Manitoba

It is only a short run from the Lake of the Woods area of Ontario near Kenora to the Manitoba border and Winnipeg.

After a night visiting friends in Winnipeg we checked out the map again and decided to take the more northerly route into and across Saskatchewan, instead of the south route used back in July.  This led us back into Riding Mountain National Park.  The throngs of summer visitors were now largely gone, leaving a much more peaceful atmosphere around the village of Wasagaming, and the main tourist areas.

But another season is just starting in the park, the rut.  We spotted these moose on the road as we headed northward.

They were not much concerned with our presence.

Even Hailey had a good look, from a safe vantage point.

While I was there, a gentleman got out of his vehicle and started to approach the larger bull for a photo.  He returned to his car with a bit more urgency with the bull hot on his heels!  Ah, reminds me of the ‘good ole days’ back in Jasper and Banff parks when I would deal with such individuals on a daily basis.

Of course, with all the Parks Canada cutbacks and ludicrous reorganization initiatives, there is practically no staff left in many areas to monitor, respond to incidents, or to do research on anything but their new focus on revenue generation.  In fact, three veteran former Park Wardens who were working here in Riding Mountain when I passed through in July, are all gone elsewhere now, at least partially as a result of the cutbacks.