outdoors – unsung.net

Here I’m. Rock you like a…

September 17, 2018bdot, outdoors, weatherNo Comments

Well. That can't be good... — Well. That can’t be good…

Typhoon (which is the Eastern term for hurricane – they are the same thing) Mangkhut was waaaay more intense than Florance… but overall, it sure seems Humans are getting rocked by more and more powerful and destructive storms. But there is no global warming right? *eyeroll*

We were lucky this weekend to have access to my SiL’s cottage on Glouster Bay. (I call it Chateaû Glouster). It was an incredibly hot few days! One of the main reasons for going was for Bdot to check out a Catalina 11.4 SUP at Swift Canoe. After checking it out, unfortunately, we found a ton of air bubbles under the paint… These would eventually blister and pop and the paint would peel. This was pretty disappointing, we had cash in hand to buy it, but decided to pass. That didn’t deter us from getting on the water this weekend. We still have an iSUP and there is a kayak at the cottage, so we made due.

We did a lot of paddling over the weekend. And took a ton of photos. When we weren’t on the water we were chilling on the deck. I’m reading my way through Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire which I’m really enjoying. The deck was under constant bombardment from acorns. You can hear them smash off everything. They seemed to drop every 5-10m… or more often when crows were knocking them down. Google found us a nice route avoiding most of the 400 below Barrie, it was Concession 11 > 15th sideroad > 56 > 90 > George Johnson Road > 26 > Doran Road > Russell > Forbes > 400…A good portion of this route is also newly paved!

Spooky. No not the seagulls... — Spooky. No not the seagulls…

Both mornings were greeted with incredible fog. I tried to make a time lapse of the fog but the apps for Android are crap. Really crap. They are either unusable or were too restrictive to accomplish what I wanted. Wah-wah.

Sabres first pre-season game is tonight. As always, (sigh…) the hope tank has been refilled during the offseason. Hopefully this season the team will improve. Hard not to from dead last. *snort* The Bills look like they are back to their losing ways… TFC won but it is probably too little too late.

I’m enjoying class. I can foresee it really ramping up once it enters into new areas for me… which is going to be very soon.

Bon Echo: Beaches and Bugs

July 16, 2018Canada, outdoorsNo Comments

It was a recovery and preparation week for camping at Bon Echo. Bdot did pretty much everything as I was restricted to not lift anything more than 15lbs. Hmmpt. Which mean you can do pretty much nothing when it comes to camping gear. We were mostly packed by Wednesday and left Thursday. As usual, we grossly overpacked, the car couldn’t fit a loaf of bread when we finally left. It was a pretty long drive to Bon Echo Provincial Park, near home for Bdot. We arrived to a massive parade of Deerflies that followed the car all the way to our site in Hardwood. This was our first visit to Bon Echo – we pretty had to take the site that was available. We weren’t aware that Hardwood is basically a separate section from the main camping area at Bon Echo. It was a long bumping drive to our site. We were oddly the only campers in our loop the first, delightfully quiet night. Now back to the bugs… good lord, the bugs… yes, of course, I expect mosquitos and deerflies when I camp. But I don’t expect them to be UNRELENTING FOR HOURS on end. We probably would have left Friday if bdot hadn’t packed the screened dining tent. It was a life saver for sure. The other craptastic thing we discovered late, was that a fire ban was in place. So no evening fires, no roasting marshmallows and no cooking over coals. That turned out to be hugely disappointing. The site itself was quite nice: Tall trees, and massive roads were strewn about with ample space for all our gear.

