Lower Fort Garry

After a bit of shopping in the morning, we spent a delightful afternoon trooping around the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site. There was a five stage puzzle cache inside the fort, so naturally I (and Barb) had to indulge. A bit of shortcutting was required. One stage was confusing and another stage was illegible (we had to read a carving in a stone wall). However, we managed to piece it all together, and locate and log the final.

Along the way, we saw many interesting sights. This one had us "talking like pirates"... and no doubt amusing the passersby...

There are numerous park staff in all the buildings on site dressed in period costume and acting assigned roles, ala Barkerville. We had some nice chats with some of them, and learned that they were mostly university students who were lucky enough to find work that complemented their career paths.

This part of Canada, and most of the West, was purchased from the Hudson Bay Company, who had first claimed it all.

The very first aboriginal treaty (Treaty #1 - now controversial) was enacted here in 1871. Here's a shot of a teepee in the background of the blacksmith shop.

Later, we visited an Earthcache for my collection, this one was in Oak Hammock Marsh, and taught us all about artesian wells.

Tonight we're treating ourselves to dinner out at THE (only) local Île-des-Chênes eatery, and  tomorrow we head to our turning-around spot, Sioux Narrows ON. It'll be a short driving day (3.25 hrs), so we'll have a chance to see some sights (and caches <hehheh>) along the way.

BTW, there's an interesting background on how Île-des-Chênes was named... Google it...