Manitoba - Big Pipes, Big Coke Cans and Great Grey Owls

We crossed into Manitoba at the end of the day and camped just over the border at the Elkhorn Campground a block or so off the TransCanada Highway (TCH). There were no other campers when we arrived, so we had our choice of spots. $30/night for electric and ‘untreated’ water (bah!) plus an ablution block with flush toilets and basic showers. The best part of the campground was the adjacent 19th century cemetery and the prairie dog town that lived under and among the gravestones. Most of the gravestones that we could read dated back to the mid-late 1800s and many were the graves of children, especially infants.

Known`as the Keystone province, Manitoba lies quite literally in the ‘heart’ of Canada at its longitudinal center. Like its neighbor Saskatchewan, agriculture constitutes a good portion of Manitoba’s economy. Grain elevators and trains hauling grain cars were common sights.

We turned off the TCH after consulting Roadside America and found some exciting sights to see. En route to St. Claude and the World’s Largest Smoking Pipe, we came across a full size windmill, most appropriate for the small town of Holland, Manitoba.

A little bull along the highway

Once in St. Claude, we headed directly to a little park that was home to the super-duper pipe. Evidently, the first settlers arrived in the area in 1892 and hailed from St. Claude, France. Their French hometown was noted for the manufacture of smoking pipes and thus, the ‘big’ pipe is symbolic of their heritage.

You’d need lots of tobacco to fill the World’s Largest Smokking Pipe.

Next on the route was the World’s 2nd Largest Fire Hydrant in Elm Creek. Measuring 29-1/2’ (8.99m) tall, a donated tank was used by the local volunteer firefighters to create the hydrant next to the local fire department. It was unveiled in 2001 shortly after the World’s Largest Fire Hydrant aka the 40’ (12.2m) tall ‘Busted Plug’ was unveiled in Columbia, SC. Note: we take detours for runners-up, too.

World’s 2nd Largest Fire Hydrant in Elm Creek, Manitoba

We returned to the TCH and backtracked a bit to check out Portage La Prairie. We were looking for the World’s Largest Coca-Cola Can and found it without a problem since it towers above most of the city’s buildings. The 85’ (26m) Coke can was originally a water tower constructed in 1905. It was moved to the back of a small shopping plaza and ‘rebranded’ by Coke in 1998. It made it into the town’s brochure, so evidently it’s a tourist attraction.

World’s Largest Coca-Cola Can in Portage La Prairie

While looking at the same brochure that touted the Coke can, we noticed a photo of an owl sculpture which looked interesting. Turned out it’s Canada’s Largest-known Great Grey Owl statue. It’s perched in a small neighborhood park. It is 13’ (4m) high and weighs in at 2,140 lbs (971kg). The piece is composed of ~6,000 individual pieces of steel welded together and it’s pretty impressive.

By the way, we’ve been regularly consulting Roadside America as we’ve traveled along. It covers roadside oddities and cool stuff in Canada as well as the USA. We had the chance to meet and chat with Doug Kirby, the founder of Roadside America a couple of months ago. We’re friends with his mom, Marlene. Doug turned his interest in roadside curiosities and oddball attractions into a business in 1996 and we’ve been relying on his roadside finds for years as we travel. How else would we have found the World’s Largest Smoking Pipe?

It was the end of the day and we were on the outskirts of Winnipeg. Rather than find a campground, we took advantage once again of a free overnight parking spot at the Flying J Travel Centre. No cow trucks this time and it worked out just fine.

We decided to bypass Winnipeg, the provincial capital, and head east into Ontario. We’re getting antsy to get to the Atlantic provinces and looking forward to several highlights along the way.

Next time, join us in Ontario. We’re heading to Fort William, the early 19th century headquarters of the Northwest Trading Company in Thunder Bay. The blue line on the map below shows our progress so far.