Tuesdays for Travis - Awenda Provincial Park

[1]

Awenda Provincial Park is in western Ontario located on the northern tip of the Penetanguishene Peninsula on the coast of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, about a two hours drive north of Toronto. The park occupies an area of 2,915 hectares. It is classified as a Natural Environment Park and therefore all land is protected.


[2- Giant's Tomb Island]

Giants Tomb Island has recently been added as part of the park. Recreational activities include swimming, canoeing and hiking. Geological features include the Nipissing Bluff, dropping 60 metres into Georgian Bay, and kettle lakes formed during the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the most recent ice age. The shoreline consists of a series of beaches with sand, cobble and rocks.

Bass, northern pike, pickerel and smaller panfish are commonly found in the waters between Awenda and Giant's Tomb Island.


[3]

[4]

Much of this area was logged around the beginning of the 20th century, so most of the forests here are second growth. However, the park supports a rich variety of plant and animal life, including white-tailed deer, porcupine, raccoon and squirrels. The park is home to 32 species of amphibians and reptiles. Nearly 200 different species of birds have been observed in the park.

[5- Trillium, Ontario's official flower]


In various campgrounds there are electrical hookups, flush toilets, showers, park store, and laundry facilities.




[6]




[7]


For boating enthusiasts the size of Georgian Bay provides plenty of room to explore. However, due to its size and exposed area, Georgian Bay winds can be unpredictable and quick to rise, so the use of appropriate caution is necessary.

[8- White Pine]

Huron legend tells of a God called Kitchikewana, who was large enough to guard the whole of the Georgian Bay. Kitchikewana was known for his great temper and one day, in a fit of rage over a woman who loved another, he dug a giant hand into the ground and flung the dirt he pulled up into the Great Lakes. Thus the 30 000 Islands were created. The indentations left behind by his fingers form the five bays of Georgian Bay: Midland Bay, Penetang Bay, Hog Bay, Sturgeon Bay, and Matchedash Bay.

Research: Ontario Parks, Wikipedia
Photo Credits: [1]-alexvbisme, [2]John Lindsay, [3]-F48R1C10, [4][5]-dezso, [6]-M Barberet. [7]-Richard Cleaver, [8]-pdinnen.

Tuesdays for Travis -Ogopogo and Loch Ness Monsters Meet Swedish cousin caught on surveillance video

Today's fishing post deals with a story of a different bend from the news.

On Saturday, August 30, 2008, the National Post had the following article released via the Agence France-Presse:

"The legend of the Swedish beast has swirled for nearly four centuries, with some 200 sightings reported in a lake in central Sweden. "On Thursday at 12:21 p.m. (August 28, 2008), we filmed the movements of a live being. And it is not a pike, nor a perch, we're sure of that," said Gunnar Nilsson, the head of shopkeepers association in Svenstavik. In the images filmed on Thursday and posted on a website dedicated to the Storsjoe, a long serpent-like being is seen swimming in the murky waters. "A highly advanced system on one of the cameras detected heat," indicating it was a living being, Mr. Nilsson said. The first sighting dates to 1635 and the most recent to July, 2007, with most speaking of a serpent-like beast with humps, a small cat or dog-like head, and ears or fins pressed against the neck.

Here is the weblink: http://www.storsjoodjuret.nu/ where they have the video surveillance films on the web for viewing. [Click the British flag on the upper right hand corner for translation.] On the first page in the green screen there is something unidentifiable, but looks like what may be a giant eel. I am not a marine expert. Don't take my word on it.

Check out the pages named following this link on the website's first page:

SE FLER BILDER I ARKIVET >>

where there are three other films to view, i.e. 2008-08-26, 2008-08-21 and an undated one. The film dated August 21/08 appears to have something that looks like a sturgeon, but there is a creepy thing in the murky water behind it if you watch closely.

If this turns out to be a modern plesiosaur or some creature deemed extinct it would not be the first. After all, many other modern animal groups existed during the Mesozoic Era, such as crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and various fish. Most of these groups are well represented in the fossil record leading to the present time, but some creatures, such as the Coelacanth, discovered off the coast of southern Africa in the 1960s, (critically endangered) and Tuatara, in New Zealand, considered endangered since 1895, were once thought to have been extinct for tens of millions of years, only to be later found alive and little changed in modern times.

[1-Coelacanth]





[2- Male TUATARA]





Ogopogo, similar to the Loch Ness monster in northern Scotland, resides in the Okanagan Lake in the interior of British Columbia, or so they say.

What do you think is in the video? Travis, you're the fisherman...



Photo Credits: Wikipedia

Tuesdays for Travis - Bon Echo Provincial Park

[1] This great park is half way between Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario.

Long a favourite destination for painters and photographers, this park north of Napanee is renowned for Mazinaw Rock. This 1.5-kilometre sheer rock face rises 100 metres above Mazinaw Lake, one of the deepest lakes in Ontario, and features over 260 native pictographs – the largest visible collection in Canada.


[2] The pictographs include pre-17th c. depictions of Nanabush (rabbit-eared Ojibwe mythical character) painted by Algonquian locals.


The Nanabush, also known as the Trickster, who is half spirit and half human. He is creator and spoiler, hero and clown, capable of noble deeds and gross self-indulgence. He is unpredictable, one minute inspiring awe for his creativity, the next moment provoking laughter at his foolishness.

In one story of many, Nanabush convinces all the animals that he has a new song to teach them. But in order to learn the song all the animals must sit with their backs to Nanabush. While Nanabush is singing, Owl peeks and sees what Nanabush is really doing. Owl's warning causes all the animals to flee. Rabbit is still caught in Nanabush's grip. In all the excitement, Nanabush pulls on Rabbit's ears and feet. The result is a new shape for Rabbit. Both his ears and feet are long.**

Most of the pictographs on Mazinaw (which means "painted") rock represent a result of a vision quest, ceremony or acknowledgments of spiritual assistance. As no native groups have claimed these paintings, it has been difficult to determine their meanings.


For fishing enthusiasts, lake trout, yellow pickerel, small and large mouth bass, lake whitefish and northern pike are here.



[3] Due to its location, Bon Echo offers a unique chance to see species typical of both northern and southern Ontario, such as deer, moose (photo), black bear, red fox and beaver.








Sources: greatcanadianrivers.com, ontarioparks.com
**Nanabush and the Rabbit as described by Dan King.

Photo credits: [1]-Reiver CC=nc-flickr, [2]-Goldring CC=flickr, [3]-ZaNiaC CC=nc-nd-flickr.