Friday we had an incredible day canoeing on massive Mazinaw Lake. All along one side of the lake were incredible tall cliffs (see above). Some of the cliffs had faded Indigenous pictographs which were pretty cool to see up close. After the canoe voyage, we ventured out of the park for ice. We found a great store that had all the stuff we were looking for called The Maz. Bdot is looking for a Stand Up Paddleboard and the owner answered a bazillion of her questions about them. We had a nice chat with the owner about dogs while enjoying some Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream. Black Raspberry Thunder. OMG. A great store – highly recommended if you need anything while camping at Bon Echo.
Unfortunately, as we expected, the sites around us filled in Friday night. They filled in with noisy, selfish campers. It was supposed to be a radio free zone. NOPE. It was supposed to be a fire ban. NOPE. It was supposed to quiet after 11AM. NOPE. 12? NOPE. 1AM NOPE. 2??? NO. 3!!!? Finally. Yes these drunken assholes kept me up all night long, screaming, yelling and noise noise noise. I don’t care if I sound like an old get-off-my-lawn bastard, the noise was ridiculous. Where the hell were the park patrols?? We saw them three times the night before, but when they were actual laws to enforce – nothing. That soured my opinion of Bon Echo greatly. It should be a family friendly park not a nightclub. I get having a few beers and a good time but carrying on like teenagers at Spring Break in Florida should be unacceptable at a Provincial Park. Grrr…..
We slept in late due to the lack of sleep. Saturday we spent more of the day at the main beach. There was a nice breeze so it was pretty chill. We made the mistake trying one of the trails. MY GOD. What a mistake. I don’t know why we didn’t turn around but we didn’t. We literally jogged the 1km loop attacked by mosquitos and blackflies THE ENTIRE TIME. It will henceforth be known as the 2nd worst hike ever. (Yes, Cold Creek was still worse) If that wasn’t enough, we followed the road presumably home and not the path. Well, we have no idea where the road was going but it wasn’t back to the beach. So in the baking Sun, still being bombarded non-stop by insects we were getting pretty pissed off. Fortunately, we eventually found a trail that connected us back to the beach area. By this time, however, we were spitting daggers. We contemplated another miserable night of noise and opted just to pack up and return home. There were certainly some good aspects to Bon Echo, but there was also some substantial downs as well.

Our good camping/canoeing dog. (Most of the time) Finally defeated.

I finished another Potter book while at Bon Echo. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The books continue to be enthralling.

The World Cup final was mildly disappointing. Sadly the key play was a judgment call made with VAR. I didn’t think it was conclusive either way. After the PK Croatia had to gamble and it resulted in odd man rushes against them that France capitalized on. I think Croatia played a better overall game but France was better at taking advantage of what few chances they had. Ultimately, I don’t mind the France win, it is better than a roll-around-on-the-ground nation. *cough* *Brazil* *cough* *Columbia* I was surprised Russia held such a trouble free games. I was expecting a lot of Putin-esque BS.

Ba-ZING-a should be illegal.

Watched Vietnam War: Ken Burns. Excellent documentary.

Something Fishy here

July 11, 2018Family, gaming, geeky and tech, outdoors, weatherNo Comments

I guess I owe the blog an update! We are often away during weekends in the Summer, and this year is no exception. Two weekends ago we spent the weekend at my SiL’s cottage. It was oppressively hot, felt like upper 30s… So being near the water was wonderful. We were greeted by Black Sabbath blasting from an LP, I thought that was an exalted welcome. (We ended up listing to the whole album after we got settled…) Due to the extreme heat – most of the activities involved the boat or chilling by the lake. We enjoyed a lovely cruise navigated by Captain Liam one night, the (above) sunset was quite nice. The major outing was a boat trip to The Waubic. This included a voyage through Big Chute and its interesting lock.

