Sunday, July 30, 2006. We are visiting Denis' cousin Allan and Sharon in Houston, BC.  Along the way we stopped in at New Hazelton and had a tour of reproduced 'KSAN Native Village.
'Ksan is a reconstructed Gitzsan village with traditional style buildings that house a museum of Indian Art and artefacts. It is the desire of the 'Ksan to preserve and truthfully, portray the lifestyles of the people who have always lived here.

All the dwellings and totem poles are created from Red Cedar trees, as well as the construction of all things; canoes, storage boxes, cedar bark clothing and tools. Cedar rope is used to hoist poles and cedar beams.

As you walk past the towering totem poles and longhouses, you are entering the past. At the same time, you are entering into a culture that is very much alive and thriving today. The Gitxsan people number about ten thousand. Of that, almost 3500 individuals make their home in this area, with livelihoods as diverse as educators, loggers, fisherman, professionals. There are now eight villages within a thirty mile radius of 'Ksan.

The Totem Pole is built with the most important figure on the bottom and the less important on the top. On the top of this one is Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a former Prime Minister of Canada. It would seem that they were not all that happy with this Prime Minister as this village was built under his leadership!
This Totem Pole is 800 years old.    

 

On the left is Chad, our Ksan tour guide and he is of the frog clan. Clan lineage  for marriage purposes is still strictly enforced. One inherits his mother's clan and can never marry into the same clan name.

 
This is a photo of Old Hazelton. The town was moved due to the railway line being built a few miles south, and now there is New Hazelton.
 

We had a good time at Denis's long lost cousin, Allan (Kenny Rogers) and his wife Sharon, in Houston...BC! We raided her garden of raspberries and snow peas, pigged out on pizzas then the next day while saying our goodbye's she gave us a canned salmon, beets, and jams for the road. Thank you Sharon and Allan.

 

Monday, July 31, 2006. We went for a tour of the Canfor Sawmill this morning. We forgot the camera so there are no pictures.
This sawmill is the biggest in Canada! It is fully automated and computerized. It puts out, on average, 2,000,000 board feet of lumber per day! It processed, while we were there, 112 log sides per minute! That's 112 pieces of wood anywhere from 30-60' long... these are the sides of the logs cut off to leave a square timber in the centre for slicing and dicing! That leaves about 29 square logs being sliced and diced per minute into 2x4, 2x6 and 2x8 construction lumber as all they produce is spruce construction lumber. After all the slicing and dicing, these boards are then kiln dried, left to set for 24 hours, and then they are planned and you should see the lumber fly through these planners... wow!
The most amazing thing about this operation is that it was being run by only 28 employees in the sawmill itself... that's from the front end loader at the beginning to the wrapper at the end! Computers eh!!!
Tuesday, August 1, 2006. We are at Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. The price is $17.00 per day but there are showers. This morning was a bit cool - 5C . At 5:00 p.m. it was 12C. We are still in the Northern Mountains.

Mount Robson sits on a solid base of Quartzite - rock made of quartz, the hardest rock in the Rockies. This rock is old: early Cambrian, deposited in shallow seawater half a billion years ago.
We hiked to Kinney Lake. It was a 4.2 km hike, with an elevation gain of 130 metres passing a fragrant cedar forest.
 

Summer flowers with glacier fed Robson river in the background.

 
Hey! Look at the old man's beard....


 
A cedar forest.

See all the trees that are brownish/red in color. They are all infested with the "mountain pine beetle".
We have seen this all over Alaska and British Columbia. When the trees are red in color it is the second year of infestation. On the third year the needles fall. 		The map on the right shows the extent of infestation in B.C.'s Interior in 2005. There are seven million hectares of affected forest- an area the size of New Brunswick. Forestland covers two-thirds of B.C.'s province, and 25 per cent is lodgepole pine forest, which is vulnerable to mountain pine beetle attack. Many communities are impacted, sp far including the livelihoods of some 25,000 families.

 		    
Thursday, Aug 3, 2006. Spent the night in a campground ($12.00) a couple of hours before Edmonton. Sat at a campfire with some Albertan's they were very nice. Reminded us of Northerners.

