Sara the camel has one hump. That makes her a dromedary or Arabian camel. Sara stands in a small Manitoba town called Glenboro. She is about 17 feet tall..
We visited her as we drove from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Regina, Saskatchewan. Sara has been in Glenboro since 1978. A camel was chosen to represent the Spirit Sands sand dunes in nearby Spruce Woods Provincial Park.
You would not expect to find camels or a desert as you drive across Manitoba. You might not be surprised to find this grey haired Romeo (pictured above) at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo. The camel in the picture is a Bactrian or two-humped camel.
Next door to Sara is the Spruce Woods Inn. It is named after the provincial park and has soft drinks, fresh coffee and the best hamburgers in town. Between the inn and the camel we had two reasons to pass through Glenboro on our road trip. But only one hump.
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Address: Portage & Main Street Date: October 2014 Website: history.bmo.com
Portage & Main is possibly the best known intersection in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On Sunday, November 24th the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup after a 29 year drought. Winnipegers flocked to the intersection to celebrate their Canadian Football League victory. We found ourselves standing at this intersection back in 2014.
On one corner stands the Bank of Montreal building. It has been there since 1913. In front of the bank stands a monument to Bank of Montreal employees who died in World War I. The statue is modelled after Wynn Bagnall who worked for BMO, went to war and was lucky enough to return to continue working.
To cross the street you need to take a pedestrian underpass. Once on the other side of the street we encountered some more sculptures. The first sculpture is called Tree Children and shows four children playing in a tree. The intersection of Portage & Main is often said to be the coldest and windiest intersection in Canada. It wasn't too cold but it was windy when we arrived. Hold on tight children!
The next sculpture depicted a herd of caribou which are no strangers to wind and cold. The caribou are navigating the fast moving waters of a river.
The sculpture is called Seal River Crossing. Seal River is located in northern Manitoba but thanks to artist Peter Sawatzky we can witness the caribou migration at a lower latitude.
The final statue we encountred was called North Watch. North Watch features a man wearing big boots, sitting and supposedly keeping watch. The sculpture is created by Ivan Eyre and is similar to another of his sculptures called Icon North.
The main difference between the two sculptures is that North Watch features a dog which sits behind the man. The dog is also keeping watch. One thing we noticed about this sculpture is that the man is facing south. We wondered if the sculpture had been placed the wrong way around. We figure that the artist intended the man to be watching from the north. When visiting Portage & Main be sure to dress warmly and prepare to be blown away. If not by the architecture, history and sculptures then certainly by the wind.
Map of Our World Tree Children , Seal River Crossing , North Watch BMO Building (Portage & Main)
Post # 270
People born in the Year of the Pig are said to be thoughtful, polite, reliable, courageous and ready to help others. They can also be naive, and self-indulgent. 2019 is the Year of the Pig according to the Chinese zodiac. To celebrate here are 10 of our favourite swine encounters. Oink Oink.
1 )Hawaiian Pigs
Dan's Green House is located in the town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui, in Hawaii. They have exotic plants and rare birds as well as mini pigs. We got a chance to spend some time with these two little guys. Aren't they just the cutest?
2) Babirusa
Speaking of cute, we are sorry but babirusa are just the opposite. They have long legs, weird curvy tusks and look like all of their hair just fell out. They are only found on a few islands in Indonesia and are unforgettable. We saw this pair at the Toronto Zoo.
3) CNE Pigs
When the Canadian National Exhibition comes to Toronto at the end of each summer so does "The Farm". You can experience the sights and smells of livestock. There are always lots of pigs and usually one big sow who spends her day constantly feeding her litter of piglets.
4) Miss Piggy
In Queens, New York the Museum of the Moving Image has a Jim Henson Exhibition. Miss Piggy is one of our favourite Muppets and favourite pigs. Here she is in her wedding gown ready for her big day.
