Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

We drove over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park today, did a lovely and steep hike, drove the south rim road to various viewpoints, and also drove the East Portal road down to the river. This Natl Park is spectacular!  

Trail to a vista point 400 feet down. Total distance down is about 2000 feet. 

This same trail far below

Gary at an outlook point

At the same outlook point

This is my best photo of the canyon

Looking out at the canyon toward Montrose where we are staying

The river which we drove down to

The structures for the river diversion tunnel which diverts water to the agricultural areas in the valley. The tunnel was built near the turn of the 20th century. It is considered an engineering marvel. 

Wonderful days in Denver

We had three lovely days in Denver. Am posting some photos taken by me and others during that time. 

At the cabin with brother John and family. Ray and Marcia Giske were with us and all enjoyed our day! 

Shadows make it hard to see faces. 

Ballgame with Ray and Marcia. Rockies lost. 

A day sightseeing in Denver. At The museum at the former Lowry Air Force Base, now a residential area where Ray and Marcia live. Very nice!

Giske's grand children with parents Meredith and Rachel. 

Union Pacific Bailey Yard

Visited the Union Pacific Bailey Yard today in North Platte, Nebraska. This is the world's largest rail yard, over 2800 acres of land and moving 10000 train cars each day. The Visitor Center is the Golden Spike Tower, affording a panoramic view of the yard. 

Searching for Steel ancestor places in Brainerd, MN

This is probably a boring post. Feel free to ignore. 

We are in Brainerd, MN, for a couple of days. We thought it would be fun to see where my great grandfather and family lived for a time. Gary has done a lot of research on both his and my ancestors. And I have newspaper clippings and other source data that my mom collected. Plus there is other research available online. 

We know that my maternal great grandfather, William Elias Steel, and his wife Elva Proud, lived in Brainerd for a period of time in the 1870s and 1880s. We have an approximate address where they lived. Gary does not believe that the house still exists - probably now a Super America gas station. But anyway..... My maternal grandfather, Harry B Steel Sr. was born here in Brainerd. William was in real estate sales, probably connected with the railroad which, of course, as all railroads, owned a lot of land. We saw the residential neighborhoods that were platted in an early map we found of Brainerd, and William was selling these residential lots. 

Here are a few photos of the area today. 

Historic home probably built after William and family departed. I think they had moved to the Pacific Northwest when this house was built. We know that Harry didn't live here very long. This house is now an Aveda salon. Quite a house!

Looking at the block where the Steel family lived.

Old school right across the street from the block.

Another house of the era 

A Day in Sioux Narrows, ON

We are in Sioux Narrows, Ontario, in a campground right on Lake of the Woods. Sioux Narrows is a charming little "town", actually just a few shops and many homes in the surrounding area. We went to their annual art fair yesterday. I bought several things. As I was talking to one of the artists, out of the blue I asked him and his wife if they knew Craig and Mariana, friends of ours from Minneapolis. Yes, best friends. Their island home is just west of where we are right now.  I got the phone number, called, Craig answered, and yes, we could get together with them. They picked us up in their boat at Government Dock in Sioux Narrows, and we had a beautiful boat ride to their island, this perfect little gem of an island among many other islands, some inhabited, some not. Their house is wonderful with views on all sides. They fixed us drinks on their patio, I brought some snacks, we had dinner in their screened sun room, and Craig ferried us back to Sioux Narrows. How's that for serendipity??

Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg

It is impossible to describe this wonderful museum and stunningly beautiful building that is the architectural and cultural masterpiece of Winnipeg. 

The museum is on eight levels. Each level is devoted to a different aspect of human rights around the world, historically and in the present. From a definition of human rights to exploration of indigenous people's perspective, from rights in Canada to human rights around the world, from examining the Holocaust to examining the definition and origin of the word "genocide", and a look at what that meant for five countries specifically. And there is much more. Art and expression, women's rights, a special exhibit of photography of blind and nearly blind people. An exploration of the rights of the disabled. More and more. They cover a lot of ground!

Level eight is a glass and steel tower which can either be climbed via a beautiful (and not scary) spiral staircase, or one can ride a spectacular elevator to get to the top. 

As you either ascend or descend between levels, you walk along ramps with lighted alabaster sides and the result is breathtaking. I will post a few photos and perhaps they will give some idea of what this museum is. 

Photo taken from the ballpark (we went to a game last night - Winnipeg Goldeyes vs Kansas City T-Bones)

This museum is worth a special trip to Winnipeg. 

A day in Winnipeg

We toured Winnipeg today, hitting a couple of notable areas and buildings. 

First was a stop to see St Boniface Cathedral, which we saw from the car the previous evening, looking for a restaurant.  

This cathedral has had six iterations, the first being built in the mid 1800's. It was a mission church originally which was focused on education. Today St Boniface University is right next door. The fifth large cathedral was built in 1908, and a catostrophic fire destroyed the interior in 1968. It apparently was decided to clean up and stabilize the old walls, and to build the new cathedral (a more contemporary building) right behind the ruins. The overall effect is really wonderful. I see in reviewing my photos that I failed to get a photo of the old cathedral next to the new. :-(  But I did get some good ones of the old hulk. 

The cathedral is right on the banks of the Red River of the North, and views across the river are of downtown Winnipeg. 

Next we toured the Winnipeg Legislature building, reminding us in some ways of the Minnesota Capitol building. We did the self guided tour. The building had very few people in it because the legislature is not in session. Here are some photos. 

We were very surprised when we entered the building. Here were the surprising things not often found in the US any more:  We walked up the original front steps and in through the large front doors, not a side entrance built for modern security. We were greeted by a smiling guard seated behind his desk, not by ropes and gates. We asked if we could see some of the building. We were assured that we could. No scanner, no airport type screening. There were tours on the hour, but we could go on a SELF GUIDED TOUR if we wanted. They just ask that you not go into any offices. We gave our names and we were given a visitor badge. That was it. We walked around all three levels and saw everything we wanted to see. It was so nice. 

We walked around downtown and drove out to Assiniboines Park and walked around there. A lovely day. 

I am watching Hillary Clinton accept the Democratic nomination for president. What a wonderful and exciting speech. I am so grateful to be able to call myself an American which has produced this exciting woman. Even though my previous comments indicate that it was wonderful to have the freedom to enter a public building without going through security here in Canada, I am thankful for our country's efforts to keep us safe, and for the economic development that has blessed so many in our country. I am so proud to be a woman in a country soon to elect a woman President, who is committed to working together to lift up everyone. Thank goodness we have a candidate who will work to, among many other things, maintain and develop good relations with our wonderful Canadian neighbors.