Cool photos - wish we could have walked in but it was literally blocked off with construction.
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2017 Day trip photo sharing thread
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
Looks like a server failure here, your media link is broken. With respect PP, I find this deliciously ironic.Cool photos - wish we could have walked in but it was literally blocked off with construction.
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LOL. Yeah, that's what happens when I'm mobile and trying to use a Google Photos link to my photos there instead of using my own server as uaual. I fixed it.
I toured Parkwood Estate in Oshawa today. Hardly a "day trip" for me as it's only about 20 minutes from my house, but totally day-trippable for those in the GTA as an option if you're into history / mansions, and the grounds themselves are incredible as well. You can tour the grounds/fountains/gardens/etc for free.
The last time I was there was probably 30 years ago. I was surprised at how much I remembered although some spaces have changed slightly, but it's still an incredible 95% historically true home. Worth the tour - I did the full upstairs and main floor tour which was a bit over $20. I did the basement tour last week, but they only do it once a year (and for only a few days) so that opportunity has passed now.
Pictures are not mine as you are not allowed to take photos or video inside, but you get the idea:
Parkwood is certainly an incredible old mansion, and movie buffs will likely recognize a lot of the rooms as they are featured in a lot of movies.
Later this week a few friends and myself are headed up to tour the SS Keewatin - again, if you're into ships, especilaly old (Titanic Era) ones, I've heard this is a tour you want to do, and it's within a few hours north of the GTA. I will report back once we've been and done. Weather is looking great for riding after tomorrow.
The last time I was there was probably 30 years ago. I was surprised at how much I remembered although some spaces have changed slightly, but it's still an incredible 95% historically true home. Worth the tour - I did the full upstairs and main floor tour which was a bit over $20. I did the basement tour last week, but they only do it once a year (and for only a few days) so that opportunity has passed now.
Pictures are not mine as you are not allowed to take photos or video inside, but you get the idea:
Parkwood is certainly an incredible old mansion, and movie buffs will likely recognize a lot of the rooms as they are featured in a lot of movies.
Later this week a few friends and myself are headed up to tour the SS Keewatin - again, if you're into ships, especilaly old (Titanic Era) ones, I've heard this is a tour you want to do, and it's within a few hours north of the GTA. I will report back once we've been and done. Weather is looking great for riding after tomorrow.
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Went on a bit of a geological jolly today in the heart of Ontario mining country. Pictures to come later but I went to the Marmoraton iron ore mine to see the massive water filled pit from the viewing platform. Then on to the towns of Sulphide and Actinolite. Nothing really in Sulphide to see...just a cool name (if you are a scientist or nerd). Finally ended up at the Deloro mine which is being cleaned up due to low level radioactive waste being present. Just a cool sign at the entrance. Took a really nice ride on Deloro Road through Deloro ("valley of gold") to eventually hit highway 62 and a ride through Eldorado. Both these places are associated with Ontario's gold rush.
Meant to come back to this thread after the trip up to the Keewatin.
Generally, the tour was good. The old girl is in a real mix of excellent state of repair (given it's well over 100 years old, older than the Titanic!), and in a poor state or repair elsewhere. It seems that the previous owner where it was moored in Michigan started to fall behind in upkeep and repairs and there was a lot of water damage as a result over the years, but the new owners and volunteers are really working their butts off to restore her.
The tour lasted about 90 minutes all together, including the optional engine room tour. The tour of the main decks was good, but felt WAY too rushed. I'm the type of person that when really interested in something likes to spend some time and absorb everything - the staterooms for example were like stepping back in time and I could easily have spent 5 or 10 minutes just looking around at everything, but instead we had maybe 4 or 5 minutes for the entire group (of about 10 or 12 people) to see the few staterooms that were open to actually walk into, vs just look into. Other machinery areas were super interesting but again, not a lot of time before we had to move on...and the tour guide was quick to scold anyone who wandered out of her sight or lingered behind.
Friends and my own scoots lined up outside for a photo.
The grand staircase - this is where passengers would have embarked. For the early 1900's this would have been the ultimate in luxury, and for some, the first time they would have ever seen and experienced electricity. Hard to believe.
