Ft. William, Thunder Bay, Canada

[macwilkin]

Yes, I have, but it was many years ago. We did drive close by, but we were under a time crunch and did not have the time to stop.

I did notice that the McGillivray tartan was quite prominent: the vests of the Visitor Center employees, framed on the wall, etc.

However, the kilt that our guide wore was not the McGillivray tartan, as it would have probably been his own family's tartan, rather than his employers.

If you're heading up to Thunder Bay, come by way of Minnesota and stop in Duluth (great ship watching) and Mpls-St. Paul. Fort Snelling is also staffed with guides and a fun place to visit. http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hfs/

It's right near the airport and major roads, so the planes and road noise kind of ruin the atmosphere. Ft. William is a 10 minute walk from the Visitor Center, so road noise is not audible.

Ft. Snelling is another place on my "to visit" list, mostly because it has such a good reputation (like Ft. William and Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island) for historic interpretation -- at one time, Ft. Snelling fielded a 70-man infantry company in 1820's period US Army uniforms, as well as other costumed interpreters, to illustrate life in military forts along the Permanent Indian Frontier(PIF). I'm not too far from another fort on the PIF, Ft. Scott in Kansas (http://www.nps.gov/fosc). Like Snelling, Ft. Scott is literaly in the middle of downton Fort Scott (the town grew around the fort), so the street lights and "town sounds" ruin the atmosphere, especially at night.

So many historic sites, so little time! ;)

Cheers,

Todd