9/21/17

Riding Mountain National Park

It was a quiet night here in Wasagaming (pronounced Wah-SAY-guh-ming), Manitoba, last night. We tried four times to pay for our stay here before we finally got it accomplished. This morning, we had a leisurely breakfast, and then set off to see Riding Mountain National Park. We sailed on through the entrance, feeling pretty spunky with our free parks pass.


Our first stop was the visitor center. I noticed the red Adirondack chairs out front. Inside the "nature shop" was closed, but there was a nice display of stuffed animals representative of the wildlife in the park. There were beavers, wolverines, cougars, bobcats, bears, wolves, elk, moose...Mike I imagine they're missing their guts, blood, and bone. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see them up close. There were also pelts available for petting, and that was kind of fun.


Outside, we saw a display of the O-TENT-tiks that are available for rent in the campgrounds. In Oregon we have a thing called a "yurt." Here's a picture of one:


This was much the same, only shaped more like a tent.


Here's what they look like inside.


The visitor center was located at the edge of a huge lake called Clear Lake.


It was a little chilly for swimming, but if you're so inclined, you might want to consider the following.


We walked out to the end of this walkway.


There we saw more of the red Adirondack chairs.


This particular grouping had a shared table with this notation on the top.


They were a little wet for sitting, but don't you know we'd have been all over this if they'd been dry. I might still do it, just for grins.


The park was a bit of a disappointment to us. We expected to see turn-outs and scenic viewpoints. Instead, we saw this, almost exclusively. It was pretty much like driving through a deciduous forest. Also there were plenty of swampy meadows...the kind where you might see moose and elk. We kept our eyes peeled, but saw none.


And here's a warning sign you don't see every day.


After leaving the park, we drove through more flat wide open spaces. It wasn't until we started driving south again that we recognized the unique feature of this park.


The parks tour book told us this:

"Geologically speaking, some 20,000 years ago, a high beach ridge began forming along the western edge of Lake Agassiz, a postglacial inland sea that covered much of north-central North America. In the United States, the ridge is called the Pembina Escarpment or Gorge. The portion of the ridge in Canada is called the Manitoba Escarpment. 
"Whatever this abrupt rise in the prairie landscape is named, the stretch in Manitoba is a natural island of forests, lakes, and meadows that has been sheltered as a national park since 1930." (National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of Canada, 2nd Edition)
So...okay, look at the image below, and you can see the rise off in the distance. That is the Manitoba Escarpment, and the reason for the park's existence.


We were coming back from Dauphin, a little town to the north of the park. In the image below, that's City Hall off to the right. It was a cute and tidy little town.


Along the way we saw a few Canadian barns.



And we were amused by the name of this chain of restaurants. We didn't have lunch here, although it was tempting.


Instead we had lunch at this next place. Mike had the Bacon Mikeburger. What else could he have chosen?
 
As we headed out of town, we noticed this crop growing on both sides of the road. We'd seen a sign in town about the Industrial Hemp Growers Association, and if I'm not mistaken, I believe it is still illegal to grow hemp in the United States, even for industrial purposes.


In any case, we were intrigued by this crop. and so we pulled off to the side of the road to get a closer look. Sure enough...industrial hemp.


Turning around from this spot, we saw this:


From there we drove back into the national park, heading south again to Wasagaming. We noticed the canopy of aspen trees.


We headed back into town. Earlier, none of the shops had been open, and I was on the hunt for a refrigerator magnet and/or a shot glass. We could find none. The only shops open were clothing stores, and frankly, my clothing shopping days are over.

Also, we noticed several of these bat houses hanging from trees. We like our friends the bats, and so we're always glad to see the welcome mat out for them when we travel.


We'll be heading out for Winnepeg and a Harvest Host site next. After speaking to the owner of the park here, we've solidified our plans to stay on the Canadian side until we get to Niagara Falls. We're told that the roads are pretty good and that the scenery is spectacular. We'll have our eyes wide open.

14 comments:

Ray and Jeanne said...

