Our friends-and-family road trip conveniently took us to Dauphin, Manitoba, the home of my old friend Sandra and her husband Al. (Sandy and I go back to grade five at Capital Hill School in Calgary, Alberta, so we are "old" friends in every sense of the word.)
Dauphin is a lovely spot -- a community of about 8,000, just far enough away from larger cities (2 hours from Brandon, 4 hours from Winnipeg) so that its numerous amenities (a theatre, recreation complex, college campus and shopping centre) make it seem like a much larger town. It also has a unique personality inspired by its past and the pioneers who settled this area. Most especially, Ukrainian roots are honoured in an annual mid-summer celebration:
Canada's National Ukrainian Festival. (Even if you miss this event, as we did, you can still sample the cuisine with passable pyrogies from the local Scottish bakery.)
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| Doll-sized cottages |
This part of Manitoba, known as
Parkland, is not at all prairie-like. In fact, it feels as if Mother Nature had a bit of Northern Ontario left over and planted it -- lakes, trees and all -- exactly where the good folks of Dauphin could enjoy the benefits. Dauphin streets are lined with beautiful, large trees that one simply does not see in prairie towns.
Those who want more of the same, along with unlimited recreational opportunities, need only drive an hour from Dauphin to Canada's second oldest national park,
Riding Mountain. Most Canadians know very little about this tourist gem which has everything a national park requires -- trees, wild animals, a charming village, lots of tiny cottages, a sandy beach and a lake, complete with tour boat. Here is all the charm of Banff and Jasper ( our really big national parks) without the huge mountains and the huge size. It is a little bit of wilderness heaven.
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| An afternoon boat cruise at Riding Mountain |
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| On the water, the sky is still impressive. |
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