The main dining room.
The galley, complete with the original coal fired stoves.
In the engine room, engine room telegraph.
The triple expansion steam engine. They have hooked it up to an electric motor now and can switch it on and show how it looked in motion, albeit slowly.
Overall, worth the tour, especially for only $25 or so including the engine room tour. I was admittedly disappointed that the boat deck level was not open nor was the wheelhouse...both of which were supposed to be opened as part of the tour by now. I guess the rain has been holding the restoration back on those areas, so they said.... I guess this will give me a reason to go back again next year.
Anyhow, for a history buff, ship buff, or even just anyone looking for something cool to see, it's worth the trip to Port McNicholl.
We all went out for bad chinese at Diarrhea Dragon in Orillia afterwards. Meh, should have taken the dining option they recommended on the ship, some little local joint.
Generally, the tour was good. The old girl is in a real mix of excellent state of repair (given it's well over 100 years old, older than the Titanic!), and in a poor state or repair elsewhere. It seems that the previous owner where it was moored in Michigan started to fall behind in upkeep and repairs and there was a lot of water damage as a result over the years, but the new owners and volunteers are really working their butts off to restore her.
The tour lasted about 90 minutes all together, including the optional engine room tour. The tour of the main decks was good, but felt WAY too rushed. I'm the type of person that when really interested in something likes to spend some time and absorb everything - the staterooms for example were like stepping back in time and I could easily have spent 5 or 10 minutes just looking around at everything, but instead we had maybe 4 or 5 minutes for the entire group (of about 10 or 12 people) to see the few staterooms that were open to actually walk into, vs just look into. Other machinery areas were super interesting but again, not a lot of time before we had to move on...and the tour guide was quick to scold anyone who wandered out of her sight or lingered behind.
Friends and my own scoots lined up outside for a photo.
The grand staircase - this is where passengers would have embarked. For the early 1900's this would have been the ultimate in luxury, and for some, the first time they would have ever seen and experienced electricity. Hard to believe.
The main dining room.
The galley, complete with the original coal fired stoves.
In the engine room, engine room telegraph.
The triple expansion steam engine. They have hooked it up to an electric motor now and can switch it on and show how it looked in motion, albeit slowly.
Overall, worth the tour, especially for only $25 or so including the engine room tour. I was admittedly disappointed that the boat deck level was not open nor was the wheelhouse...both of which were supposed to be opened as part of the tour by now. I guess the rain has been holding the restoration back on those areas, so they said.... I guess this will give me a reason to go back again next year.
Anyhow, for a history buff, ship buff, or even just anyone looking for something cool to see, it's worth the trip to Port McNicholl.
We all went out for bad chinese at Diarrhea Dragon in Orillia afterwards. Meh, should have taken the dining option they recommended on the ship, some little local joint.
So I started out by riding to some places I'd wanted to visit out in Hastings way. I took some gravel backroads and eventually ended up in Sulphide
Not too much there but I have an interest in chemistry and so wanted to visit. The history of the settlement is quite interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphide,_Ontario
Basically fools gold was discovered instead of gold but fools gold contains sulphur/sulphides and these were required to make sulphuric acid. That acid was used by the uranium mines in Bancroft and so sulphur mines were established near the settlement of Sulphide.
Next I visited the "mighty" Marmoraton mine in Marmora. This is a massive pit that has filled with water. Kids used to jump off the cliffs into the water but in the spirit of killing all that is enjoyable the mine was fenced off but you can still view everything from a viewing platform and also (better) from atop a pile of mine refuse nearby.
20170829_160223 by JC100JC, on Flickr
You can see my bike at the edge of the photo for scale.
20170829_161331 by JC100JC, on Flickr
Those are old tires from the ore hauling trucks.
20170829_161312 by JC100JC, on Flickr
20170829_161022 by JC100JC, on Flickr
zoom in on these pics above for some interesting information about the mine.