There was a bunch of these guys trying to cross the road but just taking their time. They were just at the end of the waterway in the above landscape picture.
Friday, August 6, 2006. We are in Edmonton and have decided to stay at the Yellowhead Casino. They have a spot for R.V.'s and all we have to do is visit the Casino each day while we are here. It is a long weekend and this makes visiting Edmonton sites very convenient. This casino is right off the Yellowhead highway as you travel through town!

Royal Alberta Museum

Beautiful Bronze statues...little ones and big ones.

 
Wild Alberta is a centre for environmental education.
 
Old minerals, gems and rocks, and the forces that forged our planet. There is even a 3-D guide to all the  birds in Alberta.

A world of Bugs...live bugs...Giant walking sticks, stinging scorpions and tarantulas the size of dinner plates...live and up close!


 

 crawling cockroaches.
Creatures from the depths of time.

 

A Saber Tooth Tiger.		  

 


Aboriginal culture.

 

West Edmonton Mall
The West Edmonton Mall is starting to look it's age but it still is an amazing place for the first time visitor.

I remember hearing about this place in my younger days and always wanted to visit. I finally made it.
On the left is a water amusement park, on the right is the indoor kids area complete with a full sized roller coaster, it has an Olympic sized skating rink and best of all a HUGE heated pool with wave maker kept at 82 degrees!
Oh... did I forget to mention there are also what... 600 stores for you to shop at!

 
 

Leduc #1

 
 


 

Toured the Leduc #1 discovery museum. The first oil well to strike it rich in Alberta for Imperial Oil... who by the way, was pulling the plug on Alberta exploration on the same week-end they struck oil! This after 100's of dry holes. A huge part of Alberta's rich petroleum heritage.		  

Fort Edmonton
Another fun place in Edmonton is Fort Edmonton. There was a lot of money spent here and they did a really good job.

You walk through a Full replica of the fifth fort in  Edmonton, that of 1846, built and furnished 100% exactly as it was back them... real neat!

Then you walk back in time through historic streets replicating exactly the buildings and furnishings of the periods 1885, 1905, and 1920..All the stores operate exactly as they would have back then with things such as authentic bakeries, garages, even a full operating hotel! To get around, ride on a real old steam driven train, or turn of century electric streetcars!

Below, Ukrainian hand painted eggs. There is a large Ukrainian population in this vicinity.

 
 

Got to taste freshly baked bread from this stove.
The pattern on these eggs are done by waxing and then removing the wax for the pattern and then dying the color needed and then repeating for the next pattern. They are beautiful. There are contests for the best eggs each year in a lot of town/cities.

Pysanka: The Symbol of Life

In many of the world's cultures, the egg has represented the original source of creation. It was from this egg that the universe was born.
From Pre-Christian times the egg symbolized Hope, Happiness, and Protection.

 

Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre
In Lloydminster, we visited the Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre.. The museum houses the famed Imhoff Gallery, a collection of over 250 paintings of religious and historically themed art all done by the one man! There is also the Oil Science Centre of drilling / refining museum as Husky Oil has their refineries located here in Town. And there is also a large display of one person's taxidermy dating back to the 1920's plus tons of household artefacts. All this is located right next door the town's Visitor's Centre a Municipal campground just around the corner. Some towns know how to do it right!
 		 This is how they permed your hair way back in 1928. Can you imagine being plugged into this???
 
A taxidermist's idea of funny. These are all stuffed rabbits! Where's the animal activists when you need them eh. ;-)		  

A huge egg (Pysanka) in Vegreville, AB. This is a Ukrainian tradition. It's colors represent pureness, prosperity and happiness. The wolf-tooth or saw design carries the message of protection and security afforded the early settlers of this area by the North West Mounted Police. This egg was all created by means of a computer and is put together like a puzzle. 		The colors and designs all have meanings:

ORANGE - Power, Endurance & Ambition
* RED -Happiness
GREEN - Youth * BLUE - Good Health, * WHITE - Purity * YELLOW-Wisdom & Love * WHEAT - Good Health,
STARS - Success * CROSS - Christianity,
CIRCLES & BANDS - Eternity, ANIMALS - Prosperity & Wealth, FLOWERS & PLANTS - Children & Beauty

The Pysankas are made from real eggs, first handwritten in bee's wax and then gently dipped in colored dyes.

