Lower Fort Garry, St. Andrews Lock and Dam and onto Grand Beach, Manitoba

It's raining this morning so we get a bit of work done this Monday morning before our day begins. Ultimately we want to spend time on Grand Beach, but we want to make a quick stop at Lower Fort Garry. While in Winnipeg we saw the few remnants of Upper Fort Garry but it was severely damaged by a flood in 1826 so they built Lower Fort Garry further downriver on higher ground to avoid future flood damage. Note: The Red River runs from south to north and drains into the Hudson Bay :)

Red River Floodway

On the way to Lower Fort Garry we cross The Red River Floodway, a 47 km long channel which during flood periods takes overflow water of the Red River around the city of Winiipeg to the east and back into the Red River below the dam at Lockport. It's hard to see in the picture but it is a deep, wide gully that creates the floodway

We can tell just by the entrance this place is going to take more than a few minutes, and it's free this year due to a Federal Government campaign to help local tourism visit national historic sites. We were expecting a few old foundations to look at....lol

Lower Fort Garry

Lower Fort Garry was a major Hudson's Bay Company trading post, a hub for industry, transportation and supply distribution for the north. 

On site there are several young 'period costume' people who answer questions and play the role of people back in the day. 

Hudson Bay Coat of Arms

As this young man tells us, Lower Fort Garry was the Amazon distribution center of today serving the Hudson's Bay company via waterways in many directions. 

Lower Fort Garry has a significant amount of original structures from its fur trade era. Some parts have been restored but many original buildings and walls still stand.

Birch bark canoe

Gunsmith in front of the old Fur Store or sales shop

Original buildings inside the walls

Fire arm demonstration - no real shots were fired :)

We watch a demonstration of what it took to fire one of the old rifles back then that you had to fill with gun powder, then your shot and flint on the trigger. Quite the process that even the best could only fire three shots a minute.

Chris pays the piano from 1812

We walk through the old buildings and image what it was like. If you were a person of power, you lived upstairs in very nice quarters. The servants lived below. 

Chris plays an original piano from 1812. Apparently is has been tuned a few times over the years but other than that it is in perfect condition. 

Sleep tight - Don't let the bed bugs bite :)

This lovely young period costume person tells us about this luxury bed. The top quilt was made of down as well as the first layer of mattress. Beneath that was a mattress made of straw - the saying 'Don't let the bed bugs bite' comes from this layer. The mattress is held up by a series of tightly stretched rope - 'Sleep Tight' comes from this.  Too funny. 

Treaty One signed here in 1871

Treaty One was signed in this court yard on August 3, 1871 with 7 chiefs of First Nations peoples of south Manitoba and the Federal Government. The Government people were on the deck and the First Nations in the courtyard. 

The Indian Act of 1876 further restricted First Nations and many things originally thought were not to be. The two sides remain far apart. 

This place is surprisingly expansive and very interesting. 

Stunning bead work vest

First Nations tribes back then

Walls with bastions allowing for defensive firing

Old preserved York Boat

York boats were primarily used by the Hudson's Bay Company for transporting furs and trade goods along the inland waterways in western and northern Canada during the fur trade era. They were a crucial workhorse for moving goods between trading posts and York Factory, the Hudson's Bay Company headquarters. Sometimes the boats were sailed, other times rowed or even pulled over the ground. 

Red River Cart

The Red River cart was also an essential part of inland transportation by the Metis people, again particularly during the fur trade and buffalo hunt. 

Blacksmith demostration

We walk through the last buildings and watch a blacksmith demonstration. This guy had arms of steel as he'd pound that heated metal with amazing force. 

Wigwam Swamp Hut and Tee Pee

Our final stop portrays how the First Nations peoples lived. Wigwams, Swam huts and Tee Pees. All were made from supplies right on site of where they lived. Rather than the British people bringing over seas their stones and brick, the wigwam was made from birch trees and their bark, while swam huts were made from brush and reeds and the tee pees made of buffalo hide. Amazingly smart use of your surroundings. 

We have spent almost 2 hours here now so we figure we better get going. First thing down the road is Skinner's, claiming to have the best hot dog in the lands. Chris falls for the gimmick and buys a foot long hot dog....burp all afternoon...lol  

Really the best hot dog?

Imagine these prices back in the day - crazy

Cool order counter

St Andrews Lock and Dam crossing the Red River at Lockport

One last stop on our way to the beach. St. Andrews Lock and Dam built between 1907 and 1910. It's an old design that uses moveable curtains that get raised or lowered to control water flow. The curtains are made of 50 thin, narrow slats of Douglas fir wood hinged together. 89 movable curtains that are 4 meters long and 2 meters wide that get replaced, by hand, every 3 years Apparently labor intensive work.

Downstream view of the bridge

The lock within the danm takes about 20 minutes to fill. It's the only one on the Canadian prairies and it uses gravity to fill the chanber. 

Mural on the dam wall where wealthy people ride a boat through the lock

We finally get to Grand Beach. 

What a beautiful white sand beach one can go for a long walk along. We hear many locals talking about how low the water is, but  we sit and enjoy the sunshine on a clear day and read our books. 

We stay at Grand Beach until it's time to head home for a late supper. The sun setting on another day :)