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MANITOBA Great cities have grown up
along my treasured path, and the first among them
to gain international stature was Winnipeg. Like a
beautiful woman, she's had famous admirers -- and
not all were bankers, real estate millionaires or
railway barons. Author Rudyard Kipling was so
enthralled by her charms, he wrote, "The prairie is
high veldt, plus hope, activity and reward.
Winnipeg is the door to it ... a great city in a
great plain." Author Agnes De Mille, speaking of
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's rise to fame,
commented, "The citizens of Winnipeg support the
company because it is fine and because the citizens
are neither surfeited nor corrupted. They take joy
in beautiful things." Generations of children the
world over relate to Winnipeg thanks to A.A.
Milne's Winnie the Pooh, immortalized in books and
on the silver screen by Walt Disney. Harking back
to grade school days, many Canadians will recall
how the poem "Winnipeg at Christmas," captures the
charm of a frosty wonderland. Yes, the citizens
here really do like the title
"Winterpeg." Call her Chicago North,
Canada's Crossroads, or simply "The Peg,"
Manitoba's capital is home to over fifty ethnic
groups, all of which take part in the annual
Winnipeg Folk Festival or "Folklorama," a Manitoba
Mardis Gras. Read the street signs, phone book and
place names and you'll soon discover that Winnipeg
is the largest center of French culture outside
Quebec Province. The city's annual "Festival du
Voyageurs" is akin to the Quebec Winter Carnival,
saluting the hardy pioneers that opened the west by
canoe and muscle power. The Forks. Check the
city map; see how Winnipeg's streets and avenues
converge like the spokes of a giant bicycle wheel.
Three historic rivers, the Red, Assiniboine and
Seine, merge here at a place called "The Forks."
Not long ago, trains shunted back and forth, and
river craft dumped their cargo at this busy
downtown site. Today it's the "in place" -- an
oasis of greenery, scenery and people-watching,
with shops, sidewalk cafes, and a delightful
riverfront promenade. To many first nations people,
The Forks is where their ancestors hunted, fished
and camped for centuries. The Forks National
Historic Site preserves that 6,000-year legacy with
interpretive programs, displays, sculptures,
festivals and special events. Footloose in
Winnipeg. With so many heritage sites located
in concentrated areas, walking tours have become a
very popular way to 'do' the town. Besides the
Forks, Winnipeg has numerous attractions to round
out a visitor's agenda; Assiniboine Park,
Manitoba's Parliament Buildings, Royal Canadian
Mint, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba Museum of Man
and Nature, Dalnavert Museum, Manitoba Children's
Museum, Red River Exhibition Park, Little Italy,
Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, Manitoba
Theatre for Young People, Polo Park, Western
Canadian Aviation Museum, Osborne Village, the
Exchange District National Historic Site, Portage
Avenue and Portage Place Shopping Centre. Each is a
precious jewel in the city's crown. We're sure you
will discover even more treasures on your
own. Home of the famous White
Horse. Steeped in history and folklore of the
Assiniboine, Cree and Sioux, plus tales of
voyageurs, mounties, missionaries and homesteaders,
the R.M. of St. Francois Xavier occupies the NW
corner of the rich central plains. Derived from a
native legend, the region, by the Assiniboine
River's scenic banks, is known locally as "White
Horse Plain. The principal centre is the
St.Francois Xavier community. Established in 1880,
the rural municipality is a true example of
Canadiana, and its history is certainly worth
exploring. The Delta Marsh. It's
a short, smooth and pleasant drive from Winnipeg to
Portage La Prairie, and a key point of interest
along the way is Delta Marsh, a large grassland
area at the south end of Lake Manitoba. The marsh
is famous as a staging point for
waterfowl. Portage la
Prairie In days of yore, muscles of
steel were needed by 'les voyageurs' to tote their
canoes overland, hence the romantic name Portage la
Prairie marked the spot. It honours one of French
Canada's most famous explorers, Pierre de la
Vérendrye, who stopped here in the 1730s.
