The Last Day of Manitoba Trip

9:30 a.m
I wake up fairly late today. Last night, I was too tired to updated my blog. I came back close to 12, and came to the same hotel that I was lived, but not the same room. Today, my flight will be at 3 o'clock this afternoon. So I will have about 4 to 5 hours to visit the Birds Hill Provincial Park.


Birds Hill Provincial Park is a provincial park in Winnipeg, and I think here is St.Boniface, not sure though. It is located north of Winnipeg on Highway 59,  and covers approximately 35 square kilometers. The area is named after Dr. Curtis Bird, first speaker of the Manitoba provincial legislature in 1873, whose father had been a factor in the Hudson's Bay Company(From Wikipedia). The provincial park features a mixture of aspen and oak forest with open prairie, spruce, bog areas and mixed boreal forest communities, but they are not close together.


The park has a large campground, a horse stable, and is a good place for hiking, biking and horseback riding. .The park was formed from land expropriated from 150 local landowners in 1964, The opening date was on July 15, 1967. Every July since 1974, the park has been the site of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. In September 1984, the park hosted Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manitoba.The north section of the park is designated as an empty area, with no development at all. The soil is really sandy, doesn't look like soil at all, and the area has many oak trees. There are many gravel pits that surround the park. The park contains a small cemetery where many of the early settlers of the area are buried.

 After I came out, it is already 1 o'clock. So I guess I have to go to the airport now. It is a nice trip and I am very enjoy it, even I am really tired now.


When I was on the plane, I think about some problem, and push pull factors of this province.
problem: 1. Manitoba has about a population of about 1,000,000 with a lot of lakes and resources which means the soil is very rich too, but doesn't seem like there is very good use of these resources and develop of economy.
              2. Manitoba's economy is heavily based on their farming, not a lot of industry can see in Manitoba. And a lot of empty land that can be seen in Manitoba as well.


push factors: population is too small, not very good business based, too much water and protected land
pull factors: farms for farmer, beautiful land, really good resources

Warner's Town -- Roblin

5:45 a.m
It is so early now, today is my day after 18. and I am going to visit Mr. Warner's family. He lives in Roblin, which is a small that is 2 hours northwest of Bardon. I pack all all my stuff and put into my car, and get ready to go.

Roblin is a town in Manitoba, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Shell River. Including the surrounding areas of Shell River, Hillsburg, Park North, Shellmouth, and Boulton, the population is about 2,000 to 3,000.

I got to Warner's house at about 9 o'clock in the morning. His whole family was there including Mrs. Warner. I spent a happy morning with them and Warner took me around the town. But, I have to go to visit the Riding Mountain National Park. It is about an hour from Robin to the Riding Mountain National Park.


Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba. The park sits at the top the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of an area about 3000 km quare. The park is home to wolves, moose, elk, black bears, hundreds of bird species, countless insects and a captive bison herd. It is most easily reached by Highway 10 which passes through the park.

 The park was first protected in 1929 and had much of its public infrastructure created during the 1930s by labourers participating in Canada's great depression relief programs. Much of this early construction survives to this day.(From Wikipedia)

 Moose, elk, deer, beaver, porcupine, loon, grey wolf, cougar, and Canada goose are just a few of the animal in Riding Mountain National Park. The park boasts one of the largest populations of black bears in North America. There is also a wild bison enclosure located near Lake Audy. Riding Mountain National Park has a lot of wildflowers and wide range of unique vegetation, most of which is not seen anywhere else in the prairie regions of Canada.

Now is 5 o'clock, that means I have to leave the west side of Manitoba, and frive back to Winnipeg for my flight tomorrow. It takes approximately 5 hours to drive from Roblin to Winnipeg, and when I get back to Winnipeg, I think it will be about 11 o'clock.



The Wheat City -- Brandon

The City of Brandon

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba, and it is along the Assiniboine River.


The city started as a major junction on the CPR. Brandon is named after the Brandon Hills in the area. Brandon, the second largest city and centre in Manitoba after Winnipeg, is a major city for the surrounding agricultural area.

French Canadians also passed through the area on river boats on their way to the Hudson Bay Post, Fort Ellice located near. The city of Brandon gets its name from the Blue Hills south of the city, which got their name from a Hudson's Bay trading post - Brandon House.

