Manitoba - Day 14

Given what we've been hearing and seeing online, we are fortunate that there are no wildfires nearby and no smoke in the air - for now. It was pretty funny though...we headed for Clearwater Lake Provincial Park about 40 kilometres north of The Pas and when I set up the GPS rather than hear "turn right on Main Street" we were greeted with "your route may be affected by severe fire". Good morning to you too.

There's a short hiking trail (I may argue that terminology in this case) called The Caves in the park. They are not caves but actually deep crevasses in the ground. You'd best stick to the trail this time. It was a very rough trek for a good part of the hike. Rocks and roots combined with fallen trees and overgrown conditions to the point that the trail was not found at all. Ultimately we made our way back by backtracking onto the trail we took in. It was supposed to be a loop. All part of the fun, which it truly was.

Decided to check out the beach on our return to town. Love the crowd situation though you really do need to be there when the name dictates...this is Sunset Beach.  😅

When there's no wildlife to be seen, be innovative. Works for me!

Hope our luck holds for tomorrow. Gone are the days when you just had to worry about booking a smoke-free room...now you need to concern yourself with a smoke-free outdoors. So sad.

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Manitoba - Day 13

Another travel day. The weather was nice, a little cloudy but perfect at 12 degrees. There is no sign of smoke or fire in The Pas...given the news, that's a plus. We continued to travel in what could easily be Saskatchewan. I love that we are pretty well the only people on the road. Life is good!

We found a lovely spot to stop and eat our homemade lunch. The Red Deer River campground was deserted, probably closed but we were able to get in and enjoy.

The terrain quickly became a little more rolling and a little less open. It suddenly felt more like (northern) Ontario than Saskatchewan.

Our home for the next three days is in a suburb on a busy main street. Fortunately, we're ahead of the rush so it's pretty quiet. The house is a semi so hmmm. If the truth be known my loud TV will probably bother the neighbours more than they'll bother me. When all is said and done, it's so much better than staying in a hotel/motel.

I absolutely LOVE the phone booth (now a china cabinet) in the living room! 

What's wrong with that boy?!

Happy non-flammable thoughts.     😎

Manitoba - Day 12

 I include this photo to illustrate two things. 1) It sure looks like Saskatchewan and 2) It's not ALWAYS sunny with a perfect blue sky.  😅

I'm sure you're all familiar with New Brunswick's Magnetic Hill. There is a similar phenomenon about 40 kilometres outside Swan River. Stop at the bottom of the hill (which is actually the top), put your car in Neutral, take your foot off the brake and sit in wonder as your vehicle moves backward up the hill. It absolutely feels that is happening and this one is very fast, 50kph+. What they don't tell you is you have to steer to stay on the road (at a good clip remember) and your back up camera does not function as your vehicle is in Neutral so those side view and rear view mirrors are your only lifelines (sorry long gone are the days I can turn around and look out the back of the vehicle to back up). The sensation of going uphill is vivid and well worth the  visit.

Doesn't look like much does it?

An afternoon walk to the old Swan River railway bridge was our swan song (arr arr) to our visit here. I love trains and pretty much anything related to them, the older the better.

There were threatening signs warning about trespassing on railway property - but you know me.

Tomorrow we head north to The Pas. Sounds simple enough but there is a wildfire threatening the town so we'll have to wait and see. I called our Airbnb host and he assured me it was not bad in town (yet). No need to wear masks or be concerned about evacuation. He said you'd never know there was a fire anywhere nearby except for the water bombers flying overhead and dipping down to scoop water out of the lakes. Dave and Christy know all about that.

Rain (what?) is in the forecast but no one knows what the wind is going to do. Fingers crossed. Stay with us.

😎

Manitoba - Day 11

It's much cooler today, so truly does rank as beautiful to me. The Swan Valley Museum was closed but a lot of it is outside so it was enjoyable to see the vintage buildings. History returns to life.

At the back of the museum grounds the Rex Leach Museum trail follows the Swan River and loops through the meadows and woods surrounding. Gently rolling with a few hills to climb it was fun to follow as each loop built on the previous one.

Totally spoiled by our 3 days in Riding Mountain National Park I was disappointed the only wildlife we saw today was this guy, Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Many small towns in Canada boast a "World's Biggest" something or other. If you were a fan of the fantastic Canadian television series Corner Gas, you'll know exactly what I mean. Gee, I wonder what it could be here?

What can I say? Manitoba Rocks!!!

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Manitoba - Day 10

Today is a travel day for us as we head north to Swan River. I found out in a hurray you have to be specific when Googling it. Recently there was a fatal shark attack - apparently there's a Swan River in Australia too.  😅  We bid a fond farewell to the Crooked Mountain Cabins. They were a little cramped but just right for our purposes.

As is the case in many National Parks, Red Chairs are set up at random and you're supposed to try and find as many as you can. This is it, at the last second, as we exited the park. Riding Mountain National Park is certainly worth a visit. I am grateful we saw the wildlife we did. We saw only one deer today as we drove the entire South to North length of the park...and it was a very fleeting glimpse at that. No photo.

As is the case in many remote areas of Canada, there is a surprising Ukrainian influence. That is a particularly welcome and comforting presence, especially in today's times.

As we head further west and north, it's beginning to look a lot like Saskatchewan, as well it should, it's only a few kilometres away.

In a single day we have come from wilderness to suburbs. People around here are asking us why we are visiting Swan River. Honestly? It's part way between here and there. Hope it's nice. Our new home...

Always enjoy arriving in a new place. Crazy eh?

