Over the weekend I was in Collingwood, a ski town that sits on the Georgian Bay. I love ski towns in summer. I can't quite put my finger on why. They have a certain atmosphere, and the landscape changes when it gets out from under the veil of snow. After that it was back down towards Toronto for another demo yesterday at a conservation area with it's own little ski hill. I got to ride up to the top of the escarpment and snake back down for a short blast.
Then, since I had an extra day to kill, I headed to Niagara Falls. I've never been, and from what I always heard it was better on the Canadian side. It was a mere 70 kilometers away from where I was, so it seemed like it would have been a waste not to go. When I got there, I decided to ride over at night to take some pictures.
Friggin' ace. Today, I went back.
It's unbelievable to see these things. I kept thinking about the fate of the water as it moved along the river ahead of the falls. The river is very wide, and deep, and absolutely crystal clear. I've never seen a river that large with that much clarity. Then, as it nears the edge, it's like all sound disappears from the flow, and it doesn't return until the crashing roar at the bottom. It's a tremendous display of gravity and nature.
I rode my bike both days to get pictures. The parking costs were pretty high nearer the falls, and I didn't really want to pay to park since I couldn't be gone very long with Frazier in the car. As I was riding to the falls from a park today, I had one of those feelings of really loving the bike, and it's versatility. I parked for free, in a place where i could let the dog run and swim, and had a beautiful ride along the river on bike path the whole way. It was awesome.
I decided to come to Sarnia, where I'll do my border crossing tomorrow, and stay on this side for one more day. I had spotted a lakeside park on Google Maps that would make for another nice place to exercise Frazier. I stand in awe of the Great Lakes.
I even saw sheep up here! A few times. And, very few examples of Why I Hate People. None worth mentioning, in fact.
Far be it for me to display no cynicism, however. There are a few annoying things about Canada:
-Too much country music
-Ridiculous gas prices. It cost me at least $100 to fill the tank. Every time. It's around $1.30 per liter.
-Dual-language signs, required by law. But, Quebec doesn't observe this. Everything there is in French only.
-London. This place just doesn't give off a good vibe, and I had to go there 3 times (it's where the Day of Shit happened).
Er, everything else is ace. I can't wait to come back. There really is more to Canada than Whistler.
4 comments:
Love the Falls pics. That must be ace to see.
Stop moaning about the petrol prices, it's way more expensive over here!
I didn't bother asking your permission to make the night time picture my desktop image. I knew you'd be flattered enough to say okay.
Were you tempted to try and lob something over the falls? I'd have gone for a message in a bottle or something equally imaginative.
Falls look great. Didn't know they lit them up all coloured at night.
And what Simon said. $1.30 = 66p. If you think that's expensive, I suggest taking a deep breath before venturing into a UK petrol station :-)
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