Manitoba's Tall Grass Prairie Preserve

From Kenora we headed to Southern Manitoba to the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve near Tolstoi and Gardenton. Stopped in Steinbach to pick up food at Sobies in the mall on Highway 12 (voted mall with best washroom ambiance on the trip so far). At the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve we ran into John Morgan, Jo-Anne Joyce, and Doug Collicutt, who were instrumental in getting this land preserved. Thanks for that! They were looking at some Small White Lady's Slipper Orchids that had been touched by frost. The rare orchids and other wildflowers are what draws us here. But it is also a good spot for wetland and grassland birds, like snipes and upland sandpipers. They seemed happy to see us there and John even took our picture next to our Ontario plates - evidence I guess that tourists really would come all this way to see the preserve. We probably made a good picture with my hair blowing in the high winds and us both in rubber boots - Ron's are hip waders. This is a wet prairie although this year it was dryer than the last time we were here. Because of the high winds, emminent rain, and brown petals due to frost we decided we wouldn't stay to shoot now but would try to come back on August 12 when Christie and the always bare-foot Laura, the Preserve's protectors/interpretors for more than 12 years, hold a Prairie Days event. So instead of posting any pictures today I'll put this link to pictures we took on the preserve the last time we were here:
http://www.agpix.com/results.php?agid=ronerwin&keyword=tall+grass+prairie+preserve
Note that there is more than one type of rare and endangered orchid at the preserve!