It was a stupidly hot day. Once we arrived at the Waubic we were told the heat had taken out a number of their appliances (including a beer fridge – RIP) – so they were having a horrible day trying to keep up with orders. Frankly, I’m surprised they stayed open. But the staff admirably trudged through, what I’m sure, was an awful day for them. It was NOT reflected in their attitude. Remarkably, they remained welcoming and relaxed. So – in spite of the ridiculously long way for our delicious food, we didn’t complain. The World Cup was on and Flying Monkey’s were on site – so there was plenty of distraction. I would return, I was impressed by the Waubic. I thought it was neat to boat to a restaurant too. Not too surprisingly, all the Sun took its toll on me. I was wiped out by the time we returned to the cottage. I spent most of the night in bed with a headache. Sigh.
While at the cottage, I talked SNES Classic with Bdot’s BiL. Apparently the system is very hackable, with low risk… I tried it when I got home and added tons of games to the system flawlessly. I was a little disappointed initially with the games but with the hack, and the ability to add vitually any SNES game, the system is a good buy.
The rest of the weekend was spent eating, reading, swimming and relaxing. Typical cottage weekend. It was a good time.

We have a lot of gardens on our property. Seven big garden beds. Keeping them (and the lawn) watered consistently is difficult and time-consuming. We have spent a good deal of money on landscaping, plants and the exterior of the property – so in a small way – we wanted to protect our investment. So we had a sprinkler system installed last week. To attempt to keep the cost down we helped with the prep and install. I moved tons of pea gravel and we both helped with the install. *eyeroll* It saved us a measly $200 bucks, which, IMHO, was waaaaaaaaaay less than the time and effort we put into it. Nevertheless, the plants and lawns are now on a schedule and we don’t have to worry about them when we are away throughout the hot Summer days.
The big news story over the past few weeks was the rescue of the Thai Boy’s Soccer team that was trapped in a cave for over a week. In a rare instance, the World seemed to pull together and join forces to mount the rescue. Divers and resources from all over the World were brought in to save the boys. Miraculously, ALL the boys and the coach got out alive. It was an incredible story of the power of unity. It is a shame it happens so rarely. Sadly a Thai Navy Seal died during the rescue.
The World Cup is down to three team for the Cup: France, England and Croatia. England and Croatia square off today. The games have been good with the exception off all the embarrassing theatrics by some of the players. Neymar acted like such a baby the internet memed him badly. I’m hoping for a England/France final.
We are camping at Bon Echo this weekend. Sadly we just found out there is a fire ban there, so that is disappointing.
I’m such a sucker for Linux Mint. We have a long on and off relationship. We are dating again. I’ve installed 19 on the laptop. So far it is solid. Which I say every time until it isn’t….
I got snipped yesterday. That was a very unpleasant experience.

Oh Kurwa!

June 19, 2018hiking, outdoors, sportsNo Comments

Oh Kurwa! The Poles at the World Cup:

Own goal.
Beat by lower ranked team.
No call in the box, late in the game.

Poland being Poland. Sigh.

View from the sunshade :D — View from the sunshade 😀

It was stupid hot this weekend. Feels like: the surface of Mars. It was over 40C. So, I pretty much would hide from the Ball of light at that temperature. But we did the opposite and found some respite in Georgian Bay. We planned a day trip to Awenda Provincial Park. The plan was to bring the bikes and hit the beach. Having bikes at a PP is awesome. If you have bikes – always – bring them to a Provincial Park. It is a bit of a drive, but when it gets so hot, you have to be near water. The bikes allowed us to park and get to the furthest beach (#4), with all our stuff: sunshade, food, chairs. We were going to go for a longer ride, but we arrived a little later than we thought we would. So we went directly to the beach. Time seemed to pass quickly, so it was a good decision to get as much chill time by the water as we could. The water was quite cold but really refreshing under the baking Sun. It was a great afternoon. It wasn’t too busy either. We’ve always wondered why PPs are always full of non-English first speakers. NOT a criticism, just a curiosity. We figure because it is affordable and easy for larger families. (Awenda has a per carload fee not per person for day use) *shrug*

Rob Rogers, 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was fired after he published this... — Rob Rogers, 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was fired after he published this…

Huh. Well, I guess it isn’t surprising. 45 and his repugnant Republican thugs have an appalling, viscous policy that separates parents from children entering into the U.S. illegally. The policy has been condemned worldwide and by the U.N.. 45 dopes along like a moron, finger pointing and spouting rhetoric (as usual) instead of actually doing something about it. It is a heartbreaking and sad state of affairs for the U.S. The clown and his gutless bunch of ass kissers can’t be impeached soon enough. Such an embarrassment.

