Thunder Bay is just past the halfway point of our roadtrip. We have driven 2,551 miles in 12 days and have 1,941 miles and 11 days still to go. Thunder Bay is our last city on Lake Superior, it is also the largest city on Lake Superior. Our first days drive heading to Calgary will take us to Winnipeg and is going to be 436 miles and 8 hours. Because of the long drive we got up early and headed out before 7am which was a mistake as the sun didn’t rise until well after 8. It was raining and we were on two lane roads with hordes of huge trucks. There were no streetlights and the lines on the road quite dim, plus there were no services and no place to pull over so Jim just had to white knuckle it and keep driving. The best strategy was just to follow the tail lights of the car ahead of us and don’t lose them.
We only took about four pictures between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, none worth posting. This is the Provencher Bridge over the Red River welcoming us to Winnipeg BEFORE sunset. The cable stayed bridge to the left is a pedestrian bridge.Winnipeg is the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The most striking building that we saw was on the left which was the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is located on Indigenous ancestral lands and tells the stories of the indigenous people and communities as well as Canada’s history of colonialism and genocide. We hoped to be able to see it before we left but it did not open until 10am the next morning and our next destination was several hours away which would have had us travelling on the road during nightfall which we do not like. Guess that means we must come back.Walking to our dinner date we passed this bronze sculpture.This is titled Seal River Crossing and was sculpted by a renowned Manitoba artist, Peter Sawatzky. It represents the majesty of the caribou crossing the Seal River in the northern tundra.We had dinner in Winnipeg with Bettie Currie who we met through Judith Hemery (our friend in England). Bettie and Judith first met many years ago when they were nurses at Boston Children’s Hospital. We had only met Bettie briefly two years ago but for us a brief encounter is always worth another encounter so knowing she lived in Winnipeg we invited her to meet us for dinner and were delighted that she accepted.We found Bettie to be such a fascinating and interesting woman. We shared travel stories and were amazed at all the places she has lived, worked and visited in the world. It makes what we are doing pale in comparison. Thank you so much Bettie for a memorable night of great conversation and delicious Italian food at Borgo Antico. A great restaurant, highly recommended.We only spent one night in Winnipeg and stayed at another Fairmont Hotel, pictured above on the left.We really liked this city and regretted only having less than 24 hours here.Here are some photos of the Winnipeg skyline that we took at night after our meal.Lovely bronze sculptures just outside the hotel.Now this was an interesting pit stop for coffee the following morning.Austin Cafe and Grill was a combo cafe and gas station. It was the only game in town on this Sunday morning and full of local flavor I might add. According to the 2021 Census Austin had a population of 415 people living in 189 of its 214 private dwellings. We were curiously eyed by the locals having breakfast here.Jim got a coffee to go while Sandy used the ladies room. This sign above was in the LADIES room.😲 How is it that woman can pee on the floor!Jim was fascinated by this sky formation and took this photo while driving which he posted on FB. Sandy’s relative, Stephen Gormley responded and identified it as a “Mackerel Sky” which is a term used for clouds of an undulating, ripple pattern formation resembling fish scales and is thought to indicate that a change in the weather is coming.And so it was.As we travelled past many hay fields we wondered why some are rolled bales and others are squared. Sandy’s relatives in PEI always had square bales in the fields of their farms.So here is the answer; square bales are denser and heavier (50-60 pounds) and sensitive to weather whereas round bales are lighter, less sensitive to weather and baler equipment is cheaper. Square bales are somewhat obsolete now (although we did see a few) and they were shaped so to be stacked in a barn.On Halloween we had dinner in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, at Memories Restaurant. The owner chatted with us for quite awhile after we complimented him on our meal. He told us he came to the town from Greece to visit a friend and never left. He has been operating this restaurant for 35 years. It is labeled a steakhouse but is also known for its Greek and French cuisine and was rated on Trip Advisor as the best fine dining in Regina. Our meal was great and we highly recommend it.Halloween sunset.These random photos were taken by Sandy to help break up the monotony of the flat prairie scenery that we will now subject you to🙂Grain silo.Yup, miles of this flat yellow landscape.🤨Oh look trees bent from the prarie winds😮and a train going by us🥹The moose were all hiding in this town.Not a Caribou to be found on this street.One of the best coffee shops we have stopped at so far was in the sweet village of Caronport.Great coffee and delicious pumpkin spice bread.Caronport is a village of nearly 1,000 residents on the Trans Canada highway in the province of Saskatchewan Canada. It is home to Briercrest College and Seminary. The name Caronport derives from the fact that prior to being a village, it was a WW II British Commonwealth training base for pilots near the airport of Caron. We walked through the neighborhood stopping at the Post Office to mail postcards to grandkids.
A video of hayrolls in the median.This is salt from Chaplin Lake which is Canada’s second largest saline lake. We never really say a lake but we did see miles and miles of salt.Sometimes miles and miles of nothingness on the horizon but we motor on knowing that in the days ahead we will be rewarded with breathtaking scenery.Alberta is referred to as wild rose country due to the untamed wild rose that symbolize the natural beauty and ruggedness of Alberta’s landscape. It grows almost everywhere in the province and they were one of many medicinal plants used by the Indians as they are high in Vitamin C, calcium, phosphorous and iron so go eat your rose garden and live a long healthy life.Saamis Tepee in Medicine Hat on the Trans Canada highway was a product of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Below it, lies the Saamis Archeological Site where experts believe over 83 million artifacts are buried.We celebrated “Doctor” Jim’s 75th Birthday appropriately in the town of Medicine Hat, Canada and had a great meal at this restaurant conveniently located across the street from our hotel accommodations.Rustic Kitchen is a collaboration of husband and wife Chris Orchard and Sandee Anderson with their hard working, dedicated staff. Chris mans the stoves in the kitchen and Sandee directs front house operations. They provide fresh, straightforward local cuisine. It was an amazing, memorable meal and as you know we love supporting small businesses.Our Wyndham hotel was basic but suited all our needs.This lawn inscription is an Anniversary tribute to the Third Canadian Mounted Rifles formed in Medicine Hat during the First World War. This blog is being posted on November 11 which is Remembrance Day in Canada.One of the most exciting things that passed us on the boring highway was the site of a tractor trailer transporting the blade of a wind turbine.We had to incorporate this in multiple photos in order for you to appreciate how long these blades are. This is a further extension of the previous photo.and moreand finally the end. It was the most bizarre thing to see. Three of these trucks passed us and each had one blade.Calgary here we come.
My Aunt Genny on Nantucket used to make rose hip jam❤️! Did you all have a fun birthday celebration in Medicine Hat? Discount on dinner/drinks? I wonder how often they have a REAL Medicine Man come in for their birthday dinner🥳🥳🥳🥰
The prairies always make me grateful that I grew up with trees and mountains!
Rose hips are an ancient source of vitamins in Sweden. They make a cold sweet red soup that tastes a bit like cherries. Maybe you’ve run across it. I love it but it’s probably an acquired taste.😜
Anette
Love reading this. We are keeping each one of your blogs about cross-canada trip and plan to replicate on our own road trip sometime—hope you dont mind. (Don’t worry, we won’t contact your friends!) 😀That first drive sounded horrendous—glad you’re safe.
Leave a Reply