Fort Battleford

The stockade room where three RCM's were always on guard. The bed is at an angle so that the ones sleeping can get out of bed really fast.		  

The fort, constructed in 1876, played an important role in the settlement of the west.
Broken promises and starvation set the stage for confrontation between Aboriginals and the federal government in 1885. That year, 500 settlers crowded into Fort Battleford, fearing an attack fro Chief Poundmaker and his Cree.
Detachment were involved in a skirmish with Poundmaker at Cut Knife Hill. Eight Cree and Stoney prisoners were found guilty in the uprising and were hanged at Fort Battleford.

 They seem to live pretty good.

The Gatling Gun could fire up to 1200 rounds per minute. Invented by Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling. A Gatling gun was manned at Cut Knife Hill where Poundmaker's warriors were engaged.


 
Beautifully beaded gloves.

 

 

 

 Chief Poundmaker

By early 1880s government cuts to rations led to starvation among the Plains Cree who grew increasingly frustrated with the failure of the government to live up to the terms guaranteed under Treaty Six. Poundmaker attempted to restrain his younger warriors but when rations were refused to the band at Battleford he was unable to stop their desperate ransacking of the village.
Tuesday, August 8, 2006. I am very disappointed that there are hardly any Provincial Parks, just off the Yellowhead Hwy, through Saskatchewan. We had to go off the Yellowhead Hwy about 20 kms and are now in Manitou Beach, staying right on the beach (dry camping) on the Manitou Inn's property, the cost was $12.00.
This beach is Canada's salt lake. Three times saltier than ocean water, and full of other good minerals as there are spas full of patrons around here. We went swimming as soon as we got here and yes, you will float.... even standing upright no problems!


Saskatchewan gets the greatest sunrises. 5:30 a.m. on Manitou lake!
Saskatchewan... the land of living skies! This is a large body of Salt Water.
Wednesday, August 9, 2006. We enjoyed the R & R so much that we decided to go to Good Spirit Provincial Park, SK. for the day. It's unfortunate that Saskatchewan Provincial Parks are so expensive and that you have to travel so far off the Yellowhead to get there! This one is $6.00 to get in, $22.00 for a dry site (no plug in & water connection or sewer)! plus $6.00 for a fire permit plus $5.00 / bdl if you need wood. That chainsaw is paying itself off slowly. Jasper National Park, by the way, was like that also. $17.85 to get in, $28.00 for a camp site, $6.00 for fire permit plus the wood! Ouch!. Our National Park system is expensive anywhere you go, relative to other privately run attractions and parks...

Western Development Museum

Yorkton, SK, has a museum in progress called "Western Development Museum", theme being "Life in the Past Lane". There is still a lot of it unfinished but what there is looks pretty good. It's all about farming and the immigrants who made it happen. When this museum is finished I think it will really be worthwhile seeing.
Wheat and more wheat....

Most Ukrainians had little in the way of wealth when they arrived in Canada. The men often had to work outside of the farms to make ends meet and the wives and children had to take care of the farms.		 Among the many other immigrants were the Russian Doukhobors, and Icelanders.
The Germans also have a long history of settlement in Eastern Canada. Many German speaking immigrants came from Eastern and South-eastern Europe plus the United States.


Inglis Grain Elevators

Five standard-plan wooden grain elevators. These once dominated Prairie towns.  These were built between 1922 and 1941 and are the only such grouping of elevators left in the Prairies. The furthest one has been totally renovated and is used as the interpretation and demonstration centre. These really make an impressive sight.
 
Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. We are staying in the Town of Russell, Manitoba. What a great town this is. Their municipal campground has a sign saying "Free Campground", with a donation box next to it and if you are lucky to be there on a Thursday there is an old time band which are a few of the local seniors who play there in the evening and entertain the travellers. Add to this hydro is included along with a dump and water station! This Town gets an A+ for being tourist friendly.


The Town of Russell sure makes you feel at home. We also have a bike which has 46 seats and is a Guinness World record holder!. Here we are biking around! Our trailer should be this long as we need the distance!