Cold start to 2018

January 15, 2018hockey, home, In Memoriam, outdoorsNo Comments

Goodbye Christmas tree. :( — Goodbye Christmas tree. 🙁

The strange weather continues in early 2018. Above 0 a few days then back down around -15, sometimes in the same day. There has also been freezing rain and more snow. The unstable weather has made skiing conditions impossible. Blah. We have taken down the main Christmas tree as you can see above. The liv

Saturday night was bdot’s work “Christmas party”. They held it at The Chef Upstairs. It was a fun night. The Chef Upstairs allows you to actively participate in making your dinner. I find it better than sitting around… We made a three-course meal with steaks as the entree. The steaks were delicious. The staff was engaging and kept the evening light and interactive. One of the better parties for sure.

We’ve been sucked into another British (BBC) crime drama called Line of Duty. It has had some pretty dramatic plot twists, the acting is solid and you definitely get opinionated about the characters. We are through two seasons and we are enjoying it.

Icy river during yesterday's walk — Icy river during yesterday’s walk

Sabres continue to limp along at the bottom of the league. No major trades made. Glimmers of hope are visible with Mittlestud, Ullmark and Gulhe. Otherwise, the roster is 80% underachieving garbage. Sigh.

Team Canada released its non-NHL-player roster for the Olympics. What a gong show. Derek Roy? Really? Ugh. I recognize only a handful of other players. How disappointing. It is a shame $$$ prevents seeing a best on best tournament.

Tr*mp continues to embarrass the U.S. internationally every week. The lies and sewage that seeps from his twitter feed and his face continues to shock and dismay most of the World. I think what little international reputation the U.S. has left, will be non-existent by the end of his presidency. Just wow…

Me "Family Guyed". Close, I guess. — Me “Family Guyed”. Close, I guess.

Update…

Saddened to hear of the passing of another 90s era singer. R.I.P. Dolores O’Riordan (Cranberries). She was only (gasp!) 46.

Update…
FYI. All Christmas trees were taken down by January 17th. 😐

Sad Update…
Ugh. A friend from my Brock Press days recently had heart surgery. Sadly it didn’t take and he has passed away. R.I.P. mighty Q. 🙁

Happy Mud Day!

August 29, 2017bdot, outdoorsNo Comments

The card had 10 reasons but there are so many more. Happy Birthday bdot! We enjoyed a lovely BBQed steak dinner together. 🙂

It was a notable birthday for bdot and she wanted to do something special to remember it. She chose to run Mud Hero. She ran the race with some locals she knows from the gym and work. I went to see the spectacle and take some photos. It was a cool event. It is basically a muddy hike with a series of obstacles. Most of the obstacles were pretty easy to get through, but the killer obstacle was certainly the Avalanche. It looks like a skateboarder’s half pipe cut in half with ropes to help climb up. The pipe was made of particle board which was slippery with muddy, wet shoes. So if you lost momentum and didn’t get far enough up the wall, you had to climb up with the rope. Most people couldn’t do it. I watched a lot of battle of wills that the Avalanche ended up winning. Despite a good effort bdot was also defeated by the wall. It was a warm, perfect day for the race. I’m thinking I may try it next year.

*SPOILERS*
So the wall came down in dramatic fashion and the undead army was pouring into the North lands as the Season ended. The undead dragon breathing frost fire was a crazy game changer. The Wall that was to protect them fell in minutes. Damn! The kingdoms of the living (not surprisingly) didn’t unite against the dead. Will that be the downfall for everyone? We’ll have lots of time to ponder, Season 8 will be a while…There were a lot of little things foreshadowed. Glad to see creepy Little Finger finally get his comeuppance.

