restricts it to take in only those orphaned cubs who are under 2 1/2 years and who are sure to die in the wild. The enclosures are huge with a pool area and visitors can go through a tunnel below the pool to look up at the polar bears gracefully swimming and playing underwater.

Next it was out to the west and St Francis Xavier to my campsite for Rae to see my trailer. I must admit his house is much tidier!

Half way home we remembered that I also wanted to go to a Winnipeg institution, BDI (Bridge Drive Inn) It’s a seasonal ice cream place in Elm Park on the banks of the Red River and next to a pedestrian bridge that has been serving up fabulous dairy concoctions since 1957. On a perfect weather day, we bought a treat and walked over the bridge to take in the beautiful breeze and fought off the wasps while finishing our choices. Yum – eat your heart out Nanci!

Despite having eaten our way across the city, we still managed to eat dinner. We had bought a couple of cobs of sweet local Manitoba corn at the market that was delicious with the tasty, moist and tender pork steaks Rae cooked for dinner tonight. I think I’m going to stay here for good. Don’t tell Rae.

Winnipeg, Canada

Friday in Winnipeg I looked after some maintenance items. The new vehicle came with a hitch that was sitting too high which meant the trailer wasn’t traveling level. That means the frig couldn’t run off propane on the road so I had to move the food from the frig to my cooler each day. So my first stop was at Bell Hitch in Headingly, a shop which had been recommended by cousins Gary and Mona. They were incredibly knowledgable and helpful. They provided me with the appropriate new hitch, installed the necessary hardware and I was on my way with only a $25 bill and after only 20 minutes. They even supplied me with a pin for my anti-sway bar that had gone missing on the bumpy Manitoba roads. Driving east on Portage Avenue towards downtown was a walk down memory lane. And of course I drove down Strathcona Street to see the house that I called home from age 2 – 20. It and most of the other houses on the street have stood up well. The street is lined with elegant elms which provide a archway down the street, and I remember well playing in the crisp leaves in the fall. Not a lot on the street has changed and I was able to remember most of the surnames of the people who lived in each house when I was growing up, and their kids. Next it was off to somewhere that I spent a lot of time as a youth- Polo Park Mall. It’s funny how places from your youth appear so much bigger in your memories than in reality. I needed to find an Apple store to ask some questions at the Genius Bar and pick up a new external hard drive to hold my pictures. With that task completed it was over to brother Rae’s to spend a couple of nights. I was the last of the sisters to see the adorable, comfortable and incredibly tidy house he bought a year or so ago so glad I finally got to play Oscar to his Felix. Our father was a great gardener and especially proud of his tomatoes and Rae has taken over that role. Rae was on his way to his daughter Megan’s place and so I went along to have a visit with Megan and my great niece, Meah, an adorable Chihuahua/Pug/Terrier cross. Megan is tackling an ambitious project and going back to school in the fall while continuing with her full time job. Then it was back to Rae’s for a delicious dinner, and I wasn’t allowed to help in the preparation, although I must admit I didn’t try all that hard. Rae is a great cook and I was happy to leave it in his capable hands. We talked while he cooked and over dinner and into the late evening. He has a much better memory of our childhood than I do despite being 4 years younger. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures today either. Will try harder tomorrow.

Kenora, Canada

I’m so fortunate that one of the friends I have known since Kindergarten had been reading my blog and saw that I was passing her way. Susan and her husband Doug have a beautiful home located on the Winnipeg River, which flows from Lake Winnipeg, north of the Whiteshell area in eastern Manitoba into the Lake of the Woods in Ontario. Susan graciously invited me to stop in for a visit and enjoy their hospitality overnight. I quickly accepted to allow us to catch up after several years.

While enjoying a beverage on the porch before dinner, a juvenile bald eagle entertained us by trying a landing on the roof not 10 feet from where we sat but took off immediately. We were able to see junior and Mom or Dad come and go from the nest all evening and Susan reports Junior has been back to visit other days since.

