Bellwood and Peterborough
Our camp at Highland Pines Campground, Lake Belwood.
We like this camp as it is close to home, close to the Elora Cataract Trailway, a good place to shake down the trailer after a long winter and a nice atmosphere. We can ride our bikes on 46 km of rail trail.
The section we were in is for transient campers (overnighters and short term). The bulk of their three gated camps are long term/seasonal. Like I say a nice (but not inexpensive) camp.
On the first and second day, I (Jerry) had some minor maintenance to do. We had a peaceful and restful sleep first night. On day two, we had to return to Guelph briefly for a meeting (Elizabeth) and pick up some forgotten items at home (duh). Then we had some relaxing in the gravity chairs and a nice dinner (courtesy of Angelinos and Zehrs).
On Wednesday June 3, three days into our trip we noticed a CBC news article about the possibility that Marine Atlantic employees might be going on strike!
They are currently classed as an essential service; but they have applied for that status to be changed.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/marine-atlantic-9.7220668
"Unifor has specifically requested the Argentia route be suspended and the Port aux Basques route be reduced to three crossings per week in the event of a strike or lockout — it currently operates three crossings per day. After June 8, there will be a 21-day “cooling period” before a strike or lockout can happen.”
OH! OH! We’ll have to keep an eye on this situation. This could have a serious effect on our travels! An even more serious effect on the people of Newfoundland and their economy.
We rode about 20 kms on the trail on Wednesday and on Thursday, Bryan and Monika drove over from Fergus for a visit. We enjoyed a lovely day and a great visit with friends followed by BBQ'd Dad's burgers for dinner.
On day four, we moved to Peterborough. There's a great camp there run by the Otonabee Conservation Authority and we've stayed in it several times. It was a hot, sunny and humid setting up and both our neighbours, as well as us, were confused as to where our lot perimeters were. We called staff to come down to help. At the same time, the water in the camp was shut off - just for a few minutes. What made it more confusing was that some of the sites have their hookups on the opposite side of what we consider would "normal" so we ended up with the tongue of the trailer pointed to the back of the site.
The camp is right on the Rotary Greenway Trail that runs along the Trent Waterway System, across manually operated locks and past Trent University. At this point there is a gravel trail to Lakefield. It's about 20 km each way. It was raining on our first full day in Peterborough so we did rain day stuff - shopping (new shoes for E) and groceries. We would have gone to the Canadian Canoe Museum but it was closed for a wedding. Huff.
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| Totally cool shoe store. |
Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day and we set out for our ride on the trail. It was very busy with lots of bikers, dog walkers and family groups. It is a very pretty ride past Little Lake and over the lock near the park. There were pollination gardens, flocks of Phlox and patches of Poppies along the way.
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| The entrance to the Lakefield Trail |
We packed sandwiches for lunch and didn't want to eat them at the Coffee Shop in Lakefield so I (Elizabeth) suggested we start looking for a bench in the shade. Jerry found a nice shady place but it didn't have any benches. He said, "I bet there's a bench just around the bend."Sure enough, 500 meters later there was a gazebo next to a pond where there were lots of turtles sunning on the rocks.There's always something along the trail.
This was an invite to come in to someones yard and walk their Labyrinth
The Labyrinth was small and created by mowing the path.
We had "cofftea" in Lakefield at "The Nutty Bean". Always a great place to stop.On the ride back, we crossed the canal lock and watched a canoe and two boats pass. The locks here are Parks Canada historical sites. There is no electricity. The locks fill by gravity and the doors and valves are opened and closed by hand.
A nice day - biked 40km round trip.
Monday was another gorgeous day and we were tempted to ride again. However, we did want to see the new Canadian Canoe Museum. While debating what we'd have for breakfast, I suggested we just go to the museum and get breakfast at the Silver Bean Cafe. Jerry thought that was a great idea. I hopped (not really I don't hop much anymore) on my new scooter, Jerry got on his bike and we rolled on over to the cafe, which is part of the new museum building. It was about 1 km from our campsite.
We had been to the old canoe museum several years ago and were looking forward to seeing the new place. It is a beautiful building - lots of wood and glass and a striking design. I (Jerry) was a long time member of the magazine (Kanawa) and organization that predates the museum: "Kanawa" has several distinct meanings depending on its cultural or linguistic origin: [1] - Cariban Languages (South America): Translates to "canoe" in various Indigenous languages, including Kari'na and Wayana.
The museum has a collection of over 600 canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft. The world's largest and most significant collection. The ground floor houses the majority of the collection but you can only see it if you take a curator-led tour on Thursdays and Saturdays. Our timing isn't always the best. However, on the second floor there is an exhibit of some of the more significant items.
The reception area - the cafe is just to the left.
Outside you can rent a canoe or take part in a water based activity.
Our first stop was at the art exhibit "Canoe Perspectives." These pieces were selected from the private McCreath collection of original Canadian art featuring the canoe. We saw works by Krieghoff, David Milne, Alex Colville, Ken Danby and many other artists. The 40 pieces were presented chronologically and spanned 200 years. Bill Mason's paint box, three canoes hung from the ceiling and a lovely birch bark basket were also part of the show.
As we left the art exhibit we encountered two of the museums volunteers. We spoke with Jonathon and Paul for quite some time and not just about canoes. I learned that the fundraising for this amazing new building was carefully planned. They hired an agency to scope out the possibilities. Funding came from a blend of public investments, private donations, earned revenue and various governments. As part of the request to the City of Peterborough they identified that the city was lacking a facility that could host an event for 150 people. They promised to provide that space in the new building. The museum offers school programs, land and on-water workshops, tours and they have artists in residence.
There were several classes there on Monday and the kids all appeared to be having a great time. We noticed one room was set up to make bannock and we wanted to stay and take part. Later I spoke with one of the leaders and found out they took the bannock outside and cooked it over a fire.
The exhibit of the canoes and watercraft was very interesting and well done. The information was communicated through videos as well as print. I was so appreciative of my little scooter as I was able to get around easily and see and read as much as I wanted without the pain I experience when standing and walking.
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This what they refer to as the circle.
I understand that these canoes are displayed on a rotating basis. |
The canoe just below the green canoe is a Victorian courting canoe! Can you see the gramophone in the centre? Courting couples would go out on the lake and listen to music, of course, the young lady did not paddle, she just leaned back on the pillow and looked pretty.
Below the overhead circle there is embedded in the floor an extremely accurate map of Canada showing every lake and river in the country.
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| Gordon Lightfoot's Yellow Canoe |
In a slightly dimmed room on display is one of the four "Blue Canoes" that were involved in a terrible incident on Lake Temiskaming in 1978. Students from St. John's school set out on a canoe adventure. They were not trained in canoeing, unprepared and in unsafe crafts. Some of them couldn't swim. A sudden violent storm capsized the four canoes. Twelve boys and one teacher died from hypothermia. This accident sparked rigorous safety guidelines for outdoor education in Canada.
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Mike Mansfield, a survivor of the Blue Canoe accident,
made a short video describing his experience. |
I want to let you know that Mia has been very good on this trip so far. There is some initial objecting meows when first in the truck but then she settles down on the console and pretends to sleep. She has adjusted to the trailer quite well, as you can see in the photo below.
So long for now. We'll write again from Ottawa.
Take care all.
Love from,
Jerry, Elizabeth, Mia, the Guys,
Miss Adventure Too and Clifford the Big Red Truck
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