Hamilton From 21 Floors Up

It was Doors Open Hamilton this past weekend and availed myself of the opportunity to go up to the 21st floor of the Stelco Tower, one of the taller buildings here. Still have to contend with glass and the resulting glare, so the west side was a complete bust, and the south side was questionable also. Still fun to go up there and get a different perspective on the city.

Looking northish, towards Burlington/Waterdown.

Looking eastish, towards Toronto.

Looking southish, towards Stoney Creek.

Secret Beach

It’s not really a secret, but all the times I’ve been down there, I have the place to myself. Not that far from me, it’s a spit of land that’s a surprisingly quiet location. I often go down there, sit, make a cup of tea, read a book or sew or draw, etc. for a while, and feel happy that a spot like this exists within the confines of a major city.

Lately I’ve been using it as a spot to practice slinging from.

Railway marshalling yard with the Bay beyond that and Burlington beyond that.

Burlington Bay/Hamilton Harbour/Lake Ontario. Hamilton on the right, Burlington on the left.

In the bottom center of the photo you can make out a kayaker in amongst the branches.

Said kayaker up close. Having looked at those lines for many hours, I recognized them from several stories above on the Iroquois Bar, and hustled along in hopes of seeing it up close. Perfect timing. Gentleman named Raffi was paddling a 17' Bear Mountain kayak he had built. I was right. Ended up having a great chat with him for about 20 minutes about kayaking, building kayaks, tripping in various places and Hamilton. Originally from Newfoundland, he had lived in Hamilton for 17 years. Retired now, one of his favourite activities was coming down to the Bay early in the morning to paddle around for a few hours, an activity he engaged in with his wife at times. We agreed that if we had to live in a city, this one, with access to a picturesque body of water like this was not a bad city to live in. I picked his brain for a while about how he built his kayak. The sun wasn’t in my favour, but I snapped a couple of photos of his beautiful creation, thanked him for an enjoyable conversation, expressed my hope that one of these days soon I would see him out in the water in my kayak, where we could continue the conversation, wished him pleasant paddling and off he went.

It’s not quite being way up north, but in lieu of a 5 hour trip in a car, this makes a serviceable substitute for me. It’s a view I enjoy taking in every so often. 

Hello swans.

Took a circuitous route home through the cemetery, this being the “sunken garden” portion, below the Iroquois Bar.

And this being back on top of the Iroquois Bar, the Niagara Escarpment in the distance.

Looking out across Kay Drage Park.

(While I wish this was a spot known only to me, the amount of rubbish here makes it very obvious it’s not. I went down here recently with friends and family and did a bit of a cleanup. Will be back in the future to do some more.)

Pier 1 Cleanup

I’ve been telling my nephew for a while now about my “secret beach.” Told him I’d show him where it is one of these days. Sunday was an absolutely perfect spring day, so his dad and I took him down there. I have also wanted to clean up some of the garbage that is down there, which they offered to help me with. Some of it is due to shitheads not bothering to clean up after themselves, and some of it is what blows out of peoples blue boxes and ends up in the lake, to be washed ashore there. It was our day before Earth Day good deed.

Good work team! We could have filled a few more bags. An assignment for another day I suppose.

While it was an awkward load, it was easier to carry it on my back, than trying to scramble up hills with it in my hand.

If I was really gung-ho I would have separated it all into recyclable and non-recyclable, but I was a slacker eco-activist and didn’t do that.

Carroll’s Point & the Bay

I was thinking the other day that I have photographed this spot a bunch of times over the years. Whenever I cross the McQuesten High Level Bridge, I have to stop to admire the view, and invariably snap a few shots. Looking back at some of them, it struck me how different they all look. Different times of year and times of day. Some different angles as well.

Asian Mystery Snail

Found this on the beach by Carrolls Point a few weeks ago.

According to this link, it seems it is the Cipangopaludina chinensis, or Chinese Mystery Snail. It claims that it is found only in Lake Ontario. However one that it  appears to be is the Japanese Mystery Snail, even though the above link claims that it is found only in Lake Erie. Since neither of them is actually native (both are from Asia) I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that they can appear in either Lake. The striations on the Japanese one make it look more like this one.

Lake Erie Bike Route

Grabbed an Adventura magazine a few days ago and two articles got me excited.

One dealt with efforts by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust to establish a 600 km bike route from Windsor to Fort Erie along the north shore of Lake Erie.

This organization has a very well developed 900 km trail system from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Quebec border, along the north shore of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. 

While I’m sure one could get on a bike and ride this route now, developing some infrastructure will help greatly. Wayfinding, maps, providing info about sights to see, places to spend the night, etc., etc. Things like this are great for the economies cyclists pass through as they tend to pick up the slack of off seasons, preferring to travel in spring and fall. The entire route would be through fairly flat terrain, not to mention the very reasonable climate, Carolinian forests, and great views out across Lake Erie. Highlights along the route include Provincial Parks like Rondeau, and Long Point, and National Parks like Point Pelee, all places popular with birders.

All this is meant to be completed by 2013.

Exciting stuff. Having cycled through large sections of the central portion, Elgin County, I can attest this is ideal country for cycle touring.

Read the article here.