Manitoba Tourist Destination

This garter snake town statue is found at Inwood, Manitoba.  Inwood is right next door to the world famous Narcisse Snake Dens located in Manitoba’s Interlake area.  Here, thousands of red-sided garter snakes emerge each spring and fan out into the countryside.  They return each fall to hibernate in the limestone sinkholes found in the area.

Below:  One of the Narcisse sinkholes that goes deep into the limestone.

Below:  Snake Tunnels have been constructed to allow snakes safe passage under the highway.  The mesh fence narrows and funnels the snakes under the road via man-made tunnels.  This has helped reduce the numbers of snakes killed by motor vehicles each year.

Below:  A red sided garter snake swimming.  They just glide across the top of the water. The swimming snake was in Atikaki Wilderness Park.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

People from all over the world visit the Red River in Winnipeg-Lockport area to catch these monster Channel Catfish.  When we have gone fishing for cats it is always catch and release but I have heard they are not bad eating if smoked. I don’t know anyone personally that has kept them for eating. People say it is like chicken – Yup! Heard “tastes like chicken” many times to describe unusual meats although I did taste Lynx once at a banquet hosted by a Yukon group and it really was like a chicken thigh.   It takes a long time to get a large catfish up to the boat ( sometimes 20 minutes or more) due to their bulk.  My son estimated this one in the 3 foot range and weighing in around 30+ pounds.  This is not an unusual size to catch at Lockport- there really are a lot of huge catfish concentrated in this area. You will notice my son’s hand in the mouth – they don’t have teeth, just a “sandpaper” like rim but they do have barbs than can do some damage if you get stuck by one.  People even catch these big ones from the shoreline casting out their baited pickerel rigs. The shorelines here are often lined with people relaxing and fishing and of course, Lockport is also known for its delicious foot long hot dogs at a few local diners. The Red River at Lockport / Selkirk  is  closely monitored by the DNR officers so be sure to have appropriate licences, barbless hooks etc. and practice good catch and release methods at all times.  Below a few more photos  – another large one and a few smaller ones.

The Winnipeg River (above) meanders through the Whiteshell creating lakes throughout. Above are some rapids where Pelicans sit to catch their fish. The photos below show terrain typically found in the Whiteshell.  Roads have been “cut through” the rocky terrain and the forest is full of lush undergrowth, tall stands of Boreal Forest trees and many different kinds of mosses and lichens.   I personally find the mosses and lichens both beautiful and interesting ( check out a previous blog under Mosses and Lichens for photos). Fox, deer, black bears and beavers are common sights here as well as a variety of  forest dwelling birds, owls, herons and other waterfowl.

Below:  rocks line the highway edges.

Below is the sign welcoming visitors to the Whiteshell.  Note the “turtle” on the sign.  The Petroforms (a sacred site to Aboriginal Peoples) are located in the Whiteshell.  One of the Petroforms is a turtle symbol representing “Turtle Island” which is another name for North America. According to First Nations teachings, the Turtle represents the teaching of Truth. You can find a “Gallery” dedicated to the Petroforms which inlcudes contact information on the right hand side of this page.

In addition to the lakes, beavers in the park have created numerous marshes which in turn provides habitat for birds, turtles and waterfowl to name a few.  Many of these marshes are filled with beautiful pond lillies. Below is a photo of a marsh filled with Water Calla Lillies.

The Whiteshell is less than 2 hours from Winnipeg and is a very popular cottage area. There are a number of hiking trails in the Whiteshell for persons with varying skill levels.

Enjoy!

~Sharon