Sunday morning greeted us with decent weather, just perfect for our day trip. (Skipping church made sense as we would both just end up doing childcare there for our own kids... instead we were going to learn up close about God's creation! We were just feeling a bit nervous about that, as you will soon see...) With the van packed to the gills with snacks, activities, bikes, a stroller and four children in carseats... plus an ABBA CD... we headed north. Both Ann and I enjoy being somewhat unstructured, just exploring a place as we drive. So when Ann saw this steeple off the highway, she thought it would be fun to drive into the town and check out the old church. Just before she took the right hand turn, we noticed it was actually a prison complex on the plateau. Oops! Not today. Had a good laugh about that one. :)
Eventually it was time for a "stretch and snack" break which coincided with seeing a road sign advertising a Ukrainian festival in the little town of
Teulon. In the end, admission was a little pricey so I took a raincheck on a taste of perogy heaven. :) But never fear, we checked out the local park for sure. Myself, I would admit that I am less enthusiastic about playgrounds as I am getting more sedate in my "older age of motherhood" but Nora definitely enjoys herself with her "friends", and it is a good reminder to me that I need to try harder at home to get her out.
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| Ann had the children sitting safely for an interesting view. |
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| A local man races his horses around the track... part of the festival later? |
The main spring blossoms of Manitoba appear to be dandelions, which were found in abundance. Soon everyone had bouquets of them for "Mommy" and "Auntie", which on a heart level is all a Mom ever needs. However, a couple of days later I discreetly dumped the wilted remains on a curb elsewhere. :)
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| Abby mentors Nora in many new experiences. |
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| Playing second-shooter, I get to take fun shots like this... |
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| And here is Ann's view~ love it! |
And so, my moment of revelation... the
Narcisse Snake Dens. (This is what is on the tourist itinerary for this time of year.) The annual wake-up call of thousands of red-sided garter snakes, coming out of at least four dens after hibernation to mate and disperse across the continent until they return in the fall. Having been terrified of even garter snakes from a childhood encounter, I was initially not keen to see them crawling all over each other. But, "for the kids" is a familiar reason for doing anything not in your comfort zone. I would have to say that knowing ahead of time that you will see snakes does take some of the apprehension away. Here was a chance to face our fears! :)
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| Just a sign here, not even a gift shop! |
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| We visited dens 1 and 2, as the 3 km circuit seemed a bit daunting. |
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| Evidence that I willingly went here... |
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After getting out all the bikes, it turned out they were prohibited on the trails.
I suppose running over a snake might not be such a pretty sight. |
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| The kids were truly excited... |
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The first den, where most had already left.
The limestone underground is what draws the snakes here. |
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| What a picture can't convey is the sound of hundreds of snakes hissing... |
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| A guide helps with the first snake... |
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| Snakes bring families together, who knew? |
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| Isabelle was truly in her glory... |
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| ...she was a natural at catching them. |
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Nora, while unafraid, was content to place her stick close
to the snake as she "didn't want to touch it with my hands." |
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Izzy needed the occasional reminder not to choke the snake, as it would then
release pheromones that leave an unpleasant scent. (Although it didn't take
long to determine that it would definitely be a "Bath Night".) |
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| Girls and snakes, not my first word/thought association~ |
With help from older kids, soon everyone had their own snake to grip and squeeze. Before you knew it, Isabelle was trying to master holding onto two at once.
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| You can guess what she asked on the way home... when can we go back?! |
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Ann and I refrained from holding snakes, which I thought was okay. Baby steps, right?!
Here's to good memories, no matter how potentially creepy. :) |
1 comment:
Certainly snake pits were far less creepy than visiting spider mating grounds! But yes, glad I had Izzy along to collect snakes for the other kids since Daddy wasn't around to do the job! She's had her plastic snakes out every day since you've left to play snake catching. Kind of cute :) Thanks for being a good sport and going to this weird destination!
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