Travelling Manitoba – Lake Winnipeg

We were in Winnipeg on the weekend of May 17 for a high school reunion, (which is another story) and spent some time with family.  My brother and his wife live in Gimli, Manitoba, which is a town on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.  The lake is the 10th largest in the world.  It is now suffering many trials and tribulations, and is in effect, very sick.  More on that later, but first a bit of a story.  On our there for a visit, an hour so north of Winnipeg, we decided to stop in the town of Winnipeg Beach and take a look at the lake.  Surprisingly, the ice was still on the lake.  We later told that it was highly unusual for this late in the year, and  could be the latest breakup in memory.

 

Lake Winnipeg, May 18, 2014

 

I took this with my iPhone in panorama.  Looks very cold, and it was.  The wind was coming in off the lake and was biting.

 

The lake, as I mentioned earlier, is in big trouble.  From zebra mussels to huge algae blooms (visible from space), there are a myriad of issues threatening the life of this great body of water.  I have dropped a couple of links here, and, if you are interested, click them and find out more about the struggle to save this place.

 

Related articles

• Manitoba to start zapping Lake Winnipeg zebra mussels next week
• Lake Winnipeg marks dark anniversary
• Lake Winnipeg, is there any hope?

Travelling Alberta – Vulcan

After a rather lengthy hiatus, it is time to get back on the beat.  Took a few months off to concentrate on some other things.  Had some fun, picked up on skiing again, made some decisions on the future and started to move forward on those plans.  One of those plans included a new vehicle, one that can pull a boat or a trailer.  Mission accomplished.  No trailer or boat, yet, but a very nice, sparkling new Nissan Pathfinder.  We intend to make use of it this summer while we work out the next part of our plans.

Making use of it will create a new offering, Travelling Alberta (or Saskatchewan, BC or wherever we end up).  The first instalment, a trip to Vulcan, Alberta.  Vulcan is a town of 2,000 people, 130 km south-east of Calgary on Hwy 23.  Why Vulcan.  Let’s think Star Trek.  Yes, little Vulcan has one the best Star Trek museums around.  Forgot to take a picture of the museum,, no snow the day we were there.  The name of this gem, the Vulcan Tourism and Trek Centre.

Visitor centre in the town of Vulcan, Alberta, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Inside are many treasures, many donated by past cast members of the various franchises. The town holds an annual event “Spock Days” which highlights appearances by various cast members.  This year’s event goes from June 13 to June 15, 2014 and features Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys on Deep Space Nine) and Rene Auberjonois (Odo on Deep Space Nine).  Tickets for the event are available at this link.  A nice road trip for a shakedown cruise.  We did manage to remember to take a few pictures.

Bilingual Welcome Sign

 

They know how to be friendly.  They have even built a replica of the Enterprise.

And, after a quick coffee at the Town Cafe on Centre Street, we are off to Calgary.

Thornton fined after squirting water on Subban

Boston Bruin fans will appreciate this one.  Well worth the fine.

 

Thornton fined after squirting water on Subban.