outdoors

Is it time to eat yet?

| Mairead

11 9c

(Can’t have too many pictures of Niagara Falls)

We’re back from Canada….. in body anyhow, not so sure about mind yet, well maybe not body either. We have to get up by the clock and eat by the clock and go to bed by the clock because so far the rhythm of the day doesn’t feel right here. Before we left I read an article about living with jet-lag. On the plane I forgot to follow the instructions to eat and drink nothing and go to sleep. Instead, I stayed awake and ate and drank everything…. oh well. The one tip that I had heard a long time ago was get plenty of sunlight and that seems to be helping.

11 9b

(The crane-like structures in the background are where the electricity story starts, the green water in the centre is where the Niagara river pours over the falls)

Anyway, there are still some things that we visited and I haven’t told you about so today it’s the power station. You might remember we also visited a power station in Scotland? This one was in Niagara, between the Falls and a beautiful town called Niagara on the Lake.

11 9f

(and one more of the falls…)

On our way back from our visit to Niagara Falls we decided to fit in a couple more attractions. The first was the Sir Adam Beck Hydro Electric Power Station. This station started producing power in the 1920’s and it’s very interesting how they did that. In Grahame’s itinerary for Niagara Falls he had mentioned that the Maid of the Mist didn’t run early in the morning because the water levels are not high enough due to hydro-electric demands…. So I thought there must be a power station at the Falls…. there isn’t. It’s much more interesting than that.

11 9e

(Tunnel underground to the power station)

The power station is 8km down the road from the Falls at a spot over the Niagara River where the drop is even higher than at the falls. Higher drop = more power. But back in 1917 there was no water dropping from any height here, so… that diverted the Niagara river. At a place before the river went over the Falls they diverted it, and they reversed the flow of another river (can’t remember its name) that was flowing into the Niagara at that point. The picture might help to explain.

11 9a

(That’s the Niagara River flowing from top to bottom of the picture. Those white blobs on the top left are the falls (Canadian and American.) That fuzzy line on the left corner of the screen is the tour guide’s pointer – he’s pointing at the place where the Niagara river water is diverted down a canal (blue line running from top left to middle.) The yellow lines running from the diversion point to the power station are underground tunnels built in the 1950’s when more power was needed and a second power station was built. The two Canadian power stations are in the foreground on the right bank of the river and there’s an American power station on the left bank.)

11 9d

(The yellow turbines – well, the tops of the turbines. Notice the workers get around on tricycles)

More water going to the power station might mean more power but it means less of a splash at the Falls, so…. the diversion only operates at night and in the morning all the power of the Niagara river goes back over the Niagara Falls. The tourists are happy and the Maid of the Mist can operate.

Is it time to go to bed yet? Mairead.

Rain and Snow at Niagara Falls

| Mairead

06 9a

(View from our window – that low cloud on the right is mist from the falls)

A very busy day yesterday (Wednesday) in Niagara. We got up early and had breakfast at the IHOP (international house of pancakes) across the road from our hotel, omelette for Denis and pancakes for me. Then we set off to buy our Niagara Falls Adventure Pass. With the pass we could go behind the waterfall, see the history movie, walk along the white water rapids boardwalk and board the Maid of the Mist boat. At each attraction an attendant gives you a rain mac, yellow mac going behind the falls.

06 9f

(See the boat in the background – those people are getting very wet… so am I)

We went behind the falls first and got very wet, then we went to the movie…. and got very wet. We were given a blue mac going into the movie (first clue it would be damp). I loved the movie. There was a cartoon to start and then we were ushered into a circular cinema to stand on a platform. The floor was wet (second clue.) When everyone was in place the screen showed frozen wastelands – the ice age – and it began to snow. Not on the screen… it began to snow on us! It felt and looked like snow. Then the ice on the screen began to melt and the rain came… on us. It was heavy rain and I had decided to leave my hood down so I was screaming…. with excitement. I continued to scream through the thunder and lightning and the rocking platform and the helicopter ride (on the screen). Loved it.

06 9g

(Maid of the Mist boat going towards the Canadian Falls)

Then it was time for the boat trip. Again we were given the rain macs – blue. We queued up with everyone and found a good spot on the top deck. It started off gentle enough with just a little mist as we passed the American Falls….

06 9j

(American Falls – so named because that side of the river is USA, this side is Canada)

But when we got close to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls the rain came in showers, of course it wasn’t rain it was mist coming off the falls but I was screaming again. Loved it.

06 9h

(Part of the Canadian Falls)

Off to Niagara on the Lake today, but first… porridge at Timmys, Mairead

The Agawa Canyon Tour Train

| Mairead

04 9a

(Grahame says this is why we don’t have snakes in Ireland)

Following on from yesterday we travelled north of Barrie and came to French River where there was an interpretative centre with canoes, fur pelts and animal skeletons. French River was a transport corridor used by the Algonquian tribes and later by the French and English explorers and missionaries. Outside we crossed the snowmobile bridge. In winter the snowmobile club comes up here to navigate the park and in 2008 they built a bridge to cross the deep gorge.

04 9b

(The snowmobile bridge)

We stopped for lunch in the city of Sudbury where there’s a nickel mining plant and a huge shiny nickel on top of a hill. At that point we were half-way to our destination. Four hours later we arrived at our hotel (a very nice Travelodge) in Sault Saint Marie. I was suffering a little from insect bites so Denis and I went across the road to the mall and got antihistamine, heavy-duty bug spray and tea tree oil for the itching and of course we went to visit Tim Hortons. That night we all  had a lovely meal at Docks restaurant on the boardwalk looking out on to the International Bridge that joins Canada to the United States.

