Duluth Minnesota

We learned that just North of Duluth stood the Whispering Giant that Peter Wolf Toth had carved and donated to the State of Minnesota. Of course, we couldn’t let that stand without paying a visit to take in another magnificent Toth carving.

Outside the visitor center in Two Harbors Minnesota is the state’s gift from Toth. We don’t believe we have yet to see a Whispering Giant with hands – all we’ve seen so far have only been massive head carvings. It was fun to see a little variation here on the Range.

We got really lucky. Our nephew Jonny is currently a student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth campus. It turned out that the only day we happened to be staying in Duluth was the day he was in a choir concert open to the public. We scooped up our tickets and by a fluke, got to see Jonny perform in a very interesting and complex demonstration of Barouche era music. (The tall guy, not unlike his Auntie) Fun!

Talk to you soon!

Itasca State Park

I just assumed that everyone who lived, as a child, had visited the headwaters of the Mississippi River when they were a kid, doing the family caravan thing in a station wagon. I knew that I had done that, but learned that the Woman had never been there. While it wasn’t directly on our path South, it wasn’t that far out of the way.

As we neared Itasca State Park, we began crossing the Mississippi River on bridges – it was more of a creek up here than a river. But it was really cool to see where the source of the 4^th longest river in the world got its start. We spotted this lovely ladder-back woodpecker on a trail that meandered along the edge of the River.

Itasca was great and well worth a visit if you haven’t. The Park has oodles of  history – in the early 1800’s the local settlers had their share of feuds. In October of 1898, William McMullen was hunting with Nelson Rust when Rust shot him through the heart. Rust claimed he thought the white scarf McMullen wore was the tail of a deer. Friends of McMullen knew that Rust wanted the land that McMullen owned, and believed it was not an accident. Rust was acquitted at trial, but the marker in the 1800’s era Pioneer Cemetery where the early settlers are buried leaves the question open.

Apparently the source of the great Mississippi was unknown well into the mid-1800’s. Since the river passes through several lakes in its early miles many debated which lake was actually the source. Eventually scientists agreed it was, in fact, Lake Itasca that served as the source. Land surveyor Jacob Bower is credited with providing the best evidence to support the lake as the true source, and Henry Schoolcraft renamed the lake Itasca coined from a combination of Latin words essentially meaning “truth head”.

We had a spectacular visit, especially since the weather was 70 and sunny, not very normal for late October this far North in Minnesota. We hiked all the trails we could find, and visited all the CCC era structures that still remain in the Park.

The pooch joined us on several of the hikes and enjoyed it thoroughly. Kona had never strolled through fallen leaves before, and you could clearly see how happy he was romping and creating a leaf crinkling ruckus.

We saw visitor alerts all over the roadways in Itasca Park. I assume that they may actually post some meaningful warnings at times, but when it’s sunny and 70’s, maybe this is all you get warned about or alerted to. 

While we haven’t driven all of it, I can safely say that we have easily driven more than half of the Great River Road that lines the entire length of the Mississippi River. Much of it we drove in the heartland a couple years ago from the Twin Cities down to Missouri. But, we had never driven a portion of the Road that actually lies North of the headwaters. We learned that as the Mississippi leaves the waters of Itasca, it actually makes a big sweeping curve Northeast, and then begins its long trudge to New Orleans. So, we added a whole bunch more Great River Road mile notches to our belt.

Here I am actually standing in the center of the Mississippi River just a few feet from Lake Itasca. While the water was brisk, the sun and the 70’s made the venture worthwhile. It didn’t take very long for my numb feet to return to normal.

Talk to you soon!

International Falls Minnesota

The Woman wanted her drugs – Tylenol with Codeine – which used to be over the counter in Canada. She tried to buy some in Winnipeg and learned it was now considered prescription only. However, she learned that was a Provincial determination, and Ontario hadn’t adopted that as yet. So, we headed to International Falls via Kenora Ontario – an hour out of the way, but the Woman got her opioids. On top of that, I got to see Husky the Musky, allegedly the largest statue of a Musky in the world!

It was nice to cross the border and be back in the States again – no more translation fees on the credit card or roaming charges from Sprint – yippeeeeeeee! However, the Canadians weren’t about to let us leave without one last gift. The gift that keeps on giving – and giving. I am really glad that I don’t have to walk across this field!

I hadn’t been in International Falls in maybe 40 years, and the Woman had never been here. It seemed actually balmy compared to Winnipeg and Churchill – temps in the low 60’s had us out walking around, and seeing folk in lawn chairs in their yards.  We took the pooch to Smokey the Bear Park, where the largest Smokey statue has been claimed by the city of International Falls. Built in 1953, me and the bear are the same age – I think I am fairing age better, but give it another 20 and maybe not.

