COLLINGWOOD TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO WITH STOPS AT EUGENIA FALLS AND HOGG'S FALLS ALONG THE WAY

 I TOOK THIS PHOTO ON HIGHWAY 4 NEAR THE ROAD TO HOGG'S FALLS EAST OF FLESHERTON ONTARIO

This is my Thursday October 6th post......Blogger has fixed the problem.  Also included is today's Friday post at the end.

I didn't even consider trying to sleep in the bed again so with a couple pillows for support I was back on the short couch for the night.  Not the best sleep but better than the night before when I experienced so much pain in my left arm.  

 THIS PHOTO OF THE CONDO BLOCK WHERE WE STAYED WAS TAKEN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WHILE OUT FOR A WALK WITH THE PHEEBS

 IN THE CONDO

We were both surprised to see it raining this morning when we got up.  Didn't think that was predicted to start happening until this afternoon.  We had everything packed up by 9 a.m. and luckily the rain had stopped to let us do that.  Deciding on a different route home we headed south from the condo and picked up Blue Mountain Road which took us up and over Blue Mountain heading us in a westerly direction through the beautiful Beaver Valley.  The Autumn leaves were really showing off their colors this morning despite the cloudy overcast.  South of Kimberly Ontario, we spotted the downhill ski runs of the former Talisman ski resort now home to the Beaver Valley Ski Club.  It was here when it was called Talisman that two good friends of mine brought me for my very first downhill ski adventure back in the early nineties.  And it was also here along the top of the ski runs where Kelly and I and about a dozen other people embarked on a weekend backpacking trek through a rocky terrain forest.  I think it was in late September and we all slept in our tents in the bush.  By the time we finally made it back to our cars Kelly and I already knew that that was not something either one of us would be interested in doing again.  Continuing our journey home this morning we next came to the little hamlet of Eugenia where we knew the existence of a waterfall to be.  And it was of course called Eugenia Falls.

OUR LAST VIEW OF GEORGIAN BAY THURSDAY MORNING AS WE HEAD INLAND

TRAVELING THROUGH THE BEAVER VALLEY

 OUR FIRST STOP IS EUGENIA FALLS

 STANDING AT THE BRINK OF THE FALLS

 IT'S A LONG WAY TO THE BOTTOM

 WE FOLLOWED THIS STONE WALL SOUTH HOPING FOR A BETTER VIEW OF THE FALLS

 HEADING BACK TO THE CAR

From Eugenia Falls it was only eight minutes to another waterfall down the road called Hogg's Falls so we stopped there as well.

 HEADING TO HOGG'S FALLS

 ARRIVING AT HOGG'S FALLS

PHEEBS DOUBLE-CHECKS THE SIGN TO MAKE SURE WE ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

 AHEAD WE CAN HEAR THE SOUNDS OF WATER FALLING

 AND HERE IS HOGG'S FALLS

HEY, THERE IS SOMEBODY IN THE RIVER DOWN THERE

AN OLD AND BROKEN CONCRETE DAM ONCE HELD WATER BACK HERE

 KELLY TAKES A PICTURE OF PHEEBS AND I BY THE WATER'S EDGE

Hogg's Falls was the last stop on our way home with the exception of picking up a couple Tim Horton coffees to go in Durham Ontario.  We rolled into our driveway at 1:30 this afternoon and didn't waste any time unloading the car.  It was imperative we do that while we still had some energy left.  The Subaru made it to Collingwood and back without any problems and it did so on less than one tank of gas.  We drove a total of 361 miles and Subies onboard computer says she still has 149 miles worth of gas left in her tank.  I don't think I have got that kind of gas mileage out of a vehicle since I had a little Honda Civic one time back in the early to mid-eighties.

 HERE COMES OUR COFFEE TO GO

We enjoyed our four-day getaway and we were able to see and do a few of the things we had set out to do.  A big thank you to Kelly's son Ben for letting us stay at his great North Creek Condo for a few days.  That little break in our daily home life routine was far overdue and we really appreciated Ben giving us the opportunity to take a break.  Pheebs too:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   The young couple invited their aged parson for Sunday dinner.  While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having.  "Goat," the little boy replied.  "Goat?" replied the startled man of the cloth, "Are you sure about that?"  "Yep," said the youngster. "I heard Pa say to Ma, 'Might as well have the old goat for dinner today as any other day."

