Yesterday I enjoyed the beautiful weather and the free time I had to travel east for some letterboxing.
First stop Ajax ON. Last time I was here there was a big event going on. No parking was available so I didn’t do the Omen Birds boxes. This time it was relatively quiet in the park. I found parking a little closer to the boxes and enjoyed a walk along the waterfront with my dog. Nice area. It was interesting seeing the border between 2 cities marked the trail signage. Really liked JayBird’s handcarved birds. At the 3rd find, Famous Birds of Ill Omen: The Raven, I took the box down the grassy path to the beach where I found a quiet spot to stamp up and enjoy the lake views.
After Ajax, I drove further east to Port Hope. First box the blue diamond Ganaraska River-Float your Fanny Down the Ganny. The walk by the river was quite nice. Didn’t take long to get to the box location. Saw the red factory and when I got close, saw 3 men hanging out about 20 feet from where the box is supposed to be. Seemed like a homeless camp situation. Dang. Oh well, I’ll probably come back another time for a second try.
Next off to Port Hope Waterfront Series: Box #2 Kermit the Frog. A quick walk over from the parking lot. Interesting marsh with lots of bulrushes.
A trail and a bit of beach separated the marsh from the lake. The box was nicely hidden next to the quiet beach. A good size box, plenty of room for hitchhikers. An old box, it’s been out there since 2005 – 6 years old.
Next box and the coolest experience, Ganaraska River Fishway-Corbett’s Dam Salmon Run
When I got to the dam the parking lot was full and there were a few cars parked along the road. I joined the cars at the road and walked over to the people at the dam.
At first I wondered what they were looking at, then there was a large splash as a salmon flashed a tail fin out of the water. Then I let my eyes focus into the water and saw many dark spots. Then I could make out large salmon. Lots and lots of large salmon. The kind you expect to see in British Columbia – 3 foot long dark salmon. Wow, what a sight. I climbed the stairs to get a better view of the chute at the fish ladder and stared at the cascading water for a minute and then suddenly a huge salmon leaped out of the water and up into the chute. How cool. The audience oohed and aahed. I stayed for another 5 minutes watching salmon jump up the chute and salmon fall back through. Here are a couple of really grainy videos I shot with my cell phone camera:
Then it was time to go find the box. It wasn’t far from the dam and nicely camo’d among the rocks. It was a good shape and the stamp was just right for the location.
Then I checked my GPS for the next nearest letterbox. There was one in Cobourg and there was one north west. I preferred to head in the direction of home so I chose Bumble’s Polar Bear, Polar Bear.
I drove for quite a while, through some very beautiful scenic countryside. It felt like what I imagine Vermont in the autumn would be like. Rolling hills of colourful trees and golden fields of drying crops. Tiny towns with churches with tall white steeples poking through the trees. Absolutely lovely. I arrived at the cemetery for another scenic view of an old abandoned wooden church with a stone foundation. The boards were painted green and the window frames were painted white. The cemetery and church were raised on a hill with a beautiful backdrop of farmer’s fields and trees in full autumn colour. I found Bumble’s letterbox quickly and it was in great shape.
It was dusk so the photo didn’t come out very well, more reason for you to visit and get a better look.
