Spring is finally coming!

After a long drawn out cold winter, spring is finally coming. Being stuck inside and starting a new job (that I absolutely love!) my NEED for going out on the trails keeps growing and growing.

With WalkCK we have our new schedule out and a lot of them are brand new trails! I can't wait to take our now 5 year old 3 year old on the trails and pre-walks!

I have heard such encouraging things about this blog and have seen it popping over on Facebook and I am blown away by the support of it. It has motivated me to try and be a better 'blogger' and for the personal reason of why I started to write, to try to keep these memories written of our little family to look back on.

Thank you for the support on this blog and with WalkCK!
Stay tuned!

Ridgetown T.R.E.E.S. Trail- Summer Edition

With the next WalkCK walking event being this Saturday at the Ridgetown T.R.E.E.S. I was inspired to go sneak a peak of what to expect from this trail in the summer compared to our winter hike we had here a few months back.


T.R.E.E.S. has such a wonderful warm welcome to anyone entering the trail with the sign within the trees and flowers in a rock garden. It seemed like a whole other trail then the one we visited in the winter with all the trees in full bloom, and the fact we could actually see the trail itself.
 

Since it was a beautiful summer day I packed a little picnic for us all. Our oldest son's job was then to find the perfect spot for our picnic. We had a lovely sit down while we enjoyed the songs of the local songbirds with the sun shining through the trees. The boys improvised a small game of hide-and-go-seek with my hubby, while I cleaned up our picnics and then away we went to continue our walk.


As the weather made it much easier to walk the trail than all the snow did on our last trek, we were able to go explore the areas we were unable to do before. I was unaware until I started to research this trail for WalkCK, that there is actually four different Eco-systems in this trail.

There seemed to be many ways you could lengthen or shorten your walk depending on your time or ambition. We were there for about an hour, and loved every minute. There was so many butterflies that kept us all entertained to watch flutter all around us from flower to flower. There was a diverse amount of plants, trees, and flowers all around to attract them all as well as birds.

The T.R.E.E.S. trail is full of so many beautiful spots and interesting things to look at. You could probably spend a good couple of hours, if not more, walking around and just enjoying every view. I can't wait to go back on Saturday with our guide who will certainly fill in a lot of questions and interesting facts on the ecosystems and the development of this trail.

This is definitely a trail you will want to check out if you are in the area, or if you even just have a free day for a drive to Ridgetown. Our boys loved it as much as we did and we will all definitely be back throughout the year.

A Canoe Trip in Wallaceburg

A couple of days ago I finally got to take care of my craving of having, almost needing, to go in the canoe. Canoeing is just part of my life, and something I have been doing for most of it. I don't think there was ever a time I was "too young" to be in a canoe, and I remember vividly being out on rivers with my brothers as young teens (though watched from the shoreline) as we figured out the ropes on how to paddle and fighting over who got to sit in the back and steer. Looking back this was probably a good team building sibling activity. Well played parents.

We took our 4.5 year old out for the first time when he was 18months old. He loved it. Due to some health reasons in the family and for some other reasons (possibly second child syndrome) we were unable to take the 2.5 year old out last summer, so I definitely wanted to make sure we took him out this year.

We went to my parents house who have and store the canoes and with the help of my dad got the canoe on top of his car and tied safely to take it over to Corothers park in Wallaceburg. They have a really nice little dock there that made it easy to get the canoe and ourselves in. Our oldest was super stoked to try out his new life jacket as he grew out of his old one just in time for little brother to take it over. I was sure the youngest, who some would consider him as our carefree, wild child was not going to like the canoe as he would have to sit still, but to my surprise he ended up loving it!

 My dad sat in the front, and the boys were in the middle with their own paddle, and I was steering the canoe in the back, while making sure the boys didn't get too excited and dump us all over board. We only had to do one rescue mission for a dropped paddle, so that was pretty good! The boys were excited to see many duck families on the river, a turtle, and lots of birds as well. The lily-pads were all out with the water lilies in bloom, and the water with a beautiful greenish tone made for a beautiful landscape. We had a couple of boats slowly go by us which the boys thought were awesome as it meant we got to go on little waves. We made it out for 20 minutes before the 2 year old started to get a bit fidgety as he was starting to fall asleep and would catch himself, then try to move around to wake himself back up. All together we spent 40 minutes with a 4 year old and 2 year old in a canoe, and I would call that pretty successful. They are already excited for the next time we get out there.

After dropping them off to my parents who took them to the play equipment in Corother's park, I took my hubby out for a ride on the canoe. He didn't start canoeing until we started dating and I love sharing my love of being in a canoe with him. We went the opposite way, and also saw the same wildlife, and met some friendly 'neighbours' in their backyard ready with a greeting and a wave. We were out for about an hour there (wherever 'there' was) and back. Then it was time to pack it all up and head back home.

