The day started mighty early for us. With brains still on Eastern Daylight Time, we were on the road by 7:00 AM. We headed to Superior Wisconsin, sister city to Duluth Minnesota. Beautiful country, we can attest. Hard to believe that Jesse Ventura was the Governor of Minnesota. If you think the U.P is pristine and relatively undeveloped, you should see the country north of Duluth. Gorgeous.
We’re prepared to see a variety of wildlife. Okay, we find it, but not in the traditional form. We saw a small bear “rug” in the middle of the road, being pecked by crows. Yuk. Fox Frisbees, pancake porcupines and retread rabbits were the order of the day.
It’s 157 miles from Duluth to the Canadian border. Once over the border, we suspect we are in for a real scenic treat. The map shows an incredible number of lakes, with the road taking ambling twists and turns as it tiptoes across the small parcels of land.
Final destination today is Winnipeg, Manitoba, provincial capital. Not sure what to expect, but looking forward to it.
Well, when we got to International Falls, Minnesota, we prepared to cross into Canada. Its sister city is Fort Frances. Out came the passports and a five dollar bill. Surely five dollars would cover the fare to cross the somewhat cobbled excuse for a bridge. This was not anything like the Blue Water Bridges. Much to our shock and surprise, the surly attendant in the booth declared, “$8.00.” $8.00 for a sorry excuse for a bridge? Yikes. This “bridge” was so small, Dennis could have easily tossed a rock across the culvert they call the Rainy River. We crossed over without a problem and charted our course. Once on the Canadian highway, we quickly surmised that we had made a tactical error and needed to make a correction. Garmin (our GPS system) estimated an additional hour to travel the route we originally intended. We decided that the best solution was to reenter the U.S. about 35 miles west of where we had entered Canada and follow the U.S. road until we found a more direct Canadian route. Oh, the joys of traveling without a clear plan.
Finally, we arrived at Warroad, Minnesota and entered Sprague, Manitoba.
Be careful what you wish for…we wanted straight? We got straight. We followed a very straight, boring road for 178 kilometers (about 110 miles) until entering the burgeoning metropolis of Winnipeg. It is hard to believe that this bustling, vibrant city with mass transit, tons of pedestrians and bicyclists could be in the middle of nowhere. Traveling a kilometer out of the city and you are in a farm field. I remember a kids’ TV game show program as a kid that originated from Winnipeg. The moderator of the show was Pete Hammil, who later went on to marry Suzanne Sommers. I guess I am digressing.
We quickly found the Canadian Mint, a rather imposing pyramid shaped building. Next, we located the Parliament buildings. Interesting how much less security and barriers are found around such structures. Travel to Lansing or Washington and you will find a security guard or concrete barrier at every turn. 9/11 didn’t register with the same verocity in Winnipeg as it did in the States. Atop the Parliament building was a gilded statue, nicknamed, “Golden Boy”. Beautiful.
Things went to hell in a handbasket from that point. Thinking we were so clever, we embarked on a quest to find a campground or at the least a Walmart. Garmin to the rescue…wrong. Two hours later we were still searching for the elusive encampment. We settled on a Walmart parking lot. Surely it would work. Hmmm, did we mention that it was within 20 feet of a railroad track, or that local teens use the empty parking lot (after Walmart closes) to play with their remote control cars? Let’s just say that we have better nights for rest.
We’re prepared to see a variety of wildlife. Okay, we find it, but not in the traditional form. We saw a small bear “rug” in the middle of the road, being pecked by crows. Yuk. Fox Frisbees, pancake porcupines and retread rabbits were the order of the day.
It’s 157 miles from Duluth to the Canadian border. Once over the border, we suspect we are in for a real scenic treat. The map shows an incredible number of lakes, with the road taking ambling twists and turns as it tiptoes across the small parcels of land.
Final destination today is Winnipeg, Manitoba, provincial capital. Not sure what to expect, but looking forward to it.
Well, when we got to International Falls, Minnesota, we prepared to cross into Canada. Its sister city is Fort Frances. Out came the passports and a five dollar bill. Surely five dollars would cover the fare to cross the somewhat cobbled excuse for a bridge. This was not anything like the Blue Water Bridges. Much to our shock and surprise, the surly attendant in the booth declared, “$8.00.” $8.00 for a sorry excuse for a bridge? Yikes. This “bridge” was so small, Dennis could have easily tossed a rock across the culvert they call the Rainy River. We crossed over without a problem and charted our course. Once on the Canadian highway, we quickly surmised that we had made a tactical error and needed to make a correction. Garmin (our GPS system) estimated an additional hour to travel the route we originally intended. We decided that the best solution was to reenter the U.S. about 35 miles west of where we had entered Canada and follow the U.S. road until we found a more direct Canadian route. Oh, the joys of traveling without a clear plan.
Finally, we arrived at Warroad, Minnesota and entered Sprague, Manitoba.
Be careful what you wish for…we wanted straight? We got straight. We followed a very straight, boring road for 178 kilometers (about 110 miles) until entering the burgeoning metropolis of Winnipeg. It is hard to believe that this bustling, vibrant city with mass transit, tons of pedestrians and bicyclists could be in the middle of nowhere. Traveling a kilometer out of the city and you are in a farm field. I remember a kids’ TV game show program as a kid that originated from Winnipeg. The moderator of the show was Pete Hammil, who later went on to marry Suzanne Sommers. I guess I am digressing.
We quickly found the Canadian Mint, a rather imposing pyramid shaped building. Next, we located the Parliament buildings. Interesting how much less security and barriers are found around such structures. Travel to Lansing or Washington and you will find a security guard or concrete barrier at every turn. 9/11 didn’t register with the same verocity in Winnipeg as it did in the States. Atop the Parliament building was a gilded statue, nicknamed, “Golden Boy”. Beautiful.
Things went to hell in a handbasket from that point. Thinking we were so clever, we embarked on a quest to find a campground or at the least a Walmart. Garmin to the rescue…wrong. Two hours later we were still searching for the elusive encampment. We settled on a Walmart parking lot. Surely it would work. Hmmm, did we mention that it was within 20 feet of a railroad track, or that local teens use the empty parking lot (after Walmart closes) to play with their remote control cars? Let’s just say that we have better nights for rest.
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