Kaley goes to Somerset in the Municipality of Lorne
January 3, 2020
Early last month our Central Manitoba Tourism board met in Somerset for our monthly board meeting. Driving into the town was like driving into a winter wonderland. As it was still early December, I wasn’t quite in the Christmas spirit yet, but seeing all the frost kissed trees made me start thinking about holiday magic.
We met up at the Somerset Food Bar, where the friendly staff are always happy to see you and the food comes out hot and delicious.
After breakfast, I took a walk around the town to see the sights and found a lovely mural on the side of the Somerset Lorne Citizens Museum. The building is an old bank and preserves many different pieces of Canadian and world history. I’m looking forward to checking out when they’re open again for in the nicer weather. I also stopped into the Somerset Villa Thrift store to take a peek but was running out of time so couldn’t stay long. It is also in an older building and the architecture on the front is a beautiful touch to the community.
After a little tour around Somerset, I left town and headed east down highway 23 towards Saint-Léon and the Saint-Léon Wind Farm. Did you know that Saint-Léon is known as the Wind Capital of Manitoba? It was the first wind farm in Manitoba and is home to 73 wind turbines. They look small from the high way, but wind turbines are as high as Winnipeg’s Richardson Building and the blades cover the area of a football field. I discovered after my visit that you can book a tour to go inside, so that has been added to my “Manitoba Adventures “to-do list for next time I am in the area. To book a tour, they ask that you call about a week in advance.
All in all, it was a beautiful day of exploring Somerset and the Municipality of Lorne. I love seeing how communities change in the winter and I can’t wait for warmer summer days to be able to explore more of the parks.
-Kaley