Coolest Places I've Been With Camp. Part 2: York Factory, Manitoba.

About 350 miles northeast of Norway House, Manitoba (as the canoe paddles, not as the crow flies) is York Factory. Located at the mouth of the Hayes River, York Factory was the long time North American headquarters of the Hudson Bay Company. Yes, the same Hudson Bay Company that Natalie and Cammy work for. As it sits on its banks over-looking the Hudson Bay and the Hayes River, York Factory is now a National Historic Site of Canada as well as an archaeological site. York Factory also plays host to literally dozens of tourist each year.

I went to York Factory in 2003 on the Hayes River trip with Sam Thiessen and 4 or 5 campers (their names elude me). As you approach York Factory, it sits 50 to 70 feet above the river on the bank, giving it that regal "don't mess with this fort" look. What is so great about the trading post now is it is a museum, so you can walk the grounds, learn the history of the area, the fort, the people, and touch everything. That's right, a museum where you can touch whatever you want. Items on display are essentially the items that were traded here at the post, not including pelts. We also climbed up into the lookout tower where people have been signing their names on the wall since as far back as at least 1929.

The highlight of York Factory was using one of the original branding irons used to mark goods. After deciding not to brand our biceps, the park staff was kind enough to brand the lid of one of our wanagans. The lid looks so cool now with its big YF emblazoned on it. Miraculously, the lid survived the trip house fire the following winter and will soon be on display in the new trip house.

One final note: On the flight out of York Factory, you fly over the Nelson River and a hydroelectric dam that is freakin' huge. As it turns out, this dam is the main supplier of electricity for the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. How they get that electricity from Northern-nowhere Canada to the Twin Cities is beyond me. I just don't understand electricity at all.