The city's Island Park - Crescent Lake complex is a
year round attraction, featuring "Splash Island," a
new outdoor leisure waterpark with two giant
waterslides. On site are an 18-hole golf course,
baseball diamonds and an oval for horse racing,
playground, picnic and barbecues facilities. The
area attracts one of North America's largest flocks
of Canada Geese Of special note are the Fort la
Reine Museum and Pioneer Village, the William
Glesby Performing Arts Centre and the Portage Arts
Centre and Gallery. On the city's southern
outskirts is Portage Spillway Wayside Park, a
popular recreation spot. Being a major food
processing center, Portage la Prairie is square in
the middle of Canada's richest, most productive
farmland. The annual Portagex, Western Canada's
oldest running fair salutes this agriculture
heritage. Lights Fantastic! Portage la
Prairie won the coveted Winterlights Celebration
from Communities in Bloom , a glowing example
beingsthe "Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Island of
Lights," presented by A Channel. A kaleidoscope of
blazing colour, this 2-time national award winning
light show has over 475 animated and static light
displays, using over 135,000 bulbs. Plane Facts. Nearby Lake
Manitoba's warm, shallow waters bring fond memories
for those who spent months of training with the
Royal Canadian Air force. Today, the former
Southport base is still thriving as an educational,
flight training and technical , with a promising
future in aerospace and related industries. Leaving
the city of Portage La Prairie in your rear view
mirror, the Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway
continues, with Lake Manitoba to the north and
Sprucewoods Provincial Park to the
south. Gladstone Have you heard the
expression - "in the middle of everywhere?" That's
how one might describe Gladstone, which claims to
be at or near North America's geographic centre.
Settled in 1872, agricultural and food processing
are its claim to fame, with names like McCain's and
Maple Leaf Foods. Would you believe Gladstone was
originally called Palestine? It was changed to
honour a popular British Prime Minister. Now
becoming a prime retirement community, Gladstone
has the right ingredients; friendly folk, a lush
golf course and city operated park for starters. At
the Town Museum, one can trace the area's past --
and check the porcelain curios at Manitoba's
largest gift shop. A nameplate on the Trans
Canada Yellowhead Highway nearby reads, "This cairn
marks third crossing of the Whitemud River on the
Pioneer Trail from Fort Garry to Edmonton."
Neepawa Don't you just love the name
Neepawa, with its lilting, musical sound? Say it
softly, with a smile and give thanks, because in
the Cree language, Neepawa means "abundance" or
"place of plenty." Blessed with such a name, this
delightful Manitoba community can't help but
prosper. If you arrive in summer, stay a while and
enjoy Neepawa's Lily Festival, where the whole
community blossoms with pride. Neepawa's homegrown
celebrity, Margaret Laurence, author of "The Stone
Angels" grew up in Neepawa, and local settings were
used in several of her best sellers As portrayed in so many John
Wayne western movie scripts, the action started the
day the railway came to town. The real estate boom
it sparked left a prized collection of vintage
buildings in its wake, each lovingly preserved for
the new millennium. After a day on the road,
Neepawa's "Walking Tours" combine a glimpse of
local history with fresh air and much needed
exercise. To many, the name Neepawa brings back
memories as a World War II air force base and NATO
training centre. Minnedosa Speaking of meaningful,
musical place names, "Minnedosa" combines the Sioux
word for water (minne) and rapid water (duza). Its
river is a tributary of the Assiniboine, which
connects to the Forks at Winnipeg. Known as
Manitoba's Valley Paradise, Minnedosa was recently
voted the Province's most beautiful town, so take
time to look around, smell the flowers and stretch
your imagination. Steeped in early Canadian
history, this bustling community was a stopping
place in the 1880s for Red River carts heading west
along on the Edmonton Trail. Choose your level or
type of activity - be it sports fishing, horseback
riding or hiking -- there is something here for
visitors of all ages. As a tribute to the First
Nations and Manitoba's provincial symbol, the main
recreation area is Bison Park. Many travelers use
Minnedosa on the Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway,
as home base for day trips or overnight excursions
to Riding Mountain, one of Western Canada's most
outstanding playground areas. Riding Mountain National
Park. The Park is an "island of the prairies,"
where buffalo roam and 500 species of wildlife
thrive. You can enjoy lectures, even take
wolf-howling lessons here, but the Plains Indians'
relationship with the buffalo is the top item on
the agenda. Bathers will enjoy Clear Lake's sandy
beach, while those afoot and on horseback, can rove
the meadows, aspen groves and evergreen forests
using the park's network of wilderness
trails. Shoal Lake Back in the rough and ready
days of redcoat justice, native treaties and the
fur trade, Shoal Lake's tiny settlement stood on
the far western boundary of Manitoba, then a new
member of the Dominion. With the Royal Northwest
Mounted Police post being located on the neck of
Shoal Lake (its narrowest point) local Mounties
could observe traffic en route to the territories.
