Saturday, August 15

A Nice Afternoon at Elora Gorge

This afternoon, hubby and I decided to get away from the house for a while and drive to Elora Gorge. He had never been there and I haven't been there for years...I was probably in my early 20s the last time I visited.

We entered the Conservation Area and drove to the area of the gorge. We were welcomed by this sign. "Hole in the Rock" piqued our interest, so we headed that way.
This is the path we walked along. As soon as we stepped into the trees, we could feel a change in temperature. Though it was still humid, the air was much cooler.

This is the first glimpse we had of the gorge. The water runs swiftly here but it is quite shallow.


This is the Grand River. There are rapids in the gorge and many people were swimming and tubing.
We reached "Hole in the Rock." The stairs are made of rock. Notice the tree roots on the right.

I went down the rock stairs until we came to this set of steel stairs that were very steep. I knew if I ever went down I'd have a problem getting back up because I have trouble bending and lifting my left leg. I told hubby to go on ahead.

Here he is viewing the gorge. He was down quite far, as I used the zoom on my camera to get this shot.

If you look between the branches of the trees, you can see two people tubing. They said the water was lovely.

We stopped at a lookout point and I took this photo of the gorge wall. That is the top of the trees that grow along the water. We met a family here. The lady and her family were from Toronto and her brother from India was with them. He had his photograph taken alone and I asked him why he didn't have his picture taken with the lady. She said he was her brother visiting from India. I told her that was all the more reason to have her picture taken with him. Then the father asked if I would take a photo of the entire family. They were very nice and I was happy to oblige.

By this time the area was getting a little humid and after walking up several knolls, we headed back to the parking lot. It was a nice walk and we took our time. It was far too hot to hurry. It was 31C with a humidex of 40C. That means it was 87.8 F with a humidex of 104. We were glad to get back to the van and turn on the AC.

As we left the gorge, there were many people swimming in this area. The girls in the foreground were trying to catch a frog. What a fun past time for a hot summer day.

We saw families galore camping, picnicking and enjoying time together. What great memories these people were making.
On the way home, we spotted this house. It was beautiful. I would love to have a place like this.

At the left end of the pond, there was a waterfall. Yeap, right up my alley. I know I will never own a house like this but I can dream...dreams give us hope and a goal to work toward.

I hope all my friends and readers enjoyed coming along with us this afternoon. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful area. I loved walking through the trees with you...it's so peaceful for me...the quiet, the air, the smells...I bet it was a super walk. This is one thing I just love to do. Walk. You miss so much when you drive all the time....there's a lot of ground to cover by walking. Gorgeous photos.

    Now, you can dream Mary, but to me that house looks like too much upkeep. Of course, owning a home like that you'd have hired help I'm sure. LOL

    Have a super day my friend. And yes...I remembered your iris planting advice and heeded.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a lovely day trip. You have so many wonderful places close by. I'm glad you got a chance to cool off a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You were a real trooper to go out and about on this hot, humid day. You got some very good pictures. It is hard to get good pictures because of the steep cliffs and dark shadows they make. I imagine the water is higher than average for this time of year. I really like the town of Elora too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks like such a pretty place. I would love to walk there with you. I like the house too, but like Anni said - I don't want to clean it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well Mary, it's obvious we live in close proximity to each other. I've been to the Elora Gorge many times though not since I moved west of Kitchener...my ex husband had a terrible accident in that swimming pond that left him paralyzed for a week, fractured vertibrae and cracked spinal column...

    I'm longing to know where you live now! I'm out near Stratford way...

    Breeze
    but the beauty of the gorge is unparallelled in this part of the province. I love it there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was a great post and a lovely day for you and your hubby!

    Hope all is well and that you have a great week ahead!

    Love, Jess

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was there once or twice back in 69 and/or 70. Then again in 1987 when we stopped there on a field trip and I feared that a student who managed to get drunk would come to harm. He didn't, but I just about had a fit.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a delightful trip for our imaginations! Thanks again for sharing your adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It looks like a lovely spot to visit.
    It is just too hot to do anything like that here, right now. We sat outside for a little while yesterday afternoon late. No breeze was blowing and it didn't take long for me to start sweating.
    I suppose you can feel the result of all that exercise this morning.
    Mama Bear

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, I am impressed with you girl. I have a tendency to be a house kitty when the humidity is that bad. I would rather take that stroll in the fall. But I am sure you had loads of fun even if you were glistening. Peace

    ReplyDelete
  11. You have some really beautiful places to visit up your way!! That was so pretty! Sounds like it was hot but you seemed to enjoy it any way!
    By the way you take good pictures! Hugs Grams

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely trip this sounded like, Mary! I love exploring places like that, too!

    And you're right...it's wonderful to dream. I do that a lot! :)

    I just finally posted about the camping trip- the good, the bad, and the ugly! lol

    Hugs,
    ~Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. That is another of the things I miss about Ontario. All the places a person can visit for the day.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've never been to the Elora Gorge but now you've peaked my interest:-) That "hole in the rock" looks so fascinating!! Isn't it unbelievable how hot it's been? I swear I sweated off quite a few pounds while walking around in NF! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a great afternoon with your man. I love when Keith and I get a chance to go and do some sight seeing.
    We had a little outdoor time this weekend...it was lovely and cool and we wished we had brought the tent. I certainly did not miss the heat or the humidity of back home.
    Glad you were able to get out an enjoy the surrounding area.
    And don't give up hope on that house....He is building a mansion for you in heaven and it is not finished yet....maybe He'll give it a waterfall. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful and interesting trip-my girls would love to explore there. Glad you had a good time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think dreams are good if you are perfectly content if they never come true. Beautiful hike!!!

    ReplyDelete