We still had some time left to go before our cruise departure date and we had some business back east that needed attention, so, we embarked on a very quick one-week, 6,000 km round-trip across 1/2 the country to Winnipeg and back. The road is good and the traffic and weather weren't bad. It wasn't as onerous a trip as it might sound. We've driven across Canada a number of times now. Some might find it boring, but, each province is so different and beautiful in its own way that we find it an interesting trip each time.
Heading across southern BC the trees had started to change and there were swathes of brilliant yellow leaves that glowed in the autumn sunshine. Not as spectacular as fall leaves in Ontario, but, very pretty nonetheless. Alberta seemed newly full of wind farms and not in a good way, They spilled willy-nilly across the landscape crowning every slight knoll. Saskatchewan was its usual flat self, but, it was great to see the fields at harvest time, flowing with waves of golden grain.
Occasionally a small town would loom up, a few of which still have traditional grain elevators.
After crossing Manitoba, we just touched into Ontario. The landscape immediately changes dramatically into the Canadian Shield: rocky, pink granite outcrops with many deep, dark, beautiful lakes. We turned around and came back into Manitoba for a couple of stops in the Winnipeg area before heading back to BC.
First was the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach, Manitoba. Yes, we were interested in the heritage buildings, but, we were more interested in the restaurant onsite. There were many Mennonites in the rural area we lived in in southern Ontario when we were first married and this was when we were first exposed to 'Food that really Schmecks' (first published in 1968, this was the title of a Canadian classic Mennonite cookbook with a new (to me) word that was so evocative of the cuisine that the term has stuck with me all these years later). The book has been updated and republished and is available at https://www.amazon.ca/Food-That-Really-Schmecks-Staebler/dp/0889205213). The restaurant was great and after a feast of borscht, home-made bread and rhubarb dessert we toured the lovely, very interesting grounds.
We then headed toward the 'big smoke' of Winnipeg where we planned to put right an oversight that we'd become aware of last year when we'd met a couple of Australian cruisers in the North West Passage. They had made a special trip to Winnipeg to view the Hudson's Bay Company collection at the Winnipeg museum. We were so embarrassed, as Canadians, that we'd never even heard of it that we decided we must get there someday and so we did. It actually was a very small collection that we think could have been better. There must be thousands of artifacts and only a very few were on display. The museum seemed rather tired around the edges, so, we suppose that maybe it's the typical museum funding and space problems that are to blame. There were a few interesting things, like this child's jacket made from loon feathers.
Then, in a purpose-built gallery, there was the Nonsuch replica which made the trip worthwhile. The Nonsuch was the first ship to sail into Hudson's Bay in 1668. The success of its voyage and the furs brought back to London led directly to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. The Company is still in business and is one of the oldest companies in the world, albeit now owned by an American firm.
The full-size replica was commissioned by the Company and was built in Devon, England in the late 1960's. It did sail around the English Channel for a while before being shipped to Canada aboard a cargo ship. The quality and detail is absolutely amazing and a sight to behold.
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