Swayze Falls at Short Hills Provincial Park. There were climbers on the falls later in the day.
Climbing Roger's Pass in British Columbia in 2006 with the Canadian Bible Society.
I have had the opportunity to ride my bicycle through the mountains of British Columbia, from Victoria, BC to Canmore, Alberta. I have been to South America, to southern Bolivia, where I visited relatives and went fishing-and become trapped by landslides caused by torrential downpours-on the riverine border with Argentina. And I have been to Acapulco, Mexico and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. All places I would love to return to. Yet, the great Canadian Province of Ontario is where my heart is.
Morning over Owen Sound.
In 2012 I ended up with 2 weeks of vacation that I had to use between Thanksgiving and mid-December. So I took a few long weekends, and a week off. I saw the extraordinary sight of an adult bald eagle flying low above Lake Huron on one of those sunny days with azure waters. I was fishing in Owen Sound that weekend at an Uncle's place. We were downtown, and my Uncle had just dropped me off at the River while he went to get coffee. As I was unloading my gear, a fellow hooked into a large, powerful fish. It ran upstream, then downstream, then upstream again. The fish didn't show itself for a long time, and I guessed that it was a lake trout. Turned out that I was right, it was a beautiful 7 or 8lber. The angler landed it, held it up to show me, and said, with some acidity, that it was just-JUST!?!- a garbage laker. Evidently, this angler was after rainbow trout, an introduced species in the great lakes. He released it back into the Sydenham-he had no choice anyways because the fish was snagged in the tail. I was indignant-I and my brothers have walked and paddled many a mile- with unwitting family members in tow!-through snow and sun and rain, for "garbage" Algonquin lake trout and brook trout.
December is a good time to take a vacation before the Christmas break. During my ten days off I got in on 2 church men's group breakfasts, one church luncheon, a Rare Charitable Reserve open house (more good food), and some fabulous hospitality among my friends and family. Men's breakfasts are all about cholesterol and fellowship. The guys at one breakfast got so into the food that when I offered to take a couple photos for posterity's sake, they were full of frowns, since, as one friend put it, "they want to eat! Now!!" And church luncheons are all about the dessert!
A sunny summer day above Lake Erie.
I left Kitchener on a rainy Saturday morning, headed to my sister's place in a little town west of London, not far from Lake Erie. Until Anne moved down there about 3 years ago I had hardly ever been to the very southern part of Canada, the Sunshine Coast of Ontario. It is a gorgeous region, flatter than much of the province, but still with some hills that would challenge most cyclists. There are high clay bluffs and cliffs that overlook Lake Erie, postcard picturesque towns like Port Stanley, and major and extremely important wildlfe areas like Point Pelee National Park, Rondeau Provincial Park, and the Long Point UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
A gray day on Lake Erie at Warwick Conservation Area.
I spent some time hiking at Warwick Conservation Area on the Lake just off of Highway 3. There is a staircase down to the beach, but I did not have time enough to go down; instead, I climbed the rickety wooden 28 foot high observation tower. There wasn't much to observe: a gray great lake on a grey December afternoon. No deer, no eagles, a few robins, and one or two squirrels. In the summer the hike down to the water's edge is well worth the effort, descending through Carolinian forest and crossing a peaceful stream.
Lake Erie near Port Stanley.
I struck out for St. Catharines on Monday afternoon along Highway 3, a scenic road that hugs the Lake Erie coastline from Windsor to Long Point before turning north to the town of Simcoe and bisecting the Niagara Peninsula. I took some photographs at Pearce Provincial Park, which has an historic church building right beside the park. On occasion, one is at eye level as a bald eagle soars past at the same height as the lookout above the lake.
After Port Burwell, the highway cuts through Haldimand County, and a forest of gigantic white windmills. It takes some getting used to to seeing those things. I suppose they are a renewable source of energy, but surely there is a method to ease the eyesore factor, and a way to use them that has less impact on wildlife, humans and flora. I find it ironic that a company removed an active bald eagle's nest recently in that area to make room for a "green" windmill. {http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/07/energy-company-removes-bald-eagle-nest-to-make-way-for-wind-turbine-in-haldimand-county; http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/13/bureaucrats-ignored-advice-from-biologist-to-leave-eagles-nest-and-move-wind-turbine-in-haldimand-county}
The company said that it would provide an alternative nesting sight, but obviously there is no guarantee that the pair will use the nest.
At Long Point, a unique, extremely important ecosystem and a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, (www.longpointbiosphere.com) I photographed dozens of gigantic trumpeter swans that spend the winter in this sheltered area of Lake Erie.
