Manitoba, Canada, 19, 29 & 21 October 2010

Entering Manitoba was the start north to towards Churchill and Polar Bears.  Just after crossing the border into Manitoba was a turn north onto highway 44 which took us through a Provincial Park on a narrow road which then widened out toward Beauesjours where we stopped for the night.  Now follow the photo journal.

Along the narrow road in the park this Red Fox was more interested in hunting than nosey travellers.

Not much further along a Bald Eagle was happy to pose right beside the road.

Once out of the park area it was into crop land again and here Sunflower not yet harvested.

Not many cattle were seen and we were told there were a few pig farms in the area.

A pig shed in the area.  One unit was supplying 900 young pigs a fortnight.

Cropping was prevalent and this operator was kind enough to stop for a chat when he saw our interest.  This paddock had been in Canola but he said that the Bean (Soy) price had "gone through the roof" due to fires and drought in Russia so beans were currently in favour.

The soil was clay based and very black and hard, almost like road asphelt.  There was 2400 acres under cultivation on this farm and with two tractors working would all be done before winter, in a few long days.

Other land was more sandy where cultivation was done with disc.

Most grain is exported out of the province by rail or trucked to Winnepeg for export.  Most of the oats goes to Quaker Oats, a common brand of oatmeal and rolled oat flakes.

As we progressed north cropping gave way to grassland farming which included a lot of hay being saved and cattle were starting to be seen.

We had hoped to get all the way to Thompson unless we found a suitable stopping place.  Such turned out to be few and far between and while we could have made it to Thompson by 7 pm increasing snow and a warm bed at a truck stop in the small settlement of Ponton induced us to stop the night.  Not flash but warm and dry.

In the morning a light dusting of snow covered the car.

And got thicker as we travelled north toward Thompson.

As can be seen on the roadside.

The adjoining land consisted almost entirely of boreal forest.

Broken by the occasional lake or tarn of varying size. 

Tidy accommodation with a wood stove just out of sight for warmth and cooking.
This was a restored workmans mobile hut that would have been attached to the tractor trains during earlier mining exploration in the Thompson area.

While Thompson is also a service area for a greater population of some 65,000 its reason for being is the discovery of nickle and it has the largest nickle integrated mine in North America.

The Burntwood River flows beside the town that has been harnessed for hydro electric power and is a base for a float plane park.  A few Kms beyound the bridge is the airport which is the base for a regional air service that provides support for outlying villages.

A pioneer aircraft that has been rebuilt for display and was the first plane owned by the pioneering aviation company originaly based at The Pas 450 Kms south west of Thompson.










Thompson with a town population of some 16,000 is also a staging point for travel to Churchill by overnight train for the balance of the way.  While it has several large motor inn type motel/hotel accommodations it was hard to get rooms particularly with the Polar Bear season and pre winter when people from outlying settlements are buying up provisons for winter.  The next post will tell of Polar Bears and the Churchill trip.
Below is the western part of Manitoba travelled after returning from Churchill.  We arrived back in Thompson on the train, 31 October, again staying the night at Northern Lights B & B, rated the best in Thompson.

On leaving Thompson this immage of a wolf is seen at the end of an appartment building.  An extrodinary picture.  Note the completeness even over the doorway at the bottom of the wolf's legs.

Portages (overland boat routes between waterways) were not uncommon in the north.  This at Cranbury between two major waterways of the Grass River, leading to the Nelson River system (drainage from the southeast) and the Pencil Lakes area north to the Churchill River.

The lake at Cranbury. Northern Manitoba has a huge number of lakes of varying sizes. Local maps have named and marked canoe routes.

Recent history sometimes lies nearby.

Kath surveys a large opencast mine at Flin Flon while standing on the Canadian shield.  A pre-Cambrian glaciated rock shield running diagonally across from lower Ontario, through Manitoba into northern Alberta.

A close view of the smooth surface left from glaciation.

One of the largest mineral smelters in Canada, adjacent to the town of Flin Fon and the open cast area on the left.  Gold, silver, zinc copper was discovered in the area.

On the shield houses are built directly on rock foundations.  The town spreads west into Saskatchewan for a short way where is seems to have a name change (or suburb) called Creighton.

For more information go to  http://www.cityofflinfon.com/









Manitoba economy is varied with farming, forests, minerals and hydro electricity.  The latter is sold out of the Province to Saskatchewan and USA, and maybe further.