The first blog showed some pictures at Lake Louise in Banff National Park. This is a video of you-know-who negotiating snow-covered stairs there.
It also referred to Frank’s brother John and his motorized collection. Here is a bit of video of 1 of his sheds where he keeps his snow-mobile collection. He then surprises the people standing behind it by lifting the most powerful of them and starting it. They get covered in rocks and dirt and Frank wisely keeps his legs apart!
Robert Ricks, our good friend for over 23 years, lives in a condo in Minneapolis. Sonia will remember him and his wife Sondra who passed away a few years ago.
Many cars in the US wear bumper stickers that read “God Bless America”. Robert has found a more balanced approach.
A short walk from Robert’s condo is the Minnehaha falls.
Just down from the falls is this beautiful statue based on Henry Longfellow's poem depicting Hiawatha about to carry Minnehaha across a river.
Here it is close-up - one of the loveliest statues I have ever seen.
A plaque in the condo garden reminds us of our children and grand-children.
Another reminder of how big grizzlies can grow at the Science Museum in Minneapolis.
The museum had a section on medical quackeries. Bonita thinks this is appropriate for Peter. If you double-click the picture, you will be able to read the text.
But he would draw the line with this one!
At Chippewa Falls in Wisconsin, we called on Roger and Sandy Churness, whom we met at Jasper in 2009.
A couple getting into the spirit at a ‘Renaissance’ medieval fair at Chippewa Falls.
We hoped it was not permanent!
Memorial day in Madison, Wisconsin. Most of the men at the church we visited wore ties displaying the flag or other American symbols.
A group on Memorial Day mounted 1 small headstone for every dead soldier along the footpath of a main road. It was labeled by year and place - a very poignant reminder of how many young American men and women the country has lost.
We went to a ‘Veterans For Peace’ anti-war rally to see what went on. This woman had done 3 stints in Iraq as a medico and spoke strongly against the USA involvement.
A group at the rally performing 'Bring ‘Em Home'. I apologise that I cannot acknowledge them by name or ask their permission to use this. If you know their name, let me know so I can do so.
Interesting Thai statue in a garden.
We did a tour of a WWII submarine powered by batteries. This is the guide with 1 of the batteries.
Some groups go to extreme lengths to get their point across!
One of the first steam trains to run on rails – true horseless carriages. We saw this at the National Railway Museum in Manitowoc, Michigan.
An early train designed and built by General Motors – remind you of anything?
A snow plough train at work.
‘Big Boy’, the biggest loco ever built – no, not Peter, the steam engine!
Peter has found a new sign for his study at home. It’s actually a sign from the luxurious Pullman railway carriage from early last century. Mike and Walter, would you like a copy?
Can you see the tunnel in the cliff where the waves flow through?
Now you can see it!
A picnic table accommodating wheel-chairs??
Someone determined to show he is on holidays.
The sign on the chair.
Here is some poor quality video taken from our TV of our TV interview. We entered the Ontario Visitor Information Office in Sault Ste Marie on our return to Canada from the US just as they were inaugurating ‘Holiday in Ontario Week’. They had media reps there including 2 TV crews. As soon as they heard our accents they rushed us and interviewed us.
Peter in the cold with far too much clean water taken by a warm and dry Bonita while he did an ‘RV Dump’, one of the regular tasks befalling the males of the household in the RVing community.
Pucker up!
Peter on Lake Superior – trying to remember what he used to do prior to retiring!
And the Canadians try to tell us they are frightened of our wildlife!
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Peter risking life and limb after photographing First Nation's rock paintings on a cliff ledge on Lake Superior. Note the ropes to assist people who fall into the water in the attempt.
Bonita about to photograph Peter taking a picture of ……..
These big bee-hive shaped buildings are common in Eastern Canada. They store grit for the roads in winter.
The name of the town of Wawa, a 1720's fur-trading post on Lake Superior, is an Ojibwe word meaning 'wild goose' so guess what they have as the town mascot - The Big ????????
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Hope you enjoyed this blog!