The end of the Yellowhead HWY. Denis always wanted to be in the middle of a wheat field so he took the opportunity.
Sunday, August 13, 2006. We are in Winnipeg, MB. and staying at the Traveller's RV Park. We stopped here because they are supposed to have a pool, but we found after that it's been closed for 2 years!.. and they still advertise it! It's also expensive as they do not have anything less than full hook-ups. Top that with the fact that our neighbours fro  Kenora, who left late due to hockey school scheduling, were charged for the full day regardless... $39.00 including their two kids! Hellllooooooo!

Winnipeg Folklorama Festival


The Ukraine-Kyiv Pavilion

The annual Folklorama Festival was happening while in Winnipeg and what an event... and we loved what we saw of it. We hope to go back for it some day. This is a 2 week festival and represents the different cultures and their history. It's an evening of entertainment and food. Many entertainers brought in from their originating Country.... and $4.00 for each show!
The Ukraine had their finest local dancers, vocalist and instrumentalist of their community plus culinary favourites. These are world renown and what a show they put on.


Paraguay: "The Heart of the South America" Pavilion

There was even a Paraguay night at the arena next door. Se we went for the asado. The Paraguayan musical group had a harp and 2 guitarists to accompany the local and imported Paraguayan dancers; and one dancer finished the show off by doing the bottle dance.
We also enjoyed the food; Asado (barbequed ribs), empanadas, chipas, mandioca and sopa Paraguaya.

A Paraguayan dancer from  Asuncion doing the famous bottle dance. Here she is dancing with.... count them...12 wine bottles balanced on her head.		 Denis, catching me with my mouth full again.

This is a event we would love to come back for. There is so much of it to see and if it's as good for all the cultures represented as the two we saw....WOW!.

Mennonite Heritage Village

In 1873 eight townships in the vicinity of Steinbach were set aside by the Canadian government for exclusive use of Mennonite settlers from south Russia. This Heritage Village shows of their way of life for the first 50 years or so.		 This is a sod house being about 3' in the ground. Sod is then stripped from the soil and piled along the outside walls. This helped the immigrants survive their first Winter as the snow which packed over the house added additional insulation and protection. The next year, they started building frame houses.
There is a General Store, Worship House, School House, Farm House plus other places that make up a village for you to go in and see what it was like in those days.

 


 

The Riel House

This is the family home of the famous Metis leader, Louis Riel. Here he laid in state for two days after his death in December 1885. The Metis, are a distinct Canadian people with a blend of French and Aboriginal tradition. They were, unfortunately, not recognized as Canadians by the Federal government. The Metis, after 200 years of established way of life, wanted recognition of their river lot, a homestead system similar to that used by the French along the St Lawrence river. The Federal government was negotiation treaty rights with the First nations people, but refused to negotiate with the Metis. Surveyors had begun surveying British type Townships right over the Metis farms! The Metis organized a negotiation party with Louis Riel as head negotiator since he was well educated in both languages, and through his actions, he acquired land rights for the Metis and at the same time brought Manitoba into full statehood as a recognized Province instead of simply a territory like the rest of western Canada..
Because of his ability to negotiate and organize, Louis Riel was considered a threat to the then Federal Government and was offered money for exile. He moved to the USA.
Sometime thereafter, the Saskatchewan Metis wanted the same rights as those of the Manitoba Metis, and Louis Riel was asked to leave exile and come back to Canada to help their plight. This he did, but at the same time, First nation people were having skirmishes against the Canadian army for their treaty rights. It is said, the Canadian Government of the day placed blame on the First nations rebellion on Louis Riel as he was considered part native and because the Saskatchewan Metis were at the same time trying to negotiate their rights, then they were all considered to be part and part of the revolt . The army was enforced and empowered additionally to quell the rebellion of 1885 at all costs and to severely punish those responsible. Louis Riel was then a wanted man. The army fought battles in and around Batouche in Saskatchewan and Louis Riel, who wanted none of it, surrendered himself to the army. He was, nevertheless, still brought to trial and hung the next day!
Known since then until recently as a rebel of Canada, Louis Riel was finally recognized as a founder of Manitoba and not to blame for the uprising of 1885.

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