04 9c

(Our train)

Next morning we were taking the Agawa Canyon Tour Train at 7.30am and we wanted to get a good seat (right hand side, middle of a window.) Grahame, Doris and Denis  made a preparatory trip to Timmys and then we boarded the train with our provisions. Way back in the early 1900’s the railway was built to transport iron ore. We were taking a four-hour section (114 miles from Sault Saint Marie) to a beautiful scenic spot called Agawa Canyon, on the tour train – not any old commuter train.

04 9d

(Speeding along)

The seats were plush, there was a screen with the drivers view of the track and we had guides (both on the screen and in person) who popped in from time to time to tell us some interesting facts and answer our questions. (There was also a lady whose sole jobs seemed to be checking the toilets – they were very clean.) Then there was a dining car with cooked breakfast – yummy, the boxed lunch and the souvenir shop.

04 9f

(Forests)

But the most amazing thing about this trip was the view – huge forests and pretty lakes, and each time a particularly good view was coming up the guide on the screen would sound a whistle so we would have time to get our cameras ready.

04 9g

(Lakes)

When we arrived at the canyon we had ninety minutes to explore. There were walking trails, another souvenir shop (in an old boxcar) and more beautiful scenery.

04 9i

(Made it to step 300)

We choose the Lookout trail – three hundred steps up to another amazing view.

04 9k

(View from the top)

We had considered doing another trail after that but a rest was much more attractive…  So we rested while the others explored for us.

Fresh air and wilderness – but no hens, Mairead.

Wherever I go, there I am.

| Mairead

16 7a

(The girls up-close)

I drove to the local town this morning. Well it had been a while since’s my last coffee shop and I thought I’d better keep up the habit. Also, there might be an opportunity to talk to someone…. There was. I met a Spanish woman. She was from the north-west of Spain and was living in Ireland. As you can imagine I wondered how she was coping with the weather, so I asked. It rains as much in her part of Spain as it does in Ireland but it’s the cold wind she doesn’t like. Then I got talking to two lovely women in the second-hand bookshop. For little or nothing I got an English school book and two hardback craft books.

16 7b

(Another egg!)

Afterwards I came home and let the hens out. They were very happy to see me and stayed close so I could take a picture. I’m going to miss them when I leave. I’m also going to miss walking out in the garden and being surrounded by trees with only the sounds of the stream and the wild birds. That always calms me and it doesn’t seem to matter if its raining. I’ve been reading another book this week called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, where the author spends a year researching how she can become happier. She’s concerned she doesn’t appreciate what she has and gets quite short-tempered with her husband and her children. In the book for each month she choses a theme and then sets herself several tasks. For example, in January the theme is Boost Energy and one of the tasks is Go to sleep earlier; May’s theme is Be Serious about Play and one of the tasks, Find more fun. 

16 7d

(The first ripe tomato in the greenhouse)

Anyway, I haven’t finished reading yet but it’s quite an entertaining book and I’m sure I’ll refer to it again (she has a blog at http://www.happiness-project.com). In everything we read (or hear or see) our own message jumps out at us and here in the wilderness I have been in the perfect place to notice a message for me. I thought living in the middle of nowhere on my own would be very different to living in a town with my family. For starters I thought I’d get lots done, I thought there would be fewer distractions (turns out I adore distractions and create them when there’s none!) Of course, it is a very different experience, on the outside, just not on the inside. Wherever I go I bring my habits and patterns with me and a new location doesn’t change that.

16 7e

(A very graceful flower)

The message I got (so far) from The Happiness Project? It doesn’t matter where you are you can be happy (or not), you can be productive (or not), you can be distracted (or not) it’s up to you to choose. The location doesn’t choose for you. I also like the quote, from Enjoy now, one of March’s tasks, “The fun part doesn’t come later, now is the fun part.”

I’m back home now, Mairead.

Walking in baby steps.

| Mairead

(Which path?)

I’m navigating my surroundings today by walking. There are lots of pathways through the forest and I’ve been walking along them. Sometimes I come to a side junction and although it’s tempting to take it I’ve been sticking to the main paths. It seems I need to get the basic pattern of the forest into my system before I branch out. The other thing I’ve been doing is looking down. The path surface is quite rutted and uneven so I’ve been taking care not to miss my footing. I’ve been taking baby steps.

(Grassy path)

That got me thinking….. about creating new behaviours – like taking up healthy eating or even healthy thinking or getting more exercise. When I start something new, I always expect to get it right first time or else I’m really annoyed with myself. I always expect to be as proficient at doing the new thing as I am about thinking about doing it. It might be more useful to take baby steps.

(Uneven path)

So, for example, a possible new behaviour like get more exercise. Before I start I would have to get specific. So, what is the desired new behaviour? I want to walk. How much do you want to walk? Well, I’ve heard that twenty-minute walks are a good start so I want to walk twenty minutes, twice a day. Okay then I begin. The first day always goes well, I’m highly motivated. By day three I’m increasing the time to forty minutes and possibly the frequency to twice as often…. By day twelve I have a list of excuses why I’m not good at exercise and I haven’t been out in days. This is the time for the baby steps.

 

(Path ahead?)

Baby steps are kind and gentle. When the baby toddler stumbles while teetering from chair to chair and falls flat on his face, do you say, You big slob! You’ve been doing this toddler thing for days and you’re still falling! No, but you say it to yourself. You big slob, you haven’t been out for a walk for days, you’ll never get healthy! Baby steps are different. Baby steps say, Ah sweetie, did you find it hard to keep up the walking? Up you get now, go out the door and start again. Baby steps encourage you to do what you can when you can, no more no less and without the mean attitude!

Be nice to yourself, Mairead.