Riding Mountain National Park, MB to Kenora, ON

August 9

odometer 98456

Got our best start yet today, at 8 am. It was really nice having an on-site sewer, it made packing up faster. The landscape near the park was rolling, but flattened out along the Yellowhead. Finally got to see fields of sunflowers and flax. The flax was a neat purply-blue colour, but the fields of sunflowers were really pretty.

We also saw farmers harvesting wheat (I think). Had a rest stop at the Portage La Prairie spillway, then into Winnipeg for lunch. On the way into Winnipeg we stopped at a produce stand to pick up fresh corn and beans, as wells as homemade pickled beets and pickles. I love this time of year! Noticed Newfoundland plates at the produce stand, and saw NB plates on the Yellowhead.

I am really interested in Winnipeg - there is so much Canadian history there. We didn't have much time, so I decided to go to 'The Forks' - a park where the Assiniboine and Red rivers meet. This is a very historic area with deep roots for the native peoples. So we drove to The Forks only to find there was NO parking for RVs or buses. It was noon and the parking lots were packed, so it was a challenge to find a double spot to park the van and trailer, but we did it!

First stop was to get a picture of where the Assiniboine meets the Red River.

Then we walked to the Oodena Celebration ciricle, the site where Aboriginals have been meeting for centuries.

We also went to the National Historic Site and saw the 'Path in Time' sculpture.

Grabbed some lunch before carefully pulling out of the parking lot - again a challenge but DH did great. All the kids fell asleep, so they didn't get lunch. Not so bad because they were the worst perogies and cabbage rolls I've ever had. The perogies were starchy and bland and the cabbage rolls had the taste and texture of cat food.

As we drove east of Winnipeg I noticed that there was less farmland and more deciduous forests. Manitoba also has 'odometer checks'. There is a sign that tells you when to restart your odometer and then a second sign to mark the distance. Not sure the point of these - I never knew odometer accuracy was a problem in MB! We did them anyway, just for fun.

Almost immediately after crossing the border into Ontario the scenery changed. You can tell we are on the Shield! Lots of granite outcrops along the roadside and much more conifers. The scenery is not that exciting - how can you compare with mountains - but it feels sooooo good to be back in Ontario even if we are still very far from home!

Pulled into Rushing River Provincial Park, just east of Kenora around supper time. It is so hot in Ontario, I guess they have been having this weather since we left. Made perogies for supper along with some fresh corn, just to repair the damage done by the awful ones at lunch. Headed out to the beach to cool off. The weather was gorgeous and there was a really nice playground. We are looking forward to checking out more of the park tomorrow. Really really hot tonight!