Jones Falls Lockstation

A few months back we took a small road trip looking for locks along the Rideau Canal. It wasn't long before we stumbled upon the Jones Falls Lockstation. The road off the highway was inconspicous, and the parking lot modest. There was a small nature trail leading up to the Stone Arch Dam, although we had no idea how long the trail was or if it was going anywhere. 

Coming around the bend, the dam appeared most unexpectedly. We were already at the top of the tall dam, looking downward to the base below - densely covered by trees and brush. It was incredibly impressive, and worth the trip alone, but we continued past to the actual locks. If you look at the map below, we came in at marker 12, then advanced our way down to number one. On the way out, we saw our mistake and pledged to visit the main entrance next time.

The arch dam itself is 60 feet high and 350 feet across, and there are four locks on site. Work on the entire project began in 1827 and completed in 1832. I can't help but marvel at the engineering and work that must have gone into this - of course it was difficult and hard to imagine such a project taking place so long ago, and the same could be said for any of these older projects. The fact that it's all still standing and in operation is a testament to the passion that was put into the construction. I knew that once we saw this dam and the time period it was made, that it's a hidden gem among all of Canada, and made me quite proud to be part of the country and standing on site.

I only took a few photos - my only camera was my iPhone 4. With a bit more preparation next time, it would be easy to spend more time and watch the boats go through the locks, and have lunch at the Hotel Kenney. There's a lot of history to be uncovered, and it's not that far from home.

I would highly recommend checking out these links to learn more about the locks, and Jones Falls in particular.

Parks Canada - Jones Falls Lockstation The source and description of each point of interest marked on the map in this post.

Parks Canada - History of Jones Falls
Rideau-Info - Guide to the Locks
Wikipedia - Jones Falls Dam

Another Outing in Urban Exploration

While this trip was not nearly as organized as our first outing last year, we still managed to visit quite a few interesting places. I have to say I'm impressed with our skills: we just took a vague description of the abandoned facility and very unclear directions as where they could be - and found them. Keep in mind, we have GPS capabilities but can't really use them. You can't pop in the address of an abandoned facility and be expected to have your hand held to the destination. No, you need to look at maps. It's off a road off of highway 28? Where is that? GPS can't really help. So, we get to the general area where say - an abandoned house - is and where do you go from there? It takes a keen eye to see through thick brush and around trees and spot the roofline or boarded up windows that mark our real destination.

Thankfully we had it all together the other weekend and not only found a few places, but were able to go inside. Below are a few images of our adventure, and a slideshow of the full gallery (click on the slideshow to get the full deal).

Killarney 2009

A handful of images from our camping trip to Killarney a few years back. My personal favourite is on top!

Arrowhead Photos

Just a few nature photos from a trip to Arrowhead back in 2009.

Click on the slideshow above to be taken to the full gallery (seven photos).

Photography in Motion

One of the things I always wanted to try out was some motion in photos, and this past summer I had an opportunity when I tagged along with my sister and niece to Canada's Wonderland. The goal of this type of shot (there must be a term for it, but I'm terrible, and don't have it) is to capture your subject in focus, while their surroundings are blurred, showing that they are, in fact, moving.

Alright, enough with the clumsy description!

First Outing in Urban Exploration

We went exploring some abandoned structures a few weeks ago, here is a small photo gallery of the adventure: Abandoned Durham A couple of the images are below, but click on the link for the full gallery; and more offline if you are interested.

Grain Elevator in Pontypool - that's right, from the movie!