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life with more cowbell

Hey all – realized I hadn’t done my final Ottawa trip post and I’d better get on it, ‘cuz there’s Pride and Toronto Fringe stuff coming up.

After staying with my friend Lesley and her son in Ottawa, I met up with Mum at my aunt and uncle’s place in Carp, which is a bit west of Nepean. From there, we travelled to Gatineau, Quebec one day to visit the Canadian Museum of Civilization (which I hadn’t been to since I was a teenager): http://www.civilization.ca/home

Ottaw Carp trip 001 — Canadian Museum of Civilization – totem pole

Ottaw Carp trip 002 — Canadian Museum of Civilization – totem poles (west coast)

Ottaw Carp trip 003 — Canadian Museum of Civilization – petroglyph detail

Ottaw Carp trip 004 — Canadian Museum of Civilization – ceiling mural detail

We saw an amazing IMAX film Mystery of the Maya, and wandered about the various exhibits, from first peoples, to religious beliefs/iconography, to a history of the postal service in Canada and a great exhibit on people who were instrumental to Canada’s evolution. Here are some snaps I took there.

A couple of days later, Mum and I took a tour of the Diefenbunker (aka Canada’s Cold War Museum), which is located in Carp (I know!): http://www.diefenbunker.ca/ Also check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diefenbunker This was set up to protect the Canadian government – house the prime minister, his cabinet and a mini army of military, medical, admin and even CBC personnel – in the event of a nuclear missile attack. And you may recognize the entry tunnel from the movie The Sum of All Fears. The closest they came to emergency use was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was an interesting – and rather sobering – experience, so I’m going to shut up and just show you some highlights.

If you’re ever in the Ottawa area, check these museums out.

Ottaw Carp trip 006 — Diefenbunker – portrait of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker

Ottaw Carp trip 008 — Diefenbunker – entry tunnel

Ottaw Carp trip 007 — Diefenbunker – detail of the O.R. in the hospital section

Ottaw Carp trip 005 — Diefenbunker – instruction booklet in the hall outside the computer room (the old computers are huge!)

2 responses to “Ottawa trip – museum visits”

Kat Leonard

June 29, 2012

I love the feeling I get from being around totem poles and other native art, especially the “epic” poles on the west! ;p Look at them standing there still emitting spirit!

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1. life with more cowbell
  
  June 29, 2012
  
  Definitely. One of my favourite moments during my trip to Vancouver – wow, almost 10 years ago – was walking in Stanley Park and seeing the totem poles there. That wood is definitely alive with spirit.
  
  Reply

I’m Cate (she/her)

A woman with short brown hair greying at the temples, wearing t-shirt and a navy pinstripe blazer, gazes up to her right with a glint in her eye.

Thanks for stopping by life with more cowbell. This blog is about living my best life through the arts. I’ll be sharing short fiction & creative non-fiction, art & other stuff. The arts are for everyone & you can choose to share your art or make it just for you – have fun exploring & creating!