The mornings here at Sleeping Giant are cold! The area gets shade most of the morning so it doesn't warm up till the after noon. I defiantly should have brought my winter sleeping bag.

    I left before noon and was amazed to find that Thunder Bay's gas price is up over 10 cents/L since I first passed through. Damn.

    I was excited about the new campsite today cause it's near Kenora, and Rushing Rapids Provincial Park. It's guaranteed to be scenic. I made it to Blue Lake Provincial Park and set up on site #1, a large spot within tall, slim pine trees. It's fairly open here but nice. The real attraction is the soft, sandy beach, and clear, blue lake. And what a day to match! Blue sunny skies and warm. The only downfall was I had to do laundry.

    I took my lawn chair down to the beach and relaxed in the sun. I didn't want to swim but waded in to test the water. Pretty cold but nice.

    While walking in the forested area near the beach, the idea spawned to try and make a pipe out of the twigs around. I've never done this before so I had to find a way to hollow out a twig. A screwdriver was the best tool I had for the task, and slowly I was able to tunnel through. In the end it actually turned out great, and looks good to.

    I watched the sun set tonight but it was short, not a lot of clouds for colour. Then it was to an amphi-theatre to watch documentaries on predatorial birds. Owls are wicked. Watching them and how they move seems very surreal. If anyone gets the chance, watch the 'drumming' of a Rugged Grouse.

    Before I got to the theatre I talked to the warden. She took courses near Lindsay, Ontario, at a school, and had 6 years park experience.

    Another cold night and early morning. I got up and the sun was shining again, which makes all the difference. I was supposed to be in Winnipeg between 3 and 6 PM, but at the rate things were going I could have been there by noon. I decided to pull over into a picnic area and nap in the sun. Ahh!

    I then arrived in Winnipeg around 4:30. After calling Kara and getting directions to her work. I found the place and was really happy to see her. Also there was her sister, Sigourney, and a relative from Paris, Audrey. I hung out at the store till it closed, then we all went to Sigourney's boyfriends (Ted) place for a great wicked supper.

    The party began and 2 more friends showed up, Adam and Curtis. They brought beer. Whoo! The night was filled with good times. These people are really great.

    Adam decided to have a BBQ, so in the evening we all headed over to his place for pizza, burgers, steak, and of course, beer. :) It rained all day but it stopped before the BBQ. Yay! The food was excellent and I met some other great people, Will, Brie, and Chris. The night was great once again.

    Today will be the only day skipped in the journal. Reasons are here, but I care more to leave them. Peace.

    Today was a good day for the most part. While Kara worked, I walked around to buy some stuff. I picked up a book Kara recommended, Slaughter House Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, and a CD of Art Tatum.

    Then I took the truck in for an oil change and a look at the clutch, which wasn't sounding good. It ended up needing to be replaced. $700... Ouch!

    In the evening after Kara got off work, we went to Roxanne and Jazzy's place for a crepe party, just like they said they would. Oh wow! Real maple syrup is sooo good, and so are crepes stuffed with all kinds of fruit and everything else. I also got to see Dennis again which was great. Jazzy had a friend named John over, from Whistler. Him and I got along really well. He mountain bikes too.

    The night was good all in all but I left Winnipeg before it I slept. I was relieved by that. I don't think I'll ever be back.

    I had a brutal sleep last night and a long drive ahead of me. It wasn't bad though. The lower part of Manitoba wasn't to scenic to me, but after Swan Lake it was nicer. The road is lined with yellow and purple wild flowers, and nice grasses.

    During the drive I got my first speeding ticket ever. Damn. I was pulled over for going 20 km/h over the limit, on a long, flat, strait road. There was next to no traffic other than myself. $235... Gimme a break!

    Eventually I found Clearwater Lake Provincial Park, about 1.5 hours south of Flin Flon. It's another nice, forested, campground next to a large, beautiful lake. And lots of free fire wood. After setting up I met my neighbor, an older man named Doug, who lives near Flin Flon. We talked for a bit and then I left to explore. On each side of the campground are many lake side properties with huge houses built. Definatly a nice place for it.

    About 5 minutes down the road is Sunset Beach. No one else is around so I'm enjoying the quite by reading and waiting for the sun set.

    Thanks to a half inch thick foam mattress I picked up yesterday, last night's sleep was great. I never thought it would help the cold but it worked surprisingly well.

    Now to Flin Flon, named after a fictional character in J.E. Preston-Muddock's, The Sunless City. As I drove I passed the 54th parallel, and 5 min later the terrain changed to tall, skinny, pine forests, and rocky. It's very nice up here, almost alien-like. :P The city itself is small and nestled in with rock hills. There's a huge mine about a third as big as the city. Apparently the government grows medical marijuana here but I can't find where.

    After wandering for a couple hours, I left to find another campground. As I drove, I passed an area where there must have been a massive forrest fire years ago. Some trees were growing again, but black, needle-less trees stretched as far as I could see.

    Then later on I came to Narrow Hills Provincial Park, and stayed in the Lower Fishing Lake campground. This place is beautiful... like everywhere else. :P The forest is full of tall, skinny trees with moss all over the ground. There's an amazing beach too with lots of soft sand. I waded into the water and noticed a small leach on my foot after I came out. Yuck. So instead of swimming I sat in the bright sun and read.

    Camp fire wood is free here too, so this night I had a big fire. All of the pits have attached grills so tonight was the perfect night for some burgers. As I cooked, the sun set over the water. I could see it between the trees from my site, the colours were perfect.

    After note: Once it got dark I decided to go to the lake to check for the northern lights. Wow is that neat! I had never seen it before, and I'm sure it wasn't a prime show, but it still was very cool to see. :)