Don't send a rabbit, to kill a fox.... — Don’t send a rabbit, to kill a fox….

I read a lot of reviews for Ghost in the Shell saying how it was more flash over substance… and I agree to an extent, but I still think it deserved better than it got some the RT reviewers (44%). It was visually stunning and did ponder some of the question of what is human? Robot? Cyborg? That said, the original anime was certainly better IMHO.

Dog Day Sunrise

August 22, 2017Biking, computers, Family, outdoorsNo Comments

Welcome to Muskoka! – (Yes, it is a sh*tty photo.
Took it from the car driving 100+km. 😛

We enjoyed a few days at Barb’s sister’s cottage over the weekend. The weather didn’t fully cooperate. The first two days we had intermittent rain, which has really been the story of the entire Summer. Still, it was nice to get away. Their deck is unbeatable. I read a little bit of Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) which my S-i-L has at the cottage. David is always an interesting read, his observations and honesty, I always seem to enjoy. In the evenings we had a random movie selection from “storage drive”. One was Punching Henry. I have no idea why it is rating at 91%… 60% seems more accurate. Sure, it had a few laughs, but it most of the time the flow felt very much like a B movie. We changed gears completely the next night to watch Team America. I guess the big laughs really come from the initial watching of this movie. The shock and awe of puppets being crude and nasty. Why still amusing, it didn’t really hold up that well as a film. During the day our walking/biking option was essentially the road to the cottage, which is a fairly narrow, bumping, bug infested mess. That said, we walked it once, then biked it the next day. It is unfortunate that there aren’t any real trails in the area, as it is really scenic. Sunday much of Bill’s family arrived. It was great to see them all, even if for only a few hours. There were dogs aplenty

One of the main reasons we went to the cottage was to visit with Bdot’s brother. He drove down from the Ottawa area. It was good to see him. He lived with us in Brampton for a while. Since he moved we rarely get to see him. I enjoy talking hockey and tech with him. He is always fun around the fire too.

I guess my expectations for the glorious eclipse weren’t met. I wrongly assumed that if 75% of the Sun was blocked by the Moon, it would be obvious visually. So I watched and really, didn’t notice anything other than it seemed *brighter*. I noticed no eclipsing at all. *shrug* I was in a non-totality area, maybe that was significant? Some of the photos and video I’ve seen however were pretty remarkable.

Update
I’ve been having a brutal time online with my *main* computer for a few weeks. Chrome is *PAINFULLY* slow. Facebook is so slow it is unusable. Small image upload to unsung were timing out, over and over again, on broadband! It was making me apoplectic. First I assumed it was Rogers… but other computers seemed to fine. So then I thought, a virus or Chrome extension… but that didn’t pan out. So, I tried an old USB Wifi stick I had, and everything is back to normal! I guess my network card driver is corrupt? Weird. Hopefully it stays fixed. o_______O
Update 2
No. It didn’t stay fixed… I had the computer plugged into my *secondary* router. Which is of dubious functionality. Changed it over plug directly into the ISP Router… So far good. SIGH….

Thornbury Trails

August 9, 2017bdot, Biking, outdoorsNo Comments

Last weekend we ventured up to the Collingwood area with our bikes. It was a warm, mostly sunny day. The plan was to bike a section of the Georgian Trail. (The trail is marked on Google Maps! Here is where we started.) While we have been to Collingwood several times, we never drove a little further West into Thornbury. We decided to check it out. Huh! What a little gem it was. There is an incredible marina area by the shoreline where we decided to start our bike ride. (We did stop first at Skiis & Bikes in Collingwood to pick up some cycling pants. I’ve never worn them before, but they certainly help to reduce discomfort for longer rides.) The trail runs along highway 26 but it far enough in that you rarely see Georgian Bay. It is well marked and flat. I thought these *you are here* sign posts were a great idea.

