Hi all!
When we last left you off, we were still in Alberta. From Medicine Hat, we made our way to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan! The town is accurately named considering there is a giant moose in the middle of it, claimed to be the world's largest. We ended off in Regina for the night. We. Spent some time walking around Wescana park where there was a festival with music, wake-boarding contests, and a motocross. We walked along the river that runs through the city and soaked in the beauty of it all. We also saw the gorgeous legislature building in the background It was almost hard to believe we were in the prairies.
The next day, we were lucky enough to get a private tour of depot, the RCMP training facility. It has been in this location since the formation of the North West Mounted Police that were commissioned to protect the west from American invaders and other villains. It was placed in Regina because it was the capital of the North West Territories at the time. Nearby at Fort Dufferin is where the Mounties began their famous trek west. We also visited the Heritage Centre at Depot where we learned about the past and present work of the RCMP. We got to watch the noon parade (which wasn't actually at noon) where we saw the Mounties in training strut their stuff for the onlookers. We saw a band as well as many different marching formations.
From Regina, it was on to Fort Qu'apelle where we saw a monument commemorating a treaty that was signed there between Canada and multiple first nations groups. We then entered Manitoba! We camped for the night in Neepawa.
The next day, we attempted to go to Spruce Woods provincial park where there are sand dunes, quicksand, and rainforest. Unfortunately, due to flooding in southern Manitoba, we were not able to reach our destination (not due to a lack of trying).
In the afternoon, we arrived in Winnipeg. Since it was such a beautiful day, we spent some time in the Forks district. Now a trendy market, this area used to have great importance as it is the meeting place of the Red River and the Assinibione. We did a walking tour of the area which led us across a bridge to Saint Boniface, an old French district of the city. Unfortunately, we weren't able to walk along the river because the path was completed submerged under water.
In Saint Boniface, we learned about French culture in Manitoba. We visited the grave of Louis Riel and also saw a monument recognizing French Western Canadians who died in the world wars. We stopped by the childhood house of Gabrielle Roy, a famous French writer whose books have won numerous awards (some of which are based in Montreal).
At the end of the day we walked through the legislature building - the nicest one yet. There were many statues including a gold plated boy on the roof and a huge bison in the entryway.
The next day, we made our way out of Winnipeg after a quick visit to the Jewish Heritage Museum of Western Canada (which turned out to be just a hallway in the JCC). Next, we took a tour of the Royal Canadian Mint where we learned how coins are made. Did you know that the penny actually costs more than it is worth? It costs the mint 1.5 cents to make each one. Also, they keep having to make more because mist pennies put into circulation simply disappear (under your couch cushions perhaps). We also saw the Olympic and Paralympic medals and lifted a 500,000 dollar gold bar.
We then made our way to Grand Beach for an afternoon in the sun. It was a nice, relaxing day that provided a much needed break. That night we made it to West Hawk Lake which was right on the border of Ontario. The sunset was spectacular overlooking the lake. Wildlife sighting for that day was one white-tailed deer right outside our tent!
The next day we did a lot of driving. We stopped for the day in Thunder Bay, Ontario. There, we saw a Terry Fox memorial. It was just nearby where he stopped his marathon of hope. The statue point in the westward direction so as to keep his quest alive. We also went to the Mount McKay lookout where we could see the entire city.
The next day we made our way to Sault Ste. Marie. Our first stop was to sleeping giant provincial park. Te highlight of the park was an island that looked like a giant sleeping on his back. We then took a trip to an amethyst mine where we learned about how the rock is formed and removed. We even got to try our own hand at amethyst "mining" and were quite successful.
That afternoon, we made a quick stop in Wawa to pose in front of the world's largest Canada Goose. It was mighty big. We then stopped for the night in the Sault. Wildlife sighting for the day was 5 deer including a stag! (the first one of the trip)
In Sault Ste. Marie, we checked out some famous locks (we didn't really see what the fuss was all about). After an unexpected delay due to a parade, we headed to Sudbury to see the world's largest nickel! We then set off to Parry Sound to visit the Bobby Orr hall of fame. Although it was closed, we saw some interesting artifacts in the gift shop including the infamous goal (and the matching bobble-Bobby). We camped for the night in Midland.
When we woke up the next morning we went to the Heron museum. There, they had artifacts of the Heron tribe as well as a replica of a fort where they lived. It was interesting to see the difference in technology between the Western Aboriginal tribes. The Heron were more sedentary due to a greater reliance on farming as opposed to hunting. We also saw the use of tools with obvious influence from European settlers and fur traders.
The next stop was Owen Sound, the hometown of artist Tom Thompson. In the museum bearing his name, we learned about his life and mysterious death. We also got to see some original small paintings completed while camping in Algonquin Park.
In our next stop, Clinton, we saw an old railcar which had been turned into a museum. This railcar is special because until the 1950s, it had been used as a traveling schoolhouse for isolated communities in Northern Ontario. The teacher lived there for the entire school year. They lived in the back of the car while the school was in the front. They would stop in each community with at least 6 children for a week every month (leaving behind a month's worth of homework of course). We got to tour the school as well as the living quarters that had been restored after the car was out of use and abandoned. What is interesting is that this museum only exists because of the efforts made by teacher's daughter to preserve her childhood home.
After seeing North America's largest water wheel in New Hamburg, we made our last stop in Niagara Falls (after getting a glimpse of lake Erie of course). There, we did the Journey behind the Falls where we got some great views of the rushing water and learned about how erosion makes the falls move position. We saw the falls lit up at night and took in a fireworks show above them. We made it to Toronto that night spending it with Talia's sister Ilana.
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