Where's Kriste Now???

Hi! Belated greetings from Churchill, Manitoba in Canada! (I'm actually home now..) Now I know some of you are wondering where is that, because you're curious like me...some I know are more geographically challenged...so I thought I'd make it easy on everyone and take a photo of my atlas! So, the tip of the pen marks where I was, you might be able to click on it to enlarge. Basically, its at the very top of the province of Manitoba (almost to Nunavut) and sits on the shores of the Hudson Bay. Some of you might be thinking..cool..maybe I'll take a road trip one day! WRONG! No roads lead to Churchill! But...you can arrive on the train (36+ hours from Winnipeg is what I've been told), or a 2&1/2 hour flight on a very small airplane from Winnipeg. Being that I do have to return to work promptly..I went for the plane, which had about 40 people going up, and 25 coming back (no empty seats either), a little noisy in comparison to a 747, but..much smoother flight and landing!

Here I am shortly after arrival in Churchill at the scene of my 1st "bear sighting"! The owner of the B&B at which I stayed for a few nights was gracious enough to pick me up from the airport and also give a quick tour of the town/orientation to Churchill and play photographer too! It was a very overcast and dark day...but surprisingly warm! Was in the high 20's this day! (I was prepared for down to -20 Fahrenheit!)

Also on the same flight I met Helen and Barb (both from Winnipeg) and they are staying with George & Stella as well! We hit it off and had a very fun day checking out the town...Churchill may never be the same.....Here we are at an inukshuk (inn-ook-shh-ook) at the beach! An inukshuk is a stone landmark that marks a place of importance. Might be for navigation, hunting spot, reference point, of just because it makes a nice photo for camera happy tourists!

I am told the town has a population of about 900, and of those that I met....I found them to be very welcoming, polite, helpful, funny and downright Paula Deenish to crazy tourists like myself! Here's Helen & Barb on Kelsey Blvd, the main drag of town. I'm not really good at determining how big the town is... but to walk from one end to the other, no more than 10 minutes leisurely pace. And going the other direction...maybe 2 or 3 minutes. There were maybe a dozen stores with all sorts of treasures and several restaurants and hotels/B&B's to choose from. They are very welcoming to tourists which sort of surprised me...I'm not sure how I would feel if for 2 months out of the year the town increased by more than 25% and I was asked the SAME questions more times a day than I could count. But....the residents are truly gracious, remembering you from a day or several days past and taking an interest in you and making you truly feel at home and part of the family! This is another reason why I will return to Churchill some day...maybe in the summertime to see the Beluga whales, birds, and flowers...oh...and bears too!

And I just really liked this sign!!

The USAF's Thunderbirds!

After nearly an hour rain delay, the clouds lifted ever so slightly to give just barely enough safety margin to afford the United States Air Force Thunderbirds a chance to show off their F 18's!

There were a total of 6 planes in the air, but due to the low lying clouds you usually couldn't see them until they were close enough to hear!

The skill it must take to operate with such precision in such a close position absolutely astounds me!

They seemed, at times, close enough to touch them!







It was a pretty awesome first time experience! You can bet your boots I'll go again! Hopefully, the weather will cooperate more!

My First Airshow

On August 23, Auntie Bee and I went on a day trip to an air show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. It was my first experience of this nature and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Well...I did NOT expect rain as just prior to leaving I checked on the computer...0% chance of rain, overcast then clearing. Someone seriously got something mixed up because I am not the proud owner of $50 worth of giant umbrellas! But...at least I stayed dry! To the left is an impressive aerobatic performance by 1 stunt pilot zooming upside down in front of us. As you can see..a cloudburst is looming.

Also performing was stunt pilot Gene Soucy and his girlfriend Theresa Stokes performing as a wing walker! YIKES! You can see her on the right between the wings, just out of the cockpit, and below, in a stand on the top wing!

These 4 aircraft were from the Screamin' Rebels...they were a little loud.

Below, an older Russian MIG 17 (from Top Gun fame) with its afterburner on. It was lightning fast.

There was also a KC135 stratotanker in the air with its refueling nozzle at the ready. We didn't actually get to see a refueling, I suppose that would be a risky maneuver simply for entertainment purposes. But interesting nonetheless. I wish it would have been a bright, cloudless, sunny day...but...I suppose sometimes God has to water the flowers...and the people (those without umbrellas of course)!

Niagara at Night

After leaving the O Canada 'Eh?! dinner show, I headed back to the falls to see the nightly illumination. As you can see to the left, it was a very foggy and rainy night! The large tower behind the shops is the casino, but it's almost entirely fogged in!

I had to illegally park to get these photos (many others were pulled off the road as well...I don't think the bike patrols were out that night) and it was quite difficult running thru puddles in sandals and a nice outfit (no rain gear..actually no coat either) carrying a camera mounted to an extended tripod!

I normally would have had more patience and stayed longer, but I was getting soaked to the bone and was worried about my camera as I didn't have a protective cover for that either & it was totally exposed!

For a Great Time in Niagara Falls,Call....

So, while in Niagara Falls, it was highly recommended that for dinner & an evening of entertainment I take in the Oh Canada Eh?! dinner show. Well, it was well worth the price paid to see their 3,406th production of this fabulous show!





They describe it as a musical celebration of Canada that features 45 songs either written or made famous by Canadians, like Shania Twain, Paul Anka, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot & many more! They work the songs into skits that poke lighthearted fun about all things Canadian, French explorers, trappers, lumberjacks, Mounties, Anne of Green Gables, and hockey just to name a few!