We biked about 32km, from Elma St. in Thornbury to Lakeshore Road at the edge of Collingwood. If you need to make a pit stop or get some information on the area, The Craigleith Heritage Depot is a great source of information. We were directed to the less popular water access at Delphi Point Park. We made a short visit to the nice little park. I was a little surprised to see the coastline wasn’t sand but shale. From massive long shards to piles of small pieces. It was interesting. I did find the ride to be pretty tiring. Still, we wandering around Thornbury a bit. One stop included the Loft Gallery where I bought one of Bdot’s Christmas gifts last year. (A lovely Jennifer Woodburn) It was incredibly tempting to see all the new works. We also enjoyed a coffee from Ashanti before leaving the town. I’m sure we’ll return. There were a few intriguing restaurants and much more to explore. I’d like to bike the Trail from Thornbury to Meaford.

Why yes I'd love a flight — Why yes I’d love a flight

On the way out of town, we stopped at Thornbury Village Craft Cider and Beer. They wouldn’t allow us to sample both cider and beer which was disappointing. So we just sampled a flight of beer. The disappointment continued. I sampled four beers. I thought the Dam Dark Lager was rather unpleasant, Amber was okay, Pilsner was average and the IPA also mediocre. The sampling certainly dissuaded me from buying anything from Thornbury in the future. Meh. They allowed Bdot to try a *mouthful* of cider, which was also underwhelming. That is too bad, as I like to support local brewers.
It was an enjoyable road-trip to the Collingwood area. We’ll be back! We are planning for a few nights in October!
If the beer disappointment wasn’t enough, we ordered the worst Indian we’ve ever had from Stratengers (Bolton). It tasted like it was out of jar and the Naan was stiff as plywood. Sigh.

Watched Walking with the Enemy on Netflix. It was a very “B” movie. But the history was quite interesting. I wasn’t aware that Hungary not only sided with Nazi Germany at the start of World War II, but they had a horrible version of their own Nazi party for a few months. An important story but mediocre film.

Oh… and Tr*mp’s inflammatory rhetoric, like a bully at recess, has moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight than it has been since 1953. Still think that clown shouldn’t be impeached? Sigh.

Seriously. Who is the real threat here?

President Trump vows America will respond to North Korean threats with "fire & fury" in a warning to the rogue nation pic.twitter.com/UaE2rPkZ6f

— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 9, 2017

Biked to Tottenham! Go Spurs!

July 31, 2017caledon, linux, outdoors, TFCNo Comments

It was enjoyable to spend the weekend in the area. Saturday we went for our longest bike ride yet. It was along the Trans Canada Trail. We parked on Duffy’s Lane and biked to Tottenham (as far as the trail will go presently…). The loop ride ended up being close to 26km. We have never actually gone to Tottenham. It was a charming little town. It has a busy little downtown area. We saw a few bars, many restaurants and a smattering of other businesses. (No fast food here that we noticed) The “main strip” turned into a residential area, the homes looked well maintained, many looked like they had vintage character. The trail ends in Tottenham. (It continues farther north in Beeton but between Tottenham and Beeton is not connected yet. 🙁 ) We were also surprised to see the large Tottenham Conservation area/Tottenham Pond from the trail. If we had more time we would have investigated the park further as it looked quite inviting. I’m sure we’ll return to Tottenham at some point in the future. My legs were pretty dead after the ride. I was happy to relax with some Netflix.

Loop Map. From Duffy's Lane to Tottenham. — Loop Map. From Duffy’s Lane to Tottenham.

Our new Netflix poison is Shameless US. It is crude, offensive and very politically INcorrect. We are really enjoying it. *snort*

TFC had a big game yesterday versus NYC. I drove over to KK’s to watch the game. It was glorious! TFC were in fine form at both ends of the pitch. Up one at half time and winning at home 4 – nil to push them into first in MLS. Hopefully, the team can continue to play this well for the rest of the season! I enjoyed visiting double K, thanks for dinner buddy!