49°54′N 99°57′W (From GeoHack)

It is located west of Winnipeg.

Brandon has an area of 465 km square, and it is the second largest city in Manitoba with a population of fourty thousand people which is the second most population in Manitoba as well, but there is only 1/15 of Winnipeg's population, but four times Selkirk and Portage la Prairie.

Brandon's industry depends its agricultural history; its major industries are related to agriculture and include fertilizer plants Brandon has tow universities: Brandon University and Assiniboine Community College as well as the Brandon Wheat Kings(I don't know what that is).

7:01 a.m
Nice day in Brandon. Manitoba's weather is so nice, I haven't seen any rain at all from the day I come till now. I went to the Brandon Court House first. The architect who build it is the same as the Winnipeg and Neepawa court buildings. The skill of the architect and craftsmen is evident in the fine architectural detailing and intricate brickwork. Officially opened in March l884, it is the oldest remaining court house on the Prairies. Completion of this structure ushered in an early stage of substantial government building construction in Manitoba.

It looks like a house for a rich family, not a court house.

The city of Brandon is unlike the city Winnipeg, a lot of tall building, very organized street. Its building is not that tall, but the street and main road are pretty organized.

I drove to the river edge of  Assiniboine River. The Assiniboine River is a 1,070 km river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The

The river takes its name from the Assiniboine First Nation.

Then is the Brandon University. Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon with an enrolment of 3000 students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It is a fairly small university, and on their flag, there is a wheat that represent the city of Brandon.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay in Brandon for too long, because I had to drive to Roblin where Mr. Warner lives. It takes about two and a half hour to drive, so I had better get going, and have already 5 now.

Finally get to Roblin, it is such a small town. I got here at 8. I am so hungry now, just want to find a hotel and something to eat. 

The French City -- Portage la Prairie

6:30 a.m
Another new day in Manitoba, this is my fourth day in Manitoba and my second day of 18, and is my father's birthday. Today, I am going to leave Winnipeg and heading west toward Brandon. In the middle, I will stop at Portage la Prairie which name is from French. I pack my stuff, and check out, and I will leave at 7:00 to the French City Portage la Prairie. It is a city about an hour west to Winnipeg. It is not far from Winnipeg, and I am going to stay in Portage la Prairie tonight, and head to Brandon tomorrow night. I am exciting to visit my third city after "the forks" Winnipeg and "catfish city" Selkirk in Manitoba.

49° 58′ 22″ N, 98° 17′ 31″ W (From GeoHack)

It is a town located about 70 km west of Winnipeg.

There was a lot of farm on my way to Portage la Prairie, and took a lot of pictures of them.

I reached to Portage la Prairie at about 7:30. As most of attractions haven't open yet, I just drove around the city Portage la Prairie. It is another small city with population about twelve thousand. It is just like the city Selkirk. Small city with very small building and a little people. Portage la Prairie has very good weather. According to Environment Canada, Portage la Prairie has the most sunny days in warm months in Canada. The area of the city was 24 square kilometres which is even smaller than the city of Selkirk but has about 3000 more population than Selkirk. In China, this size of place will consider be a village or a small town, but it is the fourth largest city in Manitoba.

The name is derived from the French word portage, which means to carry a canoe overland between waterways. The city is between the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba, over la prairie. sits on the Assiniboine River, which flooded the town persistently until a diversion channel north to Lake Manitoba was built to divert the flood waters. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie.

Portage la Prairie is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It surrounds the city of Portage la Prairie. A rural municipality, is a form of municipality in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan(From Wikipedia).
The city is a major transportation centre because of its proximity to the river and later, the location of the railway lines of the country's national railways passing through the community.
It is also the home of former Prime Minister of Canada, Arthur Meighen. Arthur Meighen, was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding in Manitoba. Both of his terms of office were brief. Meighen later served for a decade in the Senate of Canada, and failed in a political comeback attempt in 1941-42, after which he returned to the practice of law.(From Wikipedia)

I went to to the world largest Coca-Cola can. It was constructed from an old water tower and is now located beside the local Canadian Tire and Canad Inns hotel. I think it is the attraction that presents Portage la Prairie, is just like Selkirk's catfish. I hope I can have that can of coke.

