The Nanton of Manitoba

I always think of the drive from Kenora to Winnipeg as a short hop so I was a bit surprised that a side trip to Morden to visit friends seemed to take longer than I thought it would. And, to be honest the drive, down from the Trans-Canada Highway through Steinback and across country isn't the prettiest.

Morden though is a bit of a jewel on the prairie with lots of tall trees and stately old homes. It has a character many communities around here don't possess. It is a pretty little town.

I don't understand much about agriculture but something about the Morden's climate makes it great for sweet corn and apples so like Nanton in Alberta, Morden Manitoba is known for producing the sweetest corn around. "Better that Nanton" swears Vance. I am not sure I'd go that far but, it is at least as good.

Many Canadians tend to think of the Canadian prairies as one huge homogeneous climate zone but we couldn't be more wrong about that. The prairies are full of micro-climates and while any given community may be having a bumper crop while 20 km away, the crops are drying up in parched fields. I don't understand why but, despite how tough it is to produce corn in much of flat land country, Morden produces does a hell of a job at it. Not "as high as an elephant's eye" but sweet none the less.

Serpentyne belts, Morden Corn and Kenora Restaurants

We are heading east to help Morgan and Chris get settled in Lennoxville and Ottawa. I will visit my Mum spend some time with my brother and touch base with some good friends I havn't seen in a while, The van is packed to the gunnels and then some, so we are carrying a bit more weight than I'd like.

We got away in good time and the trip was pretty much uneventful until early afternoon.

Our first hint of trouble was this very odd noise from under the hood while I was passing a truck, up hill, just east of Brandon. We pulled over and had a look under the hood. The serpintyne belt had started to fray a bit along one edge. The loose bits were making a racket.

We dug out the wire cutters and Chris gave the belt a trim. It worked fine for a while and then we had to do it again. After about three trims we headed for Portage La Prairie, about 100 km away and kept out fingers crossed

As we pull in to Portage, Chris saw the Chrysler dealership. Saturday their service department hours are 9:00 until 3:00. We got the car in at 2:38, repairs complete and we checked out at 3:01. That was cutting it close.

So here we are in Kenora. What did we learn along the way.

• Syrpentine belts can be a pain.
• Manitoba has embarked on a major highway upgrade project. Damn that infrastructure money.
• My friend Vance's new community is the Nanton of Manitoba. Best known, apparently for its corn. We saw several signs reading Morden Corn ahead, along the highway east of Winnipeg.
• Casey's Bar and Grill isn't a bad place for a beer and a bite in Kenora. Reasonable prices too.
  

Who knew.