----------------------------------

Why did Dorothy get lost in Oz? She had three men giving her directions.

----------------------------------

And below is my Friday post which will finally get me all caught up...................

The weatherman certainly has been confused these past few days.  With predictions earlier in the week of a drastic temperature drop and nasty weather Thursday we actually had the A/C on in the Subaru part of the way home.  With spatters of rain between sunny breaks this morning, Pheebs and I took a short drive into Bayfield and back.

I was sure glad to see Blogger had fixed their problem overnight so I was able to finish my Thursday post today.  Of course, I got myself a little over the top when Blogger wouldn't let me add photos but as long-time readers know, I do have a habit of getting myself all flustered when something doesn't work right.  When the lake water gets rough I am the proverbial guy in the canoe who throws the oars away, grabs the anchor, and jumps overboard with it!!:((

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Husband: Do you think our son gets all his brains from me? Wife: Probably. I still have all of mine.

----------------------------------------

Q: Why did the little Moron try and steal a police car? 

A: He saw "911" on the back and thought it was a Porsche.

------------------------------------------

 

OH-OH I HAVE A BLOGGER PROBLEM

 I wrote a post for today but I have been unable to add any photos or a cartoon at the end.  I don't know if it's an overall Blogger problem affecting everybody or if I have been throttled back by Blogger for adding too many photos to my posts,  In the number of years I have been with Blogger this is the first time this has ever happened.  So, until I am able to add photos to my words I am dead in the water here.  My photos support my words and my words support my photos.  Take either one of those two away and my blog is done.  I'll check it out in the morning and see if the problem has resolved itself...................... P.S. We are home from Collingwood now. 

MILLENIUM PARK, THE ARORETUM, AND THE SURPRISE DAZZLEMENT OF BLUE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE

 

 SPOTTED THIS MALE MALLARD DUCK ON NOTTAWASAGA BAY THIS MORNING

It's been nearly half a dozen years since I last slept in bed and not faring so well the night before on a short couch I thought I would give the bed here a try.......well, it didn't go well.  Sometime in the night, I must have rolled over on my left side.  I awakened to a pain in my whole left arm and no matter what I did I could not get my arm to move.  Had to reach over with my right arm and grasp my pajama sleeve to slowly pull my arm over across my chest.  It was only then that the pain backed off.  I have no idea what that is with my arm but I'll be glad to get home where I can once again tilt back in my recliner for a good old pain-free night's sleep.

 PHEEBS AND I WAITING FOR KELLY THIS MORNING

 THIS SWIMMING POOL IS ABOUT 20 SECONDS FROM BEN'S CONDO DOOR

 THIS LAUNDRY ROOM IS 10 SECONDS AWAY

 AND THIS MUSHROOM IS ABOUT 5 SECONDS AWAY FROM BEING TRIPPED OVER

 WE HAD ANOTHER MIGHTY NICE MORNING GOING ON

We were up and out the door again at about the same time as the day before.  Headed into Collingwood and mixed it up with the local drivers as we made our way to the first of a couple scenic stops.  Millenium Park  is right beside the huge dormant Grain Terminals that dominate Collingwood's shoreline and can be seen for miles and miles around.  Because I took way too many photos to fit into the blog again today I'm going to shorten up on the pictures tonight and will post the remaining ones after we get home and I have one of my 'no photo interest' days. 

