Bear Facts in Manitoba

Internet black out.. ugh! Left Moose Jaw and started my journey towards the province of Manitoba. I have been traveling the back roads for a few days in Northern Manitoba looking about, checking in on communities and parks. Unfortunately, my curiosity took me out of internet accessibility and cell zone. So now I am playing catch up blog. Lots to tell ya though. Hold on tight!

From Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan I ended up in Dauphin, Manitoba. Why Dauphin? The reason for Dauphin was because it had a Tim Hortons. Ha ha ha. It has been awhile since I have been near coffee civilization. Camp coffee is appreciated but, come on, there is no comparison. Actually.. the real reason I am in Dauphin is because the community is a gateway to two big parks – the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and the Riding Mountain National Park.

No matter where you go in this beautiful country, if you explore off the beaten track there is so much to do and sights to see. I am consistently pleasantly surprised at the many beautiful sights in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  Why I have to find out about them the hard way is beyond me? There are lakes and rivers everywhere. The Duck and Riding Mountain Parks in Manitoba are two great examples.

Tower on Baldy Mountain in Duck Mtn. Provincial Park

Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a more wilderness style park. The roads are gravel.  The trails are following natural paths – not man made manicured paths. It is my kind of park!

The tallest mountain in Manitoba is Baldy Mountain which is in Duck Park. It includes hiking trails and two towers. I explored and climbed the towers. One of which I think I was not suppose to climb.. but my reading skills were not functioning this morning on purpose. The good news was that the tower provided views of the valley and not just tree tops. At the top were some interpretive signs. No one was around. It was all my view and I did not have to share.

There were so many lakes in Duck – I mean tons, that I could not possibly have seen them all on this visit so I narrowed the lakes down to a few of the remote ones and two of the main lakes – Childs and Blue Lakes. The remote lakes were my favorite. There I met some canoers and kayakers.  On Gull Lake two kayakers were getting ready to set paddle and on Beautiful Lake a canoeist just got back from sightseeing. I could only drool and envy them as I watched the kayakers leave (picture above).  The smaller remote  lakes did nor permit motorized boats while the bigger lakes allowed all boats. Kayaking and canoeing are big in Manitoba.. not sure if Manitoba knows that though? Allot of Saskatchewan and Ontario license plates.

The Riding Mountain National Park is more man made.  the broads are paved. The trails a bit more manicured. And.. get this.. in the park there was another Grey Owl Cabin? I did not know there were two heritage sights?  The park also had a community within the park called Wasagaming.  Many of the National Parks in the country include a community. I did not know this till we started traveling across the country. I always thought Banff and Lake Louise were the only two communities in National Parks. How naive was I!

Wasagaming is a park community on the shores of Clear Lake. There is a massive beach, a long pier, a marina and many funky looking stores lining the street.  Sailing, boating, canoeing and swimming were big activities on the lake. People were walking and biking all around me. My stroll on foot through town provided me a great chance to get some great pictures of this cute little enclave.

Grizzly Bear in Riding Mountian National Park

The highlight of the Riding Mountain National Park visit was the Grizzly sighting. Yes.. my wildlife radar was running on high alert. I am so proud.

I am even starting to guess correctly where a bear or moose might be hiding based on the geography. For example chances are high for a bear or moose sighting when driving by or hiking through wetlands, marshes, grasslands, marshed and along gravel roads and rivers.

While I was driving from trail to trail I spotted the Grizzly in a grassland field.  The bear was far off so the telephoto lens was put to work.  By the time I was finished snapping pictures 3 other cars had pulled over and we were all enjoying the bear together.