After breakfast, we drove over to Kildonan Park in North Winnipeg. Here we left our truck and rode the bikes into town. There are six parkway systems in Winnipeg that follow alongside the Red River or Assiniboine River. First, we followed the North Winnipeg Parkway south along the west bank of the Red River. The bike path led us through the historic neighborhood of Seven Oaks. Seven Oaks takes its name from a nearby creek where seven large oak trees once stood, marking the site of the Battle of Seven Oaks fought in 1816. We had to keep any eye out for these Parkway signs since the bike trail followed a number of different streets.
On Sundays, the streets that make up the parkway are closed to motor vehicles, except of course, for locals who are supposed to only drive one block. However, we found this to be honored in the breach. However, it didn't lessen our enjoyment of the ride. We took a few minutes to check out St. John's Cathedral. Built on the banks of the Red River in Winnipeg’s North End, St. John’s Cathedral is the birthplace of the Anglican Church in Western Canada.
Just across the street from the cemetery is St. John's Park. Here we were able to leave the parkway and ride right next to the Red River on the Red River Trail.
As we rode along, certain buildings would catch our eye and we would leave the trail to go investigate. The photo below is of the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral. Did you know there are an estimated 1,209,085 persons of full or partial Ukrainian descent residing in Canada (mainly Canadian-born citizens) making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group, and giving Canada the world's third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia.
We made a brief stop at the Norquay Community Center. The Center offers all kinds of activities for the kids no matter what the season. If it gets too cold on the playground, just come over and warm yourself at the Community Oven! (We loved the purple building behind it and got a separate photo of that - but space limitations in the blog precluded our adding that photo.)
We left the river trail to avoid pedaling all the way out South Douglas Point and all the way back again. We cut the corner and worked our way over to the Waterfront District. We passed a number large warehouses and industrial buildings. In an effort to spruce things up a bit, many of the buildings had outstanding murals painted on them. Here is one of our favorites:
As we reconnected with the North Winnipeg Parkway Trail, we could look out over the Red River and see the Human Rights Museum that we toured on Friday. You can read about our visit - click here.
At Waterfront Park, we came across the Scots Monument. This monument, located near the Alexander Docks, was erected in 1993. It depicts a stylized Scots thistle, the floral emblem of Scotland since ancient times. It is dedicated to Thomas Douglas, Fifth Earl of Selkirk, and marks the historical origins of Manitoba as a European settled territory. This monument was unveiled by Rev. Hugh Wyllie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 19 June 1992. It commemorates the 175th anniversary of the arrival on the Red River of Thomas Douglas, Fifth Earl of Selkirk and his settlers. The first group arrived here in 1812.
Behind the monument is a plaque containing the text of a poem Cairn of Tears describing the departure of the Scottish settlers on their journal to Canada, a copy of an original in Scotland. It reads:
And so they came on a far off evening up to the hilltop,
Child, and man, and woman.
Each with a stone wetted by their tears
And every stone they placed and made themselves a cairn
And called it Cairn an Dorin.
Here was their hill, a hill of sorrow
And they stood around in silence
For each stone held each their lives,
To be left here and seen from far upon this hill,
To be known to all the waters, and the far off lands,
To all the winds, the calm and the storm,
To the great cast shadowsa of the clouds
The rain, and the salt-sweet mist,
The sun and the shade of the seasons
Until the time each stone should fall and drop away
As brittle lichen falls,
Finding no life within the dying tree.
Silent they stood looking around and round
And then they went down the dark pathways to the sea.
We started our journey at the beginning of Manitoba.
After learning all about the formation of Manitoba, we moved on to the arrival of man. Here Dave compares himself to one of his close ancestors - the Neanderthal.
Next we took a stroll the waterfront of 17th century England, where the two-masted ketch Nonsuch awaits high tide, morning light and a voyage into history. In 1668, the original Nonsuch sailed into Hudson Bay in search of furs. The voyage not only led to the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company two years later, but was instrumental in establishing commerce in western Canada. Built in England to celebrate the tricentennial of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1970, the Nonsuch is considered one of the finest replicas in the world, and sailed 14,000 kilometres of salt and fresh water before finding a home at the Museum. They literally built the Manitoba Museum around the boat.
In the Arctic/Sub-Arctic Gallery, we explored the traditional lifestyle of the hunting, gathering and fishing Caribou Inuit and Caribou-Eater Chipewyan, as well as Arctic explorations and the development of oil and gas reserve. Here is one of the early snow coaches used around Hudson's Bay.
Another Gallery was on the Grasslands. As settlement increased, grain, not bison, became the major crop of the Red River Valley. Here Kathy stands next to a sample of native grass and its expansive root system. It was these roots that enable early settlers to build their sod homes. The size of the root system also explains the damage that was done when prairie grasses were torn up for farms: it would take years for new native plants to take root and ensure survival.
All that learning builds up a powerful thirst, not to mention a good appetite. We asked at the museum for a lunch suggestion. Here is Kathy showing off the menu for the King's Head - Winnipeg's Finest Pub. As their motto suggests, it was time to eat drink and be merry! We discovered a really good local beer - Fort Garry Dark, an English mild ale!
On our way to lunch from the Museum, we crossed through Old Market Square. They were setting up for a concert on the Cube Stage. Sunday's concert was part of the Manitoba Electric Music Exhibition. We could feel the electronic dance music vibrate through the soles of out feet.
We did a little shopping at the Museum. We wanted to get a little "thank you" gift for Desa and her family for taking the time to help us discover Winnipeg. We left the presents for them just like Santa Claus and continued on our journey home.
Tomorrow we head back into the United States. We had a great time in Canada and look forward to returning next May on our way to Alaska!
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