After Port Burwell, the highway cuts through Haldimand County, and a forest of gigantic white windmills. It takes some getting used to to seeing those things. I suppose they are a renewable source of energy, but surely there is a method to ease the eyesore factor, and a way to use them that has less impact on wildlife, humans and flora. I find it ironic that a company removed an active bald eagle's nest recently in that area to make room for a "green" windmill. {http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/07/energy-company-removes-bald-eagle-nest-to-make-way-for-wind-turbine-in-haldimand-county; http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/13/bureaucrats-ignored-advice-from-biologist-to-leave-eagles-nest-and-move-wind-turbine-in-haldimand-county}
The company said that it would provide an alternative nesting sight, but obviously there is no guarantee that the pair will use the nest.
At Long Point, a unique, extremely important ecosystem and a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, (www.longpointbiosphere.com) I photographed dozens of gigantic trumpeter swans that spend the winter in this sheltered area of Lake Erie.
 |  A shot of the full moon with my new Canon Powershot SX 50 HS, a spectacular camera. |
I continued along the highway, and hit West Lincoln Township in Smithville, only a few minutes from home. Then I took a wrong turn. I ended up driving beside the Welland River on a nice moonlit evening, and wound up in Niagara Falls, about 20 minutes east of my final destination of St. Catharines. Hence the title of this blog!
A hairy woodpecker, an avian dinizen of the Rare Reserve. (www.raresites.org)
I went to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg on a sunny Thursday morning. There was a critically acclaimed show about Tom Thomson and the Group of 7, with a few works from Emily Carr, like "Reforest," thrown in for good measure. This was the perfect opportunity to go to an art gallery. Having never been to an art gallery before I was curious about the experience: do I cross my arms while I look, or do a thoughtful pose to blend in with the other guests? Eventually, one gets right into the show and forgets how they are posing, because the art is so engaging. The McMichael is a gorgeous stone building on the edge of the Humber River Ravine at the north end of Islington Ave. This show took up six gallerys. The first one was all about Tom, and his "West Wind" and "Jack Pine" were there. Tom painted some small canvases of Algonquin Park during the spring breakup ("Spring in Algonquin;" "Path Behind Mowatt Lodge;" "Winter Thaw;" and "The Rapids"). These works are so terrific that at first glance they appear to be colour photographs.
The highlight of the show for me was buried in the sixth gallery: "Nellie Lake: Hills Of Killarney" by AY Jackson. As soon as I saw it I had goosebumps; this is the piece that friends and I searched for on an October canoe trip into the Killarney backcountry in 2011, and I wrote a 2 piece blog {http://www.thelilydipper.com/2/post/2012/02/nellie-lake.html;
(http://www.thelilydipper.com/2/post/2012/03/nellie-lake-part-2.html}
about those adventures. The painting itself is spectacular.
Afterwards, I went to the Kleinburg Starbucks. My mother's ancestors built this house in 1832. It was moved to it's present site in the town. It was interesting to see. The interior was similar to what it may have been like almost two centuries ago.
The highlight of the show for me was buried in the sixth gallery: "Nellie Lake: Hills Of Killarney" by AY Jackson. As soon as I saw it I had goosebumps; this is the piece that friends and I searched for on an October canoe trip into the Killarney backcountry in 2011, and I wrote a 2 piece blog {http://www.thelilydipper.com/2/post/2012/02/nellie-lake.html;
(http://www.thelilydipper.com/2/post/2012/03/nellie-lake-part-2.html}
about those adventures. The painting itself is spectacular.
Afterwards, I went to the Kleinburg Starbucks. My mother's ancestors built this house in 1832. It was moved to it's present site in the town. It was interesting to see. The interior was similar to what it may have been like almost two centuries ago.
The view from the front door of Deer Lake Baptist Church north of Verner, Ontario.
I rolled north out of Kleinburg through the high, rolling hills and ended up in Parry Sound to visit friends, who are great at upholding the Mennonite tradition of fabulous hospitality. After that, I crossed the French River and drove over the West Arm of Lake Nipissing, through the delightfully scenic towns of Noelville and Monetville to visit friends in Verner. My pal Ben and his two boys and I got up early to go to an aforementioned church men's breakfast at Deer Lake Baptist Church. This is a beautiful little church on a small hill overlooking Deer Lake, a typical northern Ontario lake full of deep blue hues and islands full of pine trees. A couple of years ago the church hosted a nice Family Day ice fishing and hockey event. It was about twenty degrees below zero even without the high windchill factor, but hot coffee and a warm building were only a few feet away, thankfully.
My brother checking his 'Angry Bird' of a son into the boards at a local rink...(No kids were harmed here!)
I visited more friends in North Bay, and my brother and his family, and went to church on Sunday morning, followed by yet another church meal. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends, having finished high school in the area.
Well, this is an outdoors blog, so having just returned from a 2 night winter camping trip north of Huntsville I will ponder that bit in my bio about being a "true outdoorsman." That oughtta be interesting...
Stay warm with layers of clothing, but make sure you get outside, eh- yes, even at this time of year!
Until my next dispatch, get out there, eh!
Uncle Travelling Dan
Stay warm with layers of clothing, but make sure you get outside, eh- yes, even at this time of year!
Until my next dispatch, get out there, eh!
Uncle Travelling Dan
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