 THE DEEP BLUE WATERS OF NOTTAWASAGA BAY AT COLLINGWOOD ONTARIO

 BLUE MOUNTAIN SKI RUNS CAN BE SEEN BEHIND THOSE APARTMENTS AND CONDOS

 MORE SKI RUNS 

 THIS OLD GRAIN TERMINAL FROM DAYS GONE BY DOMINATES COLLINGWOOD'S SHORELINE

 LAMP POST ON THE PIER

 I LIKE THIS LARGE IRON EAST-WEST-NORTH-SOUTH DIRECTION POINTER

 A QUIET MORNING IN THE HARBOR

 WE STOPPED TO HAVE A LOOK AT AN INTERESTING-LOOKING BOAT CALLED THE 'GLEN G'

 I THINK THE FURRY GNOME HAS POSTED PHOTOS OF THIS VESSEL BEFORE

 I HOPE THE CAPTAIN IS NOT TOO WIDE OF GIRTH TO FIT THROUGH THAT NARROW DOOR

 AND I ALSO HOPE THE 'WILD IRISH ROSE' DOESN'T LOSE ITS SMALLER BOAT

Our second stop of the morning was at Collingwood's Arboretum also along Georgian Bay's shoreline.  We really liked this area with its walking, hiking, and biking trails as well as a great boardwalk.  And all of it is wheelchair accessible.  A lot of time and effort has gone into this area and especially in the construction of the boardwalk.  

 THIS WIDE TRAIL RUNS RIGHT ALONG THE WATER'S EDGE

 WE WERE SURPRISED TO SEE SWANS ON THE BAY

 THIS WIDE BOARDWALK IS FOR HIKING, BIKING, AND WALKING......WHEELCHAIRS TOO

 WE STOPPED AT A PICNIC TABLE TO EAT OUR TUNA SANDWICHES.....PHEEBS TOO

Kelly's daughter and husband also have a condo here in Collingwood so we decided to let our GPS take us there for a look-see.  I had previously stated that the condo was in downtown Collingwood but I was mistaken.  It's about four miles west of the town and located right next to the Blue Mountain ski hills and not far from Kelly's son Ben's condo where we are currently staying.  And it is only steps away from what I would say was our biggest surprise of the past couple days.  We had heard the term Blue Mountain Village but thought it was just a name for another condo complex.  Wow, were we ever wrong, and imagine our surprise when we drove into and discovered a whole new Disney-like world going on right there at the foot of Blue Mountain.  I took an instant like to this place and that may have started when we parked in front of a sign that said, 'VIP Spot Reserved For Subaru Owners':))  The more we walked around this very picturesque themed little Village the more it grew on me.  To me, it has a kind of European and Latin feel to it.  Sitting outside a little patio coffee shop on this beautiful early Autumn afternoon with Latin music wafting through the air from inside I thought for sure The Girl From Ipanema was going to stroll by any minute.  Yes, I am very impressed with Collingwood's Blue Mountain Village, and yes I do like that Latin music.

 SUBARU SEEMS TO BE WELL REPRESENTED AT THE BLUE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE

SUBARU MUST SPONSOR THIS LIVE MUSIC STAGE

 FOR SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF WHO PREFERS THE QUIET COUNTRYSIDE I FOUND THIS PLACE ENJOYABLY AMAZING

 THOUGHTFUL OF THIS SHOP OWNER TO LEAVE A BOWL OF WATER OUT FOR PASSING DOGGIES

 KELLY ORDERS US UP A COUPLE COFFEES

 AND HERE THEY COME NOW

Today's 70F+ temperatures under warm sunny skies is destined to take a drastic change Thursday with temps dropping 25 degrees by midday followed by a cold rain setting in overnight for Friday.  So, with that dire weather forecast, we have decided to roll out Thursday morning and take advantage of the last nice day by motoring leisurely home along Ontario's scenic back roads.  I'm sure we will be back up this way another time.  I absolutely love the topography of this area and if we didn't live in Bayfield I'm sure we would be up here along the southern shores of Georgian Bay somewhere.  Maybe next time we can check out the Meaford area and pop in on The Furry Gnome.

 NOW HOW'S THAT FOR A HAPPY LITTLE FACE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I have been unable to sleep since I broke off our engagement.  Won't you forgive and forget? Your absence is breaking my heart.  I was a fool, nobody can take your place. I love you.  All my love,  Belinda. xxxxoooxxxx.  P.S. Congratulations on winning this week's lottery.

---------------------------------

I got really angry with my car navigation today. I even yelled at it and told it to "go to hell."  Twenty minutes later, it brought me to the front of my mother-in-law’s house.

---------------------------------