Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/144909
(clockwise from top left) Guide and author's family on the POW Bike Tour; butterfly, or pearl crescent, dining on wolf scat; tireless guide Buzz Crowston; fresh wolf print along the trail; author's son, Logan, atop a boulder that once was part of the POW cookhouse. ally onward to Manitoba. They were supervised at the Whitewater camp by 25 Canadian army veterans and an additional 40 civilian guards. The inmates wore blue denim work clothes adorned with a red stripe down the outer leg of the trousers and a large red circle on the back of the shirt and jacket. "This outfit was not only resented by prisoners, but made them uneasy – it was as if they were carrying targets on their backs," writes Waiser. "Internment authorities, however, had steadfastly refused to budge on the matter since 1941, and had even threatened at one time to change the circle to yellow, the colour used in Nazi Germany to identify Jews." In 1945, the Department of National Defense closed the Whitewater camp. The prisoners were relocated to Lethbridge, Alberta, before being repatriated. Today, what little remains of the camp is buried beneath a thick carpet of native grasses and stands of towering pines. Skyward-reaching golden rods, the soft wind at play in the aspen leaves and the sounds of busy cricket legs drown out any ghostly presence from the past. Listening to Buzz Crowston colour in these details has been fascinating, but soon enough it's time to get back on our bikes and cycle the 11-km return trail to our car along the park's fire patrol road. The cool forest air tousles my hair and gives my soul relief as I remove my helmet at the end of the trail and bask in the adrenalin-induced joy that only a bike trip can provide. As we drive out of the Lake Audy area (about 35 km from Clear Lake – the tourism centre of Riding Mountain National Park), we meander through the Lake Audy Bison Enclosure, home to a herd of 30 buffalo. I stand on the seat of Buzz's car, with my head and camera poked precariously out of the sunroof. I can hear the largest of the bison breathe as he lazily saunters toward the car, bats his long eyelashes at me and threatens to tip the vehicle over with one sudden move of his massive head. "I'm just going to go real slow and please try not to do anything that might make him mad," says Buzz, who does appear a little nervous despite his typically calm demeanour. "Now this is what it's all about WESTWORLD p34-39_Prison_InPark.indd 37 >> S U M M E R 2 0 1 2 37 4/13/12 12:35:53 PM