Ottawa (Construction) Capitol of Canada

Crossing the St. Lawrence River to Canada

Our crossing through customs was very quick and simple.  We always get excited about crossing the border.  I'm afraid they'll take away my rib eyes or take exception to all the liquor we are haling.  No problem today.

The customs gate

Wesley Clover Park: our camp for our 4 nights in Ottawa

Site 3D7

A rolling stone gathers no moss, but apparently a rolling canoe will gather fungi

We could hear the playing of the bagpipes from inside our coach.  We walked out and saw a young man playing.  He and his mother had traveled from Winnipeg to Ottawa to attend the funeral of his grandmother the next day.  He was going to play at the service and was practicing.  It turns out that he is totally blind.  Click here for a sample of the music.

There are several pavilions in the park with very interesting carved features.  No two were alike.

See the fish carved into this knot hole?

On Friday we toured Ottawa.  We soon learned that this weekend was a holiday, and apparently the one where most people travel.  Ironically, most people could not tell us the name of the holiday, just "August long weekend".  We did a little research and found that it is called different things and is celebrated on different days in the different provinces.  Click here to read more.

The locks at the Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal was opened in 1832 and stretches 126 miles from Ottawa to Kingston ON on Lake Ontario.  It was built to provide an alternate route to Lake Ontario in case there was war with the US.

Looking downstream at the locks

We took a city tour on a double decker bus

On Sunday we returned to town and toured on our own.  The highlight of the day was the ceremonial changing of the guard on Parliament Hill.  The whole process lasted about an hour and was very formal.  Lots of guns, pipes, drums and brass horns.  Extra cool!

This is the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica 

All of Ottawa was under construction.  They said it would all be finished on Canada Day July 1. 2017, in time for the 150th birthday of Canada's independence.  Right!

The East Block of Parliament 

We also toured the Royal Canadian Mint.  all coins made for circulation are now made in Winnipeg, not here.  Here they mint collectors coins, investors coins (pure gold or silver, athletic medals and military medals.

Enjoying a brew on Elgin Street

This gold bar weighed 24 lbs and was valued at $520,000.  The bar was chained and there was an armed guard, just in case Dorcas made a run for it.

 There are many fantastic museums in Ottawa, but we just didn't have the time to see them.  This is the National Gallery of Canada.

The Canadian War Museum.  The windows on the right spell a message in Morse Code.  Unfortunately I don't know Morse Code.

We've never been to a city that has a US embassy.  It's not very attractive.  We should have done better.

This is the Canadian administration building.  I'm not sure what they administrate.

The West Block of Parliament

The War of 1812 Memorial

Our guide Philippe

The Mounties have evolved over the years.  Shouldn't they be driving Broncos or Mustangs?

An amphibious tour bus

I think there was a motor in there somewhere.  They were going fast even when no one was paddling.

It never fails to amaze us what we find at Canadian food stores.  All we wanted was a gallon of milk.  We settled for 4 liters in a bag.  The bag contained 3 sealed pouches containing a total of 4 liters.  We emptied one into a 2 quart juice jug.  It wasn't pretty.





There was a bit of wildlife in camp.   This was one of a pair of hawks near our coach:

While this hawk was sitting here occupying the squirrel, his mate swooped down on the squirrel .  Luckily for the squirrel he missed.

Black squirrels are common in these parts

Looking for another black squirrel

We have had a great time in Ottawa and wish we could stay longer, but tomorrow we have reservations at Algonquin Provincial Park, about 165 miles west.