The Road Goes On…

Category: Manitoba

  • Canada 2023 Summary

    It was quite a trip, covering over 12,000 kilometres. Despite the wild fires in Canada this year we were able to find super interesting routes in the more southern parts of the provinces and had amazing experiences with nature, animals, people and sights.

    The small towns we visited in the prairies we delightful. The people in these towns were very friendly and their museums were remarkable. Many towns had wonderful aquatic facilities, playgrounds and parks for the children. The Manitoba Visitor Information Centre at the Ontario/Manitoba border was particularly helpful in providing lists and information of places to visit.

    The more memorable museums and attractions on our trip were:

    Our favourite places to stay included:

    • Wild camping in Nimpkish Lake Recreational area in BC
    • Wild camping on Lake Superior north of Sault Ste. Marie, ON
    • Victoria Park Campground in Souris, MB
    • Falcon Lake campground in Manitoba

    The iOverlander app was invaluable in finding cool places to camp at.

    All the provinces we visited were beautiful and had their unique character. They impressed on us the vastness and diversity of Canada. We can’t wait for our next road trip – maybe eastern Canada again next?

  • Falcon Lake, MB to Dryden, ON

    With the weekend coming, we couldn’t extend our stay at Falcon Lake any longer so it was time to have our last breakfast at The Nest, get the van cleaned up and ready and hitting the road for Ontario.

    Before leaving Manitoba we dropped in at the visitor centre and thanked the two ladies we had talked to when we first entered Manitoba. They had been very helpful in suggesting interesting places to see in towns off the Trans Canada highway, many of which we ended up visiting.

    There was lots of road widening construction on Hwy 17 in Ontario and many sites where blasting was being done. We had several stops where traffic alternated along the one lane that was open.

    In Vermillion Bay, we stopped at the Nowhere Craft Chocolate and Coffee Roastery. Little did we know that our stop for a cappuccino and a hot chocolate would turn into such an insightful and detailed lesson on how artisanal chocolate is made. Eleanor, the owner, spent close to an hour explaining and showing us the process while we were sipping our drinks and tasting her delicious chocolate. We couldn’t help buying some roasted beans, nibs, and bars. The seeds for making our own chocolate from raw beans has been planted. In time, this will no doubt, have been an expensive place to stop at. Ruth is already worried about the new set of equipment required.

    A few kilometres further is Egli’s Wool and Sheepskin Shop. Last time we drove by Martin bought a sheepskin winter hat and we decided to stop by again. Ruth was particularly interested in the large selection of knitting wool, but was strong enough to refrain adding to her already vast collection.

    In Dryden we had dinner at the Masala Restaurant which offers East Indian, Greek, Thai and North American food. They had a buffet, but it was mostly Indian except for maybe the french fries and spring rolls. The food was delicious and the entertainment was a large party celebrating a 60th birthday. We congratulated the birthday boy and were quickly accepted as family and each given a piece of the tasty birthday cake.

  • Falcon Lake, MB

    Today was another wonderful lazy day, starting with breakfast at The Nest again, this time with the Traditional Breakfast. After an early morning nap, we went for a 30 minute swim in beautiful warm sunny weather. There were far more people at the beach today and lots of kids having fun in the water and on floating toys.

    Our campsite neighbours, Jannet and Rudy and their two dachshunds Sammy and Saffie, invited us over for a great dinner of stir fry, potatoes, and a crisp salad. Ruth supplied a dessert of fruit salad which was topped off with Jannet’s delicious ice-cream.

    We had a wonderful evening of conversation and Rudy played the guitar while we sang along. Rudy is an accomplished guitarist and has played in several bands. The two dogs joined us and Sammy curled up between us for a nap. We felt like family.

    We left just before midnight so that we could still do our daily Duolingo language lessons. Duo gets upset if he doesn’t see us for a day.

  • Falcon Lake, MB

    Not much to report today as it was a day of having a Ukrainian breakfast (consisting of eggs, perogies, toast, sausages), relaxation, spending time talking to two of our neighbours, and swimming.

    The cameras and GPS took the day off as well.

  • Winnipeg, MB to Falcon Lake, MB

    Canada has two mint locations, one in Ottawa which largely manufactures collector coins, and one in Winnipeg which manufactures circulation coins for Canada and has produced coins for over 70 other countries since opening in 1976. We loved the flag alley of customer countries on our way to the mint parking lot.

