Couchiching Beach Park

At the beginning of May, a friend drove me up to Orillia for a short visit in beautiful sunshine. The trees had only barely begun to open their leaf buds.

This 14.5 acre park is located in the City of Orillia, Ontario, 80 miles / 129 kilometres north of Toronto on the west side of Couchiching Lake. It has a swimming beach, flower gardens, band shelter, picnic tables, fishing, trails/pathways, 66 benches, outdoor skating rink in winter and includes the town dock.

East of the lake in the next photo on the green shore line is Casino Rama.

Couchiching is from the Ojibwe word gojijiing meaning “inlet” and is separated from Lake Simcoe to the south by a narrow channel.

The area was first mapped by Samuel de Champlain between 1613 and 1615.

For those interested, I had previously posted historical articles on Samuel de Champlain:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.


Photo Credits: bemartin (C)2015.

Research:
http://www.orillia.ca/en/livinginorillia/communityparks.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Couchiching
http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/eras/2%20worlds%20meet/champlain/Champlain.html

Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park, British Columbia provides picturesque scenery for any photographer. Lake O'Hara is across the Continental Divide from Lake Louise, and one of my favourite locations for vacation.

Photo Credit: swisscan CC=nc-sa-flickr. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

Is It Time For A Vacation Yet?

[1-Kinney Lake]

This photo is of Kinney Lake in Mt Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia taken near the Berg Lake Trail at approximately the 7 km mark. The upper portion of the Berg Lake Trail is the Snowbird Pass Trail, a place I would dearly love to go to but am currently unfit for such an undertaking.

Now that mid-February has arrived it is time to start thinking of locations for summer vacations, and my thoughts immediately transcend to the Rockies...of where I might like to go for a week or two.


[2-Mt. Norquay and Bow River]

Of course, there is always the town of Banff nestled just inside the Rocky Mountains with many local sights to visit with mimimal exercise required. An easier hike is the trail up to what used to be the old fire tower on Tunnel Mountain.

Contemplation is half the fun.

Photo Credits: [1]-Alaskan Dude CC=flickr; [2]-Satoru Kikuchi CC=flickr. Click to enlarge.

Reflecting on summer days

Although I have posted this photo before, I have been thinking of summer this past week after enduring some nasty frigid weather via a drafty window. This looks a perfect place to sit a spell and contemplate nature at temperatures a bit more to my liking.

Photo Credit: Herbert Lake on the Icefields Parkway by appaloosa CC=nc-nd-flickr. Click to enlarge.