The local economy is largely dependent on agriculture and supporting industries. Portage la Prairie is also home to the McCain Foods and Simplot potato processing plants, which provide French fries for McDonalds, Wendy's, and various other commercialized restaurant chains. Portage la Prairie is like a junk food city which has Coca-Cola and potato for the junk food company.

Portage la Prairie's City Hall is a limestone structure that was designed by Thomas Fuller, who designed the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa as well. It was opened in 1898 as a Dominion Post Office and became City Hall in 1960. The building was declared a historical site in 1986. On the roof is a bell which tolls for a few seconds daily at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm.

It doesn't look like a city hall, but like a Disney castle.

Last, I went to the Island Park which is located at the central Portage la Prairie. The island has an 18 hole golf course, Portage Industrial Exhibition grounds which hosts various agricultural competitions and midway, an outdoor water park, a large pen enclosure for deer, a birdcage area featuring peacocks, playgrounds, walking trails, tennis courts, a duck pond, various monuments, and an extensive arboretum.

That is not that much I can see in Portage la Prairie. I left Portage la Prairie at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon to Brandon. The second largest city in Manitoba, and has the second population in Manitoba. The side is very beautiful on the way to Brandon.

I am going to sleep in Brandon tonight, and see around the city of Brandon tomorrow.

Catfish Capital of the World -- Selkirk

6:30 a.m
Good morning, Winnipeg. This is my third day in Manitoba and today is my -------- birthday. I am 18 years old now. I am going the the Catfish Capital of the World -- the Selkirk City which is located northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River. It only takes about 30 to drive from Winnipeg to Selkirk. Now I am ready to visit Selkirk now. I will leave the hotel at about 7:00.

7:27 a.m
It is very close from Winnipeg to Selkirk. A vertical lift bridge over the Red River connects Selkirk with the smaller town of East Selkirk. Selkirk is a city, but is very small area with very little people It just like a small town. It only about nine thousand people live here, and the population is decreasing from 2001 to 2006. It has an area of 24 km square, which is not really big as a city. But I think there are a lot of this kind of small city in Canada. Even a small village in China has more population than it. The thing I don't know before is Selkirk is a kind of cat which is match to my last name--miao. So it is a good place for my 18th birthday. Meow ^.^.......

50°08′37″N 96°53′02″W (From GeoHack)
Selkirk is located northeast of Manitoba's capital city -- Winnipeg.

Selkirk is such a tiny town that I have to put the picture of map so big to see the city on the map. The mainstays of the local economy are tourism, a local steel mill. The city was named in honour of 5th Earl of Selkirk, who obtained the grant to first establish a colony in the Red River area.

The present-day city is near the center of the 530,000 km square area purchased by the Earl of Selkirk from the Hudson's Bay Company. The first settlers of the Red River Colony arrived in 1813. Lord Selkirk is created the the Red River Settlement.

I went to Marine Museum of Manitoba first. It was established in 1972 to gather ships, artifacts, and items relating to shipping, to tell the story of the development and the operation of transportation on Lake Winnipeg and the Red River.

The Marine Museum is a non-profit organization operated with support from the City of Selkirk and nearby businesses. The museum’s purpose is to collect, preserve, research, exhibit and interpret its collection of historical artifacts. There were a lot of collections of boats there, and all of them were really old boat that nobody is using it right now.

Among its collection of ships, the Motor Ship Keenora was the first acquired by the museum. Abandoned in the Selkirk Slough in 1966, the MS Keenora was purchased from Marine Transport Navigation Company in 1972, by a group of twenty Selkirk businessmen. In the summer of 1973 the Keenora was removed from the waters of the Red River on the Selkirk dry dock, then dragged on its keel, across the grass of Selkirk Park, to its present location, near the park entrance. (From Wikipedia)

I drove along the road, and I saw a huge "fish" beside the road. It is the Chuck The Channel Cat. It was roadside attraction that present the city Selkirk. I heard from Mr. Warner that in Manitoba or some of the place, each city or town have their own attraction to present their city like in Duncan, the huge hockey stick. Selkirk is also home to Chuck the Channel Cat, a fiberglass representation of a catfish that measures 7.6 m long. The name Chuck was chosen to honor local sport fisherman Chuck Norquay, who drowned while doing what he loved best — fishing in the Red River.

