Life of Dave

Life of Dave

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Whirlwind Winnipeg Weekend (WWW)

It was almost the equivalent of traversing the Yellow Brick Road leading to Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. Except it was the White Frozen Red River leading to the The Forks in Winnipeg. I wasn't aware that this skating phenomenon existed outside of Ottawa's Rideau Canal. We're a little bit sheltered in Vancouver regarding what are considered winter staples in the rest of Canada (i.e., outdoor skating). Apparently the Rideau Canal's total skating length is 7.8 km while Winnipeg's Red River skate topped out at 8.54 km (Guinness record territory) once, but this year is a more modest 7.5 km.

It was satisfying enough to end up at the Forks after our 2 km hike, but there was still another marvel in store; the Ice Castles. Kinda like Games of Thrones' Winterfell, fortunately without the abject poverty of the serfs or winter lasting from three to ten years. That would cause a serious SAD run on the walk-in clinics!

No, these Ice Castles consist of 25,000 tons of ice and are a marvel to walk through on a brilliantly sunlit prairie day. I bet they're spectacular at night too.

Arya and Sansa Stark of Winterfell, and Shauna.

Impressively huge ice formations all but obscure the Provencher Bridge
in the background.

"My kingdom for a marshmallow!"
  
The Museum of Human Rights in the background is actually quite a fitting antidote to the Games of Thrones lore. The peasants could never have dreamed of having actual "rights". Fortunately GoT is only fiction, but it is based on history regarding medieval times. I haven't studied it in depth, but I know enough to be glad I didn't live in that era.



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