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Published: September 9th 2007
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Winnipegging Part 2 - 21 August to 31 August 2007
Chela's family keeps a cottage on the shores of Betula Lake in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. So, after sending a resentful Alice the Cat to Grandma's, we packed up the Jeep and headed off to spend a few days lazing by the lake. The day was overcast so after arriving, we went off to see the Nutimik museum. This is basically a small room filled with native animals unfortunate enough to die from a rare condition that turns their insides to stuffing and leaves their corpses frozen in dramatic poses. There we found a great albino beaver, as well as a massive sturgeon fish. We also checked out some (Canadian) Aboriginal rock arrangements known as petroforms but the rain kept us from sticking around for long.
Luckily, the weather fined up for the afternoon and before long, we were out on the water in MJ's canoe. We paddled clumsily but effectively enough to take us around Betula's reed lined bays. The next day, after a traditional lake breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs and another quick canoe expedition, we drove out to a wildlife sanctuary named after the unfortunately named
Chela and Matthew at Loni Beach
on the shores of the huge-mongous Lake Winnipeg! Alfred Hole. The A. Hole sanctuary is home to 182 geese and several other forms of native wildlife. We had been told that moose had been sighted here in the past but in the end we saw some beaver huts and a mean looking mink.
After lunch, MJ came with us in the canoe out to the peninsula in Lake Betula. Matthew and MJ paddled hard, while Chela, lacking both canoe brains (MJ) and canoe brawn (Matthew), rode Indian Princess. Chela and Matthew braved the icy water and went for a swim, and we explored the peninsula, however, MJ noticed that the wind was picking up and the skies were darkening on the horizon. Concerned that a storm might be imminent, we packed up the canoe and headed back. Matthew quickly learned that paddling a canoe against the wind was like trying to drag an elephant through molasses. The cabin never seemed to get any closer until finally we were on the home stretch and protected from the wind a little. A well deserved beer was drunk on return to the cabin and we slept like logs that night.
The next morning was damp and cold but we were not
to be robbed of a final chance on the canoe. Rugged up in old jumpers, we took our vessel out for one last spin, looking even more like intrepid explorers now that we had learned how to at least steer the thing in a straight line. It turns out that paddles can double as rudders… who would have guessed?
The rest of our time was spent getting ready for the Southern part of our American tour; lots of shopping and deciding about how to compact items into our bags. We went to another minor league baseball game, in which Winnipeg again lost. We decided we were a bad omen! Matthew has watched some televised baseball and Chela has enjoyed poring through her family photos, mementos and anecdotes.
One evening we visited Pete and Irene, Chela's Dad's cousin and his wife. Pete showed us around his experimental tree farm and then we ate at a restaurant near the Birds Hill Provincial Park. While we were driving home, we saw deer running across the road infront of the traffic. It explained alot of the road kill!
One of the sights that we managed to squeeze into our busy schedule was Lower Fort
Chela
Pete, MJ, Chela and Irene Garry, a river outpost for the Hudson Bay Company (like the East India Company of Canada). The fur loft was the highlight of the experience, with the pelts of every Canadian mammal thinkable. As our Winnipeg time started to disappear, we also fit in a trip to the Royal Canadian Mint where all of Canada's coins are produced. They make about 50 million coins per day, for Canada and other countries. One of the main attractions there was a solid gold million dollar coin that came with its own personal armed security guard.
Another excursion took us out to Gimli on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, a huge body of water more than nine times the size of Luxembourg. There we collected rocks with naturally bored holes in them and then had fish and chips. We also bought locally fished and smoked goldeye for dinner.
On Friday, we moved on from Winnipeg to Ottawa, Canada's answer to Canberra! Stay tuned for the Ontario experience.
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lou
non-member comment
If you were having a hard time deciding what to bring me back i will lighten your worries and let you in on a secret. the million dollar coin will do just fine. many thanks in advance of your thoughtfulness ;) xoxoxox