Last Hurrah at Altona, Manitoba

Perhaps our final out-of-town trip for the 2015 Summer.

An odd photo taken with an iPhone 5, with the car moving at 110 kph: Foreground and background are in focus, while the midground is motion-blurred.

We casually discussed having a final road trip for this season over some chilled Coronas outside our apartment, in what normally is a parking space but is now temporarily fenced in because of scheduled roof repairs to which we see no end.

We decided on Altona, one of Manitoba's many sleepy rolled-hay-bale towns -- an hour away from the Peg, and an hour away from The Grand Forks in the U.S. Pretty much a stone's throw away from the Manitoba-North Dakota border, really.

Not much to see along the highway except for green, gold, and brown fields for miles and miles, with occasional rolled hay bales, what seem like Friesian cattle, and wind turbines (which all seemed to be working) that dotted the plains.

We were welcomed to the park by a 76-foot replica of van Gogh's Sunflowers on a similarly ginormous easel. And yes, it claims the title, "The World's Tallest Painting on an Easel." Duh.

It was a relaxing day overall, and even the large group of teenagers that came later wasn't as rowdy as we expected. You can bring food, and we even brought our own foldable table and chairs, but a few steps away near the entrance to the children's playground are sheds with picnic tables where groups can barbecue.

Along 10th Av NW in this small but progressive Mennonite town are the entrances to the Aquatic Park and the Gallery in the Park. They're just across each other, and so we decided to also drop by the quaintly landscaped mini-park, which had installation art pieces all around, after the afternoon swim.

Below are a few shots of tree-lined paths just beside the parking lot and the baseball field.

The Gallery in the Park

This turn-of-the-century house was built by businessman Johann Schwartz, whose family owned it. It was originally situated on 5th Ave. NW (not on 10th Ave NW where it is now), once served as as a residence for Elim Bible School students, and later was purchased by the then Schwartz Heritage Group for a dollar.

It was repurposed in 2005 and today houses artwork for established artists as well as amateurs, and serves as a remarkable backdrop for an outdoor sculpture garden.

The Schwartz home's stately facade.

A perfectly shaped pine tree! (I have grand visions of decorating it for Christmas.)

"Jack's Story Time", in bronze, by Gregory Johnson of Cumming, GA.

Above, "Bear Cubs" in bronze, by Leo Mol of Winnipeg, MB.

The aluminum sculpture above is named "Wishbone" and is by John Adduci of Chicago, IL.

There are a few more sculptures around the garden but it's worth seeing them for yourself. Besides, an hour's drive through fields can be extremely therapeutic.