We drove out of the Canadian Shield and into the oak and aspen groves of the mixed prairie around south central Manitoba. The overcast skies became more ominous and we drove into a major prairie thunderstorm just east of Winnipeg.
The skies opened and the heavens thundered as forked lighting struck all around us. As a prairie lad this felt like a fitting homecoming. When we arrived at my sister's place I was enjoying the warm summer rain so much I stripped to my bathing suit and washed the RV as it poured
Son Ian, Camille and Baby Cecily
The family had gathered in Winnipeg for the wedding of my nephew Michael and to attend Dad's Memorial Service. For the most part, I tucked my camera away and focused on the moment.
Wood Duck - Juvenile
As we have done every time we are in Winnipeg, we did our nature walk around St. Vital Park. We reflected on the many happy walks we had there with dad.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Winnipeg is the location for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Architecturally, it is a unique building and the exhibits are very thought provoking. Emma was in her element.
Mahatma Gandhi
Entrance to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights
With Ian and Camille, we visited the Winnipeg Art Gallery to see the traveling exhibit on ancient Greek art. My son took his under-graduate degree in Classics so he was quite inspired by the displays.
All of my old bed-time stories about the Peloponnesian and Punic wars had a more lasting effect on him than I realized at the time.
July 29
Today, we drove north from Winnipeg to visit my old childhood friend Elliot Lee. He lives near Petersfieled in the delta just south of Lake Winnipeg.
Elliot driving his boat at Sunset.
We had a wonderful visit which included a sunset cruise along the waterways south of Lake Winnipeg.
Prairie Sunset
Cruising along the estuary by moonlight
We had a quiet evening with old stories, beer and burgers.
July 30
For breakfast, we went to the Netley Creek Golf and Country Club. I like this location because there are lots of birds by the clubhouse. such as: 147) Ruby-throated Hummingbird,148) Purple Martin and 149) Franklin Gull
Eastern Kingbird
150) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
A full day of prairie driving got us to the Regina Walmart.
July 31
Our day started with a visit with Emma's relatives, Andy and Evelyn. Sonaa had a good visit too as she got to play with Evelyn and Cookie.
Sonaa and Evelyn
Sonaa, Emma, Evelyn, Cookie and Andy
We headed up Highway 11 toward Prince Albert National Park. Just north of Regina we stopped at the Condie Nature Refuge for a short morning walk.
Condie Nature Reserve
This reserve is one of the stop over locations that Whooping Cranes have used when they migrate from Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberts to Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Texas.
Whooping Crane Statue
We stopped at the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre to reflect on the history surrounding the first military engagement of the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre and Battlefield
Duck Lake was the first military confrontation between the Canadian Government and the newly formed Metis Provisional Government of Saskatchewan. It was a sad chapter in Canadian history and a good reminder that going forward we can do better.
Battle of Duck Lake
151) Black Terns near Duck Lake
We slid into the last campsite at Whispering Pines RV Park near Prince Albert.
August 1
By mid morning,we had covered 87 kilometres and arrived in Prince Albert National Park.
First things first so we went directly to the Shady Lake trail for our morning hike.
Shady Lake and Trail
North End of Shady Lake
Sonaa having her morning swim in Shady Lake
We followed the 1.7 km Shady Lake Trail then continued along the 2 km Height-of-Land trail.
Grove of Trembling Aspen
The Height-of-Land Trail was so named because it was the high ground that separated the North Saskatchewan watershed from the Churchill River Watershed. A four-storey tower got us above the forest for an excellent view of the surrounding country.
Emma atop the Height of Land Tower
Village of Waskesiu Lake
We had a nice walk around town and stopped for lunch.
Prince Albert Park headquarters
By the shores of Lake Waskesiu was a cute little nature house.
Prince Albert Nature House
Waskesiu Lake and Beach
Parks Canada Red Chairs by Waskesiu Lake
Waskesiu Village Pier
Paddling in Waskesiu Lake
After a nice tour around Waskesiu Village, we drove to our third hike of the day to do the 2 km Waskesiu River Trail.
This hike was a pleasant walk through spruce forest along the banks of the Waskesiu River.
Waskesiu River
Emma and Sonaa on the Waskesiu River Trail
The kilometres were adding up but Emma and Sonaa were still in fine form.
Waskesiu River
Emma overlooking the Waskesiu River
Mom Mallard with her growing brood
Shrubby Cinquefoil
Emma and Sonaa on Waskesiu River Trail
The Boreal Forest
Bunchberry
Earlier in our trip we took pictures of the white flowers of the Bunchberry plant. Now, it is August and the flowers have been pollinated and become bright red berries. Apparently, these berries can be eaten raw as a trail-side snack. However, we are not overly confident in our flora classifications so stayed with our trail mix on this occasion.
Muskeg in the Boreal Forest
A few elk were grazing in the bushes beside the trail.
Elk
Elk Calf
Sections of the Waskesiu River Trail were quite marshy and this boardwalk really helped.
Finally we were back on firm footing and continued through a mixed forest of spruce and aspens.
The Waskesiu River Trail was a most enjoyable little hike. It really showcased the terrain and flora of the northern boreal forest.
Emma beside the Waskesiu River
To exit the park, we decided to drive through the interior of the park along Highway 263. It was a very pleasant drive south as nobody else was on the road.
Suddenly, the paved road ended and we were in the middle of a major road construction project.
Apparently. we missed the sign that said the road was under construction and you should take a different route. As we were already committed we wound our RV past bulldozers, and front end loaders for many miles along a semi complete gravel road.
After a glacierly slow commute we made it through the construction zone and back onto the open road. By nightfall, we were at the Walmart in North Battleford.
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