We'll all just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.   😎

Manitoba - Day 9

As small as the cabin is we are really enjoying it. As a matter of fact, there is strong evidence that I'm getting taller as I age, not shrinking as I previously thought. Ah, the pioneers.

In the town of Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park there's a couple more wildlife statues. These are different in that they are created from natural ingredients if you will. Always a good thing in case your wildlife viewing efforts fall short.

We have visited two Bison Enclosures on past trips, one in Saskatchewan and one in Alberta. On both occasions we were bitterly disappointed, driving a long way on pothole-ridden gravel roads and seeing no signs of bison at all. With that in mind we undertook the voyage today with little to no expectation of seeing anything. Well, wouldn't you know it, we caught them on their lunch break so sat and watched them for about half an hour.

We also just about ran over this guy. He took his own sweet time crossing the road as we shut the engine off to wait. After an inordinate amount of time I started the engine and he disappeared in a hurry. Murray's friend Dale would know in an instant what this is. I'm guessing a ptarmigan or grouse but we're close enough to Saskatchewan so let's just call it a Prairie Chicken.

The grounds surrounding our cabin is quite lovely so a walk was a must. The path winds through the meadow and into the woods. A peaceful hike on another gorgeous, cool day.

Tomorrow we head north to Swan River. No idea what awaits so come along.   

😎🦢

Manitoba - Day 8

I was up early so managed to catch the sunrise at 5:30AM. Not spectacular  by any means but sweet because it's the first one I've seen since we arrived in the province.

A day to explore Riding Mountain National Park. This just looked like a nice place when I began researching last year so was the main reason I wanted to spend some time in Manitoba. The Eastern Gate of the park is an historic site. It has obviously been renovated but remains a majestic reminder of the past - especially given we travelled about 50 kilometres of gravel road to get to it.

Another day, another bear - two this time! A camera is unquestionably more successful than a phone for such occasions. We were only about ten yards away in the relative safety of the SUV.

The deer are always a thrill for me as well. Not necessarily so if you see them all the time. I know Gayle pretty much has them come up and knock on her walkout door...and she's got some awfully nice photos to prove it. I don't see them often so still react like a kid at Christmas.

I deliberately pick remote or isolated areas and travel at times that are not supposed to be popular. That's not always possible but so rewarding when it happens. Took this photo...stopped the vehicle where you see it, not off to the side of the road...no fear of anyone coming by...we were more concerned a bear might visit.

Always nice to be able to get a hike in. It was perfect; sunny, clear and about 10 degrees C.

Stay with us - we have one more day in the RMNP area then off we go.

😎

Manitoba - Day 7

In spite of the technological mishaps it was sad to leave our palace in the woods. Just wait until you see what we traded for. 

It started out as another beautiful day but as it progressed it clouded over and we even got a bit of rain. No matter - love being on the road. Having spent some time there in 2019, it sure was easy to see we were nearing Saskatchewan.

Our lack of wild life sightings was fortunately supplemented by a couple of Manitoba's largest...

That was all about to change. We drove through Riding Mountain National Park - yes there is a mountain there; more on that tomorrow. We passed a deer at the side of the road. As is typical, we made a U-turn, went back and it was still there along with a friend. That was pretty nice.

But the more infrequent a sighting is, the better!

Wow! What a difference a day makes! Our new home for the next three nights. At least when I flip a switch a light (one light) comes on then goes off when I flip it back.

Our plan is to explore the park over the next two days. Please join us.   😎

Manitoba - Day 6

I'm no wizard but don't consider myself a total dolt when faced with modern technology. Having said that the lighting system in this house is a nightmare. The lighting is staged in scenes with several functions per switch plate. It's all digital which I suppose is more efficient but the problems, yes that's plural, are numerous. To start with the buttons themselves serve many functions. It is not a simple matter of on/off. As a matter of fact normally it is on and only on, rarely does pressing the button again turn the lights off. And therein lies the problem.

When I entered the bedroom last night I turned on the light. No problem – why should there be? Well, that was just the beginning, that was the launch of the oncoming nightmare. I pushed the same button to turn the light off. Nothing. Push it again. Again nothing. So what do you do? Naturally you try one of the other 7 buttons on the switch plate. The first alternate I tried turned on every light in the entire house. Whoa! 

There were lights everywhere – there's about 60 light switches in this cabin. Accent lighting, sconces, potlights, overhead lighting and even lights I didn't know existed. New, improved, innovative advances are not always a good thing.

Today we chose to explore the other park in the region, Hecla Provincial Park, the one we made the mad dash through upon our arrival two days ago. It was another beautiful day so we were eager to be on our way.

The Grassy Narrows Marsh Boardwalk is a series of trails, not all on a boardwalk, ranging from 1.3 kilometres to 34 kilometres. We selected a few that totalled about 4 kilometres, knowing it was liable to get a little warm and/or wet throughout the process. The first stretch was a frog cacophony to end all others. How can such tiny animals make so much noise? A short boardwalk was closed but we walked along it anyway to soon discover why it was closed as it totally collapsed into the bog. The Bittern Trail followed the dike back to the road ending at the parking lot and a good safe boardwalk traversing the marsh. 

The Gull Harbour Marina lies at the northern end of the island and that was reason enough to travel there. The marina was an odd sight being May with no boats in the water yet due to the propensity of ice still in the lake. That made it a little chilly even though this was the hottest day we've had since our arrival in Manitoba.  

If there's a BBQ on site you can bet I'll use it. Perfect with a glass of wine - can't beat it to top another wonderful day!

Tomorrow we head west to Riding Mountain National Park for three nights. I'm sure our cabin there will not rival our palace in the woods here...but I'll bet the lights will be easier to operate.

😎