Eh! It's rochrox yet again bringing you another action-packed issue of "Eh! The Canada Column". As you all know summer is finally here, so it's time for one thing: a road trip! And where else would Eh! take you on a road trip but around Canada? Excatly! No where but around Canada.
This summer is dedicated to exploring each and every exciting place Canada has to offer. Each issue will feature a new destination, so we better get started! We'll be starting our adventure quest in Ontario, my home province. We'll be traveling to Toronto, the province's capital, as well as Niagara Falls, Bruce County and Thunder Bay. Coming along with us for the ride is my brother, Caleb, aka Aqw22222.
Let me start off my telling you that I'm probably not the best person to go on a road trip with. That's because, well, I can barely find my way from one end of town to the other! I'll try to make sense of this map though. Here's the route we've planned.
rochrox: Our first stop is in Niagara Falls, Ontario. So, what is Niagara Falls famous for?
Aqw22222: Uhh, the falls?
rochrox: Exactly! Canada has an amazing view of Niagara Falls. Here's a picture we snapped last summer
Aqw22222: Don't you mean the picture I snapped last summer?
rochrox: =P
Aqw22222: Let's take a tour behind the falls. I love those yellow ponchos.
Aqw22222: There's a series of tunnels that run behind Horseshoe Falls. It's so loud from all the water rushing over the falls!
rochrox: Now for some info on the falls. Niagara Falls was created after the last ice age, when the glaciers receded, and was "carved" out by the Great Lakes, trying to get to the Atlantic Ocean. The Falls produce a lot of electricity for Ontario and New York. Niagara Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America. Because of the water tumbling over the falls, about 36cm of erosion occurs every ten years! 16 people have attempted jumping off the falls in wooden barrels. Surprisingly, 10 survived! However, it is now illegal to attempt such a jump, so we don't recommend that you try ;)
rochrox: Now we're headed off to one of Ontario's capital city, Toronto. Toronto is the biggest city in Ontario by population!
Aqw22222: And Toronto is constantly expanding. More people are moving in, and the city is literally stretching out! Many communities on the outskirts of Toronto are now part of the GTA - Greater Toronto Area.
rochrox: Right now we're on Younge Street - one of the longest streets in the world, and one of the first streets constructed in Canada. Younge Street is home to every kind of store you can think of, as well as offices, hotels, and my favorite mall, the Eaton Centre.
Aqw22222: It sounds like Toronto is pretty famous. A ton of people live there, the city is huge, and it sounds like it was one of the first Canadian cities people industrialized, so why isn't Toronto Canada's capital city?
rochrox: Actually, many people believe Toronto is Canada's capital! Way back when Queen Victoria was choosing Canada's capital, Toronto, originally called York, was one of the cities being considered. However, York was just too close the the US - Canada Border, and defense was a very important quality for a nation's capital.
Aqw22222: So she chose Ottawa, ya, I think most of us know this story off my heart now ;)
rochrox: :P
Aqw22222: Personally, I like the name Toronto a lot better than York.
rochrox: Me too. The name Toronto actually come from the Mohawk word Tkaronto, which means "where trees are standing in the water". After a while, the pronunciation changed to Taronto, and finally, Toronto.
Aqw22222: Or as some tourists would say, "Taranna" =P
rochrox: Hahaha. I think it's safe to say that most people here have heard about the CN tower? The CN tower is the world's tallest, free-standing structure on land.
Aqw22222: Looking down from the world's highest public observation deck is an amazing view of the city!
rochrox: Have you ever wondered what the CN in the CN tower stands for? It's an abbreviation for Canada's National Tower. The names fits too, since over 2 million international tourist come to visit each year!
Aqw22222: I think I've had enough big city for one day. Let's move on to one of my favorite places to explore in Ontario - Bruce County.
rochrox: But before we explore, let's talk a little about power.
Aqw22222: Power? Oh! Electricity!
rochrox: That's right. Bruce County, A.K.A "The Bruce" produces a lot of energy for Ontario. There's the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant, and dozens of wind turbines.
rochrox: Some cities you might have heard of from the Bruce are Tobermory, Kincardine, Port Elgin, and Southhampton. But we aren't going to visit any of these places today. We're going a little bit off the beaten path to show you our favorite adventure stops in Bruce County.
Aqw22222: Our first stop is MacGregor Point Provincial Park. Once inside the park, you need to hike through the forest to reach the viewing tower. I hope you brought your hiking boots...
rochrox: At last we've made it to the viewing tower! But the view is well worth the hike.
rochrox: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, and let's move on to Schmidt Lake, one of Bruce's best kept secrets.
Aqw22222: To find Schmidt Lake, you need a car and a little bit of patience.
rochrox: After following a long gravel road, you come to small wooded area, which you must hike through.
rochrox: Finally, you come to a small dock, where you can see Schmidt Lake.
Aqw22222: But we don't want to take the fun of exploring away from you! We're headed off to Thunder Bay now, so strap on your seat belts, because we'll be driving for the next 17 hours! Oh, the wheels on the bus go round and round.
rochrox: Lucky for you, 17 hours just flies by on our road trips ;) Oh look, we've arrived!
Aqw22222: One of the most famous attractions of Thunder Bay is the Sleeping Giant.
rochrox: This giant, natural rock formation actually looks like a sleeping giant!
rochrox: I'm afraid that the Sleeping Giant concludes our road trip for today.
Aqw22222: It was a lot of fun exploring Ontario with you!
rochrox: Keep watching the Times for the next exciting road trip, with a new special guest!
Aqw22222: This has been Aqw22222,
rochrox: and rochrox,
Aqw22222: signing off,
rochrox: and going to get more gas!
