A Pioneer Log Home & The Smallest Jail in North America!

Having our vacation in Collingwood  is great as we can take day trips to nearby small towns within 20 minutes to an hour's drive easily.

Main street downtown, Creemore, Ontario

 Creemore, a lovely Ontario little town about a twenty minutes drive from Collingwood.


The main street of Creemore has a number of interesting and pretty shops, including a big toy shop!






























We went to see the smallest jail in North America!
 This historic building is open and free for the public to see.

















A stone building, this small jail was built in 1892 at a cost of around
 $ 400.00, measured about 15' by 17'.










There were three individual cells inside.  Each cell with its own bed, lamp etc.

A Historic Pioneer Home in Creemore

Right beside the smallest jail, there stands the first home built with logs in the town.













This rustic little house brought back happy memories of my younger days when the popular TV show "Little House on the Prairie" was on years ago!

I also thought of the time when I taught elementary school students in Toronto
about pioneers. This would have been a great field trip for my students to learn about the times and lives of our pioneers.

Creemore - Beautiful farmland abound in this beautiful small Ontario community

We had a fun time looking around;  my teacher friend and I  reminisced about our teaching days and remembered all the fun time we had at school!

Those were the days!

R.T.
Creemore, Ontario

A Fun Day at Scenic Caves, Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Ontario

Scenic Caves, Collingwood, Ontario

We have not been to the Scenic Caves for almost twenty years. When our children were small, we brought them and their cousins here  and they had a blast climbing all the rocks and  exploring the caves.

This time we have Jenny with us and we wanted to show her and W. around the attractions in the Blue Mountain / Collingwood area.

It was about 10- 12 minutes car ride to the Caves. Since it has been chilly for the past few days, the place was not busy at all save for the school groups that were there.

Suspension Bridge at Scenic Caves

It was good for us to revisit this family fun place. This time we tried a few activities which were not there at our last visit years ago. We took a train ride ( free with admission to the park),  and walked the suspension bridge,  the longest one in Ontario.

This suspension bridge was designed and built in such a way that it arches in the middle giving visitors the widest and best possible aerial view of the area below. On a clear way, one could see 10,000 square kilometers with an amazing view of Collingwood,  Wasaga Beach, Nottwasaga Bay and all the way to Penetanguishene.

View from the Suspension Bridge of  the town of Collingwood and Georgian Bay region below

Standing in the middle of the bridge, we were 984 feet from the ground, the same height as the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

Visitors greeted by a bear sculpture at the entrance to the caves

After walking the Suspension Bridge,  we hiked the trails to explore the caves in the park. 

Icy surface of the cave could be slippery at times

We were surprised at how slippery some of the caves were as there were still chunks of ice on the surface in the first cave we visited, called the Refrigerator.

Breathing fresh air and hiking the trail was lovely!

Indian Council Chamber at the Scenic Caves

 We enjoyed hiking the trail. For me, learning about the Indian legends was a lot of fun. 

 At a high point of the trail called the Indian Council Chamber where the chiefs held their meetings, we read:

 "This unsupported rock formation created a natural security area for Petun chiefs to hold council meetings. Using a log to cross over and taking it with them to ensure privacy."

How smart!

                         We had a magnificent view of the Georgian region below!

  Then, there was the Suicide Point where a Huron maiden fell in love with a young man from another tribe. He was ambushed and thrown over to his death by zealous men from the girl’s tribe. Heart broken, the maiden jumped over the edge and killed herself after the young man’s death. How sad!

Looking down from Suicide Point, Scenic Caves, Blue Mountains, Ontario

Years ago, when we went through the cave called Fat Man’s Misery, I was young, very slim and confident of going through the narrow opening. 

Instruction inside the Fat Man's Misery Cave

This time, thirty years later, a few pounds heavier and not as nimble, I was very cautious. Carefully following the instructions in the cave  so that we would have no problem coming out.

We didn’t and everyone made it out with little problem as we followed the instructions posted inside the cave. . 

At the narrowest opening in the Fat Man's Misery cave

However, there were some bigger folks around, for them it could have been a challenge had they attempted this cave.

Indian Chief Profile

Another interesting rock formation was the one called Indian Chief Profile.

When we looked back, it did look like the side view of an Indian Chief.

One of the resting areas for visitors to have some refreshments

After visiting the caves, we had some snack and a rest at one of the eating areas to recharge ourselves. 

Mini Golf at Scenic Caves

   

Another activity that was new for us this time at the Caves was the Mini Golf.

Though never played it before,  it did not take long for Jenny and Wing to get the hang of  this game.   

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Lots of fun at the Mini Golf Game

There were some funny moments when the balls just kept rolling back to their starting position no matter how hard we tried to get them off the putting points. 

When tired from walking, one can relax by the pond in the park

It was a great day with beautiful weather, fun activities at the Scenic Caves!

 Because we had no other activities planned after the visit, we could take our time to enjoy the activities the park has to offer. 

Gem Mining Station at the Scenic Caves, Blue Mountains

We got to the park shortly after 10a.m. and we finished the mini golf game at around 4p.m.   

A Children's Playground

We spent almost a whole day at the Scenic Cave doing different activities. 

 






Enjoying ourselves and feeling like kids, we even tried the climbers and relived for a moment our carefree childhood days.