I took some picture of the street of Selkirk when I passed by.It was all small building.

 

 

Then I went to the south side of the Winnipeg Lake which is about 15 minutes to Selkirk. Lake Winnipeg is a large, 25000 km square lake in central North America, in Manitoba, with about 20 kilometers north of the city of Selkirk. It is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and it is part of the most undeveloped large watershed of southern Canada.

 

Lake Winnipeg is the sixth-largest freshwater lake in Canada, but it is very deep. It is the eleventh-largest freshwater lake on Earth. Even the the lake is not really big, it conatins a lot of water. The east side of the lake has pristine boreal forests

It is believed that Henry Kelsey was the first European to see the lake in 1690. He adopted the Cree language name for the lake, meaning "muddy waters".

Also, in Selkirk, a local steel mill, and a major mental health facility are famous too. 

The Selkirk Mental Health Centre, the largest mental health facility in the province, is a major employer in the city. The Centre's surroundings are a park-like campus on the outskirts of the city.

I drove back to Winnipeg after all, and got to my hotel and had a dinner. Another busy day, and I have no time to celebrate my birthday. I bought a cake from outside and celebrate by myself, and the thing I really want to do right now is sleep. -.-

The Capital City -- The Forks

The Capital City of Manitoba - Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada with more than half of Manitoba's population. It's about seven hundred thousand people live in Winnipeg, and it is more than half of a province's population. It's really a little people compare to China. You can barely find a city that is less this number in China. Most of people Winnipeg speak English, but there are also a lot of French-Canadians, Metis, and first nation live in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg is at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. Because of its shape is like a fork, some people also call Winnipeg -- The Forks   Y(is a fork). Before the English people come, the Forks has been the meeting place for early Aboriginal peoples -- Metis and Natives, and since colonization has also been a meeting place for fur traders, Métis, English settlers, riverboat workers, railway pioneers and tens of thousands of immigrants.Yeah, I learn this from social studies. Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the Red River Valley, a low-lying flood plain with an flat topography.There are no hills in the city. Winnipeg is on the eastern of the Canadian Prairies, so it has many large Canadian Shield lakes and parks. According to the Census geographic units of Canada, the city has a total area of 464 km square and an elevation of 240 m.Winnipeg has four major rivers: the Red River, the Assiniboine River, the La Salle River, and the Seine River. The Red River is a Canadian heritage river.

49° 53′ 58″ N, 97° 8′ 21″ W (From GeoHack)

 Winnipeg is located at the bottom of Manitoba.

Winnipeg has a farm-based(if this is a word) economy, with sectors in finance, manufacturing, food and beverage production, culture, retail and tourism. Winnipeg is an important  transportation point, served by Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, and it is only 96 km to the USA border.

Winnipeg experiences continental climate with great seasonal temperature differences.It is in the middle of Canada which has no sea near by, and plus the whole province is a flat land, not a lot of rain can reach here. Winnipeg is ranked as Canada's second sunniest city year-round, second for clearest skies year-round, and second for sunniest city in Canada in spring and winter (From Environment Canada). But in winter, Winnipeg is cold ~.~|||. Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000 based on the average night-time temperature during winter (From Environment Canada).It has very big seasonal temperature change. From my picture that shown, in July average temperature is about 20°C, and December is about -20°C; It is 40°C change in temperature.

6:45 a.m

Good morning, Winnipeg. I woke up at 6:30 this morning, brushed my teeth, and get ready to go visit the city of Winnipeg. It is my second day in Manitoba. I feel exciting about what will I see today. I am leaving the hotel about 7:30 to visit Winnipeg, and I will eat breakfast at the hotel first.

9:30 p.m

I am very tired today after playing around the great Winnipeg, but it is worth. Today is a nice sunny day, and I drove around Winnipeg and visit a lot of place such as Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park and

Canada Museum for Human Rights. I left the hotel at 7:37, and got on my small Honda and drove along the Red River. I was planning to go to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights first, but I made a mistake. Museum haven't opened at 7 in the morning, so I decided to just drive along the river first.

