Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jog
Well, Heather and I had an amazing trip to Bon Echo (although, no doubt, not as amazing as the raging party I missed this weekend at Jenny and Val's House of debauchery!)
The park is very cool. It originates with an American couple in 1898, who came to the area on their honeymoon. They feel in love with the lake and the huge stone cliffs, and within a year, built a chic resort called the Bon Echo Inn. Eventually they turned it over to Merrill Dennison, a hard core liberal lady, huge in the Canadian feminist movement, and a follower of Walt Whitman. Dennison kept the structure, but revamped the atmosphere, making it into a haven for writers and artists like the Group of Seven. In 1936 the whole place burnt to the ground when lightning struck the main cabin, save two guest houses off to the side (which are now the visitors centres).
To top it off, the stone cliffs are amazing. The whole park looks onto these 100 meter high, 1km wide cliff ledges that rise straight up out of the water at 90 degrees. Not only that, but all along the bottom, in between the lichen and cedar trees growing from the rock (for real, and one of the trees in the rock has been tested and is OVER 975 YEARS OLD!), are 2000 year old Aboriginal pictorgraphs. Very neat. There's also a huge carved monument on one particular rock face, dedicated to the impact Walt had on Merrill's life. We took a guided boat tour of the whole thing, rented a canoe and paddled the lake, and hiked the 1.5km trail to the top of the rock. Oh so fun.
There was so much history, and so much story... I just loved it! (hard to tell, huh?Am I boring you with my vacation stories yet? If not, joy of joy's, here are some of my pictures--highlights of the weekend!)
THE VIEW FROM OUR CANOE
PICTOGRAPH OF THE WATER SPIRIT
WALT WITMAN INSCRIPTION
HEATHER AND "TURTLE ROCK" (PAINTED BY THE GROUP OF SEVEN)
THE VIEW OF THE PARK FROM UP TOP
Man, I wish you all could have been there.
So... what's new, pussycats?
4 comments:
Oh, hey, first post. Woo hoo! Normally much more eager bloggers have gotten to this before me.
Your vacation photos look amazing Amanda. They're actually making me a little homesick for Ontario summers (I support your homesickness Jenny! And I'm not even really from there! But I spent summers there as a kid, so that counts, right?).
M
(blush)
um, so I booked my flight back to Edmonton... 7:00pm on September 2nd. i can't believe how quickly this summer has gone. guys... this time next year i will be a grown up... sigh.
And I think you may rest assured that they will be carding you for many a long year, Amanda. THe pictures are very good and the scenery beautiful. How were the bugs? Are parks in the East over crowded? THey tend to be like big forested malls out here.
September second, eh? That makes it 16 days until your return to the flatlands, or the land directly West of the flatlands. Don't forget, Alberta has it all! gag.
Warren
I'm still here! I'm still here. And yes, pitch a tent is a funny cliche... You're not alone, Val!
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