The Cheltenham Badlands

       Recently, we visited what is known as the Cheltenham Badlands where Medina shale, a red and green sediment is quite pronounced here. This type of landscape is expected in the Alberta Badlands where years of water and wind erosion have worn through layers of shale, leaving a barren landscape, but not in Ontario.
       Once, the area was covered with a forest and soil. But settlers moved in, cleared the land and allowed cattle to graze here. Erosion occurred, exposing the hard surface beneath, where nothing would grow. However, the rolling hills contained the ingredients for brickmaking, resulting in the villages of Terra Cotta and Cheltenham brickyards to spring up. Brickmaking was no longer needed, and so the villages no longer prospered. Terra Cotta has become a small residential community, but Cheltenham only contains remnants of the kilns.
       The badlands are worth a visit. They are located beside Old Baseline Road between Highway 10 and Mississauga Road. In 1999, the Ontario government acquired ownership and transferred it to the Ontario Heritage Foundation. It has become part of the Bruce Trail Association.

Orangeville Tree Carvings

       We recently visited Orangeville to see the tree carvings that are in the town. Maple trees were planted throughout the town and for awhile, they grew quite well. However, because of pollution from passing trucks and old age as well, they began to die off.
       The town's mayor in 2002, Drew Brown had returned from visiting Truro Nova Scotia where he noticed tree trunks in town carved into historical figures. When he returned to Orangeville, he hired 17 renowned carvers to do the same for the maples in his town. They were cut down to 3 to 4 metres high.
       The tree trunks were turned into eagles, Indians, dancers, fiddlers, animals and tree spirits. The last one, the spirits is the main subject of the carver Colin Partridge. In all, there are over 50 sculptures in town with more being added as well.
       It is worth a trip to Orangeville to see these carvings. They are a work of art and a great way to preserve the maples. Travel up highway 410 to get there and grab a brochure from the library for the location of the carvings.
       Check out the photos below for a sample of them and below the photos, click on the link to my Pinterest page for many more.

http://www.pinterest.com/canuck120950/wood-carvings-orangeville

The Dutch Chapel The Pillars of the Scarborough Bluffs

       On our trip to Scarborough recently, we visited the Scarborough Bluffs. I had heard of the bluffs many times but had never been there. They are 20 kilometres long and up to 100 metres high. More than 70,000 years ago, there was a pre-glacial torrent greater than the St. Lawrence that poured into a great lake, depositing an extensive delta.
       Then, the ice age came, depositing more boulder clay on top of the delta. As the ice melted away, the delta was exposed. Wind, water and frost started to erode away the southern face. Because of alternating layers of sand and clay, a series of buttresses similar to architecture found in medieval European chapels, and geologists have named the area the Dutch Chapel.
       As you can see from the photographs below, the area is worth a visit. It is very scenic here, and overlooks Bluffers Park where beaches, restaurants, and a marina are located. The best place to view the chapel is at the foot of Midland Avenue in Scarborough.

The Guild Inn's Garden of Ruins

       Recently, we travelled to Scarborough in Toronto to visit the Guild Inn. The inn itself is in need of repairs and is in fact fenced off so that you can't see inside. It was originally built in 1914 by General Harold C. Bickford and the house was called Ranelagh Park.
       In 1932, Rosa and Spencer Clark bought the house and its 162 hectares of property and established the Guild of All Arts to help artists get through the Depression years by supplying them with a place to do their crafts.
       The guild grew and the house was expanded until it became known as a resort called The Guild Inn. The inn is not much to look at today because of its state of decay. What is impressive is the actual grounds themselves. In 1947, the couple became concerned with the fact that many of Toronto's heritage buildings were being demolished. To preserve some of  the city's history, they purchased several remnants from these buildings and placed them in a formal garden setting upon the property.
       There are sixty or more pieces of  Toronto history now in the gardens. The most impressive is in the first photograph below. It is called the Greek Theatre which was built in 1981 and consists of 8 of the original 21 Corinthian capitals and columns from the Bank of Toronto built in 1912 and torn down in 1966.
        In 1978 the gardens were taken over by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.This is a great place to visit, especially for anyone interested in part of Toronto's architectural past. The gardens are located on Guildwood Parkway, south of Kingston Road.