We started the morning by having a huge Ukrainian and Canadian breakfast at the Falcon Lake restaurant. This was our first breakfast out – what a treat! Ukrainian breakfast includes pierogies, kielbasa, eggs and toast.

Well fed and with a clean van we were ready to embark on the day’s adventure. Today that would be Gimli, Manitoba on the west side of Lake Winnipeg. We took historic Hwy 1, a narrow and hilly two lane highway with a speed limit of 100 km/h and somewhat reminiscent of a younger version of Route 66. It took us to Hwy 9 which led us to Gimli, a town that was celebrating the 34th anniversary of the Gimli Glider incident. On July 23, 1983, an Air Canada Boeing 767 ran out of fuel on its way from Montreal to Edmonton and had to make a emergency landing without power on an abandoned runway at the airport. Captain Robert Pearson successfully landed the jet without any serious injuries to the passengers and crew.

A permanent exhibit was officially opened today with artifacts and background information. Captain Robert Pearson was in attendance, gave a detailed account of the events, cut the ribbon officially opening the museum and signing autographs. Federal and local politicians, some the crew and passengers from the flight, and a representative of the company that manufactured the ram air turbine (RAT) which allowed the hydraulic systems to continue to operate after a shutdown of both engines were in attendance.

While Martin visited the museum, Ruth strolled along the seawall with Pepsi and did some street photography.

After Gimli we drove to The Narrows, an area where Lake Manitoba becomes narrow and checked into our secluded campground for the evening.