PhotosPlusWalking: Back Country Roads & Inglis Falls Autumn Beauty

When I last was here we were out in the middle of nowhere in the Georgian Bay area. From there we continued into real bush and it was like driving down a bush lane. Then headed for Inglis Falls before heading home.

There were farms all the way up to as far as we went that day and it was interesting to see all the different barns and houses that were there.

Except for the red roof on this barn, it reminded me a lot of the barn on the farm where I was raised in my early days.

When I was young we didn't bale hay or straw at our place. The hay was gathered loose and put into the barn into the hayloft. The straw was separated from the wheat and chaff by the use of a threshing machine. These white rolls are baled hay or straw.

Looking out over the stretch of land as we were passing.

And then we came to a wider road with tall trees that were starting to turn into autumn colouring.

A stream ran under the road and here is a view of it as we passed over the top of it.

I'm not sure if the decorations at these gate posts are for Thanksgiving or Halloween. There are solar lights in front of them.

We came up to a point that had no access allowed by the MND, or Ministry of National Defence. So we decided to turn left and go around it if possible.

A short piece down the road to the left we started seeing Georgian Bay peaking through the trees.

There was more colour along this area and I just had to capture it, even if it is a bit blurred.

This was beginning to be interesting and we wondered if it was possible to get down to the Bay.

We investigated the end or bend just ahead, just to find...

... a sign that said no exit. So we turned around and retraced our path.

As we had come this way before to the end I had noticed that the machine on the right was a link-belt cat excavator. If memory serves me right, there used to be a Link-Belt plant in Elmira when I was a lot younger. Seeing the name on this one immediately triggered that memory for me that day.

This road was in the process of being widened and also structured to be wider and more easily travelled.

This is that stream I had taken a photo before but flowing on the other side of the road.

This birdhouse out in the middle of nowhere intrigued me.

Looking across a vast expanse of farmland.

More cattle, even the young calves were grazing in a large field.

More colour and beauty.

When you see a fire number on a pole or tree, there are buildings off to the right or left even if they are not easily viewed from the road.

This particular view reminded both of us of a trip we had taken to the Hockley Valley region in 2009. Similar hills, but not near as high as the ones there.

If you look closely here you will see evidence of branches having been literally hacked or ripped off the trees.

And just past that area the road became little more than a bush lane. But it was so colourful!

Periodically we came into a forested area where the colour had not changed yet.

It must have rained here sometime recently, and fairly heavily if the puddles are any indicator.

Another barn out here, but I don't recall seeing a house with it.

And then my friend who was driving spotted a porcupine in the apple tree.

Another friend of mine has Martin's Family Fruit Farm and I know his apples look a lot better than these, but I just had to take a closeup of them.

This is a shot of the tree with the porcupine just sitting there. He has not got a care in the world. He knows we have no defence against him. We'd get the sharp end of his quills. lol

There was beauty and colour around the whole area where this tree was located.

Another field with cattle in it.

A while back we had turned around and now are approaching the area where the trees had the branches hacked off.

This is what I like about autumn, all the varied colours that happen just before the bleakness of winter. Not that I don't like winter as well. It has a beauty all of its own.

This barn looks a bit more like the one on what I call the home farm where I was born and raised for 11½ years.

Now we were on our way to Inglis Falls to see what awaited there for us. It had been about 23-25 years since I had been there on one of my trips to Shallow Lake.

Meanwhile we will see colour and open country where one can breathe freely.

We pulled off the road at the stop sign and while we were there I captured these trees across from us in a zoomed shot.

I was completely lost and only hoped that my friend knew where she was. With the help of Google maps we did find our way, but with no sun shining we had to rely on that as we could not use it to tell us where we were .

I'm not sure what crops these were.

I didn't realize that there were rock-sided areas in this part of Ontario.

And then we pulled into Inglis Falls, got out of the car and explored it. There is a fee to go there but it was worth every cent to me.

A picture of the grist mill that once existed here.

Here I was right above the falls on a walkway that leads one to the other side.

On the upper side of the falls there is a dam that is shown here.

This was taken from behind the building where the picture of the Grist Mill is on.

Here you can see the foot bridge over the top of the falls.

Back and above the falls there is a stone wall to prevent people from falling in. It is a drop of about 60-70 feet from here.

We went down some stairs that are actually part of the Bruce Trail along here.

Views taken from the first level.

A partially obscured view of Inglis Falls.

I just had to have a selfie of me with the falls.

This is no Niagara Falls, and I knew that, but it is a waterfall that is accessible and I was able to get close enough to capture it that day.

I think those are tree limbs on the rock, but at first I thought they looked like dry bones.

There is no protection here to keep people from fall off into the ravine so I stayed back a bit.

Some of the trees that are surviving on what is not much more than rock with a bit of earth on it.

Here you can see what I mean about that last statement.

Looking out across the river bed.

Rocks and roots made it a bit more treacherous to navigate.

A foot bridge across a large crevice in the rock.

I was really surprised that the spot I took this photo from didn't have any protection around it whatsoever.

This is a picture of the spot I was standing on. There was a time when you would not have been able to get me near that.

My friend took a picture of me with the falls in the background.

After that I had to get back up to firmer ground. I wasn't afraid, just trepidatious.

Yes, I had navigated those stairs to access this part of the trail and get closer to the falls.

I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for the climb back up there. With a stop partway up I was able to make it without losing my breath.

I looked around me and took some more shots of the rocks and trees.

It was starting to drizzle a bit by about this time. Knowing how slippery wet wood can get, I decided to make my way to the top.

With a prayer for strength and enough breath to make it, I tarried on.

Pausing occasionally to record my progress in photos, and to gain strength to continue.

These rocks reminded me of the trip we had made to Limehouse.

It was beautiful here as well.

If you look hard you will see where I left my walker while I went much further. The roots and rocks prevented me from using it beyond that point. I did have my cane with me.

Another shot of the falls.

I'm just so thankful I suggested this location to come on our trip.

One more level to climb up to before returning to the car.

One more look back before heading to the top.

I was contemplating how I was going to get the walker back up there, but my friend was able to take it for me.

And then we were up on level ground and it was drizzling a bit heavier. But we had been able to enjoy a great day up to this point without getting wet.