    Étienne Gaboury was the architect who designed the Winnipeg mint in a triangular shape that rises up dramatically from the prairie like a mountain.

    At the entrance to the mint we met “Loonie”. Unfortunately he was pretty stingy and we had to pay for our own tour. We learned that he wasn’t even supposed to be on the $1 coin but ended up there because the master stamps of the original design of a canoe similar to what had previously been on the silver dollars had been “lost in transit” from Ottawa. To ensure that no counterfeit coins could be manufactured, the design was changed and the loon image was selected.

    No picture taking is permitted on the tour with the exception of the gift shop and the entrance hall that has a historic coin stamping machine. This machine had been manufactured in Cologne, Germany close to Ruth’s hometown.

    We saw the entire manufacturing process starting with the large steel coils from which the coin blanks are stamped. During production the coins are treated with various coatings to give them specific electromagnetic properties so that vending machines can recognize them. Of interest was also the process for making coloured coins. In 2004, Canada was the first country in the world to manufacture coloured circulation coins. We were told the Winnipeg facility makes 1 million Canadian and foreign coins a day.

    After the mint, the second highlight of the day were crepes at La Creperie Ker Breizh. The owner came to Canada from Brittany, France in 2018 and began making crepes as a street vendor in Winnipeg before opening this amazing restaurant. The crepes and galettes were delicious!

    We had a long interesting conversation with a retired truck driver who had also been a COBOL programmer at one point of his career. He loved truck driving because of the freedom and the people he met along the way.

    Our third place of interest was the Winnipeg Art Gallery which we were told had a vast Inuit art exhibition. The exhibition included many varied pieces from 500BC to now but we were a bit disappointed in the lack of contextual information besides the artist’s name, title and year.

    Leaving Winnipeg was a major challenge because of all the road construction and traffic during rush hour. We spent over an hour trying to move 3 blocks before finally giving up and taking side streets to zigzag our way out of the city. Once on the highway it was clear sailing to Falcon Beach Provincial Park where we had previously been and hope to have a day or two of relaxation.

  • Portage La Praire, MB to Winnipeg, MB

    The first point of interest for today was the National Indigenous Residential School Museum in Portage La Prairie. This was an actual residential school and now houses a museum along with an indigenous police station.

    The museum was closed yesterday so we spent the night in Portage La Prairie to be able to see it today, but alas, although it is supposed to be open Monday to Friday 8:30-4:30, nobody showed up to open it today. Even another couple that booked a tour for 10:30am had to be disappointed that everything was dark.

    Disappointed, we set out for Winnipeg to visit the Assiniboine Park and zoo to see the animals. What a fascinating place to see different animals from all around the world.

    The Gibbons were particularly fun to watch jumping from rope to rope and chasing each other. Their white hands, feet and faces really stood out.

    A large section of the zoo focuses on the Churchill area with polar bears and harbour seals. The polar bears were relatively inactive but the seals were having a blast entertaining the crowds.

    The facility housing the polar bears and seals has an underwater tunnel so you can see the animals in the water. Really neat and definitely worth a visit.

    Did you know that Inuksuit are like street signs with specific meaning? Here’s a chart of some of different ones and their meanings.

    After seeing the seals swimming we thought we should also practice a bit and this happened at the St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool and Fitness Centre. For $15 we swam lengths until exhausted. The seals were definitely faster and had more endurance and elegance.

  • Riding Mountain National Park, MB to Portage La Prairie, MB

    The morning was cold with a temperature of 12C, so hot coffee and tea was very welcome. We stopped at Poor Michael’s Emporium which has pretty much everything except for the kitchen sink. Here you’ll find books, records, clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts, coffee, pastries, etc. The store was packed with people and merchandise.

    As we drove to Portage La Praire, the hills and trees slowly gave way to vast fields and meadows with some rows of trees planted to reduce the wind. Adjacent to the highway were railway lines and we were in awe of the several kilometre long trains pulled by two or three locomotives.

    Portage La Praire has a Residential School Museum that we wanted to visit, but it wasn’t open on Sunday, so we spent the day in town and will visit the museum tomorrow.