We headed to Voyageurs National Park. Although born in Minnesota, neither of us had ever been here. It’s essentially a water park – even though it covers over 200,000 acres, the vast majority can only be reached by water. The Kabetogoma Peninsula, which lies entirely within the Park, can only be reached by water. We hit the Rainy Lake Visitor center which is the only one open year-round. We hiked the only trail available in our balmy weather and had a great time.

On the way to the National Park we passed by the town of Rainier. The former 3-time mayor of the town, Vic Davis, owned an island in Rainy Lake. The US Government decided to expand the size of Voyageur National Park in 1980 and through eminent domain, seized his land and told him to vacate. In protest, he had a 25-foot-tall statue made of himself as a Voyageur and placed it on the island. Not amused, the NPS removed the statue and forced Vic from the island.

After suing the Feds, Vic was awarded $90,000 in compensation for his stolen land, and he gifted his statue to his town of Rainier, where it stands today. We swung through Rainier just to see what all the hub bub was about. It was a very small town, that looked like it might sport a bit more action during the summer lake season. If we ever get back here, I’m pretty sure I would want to try out Woody’s Guide Service – wouldn’t you?

Apparently, folks in International Falls are statue fanatics. While he was actually born in Rainy River Ontario to Eastern European immigrants, the world famous early football star Bronko Nagurski was raised in International Falls. Playing football in Bemidji where he graduated high school, he went on to play with the University of Minnesota Gophers. He helped the Gophers to an 18-4-2 record during his time, and took them to the Big 10 Conference Championship in 1927. Apparently Nagurski considered the Falls as his home town, and dedicated a wing of the Koochiching County Museum.

Talk to you soon!

Winnipeg II

We attempted to exhaust Winnipeg. We learned that in addition to giving a Whispering Giant to every state in the US, Peter Wolf Toth also gave one of his mammoth wood carvings to Canada. It turns out that the only Toth in Canada happens to be in the town of Winnipeg Beach, about an hour North of Winnipeg on Lake Winnipeg. We enjoyed the drive, because even though its nearing winter and all the “beach” businesses are closed for the season, each of these beach towns reminded us a bit of the Texas and Florida coasts – outdoor dining on the water (vacant now), video parlors with garage doors for the warm season – it was great fun!

We visited the Canadian National Museum of Human Rights. It is a massive structure that reminded me in some ways of our visit to the Guggenheim in Spain, at least as far as the quality of the exhibits and the interesting paths to see them. The museum walks through a multitude of struggles in the world for basic human rights, not always pointing out how political governments lead the way. The museum addresses both famous historical human rights struggles, like the holocaust and the plight of indigenous folk in Canada as the country expanded West, as well as every day struggles for gender rights, cultural rights, and basic human needs. We spent the better part of a day here, and could easily have come back for more.

The Woman had her 63^rd birthday while we were in Winnipeg. The always nice folks on our Fantasy RV Tour were on top of it. When the Woman woke up on her birthday and took the pooch out for his morning restroom break, she was greeted by a coach door full of balloons and a birthday greeting!

We spent a day in Steinbach Manitoba where they have assembled a collection of actual buildings and everyday items from the many Mennonite villages that populated early Manitoba. We learned that our knowledge of the Mennonite belief was pretty sketchy. We had seen some displays on the Mennonites in the Human Rights Museum, but didn’t realize how persecuted these folks were everywhere that they tried to settle and make a life. This steam driven tractor was actually used on one of the many Mennonite farms in the nearby area.
Talk to you soon!

Winnipeg Manitoba

We’ve been to Winnipeg before but didn’t take in the sights. So, now was our chance. Winnipeg sits on the vast Manitoba plains, as flat as can be. So renowned architect Etienne Gaboury took it on himself to build some mountains in Winnipeg. Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church is one of the many mountains French born Gaboury was responsible for. He built another “mountain” in his design of the main downtown bridge across the Red River.

Another mountain Gaboury was the architect of is the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg. We got to tour the mint and learn about what has turned into big business. Built in Winnipeg in order to minimize shipping costs (Winnipeg is just about in the dead center of Canada), the mint actually makes coins for over 170 countries throughout the world. During a brief time when the US mint was having a material supply problem the Winnipeg mint even made some coin blanks for the US.

We visited the remains of Upper Fort Gary, another of the string of early Hudson Bay Company trading posts. All that remains is the East gate of the fort, but considering that it was built in the early 1800’s, it’s still pretty impressive. It lies in the shadow of the historic Hotel Fort Gary, where the wealthy and famous were put up after arriving in Winnipeg at Union Station, across the street.

