A Moving Forest

When I first visited Toronto 50 years ago, I was impressed that it was easy to drop down into one of the Ravine Parks and the city disappeared to be hidden by trees, and now that I am actually sort of living in Toronto I am impressed with the amount of trees in the city. Most streets except the very major ones have trees along them and there are parks full of trees scattered around the city. The condo we live in has a little forest of trees beside one of the buildings and when we look in every direction from our balcony there are patches of green. 

50 Trees waiting to move

But any city can always use more trees to provide shade and clean the air. So, when we got an e-mail announcing a moving forest it certainly peeked our interest. On a nice sunny, warm Saturday afternoon fifty trees comfortably planted in shopping carts were going to be wheeled through the downtown from an inner-city park down to the waterfront.

Volunteers waiting to move the forest

So, we bowed out of helping a niece unpack from a recent move to Toronto and took Public Transit down to find this event. Sure enough, we found fifty shopping carts with a variety of tall 10 foot trees waiting outside a community centre with volunteers in bright Yellow shirts eager to transport them through the city. 

We probably could have volunteered to actually be the chauffeur for one of the trees, but we did not find out about the event in time, so we just followed along on the forest’s journey. This moving forest travelled slowly through the city and stopped at locations along the way to provide needed shade to areas of the city that needed it. The forest spent some time exploring the Bentway, the concrete park under the elevated Gardner Expressway which certainly could be improved with a few trees. Finally two hours later the trees ended up on the Toronto waterfront where I believe they will be planted in locations around Toronto where a bit more green will improve the neighbourhoods. 

Everyone ready to go

I was surprised to hear about a moving forest, but in Toronto almost anything can be expected and this was a fun and interesting event. 

The story of the Moving Forest

Greening the Bentway

End of the route; the Toronto waterfront

Walking the Waterfront

A lovely day exploring the waterfront

The day I visited the StacktMarket I discovered I was down close to the Toronto waterfront, so I enjoyed a walk along the lake before going back to the condo. Yesterday we went back down to the water to explore more of the Toronto lakeshore. Our friend Angela (remember the post about “Cooking with Angela”) was visiting so we took her on a tour of the area. 

Toronto has done an admirable job of controlling development on the shore of Lake Ontario to allow almost complete public access to the actual lakeshore. There are lots of tall condos built down there with wonderful views (and large mortgages) out over the lake to Toronto Island, but there are also nice walkways and parks along the shore so the public can walk beside the lake and enjoy the views as well. We took the subway down to Union Station and then walked down to the water where we were able to walk along the waterfront all the way to the CN tower. 

We will explore the rest of the waterfront at another time, but here are some pictures of the day.

Tour Boats on the Waterfront

Brass fish in the sidewalks

Oops, I think a piece of the bridge is missing . . .

Waves in the lake . . . waves in the boardwalk

Must have been a hard docking

One of the waterfront parks

A lonely "Love Lock"

Of course the CN Tower is always in sight

She is hoping we don't follow the rules

A "private" boat moored on the lake.

Lovely trees and a waterfall

This was some sort of sundial . . . I couldn't tell time by it though

Seriously . . . you think?

An awkward swing, but interesting . . .

A Day in Thunder Bay

Kakabecka Falls

On the way to visit our daughter in Northern Ontario, we have been stopping to meet the future In-Laws, and Derek's dad and his wife live in Thunder Bay, which was also a convenient stop on the trip. We arrived in time for a meet & greet evening meal and then the next day, we were given a tour of the city of Thunder Bay.

The first stop was Kakabeka Falls just outside the city. This was a truly spectacular waterfall with trails and viewing stands all around. An especially nice feature is a walking bridge just above the falls allowing you to see them from above. I took lots of photos, but no photo really does a waterfall justice. Apparently a native legend says a native princess who was captured by a rival band lured an invading party of warriors over the falls to save her band from probable defeat.

The falls from above

Next we visited a cheese farm/factory making amazing Gouda. We have an excellent gouda cheese master back in Nova Scotia, and I hesitate to switch loyalties, but I think this cheese is better. BUT it could just be because they have so many interesting varieties. Imagine cumin & cloves gouda? Delicious. The biggest problem was deciding which ones I wanted. I think we left with six different packages. I hope “That Dutchman” doesn't find out.

A trip to a look-off on one of the native reserves provided a wonderful view across Thunder Bay and a perfect spot to see the famous “Sleeping Giant” land formation across the harbour which we missed on the trip up in the fog and rain. And, we did not have to climb to the look-off; there was a paved road right to the top.

Thunder Bay waterfront

A drive into Thunder Bay proper brought us to the Marina and the waterfront. I always admire cities that resist the temptation to allow big hotel chains or luxury condo developments to have exclusive waterfront access, and Thunder bay have done their waterfront nicely with a Marina, parks and lots of public spaces that allow everyone to enjoy the waterfront. Those exclusive condos are right across the street and still have lovely waterfront views.

Even the birds enjoyed it.

By this time I was getting pretty tired, and I felt I had seen a lot of this city, so a stop at a local watering hole was in order for a beer and dinner.

The Sleeping Giant

Thunder Bay from the look-off

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