I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for Android to hit my Lenovo N21 Chromebook. Well, who knows if it ever going to happen. *eyeroll* So, when I saw instructions to install Linux on a Chromebook, I said why not. Well, the instructions worked perfectly… And I feel like I have a brand new laptop! Obviously, Linux brings a ton more functionality than ChromeOS… So not only do I have full Chrome, I also have Skype, Steam, Spotify and XFCE… It is fantastic! There are a few minor squabbles, but I’m sorting them out. CPU usage streaming Spotify with Chrome (multiple tabs open) and Skype open ~16-25%! 🙂
UPDATE!
While I don’t mind Ubuntu, there were a few things about the install that bugged me. So, I have switched over to my fav, Linux Mint w/ XFCE. 😀

Potholes, Rocks, Woods and Water

June 13, 2017bdot, caledon, hiking, outdoorsNo Comments

The region had its first heat warning of the season. It was hot…Weather Network said it felt like high 30s to 40! So, of course, we got outside into the sweltering death heat for some hiking! So we consulted our favourite hiking book(s) the Nicola Ross, Loops & Lattes books. Since we had a little more time, we looked at hikes in the Halton Hikes books which are a little further drive for us. We originally pondering checking out some waterfalls in Hamilton but settled on the Limehouse “Hole in the Wall” Loop (Hike #22). Limehouse was a pretty cool area. Ross’ book suggests hikes on two sides of Sideroad 22 to make a figure 8. We hiked only the Southern, Limehouse Conservation Area section of the hike. The Northern section looked like it was too open (farmland etc.) and we wanted to try to be in forested areas as much as possible. The Limehouse area had some significant historical buildings, old Lime Kilns and some other interesting buildings. I thought the curious ground fissures were impressive. The piles of limestone rocks and curious crevasses (such as the popular “Hole in the Wall”) made for an engaging walk. There were sections that were difficult to manoeuvre for the dog, however.

There was a beautiful old stone bridge (“the Arch”) across Black Creek, the river that runs through the Conservation area. The bridge is now blocked off, but that didn’t seem to stop the stream of people hopping a fence for a photo op on it. We walked both sections of the Bruce Trail and the Black Creek, Bruce Trail side trail.

It was a nice walk. Do watch your step as limestone rocks jut out everywhere.
Yesterday we ventured to another local conservation area, Rockwood Conservation area on the Eramosa River. As I said, it was stupid hot, so we wanted to find a place to hike and swim. Rockwood fit the bill perfectly. We started with a short but stunning hike along the Pothole Trail. The trail runs along the river with high rocky cliff overlooking some sections. It is a wonderfully maintained trail. It was a shame it was really short. The trail led to the Harris Woolen Mill ruins. The ruins are a fabulous subject to photograph.

After the Mill, we continued down to the “Caves”. It was remarkable how much cooler it was inside the caves. It was like naturally occurring air conditioning. After the “Caves”, we followed the Cedar Ridge Trail back the swimming area. The walk up and down the stairs, from the car to the beach was taxing but well worth it. It was really refreshing to cool off in the river. We sat near the water for a while. It was funny watching the unattended picnic tables getting rummaged through by the blackbirds. They had even time to poke around and be *selective* about what they took. *snort*

Rockwood was a good experience. It was clean and well maintained. We’ll certainly return to swim and hike.

We’ve been trying to get to Wonder Woman for a few days now. Hopefully we’ll get to it soon!

Ugh. I was solidly supporting Nashville for the Cup. Nashville’s support for their team was phenomenal. After a ref mistake to cost them a goal, a crappy late goal in a scoreless game cost them the game. How disappointing. At least now the Sabres can continue their interviews for Head Coach. I’m hoping for Housley.

The ending of Netflix Bloodline was also a mess. Great acting but a garbage ending. Meh.