As more settlers made their way west, the main
community took root several miles away. As a
result, Shoal Lake now boasts two authentic RCMP
posts. With such a colorful history, Shoal Lake and
the RM of Shoal Lake have created a Cultural
Heritage Village Museum, to include Elliott House,
an original school house from 1907 and an extensive
collection of wagons and horse drawn vehicles and
farm equipment. The RM of Harrison
Sandy Lake and Newdale are
the main population centres to visit in the Rural
Municipality of Harrison. Conditions here are ideal
for livestock and growing rye, wheat, oats, barley,
canola and alfalfa. Many come to retire here in one
of the friendliest, laid back areas on the Trans
Canada Yellowhead Highway. Strathclair Silver rails and azure
skies. The Strathclair district includes the Little
Saskatchewan River, the Assiniboine River, Lake
Aud, Clear Lake and Riding Mountain National Park.
the southeast is a fertile valley with forested
areas. A Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post was
built upstream near Elphinstone. The first major
activity in the area started with the Strathclair
Railway Station &endash; its name being a
combination of the Scottish word "strath" for
valley and "clair" for the surveyor Sinclair. As a
salute to its railway days, the district museum is
housd in a former Canadian Pacific Station,
standing proudly beside an old country church, a
blacksmith shop and various relics of farm
machinery. By the way, there's no shortage of fun
activities in the area, with all of the usual water
sports at Thomas and Salt Lakes. R.M. of
Russell Surrounding the Town of
Russell and Village of Binscarth, the
agriculturally based R. M. of Russell extends west
to the Saskatchewan border. Spear Lake is popular
for trout fishing; other options for recreation and
relaxation abound, including scenic tours of the
beautiful Assiniboine Valley. Binscarth What's happening in River
City? With a capital P, it stands for pool. That's
right - Binscarth has an outdoor swimming pool
that's the largest on the Trans Canada Yellowhead
Highway -- so bring your rubber fins. Here in
Silver Creek Valley, there's miniature golf, beach
volleyball, barbecues and hiking trails.
Binscarthians are proud of their past, which comes
alive at the Gordon Orr Memorial Museum, where rare
relics of buffalo hunting days and native heritage
blend with early farm life and remnants of a
bustling turn-of-the century town. Being typically
Canadian the museum has a vintage Massey Harris
tractor, binder and seed drill. And don't let
anyone tell you that the buffalo aren't coming back
A tour of Silver Creek's Buffalo Ranch is proof
positive. Russell General Lord Alexander
George Russell, in whose honour the town was named,
commanded Canada's fledgling armed forces in the
late 1800s. A replica of the period is Boulton
Manor, now a prime tourist attraction. This
stately, well-preserved mansion once belonged to
the family of Major Charles Boulton, who led
Canadian troops to the battleground at Batoche
during Northwest Rebellion. Should you wish to stay
overnight, Boulton Manor has become a cozy bed and
breakfast residence, offering tea service followed
by a walking tour of the community. For the record,
it was Major Boulton who founded the town of
Russell in his friend's name. Birtle Located near the Trans
Canada Yellowhead Highway, the Town of Birtle is
the main community of the RM of Birtle, which has a
population of 1,000. The town provides a variety of
services for highway travellers. Continued:
Saskatchewan |
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I am the Yellowhead. 
Winnipeg
Red
River Cart, York Boats and Buffalo Hunts. At
Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site, North
America's oldest stone fur trading post stands as a
lone sentinel on the Red River shore. Launch-point
for York Boat brigades heading to Hudson's Bay, the
Mackenzie River or Athabaska Country -- or Red
River carts bound for Minnesota, Lower Fort Garry
was a bastion of Empire. Plan to stay awhile --
fresh bread's baking in the stone oven at Governor
Simpson's Big House. Dinner's in the oven, and a
magic lantern show is about to tell the fort's
unique story. How more than1,200 Red River carts
took off from here onto the southwestern plains
during the great buffalo hunt of 1840. Some say
this wild melee gave birth to today's Trans Canada
Yellowhead Highway.
R.M.
of St. Francois Xavier