Lake of the Prairie

  

Dave was feeling off so I was the driver and he was the navigator.  He followed his phone’s GPS and we may have taken the shortest route, but, my goodness, it was the roughest pavement, and then miles and miles of gravel with the road getting narrower around every bend along the Assiniboine Valley.  Finally, we saw the Shellmouth Dam and we knew were almost there!

Where? We were at the campground at Asessippi Provincial Park, nestled in the trees right alongside the Lake of the Prairies in western Manitoba.  Upon arrival we were treated to a delicious fish fry courtesy of our fisher friends, Phil and Marie.  Dave was excited to join in the fishing as soon as possible. That evening as we sat around the campfire, we saw crazy clouds, but thankfully nothing much happened where we were.  

Unfortunately, a health hiccup and a rain day set the fishing back a few days.  Instead, we had time to explore the little town of Russell.  The town wide garage sale was in progress, but when the showers became real rain, Marie and I joined the guys at the coffee shop; but not before scoring a few good deals.

Love the name on this coffee shop:  It's owned by some farmers who have 21 bins.  This, is Bin 22. 

Russell is a typical farming town  The old wooden grain elevator is now mostly just a landmark.  I love photographing elevators as we travel and have amassed quite a collection of photos.  These wooden structures used to be the landmarks of the prairie.

 

The  next couple of days were some excellent days for fishing.  Everyone was catching.  I'm not the fisher but I went along for the ride, and then hung out at camp.  I wasn't too sure about going for a walk when I saw a couple of black bears near the campground.   When some other friends came to camp for the night, another fish fry was in order.  

Phil is the master of open fire cooking and on the last night barbequed our steaks on a wonderful oak-wood fire, followed by biscuits steamed in a Dutch oven.  What a delicious end to a few days of camping together. 

Next stop:  Koslowsky Farm