England has its notorious folk (anti) hero, Dick Turrpin, the highwayman. America turns to the James brothers, Billy the Kid and others to celebrate the criminal lure. All were true criminals with a violent history.
Eriksdale and Ashern have their own lawless hero to celebrate, but, in typical Manitoba fashion, there was little risk to the public with escaped convict, Percy Moggey. While he did have violent confrontations with the law, unlike the James brothers or Capone, he never put innocent citizens in harms’s way. Instead, he lived for almost a year in the 1960s, hidden in the bush and only breaking into local businesses infrequently to replenish what food he needed. On a couple of occasions, he even left money behind to pay. https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/moggey_p.shtml
His cabin still stands and has become a drawing card for local tourism. https://www.mennotoba.com/moggeys-mysterious-cabin-by-eriksdale-a-convicts-tale/
Locals (and savvy travellers along Hwy 6) have their own ideas of feature attractions. That is Havakeen lunch. For me, the highlight of my stop here was not the creamery/museum (although it is interesting), but the dozens of hummingbirds feeding at feeders just outside the windows of the cafe.
Eriksdale is just a few kilometers south of the turnoff through the Narrows to the Parklands area, so it is perfect place to stop and stretch.