20170829_160554 by JC100JC, on Flickr
Still a lot of ore in the mine tailings. This was high grade iron ore (magnetite? haematite?) and was actually discovered by recognising a magnetic anomaly in the area from the air. 150ft of rock needed to be cleared to get to the iron ore first. This was a huge mine.
I stopped in Marmora for some dinner and decided to carry on the themed ride by heading to the Deloro mine site. Not surprisingly this is on Deloro Rd, or at least an extension of it.
20170829_173914_001 by JC100JC, on Flickr
It looks like at one time you were able to get closer to the mine and view things from a platform there too but now this is as close as you can get. There are mine tailings contaminated with radioactive waste here and there's a clean up operation to contain the waste and stop it from contaminating the Moira river watershed.
20170829_174020 by JC100JC, on Flickr
Those berms in the background are all new and sealed off by pretty high razor wire.
After this I had a lovely ride on Deloro Rd until I got to highway 62 then headed south through Eldorado...the site of Ontario's first gold strike and the start of the Ontario gold industry. I have to go back here though to get some decent pictures.
Not too much there but I have an interest in chemistry and so wanted to visit. The history of the settlement is quite interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphide,_Ontario
Basically fools gold was discovered instead of gold but fools gold contains sulphur/sulphides and these were required to make sulphuric acid. That acid was used by the uranium mines in Bancroft and so sulphur mines were established near the settlement of Sulphide.
Next I visited the "mighty" Marmoraton mine in Marmora. This is a massive pit that has filled with water. Kids used to jump off the cliffs into the water but in the spirit of killing all that is enjoyable the mine was fenced off but you can still view everything from a viewing platform and also (better) from atop a pile of mine refuse nearby.
20170829_160223 by JC100JC, on FlickrYou can see my bike at the edge of the photo for scale.
20170829_161331 by JC100JC, on FlickrThose are old tires from the ore hauling trucks.
20170829_161312 by JC100JC, on Flickr20170829_161022 by JC100JC, on Flickrzoom in on these pics above for some interesting information about the mine.
20170829_160554 by JC100JC, on FlickrStill a lot of ore in the mine tailings. This was high grade iron ore (magnetite? haematite?) and was actually discovered by recognising a magnetic anomaly in the area from the air. 150ft of rock needed to be cleared to get to the iron ore first. This was a huge mine.
I stopped in Marmora for some dinner and decided to carry on the themed ride by heading to the Deloro mine site. Not surprisingly this is on Deloro Rd, or at least an extension of it.
20170829_173914_001 by JC100JC, on FlickrIt looks like at one time you were able to get closer to the mine and view things from a platform there too but now this is as close as you can get. There are mine tailings contaminated with radioactive waste here and there's a clean up operation to contain the waste and stop it from contaminating the Moira river watershed.
20170829_174020 by JC100JC, on FlickrThose berms in the background are all new and sealed off by pretty high razor wire.
After this I had a lovely ride on Deloro Rd until I got to highway 62 then headed south through Eldorado...the site of Ontario's first gold strike and the start of the Ontario gold industry. I have to go back here though to get some decent pictures.
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Deloro Rd right after the Deloro mine is extremely entertaining....not for the twisties, there aren't that many, but for the elevation changes. One section is likely to give you air on your bike at around legal road speeds. There's a part that's like going down and up some giant stairs. I admit I had a huge grin on my face at these points.
If you have a bike that you feel comfortable doing packed gravel roads on then you can spend an entire day just tooling around on the backroads south of highway 7 near Tweed and Marmora. I did just that as my GPS insisted on trying to route me through a farmer's field through a locked gate. After seeing the same farm twice I headed off somewhere else.
There were quite a few fast flowing creeks in the area so I might head back there with a pan and try my luck panning for gold. I don't expect to find anything but I figure it will be a fun outing on the bike panning for gold near Eldorado. First I need to buy my Amazon gold pan...
https://www.amazon.ca/SE-GP1012G10-...=UTF8&qid=1504099877&sr=8-3&keywords=gold+pan
If you have a bike that you feel comfortable doing packed gravel roads on then you can spend an entire day just tooling around on the backroads south of highway 7 near Tweed and Marmora. I did just that as my GPS insisted on trying to route me through a farmer's field through a locked gate. After seeing the same farm twice I headed off somewhere else.
