You don't need to buy a ticket on Richard Branson's rocket to see the world from space. Regular followers of this blog will remember that we recommend the NOAA satellite image for the Great Lakes region for following ice-out progress. These images, updated several times daily, are also a useful tool for checking on the advance of fall colours in southern Ontario. Since the colours in this image are true, green and red forest cover shows up quite clearly. Check the image for Sept. 23 and you will see that the western area of Algonquin Park is showing a lot of red tinge. This corresponds with what we can see on the ground - the colours on the west side of Algonquin Park are lovely right now, with a nice mix of brilliant red, orange, yellow and green. Peak red will happen in another week or so depending on the weather. The danger of waiting too long to see the colours is that heavy rain and/or wind can knock the leaves out of the trees.
If you haven't looked at the NOAA satellite images before, here are a few tips. When the image first opens on your screen, you will find that you are looking at the upper left-hand corner, somewhere near Thunder Bay. Scroll to the right and down until you can recognize Georgian Bay, then go right (east) and look for familiar landforms and lakes of the Algonquin Park area. Bigger lakes like Opeongo, Cedar and Burnt Island are easily distinguishable. If you look carefully, you can even make out the thin line of Hwy 60 stretching across the region.
For a second opinion, and an overview of the fall colour situation throughout Ontario, visit the Ontario Parks Fall Colour Report.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Algonquin memories of September 11
Every generation has defining moments that cause people to ask "where were you on such-and-such a day." Some are celebrated, like "the day a man stepped on the moon," but sadly, most of these days are tragic, like "the day JFK was assassinated" or "the day John Lennon was shot." September 11, 2001, is now one of those defining moments and I can't help thinking thinking about my own experience that day.
My wife and I were finalizing plans for a road trip down to the eastern seaboard of the US, specifically to Assateague Island. Just before 9 am, around the same time planes were crashing into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, I was trying to call the US National Park Service and change my camping reservation. Of course, I had no idea that all the government buildings in Washington DC had been evacuated, so was getting a little frustrated that I couldn't get through to anybody. Eventually I called the park directly and the friendly park ranger told me that he couldn't get through either and that something funny seemed to be going on. While not that far away, that person, like me, had no idea what was happening. So, off I went to the hardware store to get a few items. While there, I noticed that an unusual number of people were gathering in front of the display television and that the news coming from it was very strange. I watched for a while, then went home and like many people, spent the rest of the day glued to the television watching the bizarre and tragic events of that day unfold.
The strangeness didn't end there, though. Over the next few days, back at work at Algonquin Outfitters, I had the unusual task of explaining to people returning from canoe trips what had happened in the world while they were out in the park. I would say something like this: "OK, you are not going to believe what I am about to tell you but...." Reactions were predictably shock, disbelief, sadness and frustration over messed up travel plans. I remember one woman who absolutely refused to believe what I told her. How could you make this up? After I explained to him that he might want to call the airline, since all fights were grounded, a British fellow commented that he had noticed the absence of jet trails in the sky. He had assumed, since he was in the wilds of Algonquin Park, that planes didn't fly over the area at any time!
Needless to say, we changed our travel plans as well. We were planning to leave on Sept. 15 and our route would have taken us through both New York City and the outskirts of Washington. It just didn't seem like a good idea to go there at that time. We opened up the road atlas and drove east, to our own Maritime Provinces and had a great trip with no itinerary.
My wife and I were finalizing plans for a road trip down to the eastern seaboard of the US, specifically to Assateague Island. Just before 9 am, around the same time planes were crashing into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, I was trying to call the US National Park Service and change my camping reservation. Of course, I had no idea that all the government buildings in Washington DC had been evacuated, so was getting a little frustrated that I couldn't get through to anybody. Eventually I called the park directly and the friendly park ranger told me that he couldn't get through either and that something funny seemed to be going on. While not that far away, that person, like me, had no idea what was happening. So, off I went to the hardware store to get a few items. While there, I noticed that an unusual number of people were gathering in front of the display television and that the news coming from it was very strange. I watched for a while, then went home and like many people, spent the rest of the day glued to the television watching the bizarre and tragic events of that day unfold.
The strangeness didn't end there, though. Over the next few days, back at work at Algonquin Outfitters, I had the unusual task of explaining to people returning from canoe trips what had happened in the world while they were out in the park. I would say something like this: "OK, you are not going to believe what I am about to tell you but...." Reactions were predictably shock, disbelief, sadness and frustration over messed up travel plans. I remember one woman who absolutely refused to believe what I told her. How could you make this up? After I explained to him that he might want to call the airline, since all fights were grounded, a British fellow commented that he had noticed the absence of jet trails in the sky. He had assumed, since he was in the wilds of Algonquin Park, that planes didn't fly over the area at any time!
Needless to say, we changed our travel plans as well. We were planning to leave on Sept. 15 and our route would have taken us through both New York City and the outskirts of Washington. It just didn't seem like a good idea to go there at that time. We opened up the road atlas and drove east, to our own Maritime Provinces and had a great trip with no itinerary.
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