Visiting Winnipeg on Saturday

Winnipeg is a city of about 800,000.  We arrived early in the morning and Chuck and I opted to take the guided city tour.  Our guide was a man named Phillip who had his Ph.D. In history so he said it was the Dr. Phil tour.  The area near the train station had converted from an Old Fort to a shopping and entertainment center.  We learned a lot about the Red River and impact its flooding had had on Winnipeg and the whole area.  Then we went to the Provincial Capital Building which was built in time when money was not a factor.  It was truly beautiful and full of Symbolism.  When you walked in, a 5,000 pound black Bison flanked the main limestone staircase.  Parts of the building replicated the dimensions of Solomon’s temple and sure enough, the ark of the covenant was high on the outside of the building.  We could have stayed there all day and learned the secrets.  Next we saw the stately old mansions.  Our next stop was a large English garden complete with sculptures.  The garden included a zoo, but to save time, we drove through a parking lot and from there we could see the treasure of the zoo—-Blizzard, the white Bison.  A white Bison has special spiritual significance to the First Nation people and occurs once in every 200,000 births.  Blizzard has sired two other white bisons.  Our last stop was St. Boniface bascilica. The original stone structure had burned 50 years ago to the day that we were there.  All that remained were three outer limestone walls which were still standing.  The new St. Boniface was built behind it. The empty interior space of the first church served as an outdoor entry courtyard for the second church. When we returned to the train , we saw the Winnipeg Daily paper and there was a story about St. Boniface. Our guide had been the curator for the St. Boniface Museum for 25 years.