{"id":377,"date":"2015-06-14T02:27:58","date_gmt":"2015-06-14T06:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/?p=377"},"modified":"2015-06-27T20:09:31","modified_gmt":"2015-06-28T00:09:31","slug":"day-11-june-11-neepawa-the-search-for-minipogo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/?p=377","title":{"rendered":"Day 11 (June 11): Neepawa & The Search for Manipogo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neepawa, MB – Manipogo Provincial Park, MB<\/p>\n

3,685 km<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After checking out from The Neepawa Motel and a fuel and air (tires) top up for Gunther, I headed to Neepawa’s main drag. I wanted to<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Stone Angel<\/p><\/div>\n

visit the home where Margaret Laurence lived from age 9-18, and see The Stone Angel live, so to speak, that was the focus of her classic novel of the same name. I also needed to find a library with a PC I could use to upload some photos.<\/p>\n

By the time, I got to the heart of town, it was after 11; and the sun was beating down something fierce, making the inside of my riding jacket into a sauna. I had to find a place to ditch my jacket for a few hours while I walked around town. I also needed to find out where the library was.<\/p>\n

Now, it just so happened that the parking spot I had found was just outside the offices of The Neepawa Press Newspaper<\/a>. Who would know better where the library was than someone in there? So, I traipsed up the steps to the Admin offices; and whom should I find but noneother than Chase Ruttig, the editor (I recognized him from his photo in the copy of The Press I had been reading the night before). Chase was more than happy to direct me to the libray. Furthermore, he was fine with me leaving my jacket there while I went about my business in town. Then — get this — he asks me if I’d have time for an interview for his paper after I’m through at the library. What’s that about good luck coming in threes?<\/p>\n

So, after returning from the library, Chase and I chatted about Gunther and me and the prep for this trip and Neepawa. The article should be in print in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Maraget Laurence’s home was interesting; and provided insight into the person behind the words. The walk to the graveyard where The Stone Angel resided was exhausting (glad I had left my jacket at The Press) but worth it — see the photo above.<\/p>\n

Feeling a bit parched on the way back downtown, I stopped off at The Brews Brothers \"IMG_20150611_134352\"<\/a>Bistro — a family-run restaurant that specializes in, well bistro food: specialty soups and salads and, of particular interest to me at the time, iced coffee. I must admit I was feeling a bit as if I’d gone down the rabbit hole, for it was odd sitting in a trendy place (old, Victorian building converted into a cafe) in the middle of a small town in Manitoba. The coffee soup and a special request fruit salad concocted on-the-fly were just what what was needed before hitting the hot tarmac again. If you ever find yourself in Neepawa, do yourself a favour and stop by The Brews Brothers.<\/p>\n

Back at The Press, I thanked Chase for babysitting my jacket; and prepared for the next part of my journey. Before leaving, I asked him to sum up Neepawa in one word.<\/p>\n

“Welcoming,” he said.\u00a0See, Chase moved to Neepawa last October; and was living in one of several apartments over a store on the main street. Then tragedy occurred: There was a fire and the store burnt to the ground consuming with it the aprtments over top. Chase lost everything. Shortly afterward the people of Neepawa got together and raised $20,000 — a lot of money given the size of the community — to help Chase \u00a0and the other tenants get back on their feet. I don’t hear stories like this much these days; and I have to wonder whether it’s a community thing or a “West” thing or a Manitoba thing or a Neepawa thing or…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next was a 264 ride North to The Crane Narrows at the South end of Lake Winnipegosis to search for the mythical serpent they call Manipogo.<\/p>\n

After setting up camp in Manipogo Provincial Park and consuming a bison burger (tastes like chicken) by the beach, I began scanning thee horizon for the creature which, they say, rarely makes an appearance; and, when it does, does so in the later afternoon, when the sun is not as high.<\/p>\n

\"Look!<\/a>

Look! It’s Manipogo!<\/p><\/div>\n

Friends, I tell you this: I walked up and down that beach for one-and-a-half hours with nary a sighting. Then I remembered the Manipogo Call I’d packed; blew into it; and The Manipogo appeared-sse the photo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neepawa, MB – Manipogo Provincial Park, MB 3,685 km   After checking out from The Neepawa Motel and a fuel and air (tires) top up for Gunther, I headed to Neepawa’s main drag. I wanted to visit the home where Margaret Laurence lived from age 9-18, and see The Stone Angel live, so to speak, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=377"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":500,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377\/revisions\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steelhorserover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}