Noonan News in Motion

Day 25

It rained a little during the night and was cloudy when we got up. It cleared to sunny/cloudy as we drove east. The afternoon was pleasant.

            We got up and left Quetico at about 7:45. We headed east on highway 11. We passed the French River near the location of the subject of Paul Kane’s painting that was originally thought to be the French River near Hudson’s Bay. We drove over a nice smooth road; it seemed new. We passed the Atlantic Watershed. This is the place where from there on, all water flows south toward the Atlantic Ocean.  Just before Shebaqua, we passed into the Eastern Time zone.

Kakabeka Falls in Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park

         Our first stop of the day was Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park. We parked and took the boardwalk a short distance to see the falls. The Falls were so big we couldn’t get them in one picture. We decided to try from the other side of the river. We followed the boardwalk toward the top of the falls and went above the falls and across the river. After viewing the falls from that side and managing to take a better picture, we went to the Visitors’ Centre.

            After leaving the falls, we passed through the town of Kakabeka Falls. Then we proceeded to Thunder Bay and Old Fort William Historical Park. We arrived at the park at about 12:00 noon local time. We had some lunch and then we paid our entrance and went through the first display out to the path that would take us to the park. A golf cart was there ready to take us to the Fort. The cart would sit 7 besides the driver. The driver took us to an area near the native village. We saw the wigwams, which were tepee shaped. They were covered in birch bark. Winter wigwams have an extra layer of bark on the bottom row and that is filled with moss to take up the moisture and keep out the cold in the winter. We saw some fish being dried and one man demonstrated how they weave sleeping mats out of cattails. We saw the summer wigwam, which did not have the extra layer.

            From the Native village we walked toward the fort. We passed the place where canoe rides were available. No one was there because a canoe had just gone out. We went to the place where fort tours begin. The woman there said that the next tour would be at 1:00.

Larry and Michael at the gate of Fort William

Everyone we encountered was dressed in period costume and acted the part of 1815. We went to explore the apothecary shop while we waited. The man there was the doctor’s assistant. He showed how some tools are used. Then we went into the next room and he talked about some of the herbal remedies he had. After that, it was time to go join our tour. There were three other people on the tour, though, during the tour, a few other people joined from time to time. The woman leading our tour acted the roll of a wife to one of the head clerks. She took us to the Indian House first. This is the place where Indians come in and trade their furs for goods in the store. We spoke with Mr. McKenzie who was the proprietor of the Indian House. They talked about the blankets, which were made by the same company as the Hudson’s Bay blankets, but were available in different colours.

Michael checking out the furs in the storehouse

           Mr. McKenzie showed us a variety of furs and furs of different quality. After that, our tour guide, Suzanne, said that she would take us to the storehouse. Mr. McKenzie said she should have us make a pack of furs while we were there. In the storehouse, we saw many types of furs hanging. The rarest was the silver fox. The softest was the lynx. We went next to the quarters for the voyageurs guides. These were men who were voyageurs for long enough that they knew the route well. They had bunks and a table and fireplace. They were allowed one meal a day at the great hall. From there, we went to the canoe shed. This is where they make the canoes. The long Montreal Cano is not made there. They make the smaller canoes for going out west. The voyageurs go out west over the winter and trade for furs. During the summer, they come back and meet at a rendezvous at the Fort. Then next winter, other men take the furs to Montreal for shipping to Europe. 

Canon fire to greet the bride

        By this time, it was 2:00 and time for a special event. A bride for one of the men at the fort was coming in by canoe. Everyone came out to greet the bride. There was dancing and canon fire to greet the bride and her entourage. The dignitaries from the fort were out there to greet her and her family. After speeches, one man - a former settler made loud complaints. Lord Selkirk brought the settlers to Manitoba. The North West Company had moved the settlers from their original lands because they were in the way of the fur trade. The NW Company told them that their land was not good and that they would re-establish them in better land. They forced them to come to the fort. However, they had been at the fort for months with no sign of resettlement in sight. The man got into an argument with Mr. McKenzie and demanded satisfaction. Finally, Mr McKenzie challenged him to a duel on the porch of the great hall. So, everyone followed them there.

            The two men stood back to back, each with a pistol. They were told to walk ten paces. They were then to turn around. At the command to fire, Mr. McKenzie fired and hit the man in the leg. He was taken by the doctor the Apothecary shop.  We went back to our tour guide and when we met up with her, we saw the settler and the doctor. The doctor assured us that he was not seriously injured. The bullet had just grazed his skin.

            For the end of our tour, we went to the great hall kitchen. The woman there was making salad. She gave us each some. The great hall is not open in the winter because there are so few people there then. Those left at the fort make their own meals during the winter and therefore usually don’t have as much variety in their food.

            After leaving our tour, we went to see the trade square, where the tinsmith, black smith and cooper work. We saw the tinsmith. While we were there, we heard a musket fire. We went out and the man with the musket demonstrated the musket for us. Then we went to try our skill at axe throwing. From there we went to see the great hall. It was mostly tables and chairs, with a fireplace at both ends. Also at both ends, there were suites. At least one was for the head of the Northwest Company for the two weeks he visited each year.

Michael trying the electrical machine

         We went back to the apothecary to see a demonstration of the electrical machine. One of the voyageurs showed us how it worked. He turned the crank while Michael touched the metal. Then Michael held a bottle with a metal top to the metal on the machine. The man cranked. Then Michael touched the metal on the bottle and got a shock.

Michael in the canoe

           When we left the fort, we walked over to the canoe docks. The canoe was gone again, so we sat on the bench and waited. The canoeists returned shortly. As we were getting our paddles and life jackets, another family came and joined us. So the canoe had the two voyageurs, the three of us and the four of them. We paddled around the island in the river. When we came back to the canoe dock, we gave a salute. We paddled three times quickly - to a count of three- then we banged the paddles on the gunwales twice, then we lifted our paddles in the air and gave a yell.

            When we returned our life vests and paddles, we walked through the Native village to the shuttle stop. A golf car was waiting there, so we went back to the welcome centre. We bought some souvenirs and then returned to our RV. We drove through Thunder Bay and stopped at the first rest stop outside the city. This was a memorial to Terry Fox.

Larry, Jan and Michael at the Terry Fox Memorial

From the memorial, we could see across the bay to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park - the mountain appeared to be lying down like a sleeping giant. We took some pictures and then continued on our way to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. We drove up the shore and then down the peninsula to the park. We checked in and went to the visitor centre/gift shop. The visitor centre was closed. It closes at 4:00 at this time of the summer. The gift shop was open until 9:00. We went from there to our campsite and set up.

Sleeping Giant PP - at the lake in the evening

          After we had dinner, we walked down to the public beach where there was an activity going on. There had been voyageurs dancing and now they were cooking bannock. We got there when a Native woman was showing a group of people how to mix the dough. When it was prepared, everyone who wanted to do so took a handful of dough and placed it in one of two cast iron fry pans waiting on the fire. We watched for a while and then returned to the RV.