Susan and Doug already had plans for a few friends to join them for brunch the next day and I gladly delayed my departure to meet the interesting group and enjoy some more of Susan’s fabulous cooking, and baking. (the frittata was particularly delicious!) Always lovely to meet people from different backgrounds and vocations to hear their perspective of the world.

After the late start on Thursday, I headed off to Winnipeg, where I was born and lived for the first 25 years of my life. I rolled into the West Winnipeg KOA (nothing to write home about) just in time to get cleaned up and head into town to have dinner with brother Rae, and 4 cousins and a couple of their significant others. One of cousins, Ken, I hadn’t seen for so many years I’m not sure when the last time was and for another, Gary, it had been since our family reunion in 2007, so it was so great to see them and everyone else. We had dinner at Muddy Waters at the Forks. The steak sandwiches and hamburgers looked great, but those of us who had the pickerel were disappointed. It was rather bland and dry with too much breading.

Ottawanians should not read further because I’m going to rant again about the great job another city has done of using their waterways (and by inference the lousy job Ottawa has done). The Forks, not surprisingly located at the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers (and designated a National Historic Site because of it’s cultural and historical significance as a meeting place), has been developed in the last several years and includes a public market, a public meeting space for events and an ice rink in the winter, a skateboard park, hotel, restaurants with outdoor patios along the river, a riverwalk that in the winter turns into one of the longest ice rinks in the world (according to Guinness Book of World Records in 2008), a toboggan run, a AAA baseball diamond in the summer, and several museums, including the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Water taxis bring residents from other parts of the city along the rivers, and there is a terraced area for enjoying the sun and view of the river.

After dinner it was back to my house on wheels for the night just west of Winnipeg. The West Winnipeg KOA is not one of the better ones I’ve stayed in. It does appear the owners are trying to improve the grounds, but after quite a bit of rain the whole place was pretty waterlogged. The washrooms and showers are only just adequate and because of the restaurant in the same building have a food smell, but they are at least clean.

Sorry no pictures to accompany the blog today. Too busy and on the move.

Ignace, Canada

Thunder Bay, Canada

Nipigon, Canada

Today’s travels took me along the north shore of Lake Superior between Sault Ste Marie and Nipigon. It was cloudy with the occasional sunny break and rain here and there, but not heavy.

It is an absolutely stunning drive, with the many vistas somehow enhanced by the moody feel and shades of blue and grey that the clouds and fog brought into play. The road starts at lake level just north of the Soo where there are some great provincial parks and beaches, some which are fine white sand and others that are agates. The road winds back and forth, mostly staying in view of the lake but then it disappears for a time, only to reappear in grand style as you round a curve and find that you’ve climbed quite high above the lake and you’re now looking out to see nothing but lake for as far as you can see or small islands dotting huge bays.

There is not much to spoil the serenity and beauty of the lake and surrounding forests and smaller lakes, with very little in the way of population, and I often have the highway to myself. Until a huge logging truck comes barrelling down on me, that is!

The air is so clear here that you can’t help but breath deeply to soak it up at every opportunity.

I’m afraid however, that once again, I’m not able to share the vistas with you because it would mean risking life and limb. Where there were pull outs, it was without exception, raining and the pictures would not fairly represent the beauty.

I passed through some small places along the way, but I can’t show you the Wawa Canada goose, the lighthouse at Terrace Bay, the cute little B&B in Rossport or the other things that made my day interestings.

