The only stop on our train journey that allowed for any visit much longer than a train-side cigarette break and leg stretch was Thompson, Manitoba. While chatting with some more experienced train riders of the north, DH had discovered that Thompson was home to a solitary and proud Tim Horton's Coffee Shop, and she-who-must-be-obeyed decided that we would be seeking out this beacon of coffee ecstasy even if it were to jeopardize our timely return to the train. 

My reasons for seeing Thompson were far less substantial of course, but I wanted to wander the town that I had heard so much about when I was toiling as an underground miner many years ago in the nearby metropolis of Flin Flon, Manitoba. Thompson was/is a nickel mining town and, among the hardrock types, was always discussed in bigger, better pay, safer terms, although it must be said that only Flin Flon was named after a cartoon character (Flintabbatey Flonatin). 

We knew we didn't have enough time to do both a mine tour and a Tim's coffee run so of course we headed straight for the Timmies. Having gone without for a few days, DH was vibrating happily as she firmly grasped her double-double with the end result that much of the coffee spilled out over the side. Having satisfied the craving, we wandered the town- there's no mistaking it for anything other than a mining town that grew up in the sixties and seventies but it did have a tough-guy kind of charm. They actually claim to be the "wolf capital of the world" but having been fooled by a similar claim in Churchill, we weren't expecting to be run down by any roving packs of canines as we did part of the Wolf Walk. We did notice a number of wolf statues that had been painted by various local artists and apparently they have turned finding all of these statues (there are a few in Churchill and Winnipeg as well) into some sort of adult version of hide and seek- all of the wolf statues have GPS coordinates that you are given if you are a 'geocacher'. You're even given a Wolf Hunt Passport in order to document your exploits and although it does seem to be an original concept, it also makes bird-watching seem high octane by comparison.

We did get a misty view of the massive wolf wall mural, and we spent a little time in the museum- in the small mining section, I was pointing out all of the equipment I had used in my glory days (although DH's eyes had glazed over at some point, perhaps daydreaming about her recent coffee). 

As fast as it started it was over and we were able to make it back just in time to hear "all aboard" (yes, they still do that). No bears, no wolves, but now we're off to do a little ghost hunting.