We stayed at a lovely Passport Ameria park about 10-15 miles outside Winnepeg. We were told by the proprietors that the streets of Winnepeg were wide enough for our truck and that they had plenty of parking space. They suggested we might like to see "The Forks" area and then leave our truck there and take a city bus into the actual downtown to view the inner city. Sounded like a plan to us - so off we went. The first place we went to was the Forks Market. You are liable to find anything and everything there!! They offer alll types of fresh and specialty foods plus more than 50 other shops. It is housed in a fun building that was originally a horse stable. 
The Forks Market is located inside "The Forks" which is a lovely expanse of riverside property in the heart of downtown Winnepeg. It offers a kaleidoscope of activities, concerts and festivals throughout the year. The 9 acre riverside park looks across the Red River to historic St. Boniface and is dedicated to preserving and presenting the 6,000 years of pre-historic and historic significance of The Forks as the birthplace of western Canada.
It seems like they are having at least one festival there every weekend and this one was no exception with one that celebrated the National Aborignal Day. Thousands of Canadians from across the country came to enjoy the unique heritage, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.
On our free bus trip through the downtown area of Winnepeg, we noticed the Legislative Building which was completed in 1920 and features a grand staircase with matching bison statues and the famous Golden Boy statue atop this grand structure.
The second day of our stay found us going to Assiniboine Park. Again, there was no problem with parking our big truck and we spent the whole day walking around and looking at the park. which comprises 378 acres on the Assiniboine River. The park features a zoo, minature railway, duck pond, Winnie-the-bear statue, walking and biking paths, a conservatory, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and a Tudor-style pavilion that is home to the Tavern in the Park Restaurant
, Pavilion Gallery Museum and the Lyric Theatre. The Mayors Grove, Citizens Hall of Fame, a French formal garden and English Garden are among the many pleasing sites.
We decided that this was to be a McKenzie Day, so we took her with us. The first thing we found was a Dog Walkathon, called Paws in Motion, that included hundreds of dogs and their owners walking thru the park to raise money for the Winnepeg Humane Society. It was such fun and McKenzie joined right in
and marched over the "Finish Line".
Tents were set up selling everything a dog could ever want - clothes, food, pet care, etc. No, McKenzie did not get any more clothes! Only because we couldn't find the right size raincoat for her! She's probably going to need one before we get to the Maritime Provinces but so far we've had no luck finding just what will fit her. They also provided pools for the dogs to climb in to cool off. McKenzie said they looked too dirty to her and she wanted no part of getting her tootsies wet! 
Fortunately the day was pretty cool - high 70's.We headed over to the Conservatory at the park, which offers ten different displays a year in the Floral Display Gallery. The Palm House exhibits a tropical jungle with mature tropical trees and there were beautiful orchids growing in a lush landscape in there.
It was small but they had done an excellent job and the atmosphere was very calming and relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, we decided to just spread out a blanket on the grass and watch some of the sites. 
A summer band named "The Millenium" was giving a concert so we just sat back and relaxed.
It was small but they had done an excellent job and the atmosphere was very calming and relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, we decided to just spread out a blanket on the grass and watch some of the sites. 
A summer band named "The Millenium" was giving a concert so we just sat back and relaxed.There was a cricket match going on and numerous people walking and skating. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this lady as she had the best of both worlds - skis with wheels! What a workout! Nancy, don't get any ideas!!!!
We went back to the campground feeling refreshed and rested and ready to tackle the rest of our trip. We headed across the border at International Falls and will be driving to Illinois to visit with our son and his family. July 4th is Damon's birthday and we want to share it with him and his family this year. We don't recommend crossing at this border crossing unless you have to. It is very disjointed and would be a mess when a lot of vehicles are trying to cross both ways. The streets were being worked on and the detour signs left a lot to be desired. In fact, we thought we had ended up at the boat docks instead of the border crossing. They had one of the agriculture officers come out to talk to us to let us know what types of things we could bring from Canada into the U.S. Fortunately, we didn't have any of the banned items so after a quick look thru our refrigerator, we were released to head on into Minnesota. We have always crossed the border from the western crossings so it will be interesting to see what the future holds with crossing on the eastern side. After a two week visit with Damon, Kim and the kids, we'll head back up to Canada to hit the eastern and maritime provinces. I may not be able to publish the blog that regularly once we get into the Maritimes, but I'll do the best I can do and publish as soon as possible. Meanwhile, watch for the next blog to see where we head from here.
We went back to the campground feeling refreshed and rested and ready to tackle the rest of our trip. We headed across the border at International Falls and will be driving to Illinois to visit with our son and his family. July 4th is Damon's birthday and we want to share it with him and his family this year. We don't recommend crossing at this border crossing unless you have to. It is very disjointed and would be a mess when a lot of vehicles are trying to cross both ways. The streets were being worked on and the detour signs left a lot to be desired. In fact, we thought we had ended up at the boat docks instead of the border crossing. They had one of the agriculture officers come out to talk to us to let us know what types of things we could bring from Canada into the U.S. Fortunately, we didn't have any of the banned items so after a quick look thru our refrigerator, we were released to head on into Minnesota. We have always crossed the border from the western crossings so it will be interesting to see what the future holds with crossing on the eastern side. After a two week visit with Damon, Kim and the kids, we'll head back up to Canada to hit the eastern and maritime provinces. I may not be able to publish the blog that regularly once we get into the Maritimes, but I'll do the best I can do and publish as soon as possible. Meanwhile, watch for the next blog to see where we head from here.
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