I tried something new today, in that I didn’t have a reservation to camp anywhere because Iwasn’t sure how far I would get. I did some research to see what was available in various spots and when I knew that I would make it to at least Nipigon I decided to reserve a spot at one I’d looked at on line, called Stillwater Park Campground. I promised to share the downsides with you as well as the upsides and here is where we get to “the Bad and the Ugly” part. I’m glad I only paid $30 for the night here, because it’s not worth even that. The campground is completely uninspiring with little in the way of grass and mostly sand and gravel, the washrooms are ancient (and it’s the first time I’ve run into needing a code to get into the locked washrooms) although they are as clean as is possible, it’s right next to the highway, with all the wilderness in the world around us the sites are packed in like sardines, there is a faint sewer smell which I hope I’ve managed to stop by disconnecting my grey water output, and to top it off the WIFI isn’t working – a Bell problem I’m told. So, thank heavens I’m here for only one night. I clearly need to get better at choosing RV Parks on line. I guess the price should have tipped me off. 🙂

The good news is that the sun came out full after I arrived and so I set up quickly and headed into “town”. Nipigon is not a thriving megalopolous or even thriving- it’s population is steadily declining. A mill that was sold to the workers in the early 2000’s, and for which an expansion was planned, burned to the ground. But they appeart to be trying hard to keep it vital by promoting fishing excurisons and tourism. Clearly they need to get better at their camping facilities.

There is a nice marina and park area and an interesting park highlighting a book about the region called Paddle to the Sea. The park starts in the downtown core and ends at the marina on the Nipigon River (which comes originally from Lake Nipigon and empties into Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior). It is a series of fun looking kids play areas encouraging you to walk along the pathway like the boy who paddled to the sea.

Enjoy the pics I was able to take along the way and after the sun came out in Nipigon.

Terrace Bay, Canada

White River Ontario, Canada

Sault Ste. Marie, Canada

St. Joseph Island, Canada

I’ve spent a lot of time in what has been referred to as “up north” in Ontario. I always chuckle at that moniker since our cottage “up north” is at latitude 46, and Vancouver is at latitude 49 and Winnipeg is at 50, both further from the equator than our cottage. Toronto is at 43 degrees. So now you know the term refers to it’s location relative to the centre of the universe. 🙂 Sorry Torontonians. 🙂 Couldn’t resist.

You saw a picture of the Big Nickel in yesterday’s blog, which I’m sure you identified as being in Sudbury. However among the pictures from today is another oversize coin. Any idea it’s association with this part of Canada?

I had an excellent day for touring around St. Joseph Island and the mainland around that part of the world. Sunny for the most part and cooler than it has been, which is just fine with me.

A huge thanks to Marilyn for spending the day driving and touring around, giving me a break from driving. It was so nice to have a chance to get caught up as well! We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant in Hilton Beach overlooking the marina. And we might have had a small cone of chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

St. Joseph Island (affectionally called “St. Joe”) is at the western end of a series of islands in the North Channel of Lake Huron with the more populated, larger and better known Manitoulin Island at the east. Historically, a fort on the southern tip of the island played an important role in the first victory for British North America in the War of 1812 and there is a National Historic Site on the site of the original Fort. (However, if you visit the US historic site on Mackinac Island they have a different perspective.) Geologically, it is part of the Canadian Shield but there is a stone that is unique to the area, and very abundant on the island referred to by locals as Puddingstone. It’s technical name is jasper conglomerate and the stone was produced by the ice retreating causing chunks jasper and quartz to get jumbled up into other kinds of stone, producing the look of rice pudding with raisins in it.

There used to be a ferry to get residents to and from the island but in 1972 a bridge was built and it was eventually named the Bernt Gilbertson St. Joseph Island Bridge in honour of Bernt Gilbertson, an island resident and Progressive Conservative member of the provincial legislature who had long advocated for a bridge. The Gilbertson’s still play a major role in the economy of the island. Marilyn informed me today that she had discovered that the locals born on the island, refer to those of us not fortunate enough to be born there, as “bridge trash”. Arriving on the island by the bridge for our summers spent there I always felt a peacefulness descend on me as I went over the bridge. As you’ll see from the pictures that feeling was aided by the beauty all around.

One of the interesting things about the mainland area around St. Joe is that more and more families of Mennonites from southern Ontario are moving into the area because of the available and relatively cheap land. They are industrious and productive farmers despite using only man and real horse power and their stands selling vegetables, honey, etc. are always hopping with area locals and summer residents.

I hope you enjoy visiting my old stomping grounds as much as I did.