 Scenic Caves was worth a day’s visit!  













R.T.

Scenic Caves

Blue Mountains/ Collingwood Area

Ontario, Canada

A Beautiful Walk in Whites Bay Park, Collingwood, Ontario

 Harbourfront, Collingwood

Collingwood is where we spend a lot of our vacation time. It is a popular place for skiers in the winter as it is close to Blue Mountains. We have spent numerous winters holidays here.

This is one of the few years that we are here for a vacation in the warmer season.

Whites Bay Trail - Part of the Collingwood trail network

We are taking advantage of the nice weather and enjoying the many beautiful parks and trails in the Georgian region.

White's Bay Park, Collingwood

The first trail we went on was the Heather Pathway located in the White's Bay Park which is right in town.

Hiking the trail along the harbour front

 It was a nice sunny mild day perfect for walking and hiking on trails.

As it was a week day morning, the trail was very quiet with a handful of people enjoying this path.

A good view of the Blue Mountain on the trail

 There is a beautiful broad walk leading to a rocky shoreline with a great view of the Blue Mountain ski runs on the left side and the bay harbour on our right.

Lots of benches for resting on the boardwalk

Unlike many trails where it may not be easy to find a place to rest, this boardwalk has many benches for hikers to sit and enjoy the lovely scenery..

Our favourite spot to sit and rest on the Heather Pathway

There is a beautiful spot shaded by trees which we particularly enjoyed.

A sign on the bench gave us a glimpse of the person to whom this bench was dedicated as it has the name, the date and it read:

'My Mistress" The Bay" Is where I Lay.'

This person must have loved this place very much.











There was  an abundance of wild life activities going on in the park

We saw many wildlife on our walk: birds of different species, water snake trying to warm itself on the rock, turtles sunning itself, and swans swimming and fishing in the water.










I love rocks and we found huge rocks of different colours, shapes and sizes gracing this peaceful landscape.

We went around looking at the different rocks, admiring their beauty and natural formations.










There were so much to see, and enjoy.

I lied down on the rocks listening to the pounding sounds of the waves against the rocks wishing that I could just stay there.











Meanwhile my friends tried to figure out the types of interesting rocks found from the rock piles.

The Whites' Bay Park is an accessible, beautiful park free to all residents and visitors to the city of Collingwood.

Out for a Day Trip in Collingwood with Friends

We are glad that we discovered this wonderful park on our visit this time and had a marvelous time there!

R.T.
Whites Bay Park
Collingwood, Ontario

Walk for Dog Guides at Wasaga Beach

Collingwood has always been a favourite place of ours for a stay vacation.

Wasaga Beach - about twenty minute drive from Collingwood

We are here for a week of holiday to relax and to re charge.

We packed three bags of groceries, and an icebox of our home made frozen soups and vegetable juices.

The second day of our week long holiday was a Sunday. We got all dressed for  the 10 a.m. Sunday service but missed the turned off to Popular St located at the edge of the town which then sent us all the way to Wasaga Beach following Highway 26 . 

We came across a special event at Wasaga Beach

The beach was quiet with few people around as it was really too chilly to enjoy a walk on the sand.



Not far from the beach, we came across  a very special annual event.

Tents were set up for the Purina Walk for Dog Guides

There were a few blue tents set up with people and dogs milling around.

There were participants and their dogs taking part in the Walk for Dog Guides day organized by the Wasaga Beach Nancy Island Lions Club.

There were a few dogs participating in this event.

Manny, a Seizure Response Guide Dog

We met Manny, a service dog and his master, a child  about eleven/ twelve years old who used to have epileptic seizures.

After he received a special guide dog, he has not had any seizure episodes!

Daisy participated in the Walk for many years

We also met Daisy, a twelve year old dog which has participated in the Dog Walk event for many years. But now she is suffering from arthritis, therefore she has some equipment to aim her mobility.

Though Daisy was unable to participate, she wanted to be here and was very excited. 

Mary from the local Lions Club greeted us and we had a good chat about this very special event and the Lions Clubs' volunteer projects in the local area and across Canada.

Some of the Participants of the Wasaga Beach's Walk for Dog Guides

A police officer escorted the Walk participants

I always know that the Lions Clubs do good work for their communities. What I did not know were the special projects in which guide dogs were provided to Canadians with disabilities.

The cost of raising, training and placing each guide dog is around $25,000.00. But through the tireless continuous fundraising efforts and hard work of members of the Lions' Clubs, these guide dogs are provided to needy Canadians at no cost at all!

A service guide dog

I learned that of the Lions Club programs where there are six different types of guide dogs provided to Canadians with the following special needs:

1. Canine Vision dog Guides
2. Hearing Ear Dog Guides
3. Autism Assistance Dog Guides
4. Service Dog Guides
5. Seizure Response Dog Guides
6. Diabetic Alert Dog Guides

I got really excited when I learned about the guide dogs for children with autism as I am currently volunteering with an organization that serve autistic young people. I will definitely pass on this information to them so that their parents will be able to get some support to look after their children.

I sincerely hope that the Autism Assistance Dog Guides will be able to help to improve the behavior of the teenagers with whom I have come to know.

R.T.
Wasaga Beach
Ontario