Red River Roots

We left on Sunday Feb 8th at 10am and had a loooonnnnggg bus ride! We watched Murray's movie pick on the way there called "Carlito's Way". I wouldn't recommend it. I brought "The Office" and was able to sneak in a couple of episodes on the way up. Everyone seemed to have no trouble sleeping and I did not sleep at all so by time we made it there I was exhausted and ready for bed. Day One was a day for archival research and my roommate and I had a rocky start to the week. Marcy and I were a whole 8 minutes late and so everyone had left us except Murray who waited to walk with us. It was very slippery out and we were kind of sliding along behind him and due to some miscommunication we went to walk through the mall to get their instead of follow him. Marc fell in a puddle and had a soaking wet bum and we got lost 3 times trying to get out of the mall and make our way to the archives. Long story short, we found it and lasted a couple of hours there before returning to the hotel for an afternoon of Dr. Phil and Oprah. We had a guest speaker and dinner that night at the hotel by Dr. Frank Tough and it was short and sweet which was nice. Day Two consisted of going to the Metis Resource Center to do more geneological research. It was time consuming and we barely made it back to the hotel for a presentation by Maria Campbell(one of my role models). It was interesting as we were shown historical fashions and had to each pick an article of clothing and explain it to everyone. All of us girls went out to karaoke where we sang and danced for hours...good times! Wednesday was my favorite day as we went to see Louis Riel's grave, went to the St. Boniface Museum which was awesome, they had Riel's original coffin there and we saw two Riel statues. We also went to The Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature which was one of the largest museums I have ever been to. The museum had a little theatre in it where you could watch old movies and I don't know if it was because I was overtired or what but those old comedies are a hoot! That night we all were treated to dinner at the Olive Garden! Day Four consisted of a sleep in and a guest speaker in the afternoon. I was ready to go home and we made it back swiftly and safely on Friday.It was a wonderful opportunity and I enjoyed the trip and the company! It was eye opening to go to a place where my ancestors had been and learn about the things they lived through and how hard they fought for our people. I came back with a sense of pride and I am thankful for that...