We grabbed lunch getting an hour long panoramic view of all of Winnipeg. The saucer shaped structure on the top of the high rise in the last picture is the Prairie 360 restaurant. It has a revolving seating area that lets you dine and get a private tour of the town. Since the only mountains anywhere near are the ones designed by Gaboury, you get an unobstructed, spectacular view.

We toured the Manitoba Legislative Building, completed in 1920. We learned that it was designed by Frank Worthington Simon, a notable Free Mason of the times. As we toured the impressive stone building, our guide pointed out all the mysterious Free Mason symbolism that was built into the structure. There were hundreds of such symbols that otherwise would just look like interesting decorations. 

On the dome of the Legislative Building is one of the objects most recognized by Winnipeggers. Known as the Golden Boy, this statue of Mercury shows up in most tourism related brochures, and on post cards anywhere you look. The sun gave us a nice show of it this day.

We visited the gravesite of Louis Riel, in the shadow of the ruins of the St. Boniface Cathedral. Louis Riel was a Metis who campaigned tirelessly for the preservation of lands, rights and the culture of the Metis. He is credited for creating the movement that resulted in the granting of Manitoba the status of a province of Canada in 1870.

Sadly, his activities that resulted in Manitoba being admitted as a province ended up not serving him well. His activities to preserve the lands, culture and rights of the Metis got him arrested and tried for treason against the Nation of Canada. He was found guilty and hung on May 20, 1885. This statue of Riel used to sit outside the Legislative Building, but locals found it to risqué and so it was moved to Assiniboine Park. Interestingly, it was sculpted by Etienne Gaboury.

Not only did we visit all the historical Hudson Bay Company trading forts, we decided to peek into the original Hudson Bay Company department store in downtown Winnipeg. The store used to have 8 floors cram packed with merchandise for sale. Now, with the advent of online competition, 6 of the floors are empty and only the first two are open to shoppers. It’s still cool though to think that this is the first company ever to be incorporated, by British Royal Charter, on May 2, 1670!

Talk to you soon!

Churchill III

From everyone we talked to, if you live in Churchill, you don’t just have one job – you have many. Apparently, you can’t just find one occupation that will meet all your living needs. Many are tour guides, but also work as Park Rangers for the Provincial Government or Parks Canada. Most seem to do gun repair or refurbishment, as the needs for guns here for bear protection is a focus. While hard to see here, Kevin Burke has his name painted on this personal tundra buggy #12. He is the only Churchill resident that drives for the only tow companies allowed to venture on the tundra.

Given the local dependence on various and different forms of transportation, apparently sled dog teams get priority in Churchill when it comes to parking. There was not enough of the white stuff on the ground yet for us to be able to confirm this.

In Churchill, it used to be that Polar Bears were on a three-strike system – first time in town, they were tagged with a green tag. Second time, they were tagged with red. Third time, they were shot. Now that they have recognized the importance of the Bear to their economy, they have instituted a Polar Bear jail. If Bears come into town, they are trapped and incarcerated in these units.

The Bears are taken to a jail facility where they are held for several days. While held, they get no food or water, so not to encourage them to revisit. After being incarcerated for several days, they are netted and flown considerable miles from town in hopes that they don’t return. We visited the Polar Bear jail, but folks aren’t allowed inside to see the convicts.

Believe it or not, this is actually a real street in Manitoba. It’s great to have confirmation of Canadians’ sense of humor.

Many Manitoba towns we visited had the kinds of murals we saw on the outside of the Polar Bear jail. Churchill had its share of murals, with more than a dozen on sides of buildings throughout town. The murals add a mystique to the already interesting settings that are the backdrops of rural and Northern Manitoba.

I am pretty sure that this sign could be put on Colectiva as well. Kona the pooch suffers from the same lack of control.

Talk to you soon!

Churchill II

With our two days out on the tundra, I figured out how this works. About 25 miles South of Churchill is Wapusk National Park. The Park is the 4,500 acres representing the world’s largest known Polar Bear maternity dens. Churchill happens to be where Hudson Bay fist starts to freeze in October/November. So, after cubs are born in the Wapusk dens, the Polar Bears flock to Churchill so they can move out onto the ice floes of Hudson Bay where they hunt seal to survive.

For some reason I had the impression of a migration, crossing expanses of land. But it is rather a point of entry to the ice of the Hudson Bay that brings them here. While prepared to be skunked – bear sightings were not guaranteed in any of the tour literature – we were blessed with seeing 3 real live Polar Bears in our two days out in the tundra. Two of the bears we saw at a considerable distance, but enjoyed them none the less. This lone bear decided to perform for us close up, which was the highlight of our visit.