 

Red River is a river that goes through both the US and Canada.  The Red River forms at Wahpeton, North Dakota and Breckenridge, Minnesota, passes through Fargo, North Dakota, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota, Minnesota, continues on to the province of Manitoba, and finally goes into Lake Winnipeg.  The Red River is about 900 km long, of which about 600 km are in the United States and about 200 km are in Canada.

The Red River was part of Rupert's Land, the Hudson's Bay Company. It was an fort-Fort Garry for Hudson's Bay Company which a lot of Metis were settled there - along the river. Metis are mix for European and First Nation because it was easy for them to trade with each other. It is a place that the Red River Rebellion took place at. The Hudson's Bay Company sold the Rupert's Land to the Canadian government, and the Canadian government treated them poorly, so the Metis rebelled lead by Louis Riel.

I drove back toward the Assiniboine Park, which is located very close to the airport, at about 8:00. Assiniboine Park is a park that was established in 1904 and is located north of the Assiniboine Forest.

The Park includes  Assiniboine Forest, Assiniboine Park Zoo, Assiniboine Park Conservatory, Assiniboine Park Pavilion, formal and informal gardens, a sculpture garden, a miniature railway, and an outdoor bandshell theatre for performing art. It's huge. It is one of the largest Canadian urban nature park.  There were thousands of annual and perennial flowers, also there were a lot of the province flower Prairie Crocus could be find in the garden, and there was a huge rose garden. I felt like I was in the ocean of flowers when I was there.

Then, I went to the Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park which was really close to the  Assiniboine Park. I only took me 3 minutes to drive there. It's located right beside the airport; I got there at 10:30. Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park is the largest air park in Canada. It was free to get in.

The Heritage Park consists of 17 aircraft on permanent year round display. I guess it is the air force for Manitoba. For Canadian Air Force personnel, all roads will lead to 17 Wing Winnipeg. The Wing comprised of squadrons, training school and command elements, turn out what are considered some vest multi-skilled personnel in the world.(From Canadian Air Force website) I don't know a lot about the air force, but the park present the 17 Wing Winnipeg and Canadian Air Force.

 

Then I drove toward back to downtown of Winnipeg, and it was about 12:30. It was almost lunch; there was enough time for me to visit Canadian Museum for Human Rights, but I decided just drive to the Manitoba Legislative Building and take of a few picture on the way there.

 

I could see a lot of tall building in Winnipeg, which I couldn't see in a lot of Canadian city. In the second picture, the Exchange District is it. The Exchange District National Historic Site is one of North America’s most colorful and cosmopolitan neighborhoods.  It is home to the city’s unrivaled arts community, but I can't see there is anything special of it. I got to the the Manitoba Legislative Building at about 1:15.

The Manitoba Legislative Building is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, in central Winnipeg. It was originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, not Legislative. The building was completed in 1920 and stands seventy-seven meters tall. I could see the flag of Manitoba on the plaza in front of the legislative building; there was a buffalo on the flag, and there was a golden boy on top of the building. It worth a lot if I sell it at a store.

It was 2:45 when I had lunch after visit the Manitoba's Legislative Building, and headed to the next stop which I think will be the last stop of my day - The Forks National Historic Site. I got there at there at 3:10. It is located at the edge of the Red River. The Esplanade Riel bridge, which I went last night, is also located at the Forks too.


The Forks is a historic site and meeting place in Downtown Winnipeg. I think in the textbook, it is where the Red River Settlement took place. The Metis and Natives arrived at The Forks site around 6,000 years ago. The digs conducted between 1989 and 1994 discovered several Aboriginal camps. Artifacts related to the bison hunt and fishing were unearthed. It is the place where the Red River Settlement happened.

I got back to the hotel at about 7 o'clock, had my dinner, went back to my room, and lied down on my bed.  I just had a shower, today is a very busy day, and I feel so tired. I don't have enough time to visit more site that I would wish to like I didn't go check out the Museum for Humans Rights, but I will come back on the last day of my trip. Tomorrow, I will go visit Selkirk tomorrow. Now, goodnight.