    We drove to the Island Park and walked around a bit enjoying the beautiful trees and water fountains. Lots of people were out having picnics and swimming at the waterpark.

    The Prairie City Cinema provided the evening’s entertainment in the form of a foul-mouthed pack of dogs in the movie “Strays”.

  • Duck Mountain Provincial Park, SK to Riding Mountain National Park, MB

    “What a difference a day makes…” Summer seems to have ended and fall storms are moving in. We woke up to a very windy morning and it didn’t get any better. Dark clouds, strong winds, but no rain.

    Our target destination for today was the Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. Along the way we drove through Dauphin and checked out the local mall. There were lots of empty storefronts and it didn’t seem to be doing all that well. The people were friendly and a group of women had set up a table to sell home baked cookies in support of people with brain injuries. We each selected our favourites – Martin, marshmallows with peanut butter and Ruth, cookies with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Right after buying our cookies, we saw with our own eyes how rewarding our purchase was when a woman with four young people with Down Syndrome came to the table. One of the girls showed her beautiful nail polish and couldn’t resist giving us a big hug. This was the best part of the mall visit.

    We continued onward to Riding Mountain National Park and stopped by Moon Lake to see whether we could go for a swim, but there were signs about algae in the water. It didn’t look all that appealing so we continued on to the main campground. This huge campground has over 400 sites including quite a number of cabin-like structures and some that looked like tiny homes.

    The nearby village has a beach, restaurants and shopping in addition to what looked like expensive private homes. We went for a walk there in the evening to check it out. The beach was a bit cold for a swim.

  • Souris, MB to Indian Head, SK

    Souris has Canada’s longest swinging bridge at 184m in length which was opened to the public on August 17, 2013. It capacity is listed as “approximately 74,843kg (165,000lbs) – equivalent to 925 white tailed deer” on the plaque next to the bridge. We wonder if the white-tailed deer is an ISO standard.

    The previous bridge was washed out by flooding a few years earlier, but a small remanent remains.

    Adjacent to the bridge is the Hillcrest Museum (“The Castle on the Prairies”), built in 1910 commissioned by Fred Sowden, the son of the founder of the town Souris. He built the first bridge so that he could walk over to his property on the other side of the river.

    The museum has many historical artifacts and, can you believe it, 5000 preserved butterflies from all over the world.

    Here are a few of the unique artifacts. The first is an early vacuum cleaner that requires a small child to operate:

    There was also a Wanzer sewing machine. The Wanzer Sewing Machine Company had its factory in Hamilton, Ontario from 1860-1891, initially starting out making Singer machines and later developing their own models.

    Another interesting artifact was an egg scale.

    The butterfly collection is quite something to see and it occupies an entire room.

    After the museum we were hungry and went to the Woodfire Deli where we had a wonderful pizza and a Caesar salad.

    The last stop in Souris was Lagasse’s Studio of Fine Art. This gallery features work from area artists and also offers workshops and lessons. We got a quick demonstration on making alcohol ink coasters. Ruth is all excited about trying it herself!

    Souris advertises free ranging peacocks but we didn’t see any. Maybe this was good because we heard rumours that the last batch had started nipping tourists.

    After Souris, we headed up to the Trans-Canada highway and drove into Saskatchewan where we are spending the night at the Indian Head Campground. This campground had been recommended by a fellow traveller who raved about its fabulous washroom facilities. As you can see it even has a tub with clawed feet, complete with a sign that says anyone caught washing their pet in there will be immediately expelled from the campground.

  • St. Claude, MB to Souris, MB

    After a wonderful breakfast with Robert and his wife, we were off to Gaol Museum and ended up in jail. Please send bail money….

    After escaping jail we hurried to Treherne and visited their town museum showing furniture, pictures and stories of people who founded and lived in the town.

    Directly across the street is a private automobile museum with everything from early Fords to a 95 Miata. Ruth found a new love.

    The next and last unique attraction of the town are houses, a church and a well built entirely of glass bottles.

    We continued west on Hwy 2 and slightly north to visit the Spirit Sands, an area of dunes with a hiking trail.

    Returning to Hwy 2 and heading west we saw a number of beautiful canola fields in full bloom. The yellow of the fields and the blue sky were magnificent.

    We are spending the night in Souris and will be exploring further tomorrow.