There were quite a few fast flowing creeks in the area so I might head back there with a pan and try my luck panning for gold. I don't expect to find anything but I figure it will be a fun outing on the bike panning for gold near Eldorado. First I need to buy my Amazon gold pan...
https://www.amazon.ca/SE-GP1012G10-...=UTF8&qid=1504099877&sr=8-3&keywords=gold+pan
i-WERKS
Well-known member
Very cool ride. Marmoraton Mines is on my list to visit. Deloro road sounds interesting too.
For anyone looking for my photos above, sorry, major power outage in my neighborhood and my backup power supply for my server only lasted so long.... 
i-WERKS
Well-known member
I'm gonna admit. The photo of the iron ore tailings from jc100 really intrigued the nerd in me so I headed out this weekend with a magnet to get myself a piece. Here's some pics from the trip.
Riding off into the sunrise
Passing through Havelock
Blue waters in the open pit of the Marmoraton mine
There is a lot of litter and graffiti at the viewing area
Took Northey's Bay Road on the way home. Great road with smooth pavement. Stopped by the Petroglyphs Park for some photos I missed last time I was here. Maybe one day I will actually go and see the petroglyphs.
I used to fish a lot in the Omeme/Bethany area. I passed through Ski Hill Road in Bethany because I remember it being quite scenic. Was surprised to see this under construction.
And... time to head home.
Riding off into the sunrise
Passing through Havelock
Blue waters in the open pit of the Marmoraton mine
There is a lot of litter and graffiti at the viewing area
Took Northey's Bay Road on the way home. Great road with smooth pavement. Stopped by the Petroglyphs Park for some photos I missed last time I was here. Maybe one day I will actually go and see the petroglyphs.
I used to fish a lot in the Omeme/Bethany area. I passed through Ski Hill Road in Bethany because I remember it being quite scenic. Was surprised to see this under construction.
And... time to head home.
sburns
Well-known member
Ohh nice thread topic. Some great ideas here I hope to explore once I get some more seat time in.
Curious do you all keep a log of your day trips to refer back to if you decide to repeat, or just for memory sake?
I've read about this someplace else and it seems like an interesting idea.
Curious do you all keep a log of your day trips to refer back to if you decide to repeat, or just for memory sake?
I've read about this someplace else and it seems like an interesting idea.
that sounds like a lot of effort......I just have date logged and gps tagged photos.
I belong to a riding club - tons of fun, and no shortage of ideas and destinations come up collectively amongst the group.
This year a lot of my destinations have been right out of this book.
I have done 101 of the 150 locations in this book this summer, including all the far northern Ontario (right up to the MB line, almost) locations. Had a TON of fun and many, many kilometers of riding with friends to accomplish it.
For anyone looking for great ideas for destination rides, this book is totally worth it. There's countless ones within a few hours of Toronto, not to mention many interesting overnight ride ideas.
I belong to a riding club - tons of fun, and no shortage of ideas and destinations come up collectively amongst the group.
This year a lot of my destinations have been right out of this book.
I have done 101 of the 150 locations in this book this summer, including all the far northern Ontario (right up to the MB line, almost) locations. Had a TON of fun and many, many kilometers of riding with friends to accomplish it.
For anyone looking for great ideas for destination rides, this book is totally worth it. There's countless ones within a few hours of Toronto, not to mention many interesting overnight ride ideas.
I have skipped the two story toilet in Smiths Falls (I think).
I really want to go see the disappearing river.
The. Buddha photos intrigued me...I did a little digging. That's going to be quite a sight when it's finished...
http://www.ptbocanada.com/journal/2...st-temple-being-constructed-near-peterborough
http://www.ptbocanada.com/journal/2...st-temple-being-constructed-near-peterborough
Did that one.
A friend and I did an overnighter in May and did every one of them from badicallly Peterborough/Oshawa east.
i-WERKS
Well-known member
WOW. thanks for the link. I had no idea how big it was going to be and how much is already constructed beyond what you can see from the road.
