Subject: Re: Interesting Roadside Attractions |
Hi Ziners,
Great topic! It gives me a chance to tell you about two places in Ontario that you should see. The first is on Manitoulin Is., the biggest freshwater island in the world. The attraction is the "Mounted Animal Nature Trail" and I first heard about it in a humourous song by the Arrogant Worms, a Canadian singing group. You can read about it here: http://www.gordonspark.com/hiking.html As you can guess from the song title, all the animals on the trail are stuffed (except the crow). The other place, in Kirkfield, Ontario, is a group of quite wonderful wood carvings. I came across it as I was driving through Kirkfield and was intrigued by the carved bears on the front lawn of the inn. Since I like wood carving, I stopped for a closer look. Little did I imagine that there were many more all through the grounds. The report is here, but I've quoted it below: www.parl.gc.ca/english/hansard/127_97-02-11/127SM1E.html "Mr. John O'Reilly (Victoria-Haliburton, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform the House of one example of turning disaster into success. In Kirkfield, Ontario the Sir William Mackenzie Inn is doing just that. A tornado in 1995 wiped out many mature trees across the 13 acres of land. Instead of this devastating the land of the inn, it gave the owners an idea. On June 22, 1996 the inn decided to have a wood carving contest using chainsaws. The inn awarded free accommodation, great prizes and lots of media coverage. Once destroyed trees turned into works of art. One carving resembled a moose in the forest, while another resembled mother nature. The winner, "Cougar on the Rocks", by Peter Turrell was spectacular. In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Joan and Paul Scott for turning a near business closing incident into a huge success." Nancy in Bowmanville, ON |