Our first stop with the group was to a no-mans land, the International Peace Garden that is located on a 3.65 square mile area of land between the US border and Canadian Border between North Dakota and Manitoba. The area was established on July 14, 1932, as a symbol of a peaceful relationship between our two nations. Visitors from either country can enter the gardens without going through customs and within the gardens, you can stand in both countries at the same time. Everyone, however, must go through normal immigration procedures for the country they enter after leaving the gardens.
On our visit, this garden that is normally bursting with every color imaginable was covered with a blanket of snow. That too is beautiful in its own way, especially since many blooms from just a few weeks ago could be seen peeking through the cottony snow. But our really special treat was the tour given by Johannes Olwage of the world’s largest private cactus and succulent collection. This collection includes over 6000 plants from 4000-4500 different unique species originating from all over the world. His talk was incredible regarding the various species including how to tell which ones are pollinated by bats and which by hummingbirds or butterflies. I realize the pictures fall short of what we saw but hopefully, they will provide a bit of an insight into what a special visit this was.
Next, we were off to Boissevain, Manitoba for lunch. As we drove into this small town of fewer than 1500 people we were greeted by Tommy the Turtle, a 28-foot tall, 10,000 lb. painted turtle that serves as an icon for the town. We had a wonderful lunch at the Sawmill restaurant. The restaurant opened just for our group as today was Canada’s Thanksgiving Day (The second Monday in October). There was so much home cooked food that they boxed up the extras and none of us had to cook dinner once we arrived at our campsites. After lunch, we toured through the Irvin Goodon wildlife museum which is filled with various taxidermy animals all of which were said to be hunted by Goodon. It was a good way to get up close and personal with the locals…..animals that is. Directly across the street, we visited the Boissevain Train Museum. An individual named Earl Patterson is building a historic recreation of the town of Boissevain. Many of the miniature buildings he has made the roofs are removable and he has also completed the inside of the buildings. We found his miniature town that has been historically researched, to be an impressive undertaking for one individual. Before leaving Boissevain we drove by many of the 25 outdoor murals of Boissevain. Each mural depicts various historical aspects of this small town.
We are now in Brandon, Manitoba and we are looking forward to all that is planned for us to see tomorrow.
              International Peace Garden  International Peace Garden    Boissevain, Manitoba  Irvin Goodon Museum  Irvin Goodon Museum  Irvin Goodon Museum  Established 1881 Boissevain Train Museum  Boissevain Train Museum  Boissevain Train Museum       one of these. |
You guys look so good. So glad you are enjoying retirement and RV-ing. Love you
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