I genuinely believe you can't go wrong canoeing anywhere in Chatham-Kent. I wish it was a bigger deal around here so we could have more people (especially young people) experience a canoe ride. I can already picture our boys our in the river having the battle of wills of who gets to steer, and finally figuring out a system that works for them both just as I did with my brothers. I am going to remember that team sibling building experience, thanks Mom and Dad!

WalkCK's Dresden Trillium Trail Historical Walk

This past weekend, WalkCK hosted a group led walk at the Dresden Trillium Trail. This walk was one of the walks I was looking most forward to. I have always been a history lover. I can tell you much about Renaissance Italy, or England from 1400 to present, and Canadian History, but when it comes to local history I know only the basics. The Trillium Trail will have you walking past 53 historical sites which include 22 plaques which have corresponding pictures of the key figures and industries that helped shape Dresden from 1820 to 1920.

When everyone arrived for the walk to begin at 10:00am, we had enough people so we could split the group into two different groups each led by a local person who helped develop the trail. One group went with Lynda Weese who was able to give a great tour of the horticulture seen along the Trillium, while the other was led by local historian Marie Carter for a more historical based tour.

While I heard many wonderful things about the horticultural tour, I happened to be in the group led by Marie Carter and got some amazing insight to the history of Dresden. We started at the plaque that showed where Rev. Josiah Henson’s house (“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”) actually sat originally. From there we went along the famous and once sought after “Hughes Street” which is a street with beautiful houses and some intriguing stories to go with them. We saw a house that John A. MacDonald might have stayed at when he came to visit a good friend who lived in Dresden during his last campaign tour, stories of forbidden love, and just interesting facts of architecture and the first families like the McVean’s that settled in Dresden.

 We stopped at a spot where there was nothing but some trees in front of the river and grass to find out that this spot is where the old train station once was in 1883. Upon closer inspection of the road you could see the middle of it was a lighter colour. The lighter colour was due to the fact that the road was made over top of the train tracks, so you can still see the outline.

We passed by many more interesting houses some that dated back to the mid to late 1800s and the stories that came with them were amazing. As we reached Rotary Park there were many new trees that have been planted through the past few years. For someone like me who, while appreciates the surrounding nature, but has difficulty putting a name on it, I loved the fact that names labelled the trees. I believe they planted trees that would have been native to the Dresden area when settlement was first taking place. 

Part of the trail had cement bricks in the ground we were essentially walking on, and a bit further up there was part of a wall standing. Walking by it would be seem pretty insignificant, however, learning it was remnants from a giant four floor sugar beet factory that once stood there made it much more significant.

There were so many stories and different dynamics along this trail, from the Underground Railroad to the industries of Dresden, I couldn’t possibly list them. Growing up in small towns all my life I always had an understanding of the importance and the impact small towns have on surrounding areas. This trail has really brought a whole new understanding and appreciation that Dresden was, and still is, such an integral part to Southern Ontario. I will end this with the lesson I learned the most during this WalkCK walk; never take anything you see on a walk for granted, history is always surrounding us and trying to tell its story.  Be aware and embrace it for what is was and how it has shaped the area you are in now.

A special thanks once again to Marie Carter and Lynda Weese for making WalkCK’s walk a memorable, entertaining, and educational walk. For anyone interested on going on the Dresden Trillium Trail you can find a self-guided tour brochure at http://www.dresden.ca/TrilliumTrail.pdf.

Part 2: McGeachy Pond (a very delayed Part 2)

Sorry for such a delay. I am still very active on the trails which is part of the problem, it leaves less time to write! 

The second walk we did that weekend was the McGeachy Pond near Erieau. It isn't a huge trail but it is definitely one worth checking out if you happen to be in the area. On one side of the trail there is a marsh and the other is the lake.

When we went winter was very much still alive, so the boys got to see the lake still partially frozen and a lot of little icebergs. The sound of the ice moving and shifting was a rather haunting sound admist that of the song birds trying to tell us spring was indeed going to come. There is a lovely lookout point you can climb up and get a great view of the trail up ahead and the lake.

You actually are quite high up on the trail with the marshland below it it gives a neat perspective. There is also places nearby for picnics which I would love to do as the summer approaches us.

Wildlife wise there was a lot of water fowl which is always neat to see. Canadian geese, swans, and all kinds of ducks call this place home.

We took a long time getting to the end of the trail since there was so much snow at the time so we sunk deep quite often, it was a good workout!