5) Miss Piggy
This Miss Piggy is a crashed freight plane. It can be found in Churchill, Manitoba still sitting where it crashed in 1979. Miss Piggy the Muppet made her debut in 1974. We have read that the plane is named after Miss Piggy because it was overloaded or it once carried a cargo of pigs.
We think it should be called Miss Piggy because of its flat snout.
By the way Miss Piggy, your engine is way over here. Also watch out for polar bears hiding amongst the rocks and wreckage.
6) Red River Hog
The red river hog is a colourful African pig. We like its whiskers and red coat. It turns out that we have a fondness for animals with red coloured fur.
7) Tamworth Pigs
Based on our previously professed love of red furred anuimals you can see why we like Tamworth pigs. They are one of the oldest breeds of pigs. You can also see the curly little tail in the photo above that makes pigs even more appealing. These pigs are from Toronto's Riverdale Farm.
8) Pig Pot at the ROM
This pig shaped vessel was at the Royal Ontario Museum. We imagine it could be filled with some sort of liquid which could then be poured out of the spout in the snout. We didn't make note of what was listed as its intended purpose and often the museum uncovers artifacts whose purpose is only assumed.
9 )Pigman at the Campbell House
We took this photo of the Campbell House Museum in Toronto. The Campbell House was built in 1822 and was actually moved to where it sits today. Looking at our photo later we noticed something odd.
There was a well dressed pig man on the grounds. We hope he was there for an event or promotion at the museum.
10 )Warthogs
We took a trip to Africa and encountered many wild warthogs. We watched them come and go at a waterhole in Greater Kruger in South Africa. We also watched them mow the lawn in Zimbabwe beside the mighty Zambezi River.
Because warthogs have such short necks they usually have to kneel down on their front legs to eat grass. In the video below, various African animals eat beside a waterhole until the warthogs come and take over.
That is our list of favourite pigs. We took part in some celebrations at the Scarborough Town Centre for the Chinese New Year. You can celebrate and enjoy pigs all year long.
This year Canada is celebrating its 150th year of Confederation. We are lucky enough to have seen the country from coast to coast. We have been to all ten provinces and even touched the tidal waters of Nunavut from Churchill, Manitoba. The territories are on our travel wish list. Below is a list of just one of our favourite things from each province.
1 )British Columbia
BC has the animals, the Pacific Ocean and so much more. One of our favourite things was tea at The Empress Hotel in Victoria. Read More
2 )Alberta
Alberta shares the Rocky Mountains with BC, but Alberta has Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. We fell in love with the snow capped mountains. Read More.
3 )Saskatchewan
Yes it is flat, but the fields with rolls of hay and the blue skies have a feel all their own. It also seemed to have a never ending sunset as we drove westward. Read More
4 )Manitoba
This is the furthest north we have ever been in Canada. Our favourite thing in Manitoba is the polar bears of Churchill. Read More.
5 )Ontario
We spend most of our time in the province of Ontario. Algonquin Park is our favourite place to really get away from it all. Read More.
6 )Quebec
Hotel de Glace is built each winter just outside of Quebec City. We spent a night inside this palace of ice. Read More.
7 )New Brunswick
The Hopewell Rocks are formed by the high tidal fluctuations that occur in the area. You can walk down beneath the unusual rocks and 6 hours later the water has returned and filled everything back in. Read More.
8 )Prince Edward Island
Our brief two day visit to PEI was 48 hours of rain. We did enjoy getting to and from the island. First we drove across the marvel that is Confederation Bridge and then we saw the red soil when we left on a ferry. We will return. Read More.
9 )Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia has Peggy's Cove and Cape Breton Island. One of our best days in the province was spent at the Halifax Public Gardens. Read More.
10 )Newfoundland
Iceberg Alley passes right around the top of Newfoundland. We were lucky to see these gigantic 10,000 year old pieces of glacial ice as they floated in the Atlantic Ocean. Read More.
Sara The Camel
Assiniboine Park Zoo
