The Penny Pincher Travel Blog

Headingly Grand Trunk Trail Harris Rd to Wescana Rd Image:Wildflowers, Grand Trunk Trail,©Ashauntae(2020)   It is the start of the the 4th leg of our walking the Headingly Grand Trunk Trail . We drove to Headingly and parked on Harris Rd. It was warm but overcast day which made for a pleasant walk. There was some construction in progress that involved placing fresh gravel on the trunk trail for the first part of our walk. However, apart from keeping an eye out for the construction equipment and moving over when necessary, our walk was not hindered much.     Image:Headingly Grand Trunk Trail,©Ashauntae(2020) The seemingly endless stretch of farmers' fields that flank both sides of the Grand Trunk Trail have now been harvested and all that is left is the gorgeous expanses of after-harvest orange glow. But it was not all farmer's fields as we walked by some gorgeous freshly minted homes.  Image: Homes Grand Trunk Trail,©Ashauntae(2020  Image: Farmlands, Grand ...

Headingly Grand Trunk Trail Image: ©Ashauntae(2020) We continue our walk on the Headingly Grand Trunk Trail , day 3 Part 3. This leg is from Talleau Road to Harris road. The scenery is much of the same. As I mentioned in earlier episodes, this trail is wide open with not a lot of trees for shelter from the elements so it is adviseable to walk the Grand Trunk trail during cooler weather. Noticeable difference is less farmer's fields and more trees and wild flowers along the way. Oak trees along trail: Image:©Ashauntae(2020) We passed by the the expansive Breezy Bend Golf course with just a few golfers at that end of the course. A newer housing development caught our attention and we stopped for a closer look at the waterfall with a grassy wetlands area with a lone duck . Wetlands in new housing development: ©Ashauntae(2020) Our quiet walk was interrupted by someone on a dirt bike, passing us several time even though they are not allowed on the trail. This biker ignored several si...

St Malo Provincial Park ©Ashauntae(2020) St Malo Beach Having just acquired our first motorhome , it was time to start planning trips to campgrounds. We would start  in Manitoba and work our way across Canada and eventually to the United States. To our surprise available campgrounds were in short supply. It seems like due to COVID-19 and stay at home orders, campgrounds had become a high demand commodity. ©Ashauntae(2020) Tiffen Allegro Motorhome With perservance we managed to find three nights in the St Malo Provincial park in mid July. The highlight of St Malo is it's family friendly twin beaches.  One of the beaches called sunset beach is the ideal location to watch the sunset. St Malo beach is also great for swimming in this motor-free waters here which also makes it a great location for canoeing, kayaking and sailboarding. ©Ashauntae(2020) Sunset Beach St Malo ©Ashauntae(2020) Sunset at St Malo Other attractions included a mini golf, several hiking trails with easy acc...

©Ashuntae(2020) Grand Trunk Trail The Grand Trunk Trail starts from the Perimeter Highway all the way to Beaudry Park which is a total distance of 10 Km. You can read about the first part of my hike here.  Walking the Grand Trunk Trail - Starting out  . This portion of the trail started at the Hart Road in Headingly. We were anticipating a more sheltered trail but the trees we saw in the distance was somewhat deceptive. soon we were into wide open spaces again, but a lot more scenic. ©Ashuntae(2020) Sunset Grand Trunk Trail This portion of the Grand Trunk Trail was flanked by more farmers's fields on one side and some signs of civilation in the distance in the form of a new housing project. Walking into a sunset  provided awesome views on the quiet trail flanked by expansive vistas. ©Ashuntae(2020) Goose Grand Trunk Trail For the first time we saw some wildlife on the trail. Even though the sounds of frogs are pervasive and numerous gopher holes dot the...

Headingly Grand Trunk Trail (Image: ©AAshauntae) The Grand Trunk Trail in Headingly Manitoba, Canada is an abandoned railway route. This railway was originally constructed by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and was operational from 1894 to 1972. It covers some 10km from the Perimeter Highway to the Beaudry Park. I am walking this trail in stages. This is an account of the first day and the first part of the trail. Walking the Grand Trunk Trail (Image: ©Ashuntae) The first part of the trail is virtually free of any structures or trees but instead flanked by expansive farmers' fields on either side. You do feel like you are in the middle of nowhere between the ground you are walking on and the big blue sky above. This part of the Grand Trunk trail is open so it provides no protection from the elements for several miles which means you need to dress appropriately for the walk. There are also few people you will encounter along the way which means you pretty much have the ...

Cat, Statue in Mexico (Image©Ashuntae) It was nice to see this cat hanging out with a statue at the resort I visited in Mexico. This resort had a beautiful garden with dozens of beautiful sculptures.  At first glance one may think it is also a statue or part of the overall sculpture.  As you can see, the white sculpture seems to be looking at the cat while pointing at something. Is he trying to get the cat’s attention? The cat doesn’t seem interested in chit chat, he just wants to hang out  and enjoy the view.  However, it is great that the statue has the cat to keep him company.