Day 8: Winnipeg

For the past few days (since Thursday night) I have been staying at a friend’s house in Winnipeg.  On the ride into Winnipeg from Drumheller via Saskatoon I was treated to a partly cloudy skies that really showed God’s handiwork in creation.  There is nothing quite like seeing an endless partly cloudy sky stretch across the prairies in every direction; it almost make me want to live in Saskatchewan.  It was awesome to see the clouds as the sun began to set and cast a pinkish hue against them.  I was afraid that it might be bad weather while I was in Winnipeg, but it turned out great.  Sunny, but a bit breezy.  The picture below is in WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDESCREEN in hope of capturing these clouds grandeur.

 

When I arrived at the Greyhound terminal I was greeted by my hosts and taken to their home located in the Wolsely area of the city, just west of Portage and Main (central downtown).  Wolsely is also known to the locals as ‘Granola Heights’  because it has a reputation of being very hippy and full of earth friendly people, and from a time long before that sort of thing became popular.  Many of the houses here are quite old, but the one I stayed in was in good shape.

On Friday I toured Red River College, a school that I am considering attending for professional baking or hospitality management.  It looks like a good school.   On Saturday I checked out the Manitoba Museum where there of the was ample information about Manitoba’s history.  It had many dioramas and a large (life size?) replica of the H.M.S. Nonsuch.  We also went to the science centre to see some cool activities such as this room filled with mirrors and lights.

On Sunday we went to Winnipeg’s iconic area known as ‘The Forks’.  The Forks reminded me allot about Markets found in Vancouver such as New Westminster Quay and Grandville Island Market.  It had many food shops and trendy clothing and jewellery shops.  The Forks Market has a viewpoint in it where you can get a good view of downtown and see why it is called ‘The Forks’.  This area is called ‘The Forks’ because it is where the Red River meets the Assiniboine River.  The Forks is also the original site of Winnipeg where many people throughout history would meet.  On this particular Sunday we were treated to an Aboriginal Ceremony taking place to celebrate the end of summer.

On Monday I travelled to Assiniboine Park to look at the many gardens and sculptures that they have there.  It is a very nice place to relax, go for a jog or go for a bike ride.  Although I didn’t explore the park fully, it is also the home to the Assiniboine Zoo where there is a statue of Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne’s fictional bear named after the city of Winnipeg. 

Also on Monday I took the opportunity to visit the area of the city where my mother’s childhood house is located, Transcona.  Transcona is located a fair distance east of downtown.  As it was described to me, not much has changed in the area except the trees are bigger.  I’m sure in 50 more years they will be large enough to canopy the entire road. 

 

Phew, long post for a good long stay in Winnipeg.  Next I’ll be going south to visit my sister in Eau Claire and then for a few days in Chicago.  Also, there are many other photos I haven’t shared on here that are eating up space on my computer; I’ve taken about 500 photos and its only been one week!