On The Road Again: Toronto to Ottawa
By: John Kumiski
The drive through Toronto, well, I've had nicer nightmares. Twelve lanes of traffic, slow-and-stop-and-go, for well more than 50 miles. I'd been prepared for it to be bad, but I reached a breaking point and had to get off the 401, Ontario's main east-west route.
The secondary roads were almost as bad. What should have been a two-hour drive from Hamilton to Campbellford literally took all day.
We found Ferris Provincial Park, checked in, took a walk. The path went by the Trent River. Sheer cliffs dropped to the water. Hikers were protected by a chain link fence from the fall, but not from the poison ivy. Watch where you're going!
Fishermen on the Trent River, Ferris Provincial Park.
We came to a suspension bridge over the river, and walked halfway out. We've been on some shaky, dangerous suspension bridges in the Andes, but this one could have supported a truck. We felt entirely safe. Some tubers passed underneath us, and I could see a canoe upstream, near the falls. One of the canoeists caught a fish! I wanted to see more.
We followed the path up to the falls. The same fence kept us from getting close, but I did photograph the canoeists.
Birchbark canoe, Canadian Canoe Museum.
The next day found us in Peterborough, at the Canadian Canoe Museum. A paddler myself, I do not have enough superlatives to describe this fantastic place. I welled up with emotion repeatedly as I examined all the hand-made boats, hundreds of them, many made by First Nation builders, and read the history of canoes and their relationship to the exploration of North America.
On a lighter note, back in Campbellford we got some ice cream, and I photographed Susan in front of the world's biggest twonie sculpture. Good times!
Susan at the Twonie Statue, Campbellford.
Brighton, Ontario sits on the shoreline of Lake Ontario, and is home to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. We stopped at Lola's and got lattes (ooh, la-la!) and a couple full meal-sized scones fresh out of the oven. Conveniently, a park is right next door. We could enjoy our drink and snack and watch the squirrels at the same time.
We liked Presqu'ile better than Ferris. The bathrooms were much cleaner, for starters! And it was right on the lake, with a lighthouse, and a boardwalk hike through a marsh, and nearby Brighton is awesome.
We made a trip to the Big Apple Pie Store. This place is a tourist attraction in its own right. They have sold almost six million nine-inch apple pies! We enjoyed the crazy, crowded ambiance, but amazingly did not buy anything.
A couple days at Presqu'ile was followed by a couple days at Charleston Lake Provincial Park, our favorite park so far. The lake is spectacular. Shallow, weedy areas harbor dense populations of warm-water species including several types of sunfish, large- and smallmouth bass, and northern pike, and cold-water lake trout.
Releasing a bass, Charleston Lake Provincial Park.
We did not fish, but we did rent a canoe and paddle around a bit. I could hear loons and, wanting to see them, followed the calls. There they were, a mating pair, swimming, then diving, then swimming again. In feel fortunate to have gotten a decent photo.
We also went hiking on the Sandstone Island Trail, a fabulous walk for geology buffs. The park lies on a bedrock of one-billion-year old granite, part of the Canadian Shield. In places, younger sedimentary rocks formed on top of the granite, to be later exposed by weathering. On this path, you can see the unconformity where the younger rock and the older rock come together, as well as glacial striations in the sandstone, produced by the most recent glacial advance. All in all it was a wonderful walk and stay.
I had a date with Dr. Mary Ann Perron, Ph.D., a research scientist at the River Institute in Cornwall. We made a leisurely drive to Cornwall, with stops for photos and another bakery (Richard's Coffee Shop), where they had just taken the chocolate croissants out of the oven. We kept hitting these little slices of heaven- it was so enjoyable.
At the geologic unconformity, Charleston Lake Provincial Park.
Dr. Mary Ann showed us around the Institute and their grounds, right on the St. Lawrence river, where much of their work happens. After which we went to lunch together. She had work to do in the afternoon, so we parted ways and made our way toward Ottawa, Canada's capital.
As I write this we are still in Ottawa, which has quickly become one of our favorite cities anywhere. A friendly, diverse population, great restaurants, fantastic museums, beautiful architecture, lots of art, yes, we like it here.
Our first stop was the National Gallery of Canada, housing world-class art by many of Europe's masters- Monet, Van Gogh, Dali, Picasso, Cezanne, and more. Canadian artists and First Nations artists are also well-represented. It was a splendid visit. The wonderful day continued as we strolled about the city afterwards, enjoying ByWard Market, a buzzing hub of outdoor farmers’ market stalls and specialty shops, and the sights in nearby Major's Hill Park.
Inside the Notre Dame Basilica.
We visited the Notre Dame Basilica, probably Ottawa's finest church. The decor was elaborate and ornate. I hope to learn more about the history of this extraordinary edifice.
We have not made it to the Parliament building yet. Our exploration of this city is still young, and as I wrap up this post I'm looking forward to more walking about Ottawa!
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