The boys had fun pretending to ski down the little slopes, but eventually our oldest got pooped and kept laying down in the snow pretending to be asleep.

All in all I would say it isn't enough to spend a day or even an afternoon at, but you can always pair it up with the Erieau Marsh Trail or a short stop on the way to the beach. It was a really neat trail and it was nice to be so close to the lake at the same time as the marsh!

Two Walks in One Weekend: Trillium Trail, Dresden

The second walk we took last weekend was the Trillium Trail in Dresden ON. This is another walk on the WalkCK schedule, and one I haven't been on yet. I have a huge passion for history, and this is a historic walk. There is a little brochure you can print off that details all of the historical points of interest. That brochure can be found here.

For this trek the boys and I met up with my dad while hubby was playing in a church (also in Dresden). We met at the start of the trail and with the brochure in hand, we started. By started, I mean  the boys ran to the swings, my dad walked off to look at the river, and I was trying to pull my invisible leashes on all of them to start the trail. But that is the nice parts about trail walking, there really isn't a rush. However, that cold, damp air sure showed me that we wouldn't be able to last too long.

 We all caught up to my dad to look at the river. Both the boys found big sticks to joust and drag around with and we were ready to go on the actual trail! Then, the two year old b-lined it to the park that was nearby. The four year old tried to chase him to turn him back around, then realized what he was about to do, so he quickly changed his priorities and beat his brother to the park. The boys had a few (wet) slides, and then we were actually on our way!

We came across a couple of plaques at the beginning. I love reading plaques!  They also helped to keep the boys focused by 'racing' them to the next plaque. Win-win!

Further on, we noticed a little wall of bricks. As I was wondering what they used to belong to, my dad said he had a feeling I should look up number 9 on the brochure. As I was amazed and confused about where he got 9 from, I then saw the little post with the number 9 on it. Well played Dad. The brochure said "Martha & Sarah Burket’s Grocery Store operated here c. 1860." So nice to get answers to those questions of "I wonder what that was for?".

As we strolled along we got to see a couple of signs of nature as this long winter ends. We got to see a woodpecker and a rabbit rather up close. Nothing overly exciting or exotic, but still always neat to see birds and animals on the trails.
 
We had to cut the walk short due to cold weather (and the fact my husband was done and waiting for us at the coffee shop), but I am so excited to take this trail with WalkCK on  21 June, 2014 and see it all!

I knew I would love this trail on location alone, with tall mature trees, and a river along the way, you just have to, but with the added plaques and history you also get a deeper connection and appreciation to the area, and the people who once lived here.

Two walks in One Weekend: McKerral Woodlot, Old Chatham Township

   The McKerral Woodlot is just a place I have recently heard of thanks to the development of WalkCK. There is a guided nature walk that will be taking place here on May 10, so I thought it would be neat to check it out ourselves first. On Saturday morning we had some time between getting up and ready and a hair appointment for myself so we set out to McKerral Woodlot for a quick walk.

   When we got there we could see it would be a short walk from the road where we parked to the actual woodlot. As we started the walk we soon realized it was going to take a lot longer than we first imagined. What looked like a little snow on the wet muddy field was actually over a foot of snow. This meant that our options for walking was either the muddy field or falling through the snow up to our knees every few steps.

  As we got closer to the woodlot we could hear the odd 'moo'. These were rather hilarious and frightening moments every time we heard it, as this woodlot was surrounded by farms, and we were starting to wonder if there could be cows in the woodlot, and if so what do we do? We are by no means "city folk" but we are obviously not "country folk" either.

   By the time we got to the woodlot it was about 20 minutes later. Hubby went ahead to assure me there were no cows to be seen however, neither was there any trail.

    I am assuming there probably was a walkway of some sort but there was a lot of leaves on the ground and swampy areas so it was hard to get around that day. There were a couple of signs of spring coming which was very promising to see and hear on yet another cold day. We could see some green between the leaves on the ground starting to grow, and the sound of songbirds could be heard throughout the woodlot. The boys had a blast exploring the area, and climbing over and under the logs.

    We had to head back rather shortly after we got there knowing the walk back through the field would take a while once again. We ended up leaving the woodlot a slightly different way from where we entered it, this was a much more muddy way. The boys thought it was just so much fun to get so muddy! They were pretty pooped by the end, the 2 year old hitched a ride on his dad's shoulders and the 4 yr old kept falling and laying down on the snow pretending he was asleep.



 Getting to the car was like a reward where we could get the muddy boots and coats off and crank up the heat to warm up. We drove off with our oldest telling us this was his "...most favourite hike so far!" I can't wait to go again when it gets a bit warmer so there is less snow to trudge through, and definitely more time to explore!