Love the red chairs! I love that Canadian welcoming symbol and have enjoyed sitting in many all across Canada. They usually look out on some beautiful scenery. Looks like you are having a great trip. Enjoy! ~Jeanne

Debbie said...

I love the rent a tent thing! Bare necessities:)
The red chairs are so eye catching....a good trademark I guess. Pretty views along the way.

gpc said...

I could work up a yearning for that tent/yurt! Sorry the critters didn't cooperate but hope you see some along the way. Love the bat symbol on the bat house, in case they don't know it's for them.

Cathy said...

The drive through Northern Ontario is pretty breath taking. The only thing better is driving through actual mountains, I’m my opinion. But then I’m an Ontario native, living in the southern portion, about 3 hours from Niagara Falls, so I might be just a smudge biased. The province has every imaginable type of landscape and scenery, apart from the tall mountains. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Lyndsey said...

The tents for 'glamping' look fun. The red chairs are rather iconic, a couple of them would be great in my garden. Great scenery.

Lady Jane said...

Nice park. One of those tent type campgrounds have opened up in our mountains recently. Has had a good reception. I am surprised a sign asking people not to feed the ducks because that is usually what causes swimmers itch. People feed the ducks and they poop where people swim and you get the itch. Sometimes it can be a very bad rash needing medication. I know I have had it... Don't feed the ducks!!!. Hugs, LJ

Sandra W said...

Oh my. I wasn't expecting you to be blogging and so when I checked today I was way behind. Your trip looks fabulous! I love the flat landscape--I guess it's my Saskatchewan roots.
The $10 a day deal works well. I used it a lot while in Spain last year. I call my mother daily when in Canada but when travelling I did it every second day using the $10 deal. I would phone whoever during the same 24 hours. But keep your eye on the clock. A minute over and you'll be charged the $10 for a new day.
The fabric store looked like fun--boy was it packed. I liked the yellow stripe too but I see you are being practical.
Smitty's is a chain of pancake houses. You won't find a bacon burger there.
Cab't you find a harness for poor Sadie? Did you try one that has two straps under the belly and between the legs?More like what you would use for a dog? This is what we finally had to do for our cat. He could slide the collar off his neck quite easily until we got this kind.
Have fun in Niagara Falls. Glad you enjoyed Canada.

WoolenSails said...

What a wonderful place, would love to travel across canada like that and I am enjoying seeing it through your eyes, can't wait to see what is next.

Debbie

Vroomans' Quilts said...

It's been a long time since I have been over the northern border (no passports back then). Odd that you saw no wildlife in that region, but of course the pot field - lol!!

piecefulwendy said...

BigJ says our federal government doesn't prohibit industrial hemp, but whether it can be grown is determined state by state. Law enforcement wanted industrial hemp outlawed because it is difficult to distinguish between industrial hemp and hemp that is used for smoking. Back in the 50's nylon became the thing for making rope, etc. and hemp production died back. Now hemp is seen as a good strong natural fiber, so it's growing in popularity again. BigJ's dad tells about plowing the hemp fields when he was a kid and how difficult it was because of the hemp fibers, so the practice was to burn the field first. He jokingly says it was always fun to go into town after they had burned a field, because everyone in town was so happy. LOL

Looks like a fun trip, and the restaurant was only fitting for Mike! Love those red chairs!

Laura said...

You will find lots of red chairs during your Canadian adventure because they have been placed as part of our Canada 150 celebration. The stay at the parks for free is also part of the adventure.

quiltzyx said...

Oh yes, I would have had to wipe down one of the red Adirondack chairs, even if I was just going to sit for a minute! I can see you two doing that too & sending in a chair selfie!!

Sorry the only critter you saw was on the caution sign! I have a feeling you'll be seeing some of the real thing soon.

Enjoy your days!

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

Sorry you had to miss the Red Chair photo OP!. Too bad the only animals you saw were stuffed. Hopefully you will see some along the way!

Kate said...

Looks like a fun trip so far. Sorry the park was a bit of a disappointment. Thanks for sharing the scenery.