Rob-n-Hild, oot and aboot eh? Sorry - 2022
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Winnipeg - Gimli (243 km. 4 hours. Elevation maximum 262 metres) |
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We are staying two nights in Winnipeg so today is a round-trip to Gimli on the shore of lake Winnipeg. Gimli (the city) was actually named before Gimli (son of Gloin, a member of the Fellowship of the Ring) was created by Tolkien, but as the city was founded by Icelandic immigrants to Canada, the roots are the same. Anyway, Gimli is a beach town so we packed up our camping stove and drove north to sit on the beach and make a cup of tea - sort of the way we had yesterday at Seven Sisters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the way up, we stopped a couple of times in Selkirk - a township
with a lot of Canadian history and a special link to Hild as her dad,
Olav, had visited here in 1999. We stopped and recreated a photo
outside the Captain William Kennedy House - although we couldn't go in as it
is closed for repairs!
On the left is Olav's photo in 1999. On the right is our photo 23 years later. It is fun to see how the vegetation has grown considerably in front of the house. |
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Then we stopped at Locktown where a curtain dam was constructed in
1910 to aid navigation up the Red River - the major connection
between Winnipeg and Hudson Bay as this was the only way to get goods
to and from central Canada until the 20th century. As the river is
in flood now (more of that later) the dam is actually up now and the
water looks quite deep, but for the rest of the year, the dam is down
and boat traffic uses a lock alongside. There were some more
pelicans here as well - we can't understand how (or why) pelicans
live up here in central Canada, but we have seen them two days in a row now.
Our photo shows the dam wide open due to the amount of water rushing through. The colourful mural under the bridge illustrates the dam when the curtain is lowered. |
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| We tried to find a big ox-cart in Selkirk, but although people have photographed it, no-one has thought to say where it is and we couldn't find it! So we carried on to Lower Fort Garry, which is a reconstructed trading post and has a lot historical buildings. It was closed for the season (we are too early again), but we had a nice walk and learned a lot about the way goods were transported up and down the river in rowing boats. A tough job considering that there were still many places where you had to empty the boat and carry it and all the contents around various bits of river that were not navigable. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| They had examples of different materials used through the ages for teepee-like shelters: birch bark, straw, leather hides, canvas. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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And then we got to lake Winnipeg for lunch to discover that is was
mostly still covered in ice! Still, that didn't stop us as there was
a nice takeaway where bought pickerell and chips, sat down at a
picnic table and made our tea anyway.
The Minions joined in as per usual. "Ooooh, Banana? Nooooo, Coconut! (Kokosmakroner, Norwegian treat)". The tough people were dressed in shorts and enjoying the sunny beach - while ignoring the frozen lake. |
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| After lunch, we walked around the (frozen) harbour and then found our way to a viking statue erected by the descendants of the original Icelandic settlers. This was really very interesting as - being Icelandic - they had kept meticulous details of their ancestors and each family was able to write it all down. | On the way back to Winnipeg we took a detour to find another local monument - a giant mosquito! Once again, the on-line photos didn't include a location, but Hild was able to find it this time in a town called Komarno - which just happens to be Ukranian for - you guessed it - mosquito! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Back in Winnipeg, we figured we had time to drop in to Costco and fill up as the gas is cheaper there. Unfortunately, we had forgotten that it was a Saturday and by 4 pm Costco was absolutely heaving with people. To be honest, we never go to Costco any later than 9 am so it is probably like this all the time, but we should start trying to remember what day of the week it is before making decisions! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coming up: Off to Riding Mountain National Park - two days in a yurt! Should be fun. | Start | Nerdy | The Largest... | Ornaments | Go To Previous Day | Go To Next Day |
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May/June 2022