The performers actually do all their own vocals and are accompanied by a bassist and a keyboardist. The performers are also your servers! So, it does get a little hectic bringing you out food and attending to you while skits are ongoing and making sure they get into their appropriate costume on time! No need to fear, the guests are always WELL taken care of and not so much as a hiccup in the service!

Here during dinner, we are being serenaded by a server who reminds me of the Gordon Fisherman! Oh, did I mention...the dinner was great too! Pea Soup, fresh garden salad, Alberta roast beef, Atlantic Haddock, Manitoba roasted chicken, Prince Edward Island new potatoes, new Brunswick vegetable medley, bread and maple chocolate mania cake for dessert! The dinner is served family style at a table of about 18 I'd say, so it gets you acquainted with your seatmates if you don't know them, Well, on one side it did, the man to my left was rather unsociable, he ate with his back to me, asking the wait staff to pass him something rather than his neighbors. Oh well....also, everything is VERY casual, come as you are, but come hungry, they will refill the serving bowls as often as needed!

They also get the audience involved too! In this skit a floozy from the wild west, steps out of her saloon and onto the dining area to serenade an unsuspecting cutie on whom she had a crush!

The skits were all so creative, and their voices were for a Broadway show! I could hardly eat my dinner as I was laughing so hard! The laughter was loud and continuous (except for the grump to my left). They even celebrate with you! The boy to my right was celebrating his birthday, they also sang to honeymooners, anniversary couples and 1 lady celebrating a new job!So, if you happen to be going to Niagara Falls, or, they also have a show in Canmore/Banff, Alberta, please reserve a ticket! It will probably be your best night out of your vacation! But, remember to call & reserve your seat early, its very popular with tour groups (4 tour buses were out back) and it only seats about 300 guests. Seating is assigned in order of purchase, the front tables cost about $10 more but well worth it. I didn't make my reservation until about a week before and there were only 1/2 dozen seats left in the whole place and the front row was all that was left. Please take it in, and don't go with a full bladder or you'll pee your pants from laughing too hard!!

Maid of the Monsoon

So what's a trip to Niagara Falls without a ride on the famous attraction Maid of the Mist??!! Still in my Gore-Tex from Journey Behind the Falls, I decided no time like the present (and lines were short too!) boarded Maid of the Mist VII for the drenching experience. Boarding was just short of the American Falls and you cruise up the Niagara River toward the Horseshoe Falls, eventually ending up underneath them, then returning to the dock.

Here you see 2 boats going in opposite directions past the American Falls.

The American Falls are 1100 feet across, 176 foot high and the daytime flow rate of the water over the brink is an astounding 75,000 gallons per SECOND! As you can see the bottoms of these are quite visibly rocky, perhaps that is the reason most adventurers that go over in barrels and kayaks, etc. choose the Horseshoe Falls.

Here's a closeup of the Bridal Veil Falls.

View of the American Falls from the deck of Maid of the Mist VII on the Niagara River.

Here is how close the boat actually gets to the falls as seen from pictures I tool the following day in New York.

The dark objects on the deck are actually people in their thin plastic royal blue rain ponchos! The kind you buy at the store for a dollar or two, but at amusement parks they charge more like $10! I opted for my tried & tested Gore-Tex! Excellent choice!

However, the spray as the boat got closer got more intense with every minute! Here I am still pretty distant and I am already starting to get the spray as you can see on my photo! I'm glad I decided to stand on the bottom deck near the rear. At least that part is covered! I am beginning to wonder if the folks up top aren't regretting their decision.

A few minutes later we were not even quite as far
as the stopping point, but by this time, I really needed a windshield wiper for my eyeballs and my camera lens! My chamois cover just wasn't cutting it! I really had zero visibility and the water was beginning to sting my eyes. So, at this point, I left the rail and headed toward the center with my back to the falls and my camera inside my jacket to best protect it. I think the term Maid of the Mist is a misnomer, it was waaayyyy more that a mist, it should be renamed Maid of the MONSOON! Anyway, it was rather enjoyable, but I would NOT recommend the top deck. Hmmm, just had an idea, I wonder if you can use Rain-X on a camera lens? That would have helped (maybe)!

Niagara Falls...the Canadian Version

Welcome to Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario! Approximately 154 MILLION gallons of water rush over this 2500 foot curved waterfall every MINUTE, tumbling down 176 feet! This is of course during daylight hours....no, they don't exactly "turn the falls off" at night, BUT...between roughly midnight and 8 am up to 50% of the water is diverted upriver to the hydroelectric plants. Both the Sir Adam Beck II and the Robert Moses hydro plants provide clean renewable energy to thousands of homes on both sides of the border! They say it is quite noticeable, but the following day, the weather was rather poor, so I didn't get up early enough to check it out for myself!

To the left is a photo that I took while standing in Niagara Falls, New York only about 2 feet away from the water. The water flows past with such weight and force at 40 mph you can understand why the edge is so jagged. They say the falls are eroding back upstream about 1 foot every 10 years...it used to be much quicker, but the diversion of some of the water to the hydroplants has helped.

If you look in the bottom right corner of the photo to the left, you will see my next destination, on a large spot of bedrock immediately next to the falls.

This cataract is right next to the waterfall and peers directly into the heart of it. This tunnel was quite dark, damp and slick! The bursts of spray and gusts of water and thunderous noise were unbelievable!

Here I am at the bottom of the falls on the Canadian side on that walkout I described above. It was just a soaking spray and I am very thankful that I decided to don my Gore-Tex in lieu of their free very thin yellow ponchos! I even had to jerryrig rain gear for my camera, but even after a minute, that began to fail and fog up! Yes, that's me in the bright orange get-up.