June 23, 2019

For those who worry when I disappear from cellular and wifi range, this will likely be happening again today. I'm heading north to Gimli and will stay in one of several options there on Lake Winnipeg. I'll stay one or two days there, then head west through a narrows in Lake Manitoba to Riding Mountain National Park, where I'll also stay a day or two. Then, after staying a day somewhere in Saskatchewan,  I'll head to Buffalo Pound PP for the long weekend, arriving Friday. Monday July 1st I'll head to Regina to stay with my friend Sally.

So I'll likely be in and out of touch. for the next week. Beautiful day today.

I think I’m falling in love with Manitoba. Yes, it’s flat, and the roads are dead straight – but once you leave the road and find a lake, it’s magical. And there are lots of lakes!

I left my farm host this morning for the short drive to Gimli. She told me that Gimli and the surrounding area were settled by Icelandic peoples and the theme is certainly apparent in Gimli! It’s a pretty little town on Lake Winnipeg – a tourist spot. I finally saw a post office where I could mail the post cards I had written ages ago! There is nowhere to mail things anymore! Shouldn’t be surprising I guess – who mails things?

I carried on to Hnausa Provincial Park. This is a grassy field next to Lake Winnipeg. Some of the sites are surrounded by trees, but I chose one right across from the lake so I could drag my kayak over the rocks and go for a paddle – that’s tomorrow’s plan.

Today, once my camper was set up, I sat in my chair overlooking the lake to eat my lunch. There was a breeze and it felt cool enough for a long sleeved shirt – but the sun was warm. Pelicans, terns, and gulls wheeled and settled onto the lake. The pelicans are amazing – they are a white and black flash as they fly, and they can cruise right above the water on the updrafts.

I decided I needed some exercise, so I walked the 3 kilometers to the Hsausa dock. This looks like a commercial fishing dock, but today, there were cars with people trying their luck off the dock. On the way I passed the Hsausa General Store and on the way back bought something cools to drink, and some homemade meatballs for supper. The freezer was full of Icelandic specialties – many of which I’d never heard of. I sat at a table on their front porch and enjoyed the huge sky.

On the way back to the campsite, I took a picture of the house name – all of the houses along the street were named in this way. According to a plaque, the area was settled in the 1830’s by Icelanders, and they built the community, including a Lutheran church, a Unitarian church, and then later in the 1930’s a Catholic church.

When I got back to the campsite I decided to try my luck with a wetsuit swim again. The water was not really that cold, but I had intended to go for a long swim. I had comfortably achieved a kilometer in the pool before I left, but swimming in a lake is quite a different prospect – I’m going to have to work my way up to that kind of distance swimming. And the water was not clear – even with goggles I couldn’t see where I was going. It will take some getting used to.

I was pleased, though, that the 6 km walk did not cause my knee any concerns. It feels like just a few weeks ago I was limited to 3 km, so I’m happy with this progress.

I’m camped without electrical hookup, so I hooked up my solar collectors for the day. The camper stayed nice and cool in spite of being in the direct sun all day and without using the vent fan. I’ll see how the battery fares overnight and whether the solar panels can recharge everything during the day – assuming we have sun of course.