When we headed out in our tundra buggies, we were told we were looking for the big four. Of course, Polar Bears were the focus. But we were to keep an eye out for Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare and Ptarmigan. We had seen Ptarmigan in Alaska, but were excited to see them again in the Churchill tundra. It turned out we saw several dozens of them, always pecking and eating the local vegetation.

Our guide, Kevin Burke, told us that Arctic Hare were elusive, and that he often didn’t spot any on his trips out in the tundra buggy. However, he spotted one in the brush, and as he had said, it was very shy and elusive.

However, after we pulled up and parked the buggy for a bit, he decided to show off a bit for us. He circled the tundra buggy a few times, nibbling at the vegetation at a leisurely pace, and then posed for some photos. Nice!

The same thing happened with the Arctic Fox. We actually saw two of them. The first we saw was very white, which Kevin said was their coloration once the snows hit as it gave them the camouflage needed for survival. This guy was hunting rodents of some sort, and we enjoyed his jumping and pouncing on the unsuspecting prey.

Just like the Arctic Hare, this fox decided to put on a show for us. He came close, posed, and generally followed our buggy for quite a while. This guy was still a bit greyer, and hadn’t quite yet reached the pure white he would before the major snow flies. But he was stunning, and his acting ability was undisputable.

The climactic extremes here effect everything. All the pines in the area are referred to as one sided trees. That is because the winds prevent the trees from developing branches on the windward side. Not only are the trees one sided, but their development is even affected. This pine, while looking like a sapling, is well over 450 years old. Sheesh!

All in all, we had a spectacular display of what Churchill had to offer. And the hospitality was astounding. However, even though I got a chance to drive the tundra buggy for real, I don’t think I could ever muster up the chutzpah to attempt to live in a climate like this again.

Talk to you soon

Churchill Manitoba

Change in plans. In late June, the heavy spring rains washed out about 800 feet of track owned by Omni Trax, so we had to fly instead. I don’t know who paid for the extra cost of our flights – I assume that Fantasy RV Tours absorbed it. So, to revel in the moment, we decided to have a donut (at least the Woman did) in the terminal in Thompson. Catchy name!

In 1997, the Canadian National Railway agreed to sell the tracks from The Pas to Churchill in Northern Manitoba to a US based company called Omnitrax. The sale agreement contained legal assurances that Omnitrax would maintain the service necessary to serve this community. Omnitrax now states it cannot afford to replace the flooded-out track, and that their agreement did not anticipate this unexpected added financial cost.

The Canadian government has demanded that Omnitrax replace the tracks in 30 days and restore the tracks and resume the only effective supply line to Churchill, but nobody expects anything to move on the situation before spring. Locals have told us that tourism has plummeted, down by as much as 70% with the lack of access to the area. In addition, any construction in the area has ceased as the materials needed that were ordered last fall are still at the rail stations in Thompson or The Pas.

So Omnitrax exerts no effort to repair the track. When the track washed out, they had a passenger train sitting in the station in Churchill. They sent a ship to collect that engine and cars – trains sitting make no money. But the only docks were owned by the Canadian government, who have denied them the access to move their engine and cars onto a ship. So, while this saga plays out, we walked over to see the hostage train engine and cars sitting dormant in the rail station in Churchill.

This actually afforded us a bit of a small bonus. We wanted to visit some sled dogs in Churchill at the kennel of David Daley, the founder of the Hudson Bay Quest, the most grueling sub-arctic sled dog race that currently exists. Normally a minimum of guests is required to get a visit.  Bad for them but good for us, they decided not to enforce the minimum since their tourism rates have been so low, and the cost of maintaining the dogs has increased dramatically with the train out.

We had a great ride, and got a little bit of a puppy fix, since we are currently separated from Kona. We enjoyed our visit thoroughly, learning a great deal about the Metis culture – Dave is Metis. Metis literally means half-breed – born of the union of Cree natives with the French fur traders. They developed their own language, customs and culture, and survived the onslaught of the Canadian westward expansion, not at all unlike the native nations we learned more about in South and North Dakota.

Churchill has only about 850 full time residents. But it has plenty of interesting things to entertain the visitor. We would our way to the Prince of Wales Fort that was an early fur trading fort established by the Hudson Bay Company, the first ever corporation acknowledged by the King of England. Of course, because of the possibility of Polar Bears, our bus driver was armed with a rifle and he carried it with him as we walked around the fort, which is a Canadian National Historic Site.

Talk to you soon!