I had seen a posting by a friend of photos in Waterloo Park and realized that it has been a long time since I went for a walk there. With our new bus system here I had to discover the best route to get there. Once I reached uptown Waterloo and realized that I had just missed the next bus that would take me there, I decided to walk the rest of the way to the park. I'm glad I did as I saw a lot of lilies in bloom on my way and also found a new trail that I had never seen before. This also gave me the opportunity to see parts of the park that I didn't know exist, and some that I saw 9 years ago when I was there before. This time I took just over 4 hours to get all of 547 photos and also enjoy a rest in the shade when possible.
Because I had to walk from downtown Waterloo I had to decide which entrance to Waterloo Park I was going to use. As Erb Street West was the shortest route from my starting point, I decided to stay on the South Side of the street as the heat was already getting strong by this time and it was windy so walking with shade on my side was great.
As I crested the rise and was approaching the building where the Duke of Wellington is housed I noticed a huge planter out front with these beautiful lilies int it. I took a number of photos, of which I will share two. This is the first one and you can also see the sign for the Duke, as we call it, in the photograph.
This is a picture of the planter full, or at least part of it.
Once I had crossed Carolyn Street, and crossed over to the north side of Erb, I came upon this sign to a trail that I didn't know existed. Suspecting that if I followed it I might find another entrance to the park I followed it to discover a lot of things that weren't there when I was here 9 years ago. But when I think back 9 years, my friend Jan and I didn't come to this part of the park either, or at least not out this far.
On the right is the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. I didn't go in this time, but it is a place I want to visit again.
Across Carolyn Street is one of the many churches in this region. It is Knox Presbyterian and has been rebuilt since I was in this area before.
Just across the ION tracks is the Waterloo Train Station as this used to be where the Waterloo to Elmira train used to stop here. So I just had to get a picture of it from this angle.
This is another new building and has some interesting aspects of it. When I saw it I queried in my mind as to what it was. I could not see any signs that said what it is, and didn't know till nearly the end of my walk that it is the Perimeter Institute (PI).
This is the rear view of PI.
Just over the rise of land is a trail that I will investigate another time, but never had time to visit the day I was there.
There was a map on my right right here that gave a layout of many trails in Waterloo that I took a picture of but it was not bright enough to get a clear shot.
This is another view of the PI building from the rear view.
This Inukshuk statue was visible in one of the previous photos, and I had to get a picture of it closer up, but had to find shade to relax as well, so I sat in the shade of the structure that had the map on it.
By the time I got to this point, I began to see many shades of green. This photo is just an indicator of several.
One of the things I found out is that at least part of this bridge was here before the ION came into being. The part that has the curved top railing is from before. It is now where bicycles and is not safe for those of us who use walkers or other wheeled devices.
By looking under the rails which were just high enough to make it difficult for us shorter people to get photos above, I was able to capture a couple of photos of the creek here at this walkway.
Capturing a closer view of the different bridges across the creek was easier when I was actually on the one side of it.
Looking ahead and trying to decide which way I'm going to travel.
Park beauty that makes me want to get into the park proper.
The city is encroaching very heavily on the park area here. I wish they didn't put structures like this here. At least they could have some design other than modular.
There were plants along her that may eventually look beautiful like the ones in the planter on Erb Street.
Just a bit further to my right in this photo there is a spot that crosses the ION tracks to a lookout point and I went to see if it was worth checking out.
I was very disappointed when I got to this lookout point as I could not see any water from here as you will see in the next few photos.
Even in this shot where I expected to see at least a glimpse.
So now I had to decide how I was going to see more of the beauty I knew was out there.
This picture of a walkway is here to show you where I will end up several hours later after I had gone quite a distance and captured a lot more beauty on my way.
Here I had just crossed the tracks when the ION came along and I was able to capture the lights and traffic arm that is down to prevent someone from crossing the tracks. These trains run very frequently and it was irritating to me to hear the ding-ding of the bells every time the ION came through. It can be heard a long way off, or so I thought, until I realized how close to where I was walking it runs.
After I got back here I had someone tell me I took the wrong bridge. And they pointed to the signs which I had not seen before as I have to be careful of others around me who may just scream past me and it is not necessarily safe to be walking along here.
Even though I was on this side of the tracks before on the lookout, I had to cross the tracks again to get to this side where I can have water in my view.
The view from this side is colourful with wild flowers.
That red roofed structure is where the map was that I wanted to get a picture of.
I debated about eating my lunch here but it was too exposed and I kept going till I found a more secluded spot.
The cement bridge is where the ION crosses this waterway.
At this point I was wishing I had my cane so I could venture closer to the water. There would be many more spots like that.
There were a number of thistle plants along this part of the creek.
I had hoped that there would be a trail right along the edge of the creek here, but as there was not I had to return to the sidewalk for a stretch before finding what I desired.
Before I got to this particular spot I had seen the red in the trees and wondered it if was a cardinal, and then I noticed this shrubbery.
Here I walked off the sidewalk and closer to the edge and was able to capture more of the creek.
I found a trail that took me closer to the water, and also where I could eat without being exposed to every person who went by.
It was so cool in here and also private.
And then I found a side trail that led me closer to the creek. I actually looked it up to see if it has a name, only to find out that it is Laurel Creek.
This is what I liked about the cooler temperatures in the shaded part of the park. You can see the heat haze in the opening out into the ball diamond area.
There was a lot of different kinds of beauty in here and I'm so glad I went the long way around.
And then I found a trail that led me right down to the edge of the creek. It was so beautiful in there. (When I say: "in there" it is because there was no way I would have known the beauty if I had not gone into areas that I would call "off-roading".)
I really bemoaned the fact that I left my cane at home when I was in here. As you can see in this photo, the path goes right down to the creek, and I would have been able to see even more with my cane.
The water looked fairly stagnant, but it was not stinky.
I went as close as I could safely, but it was tricky because of the root structure that was protruding out of the ground here.
This shows where I had entered the area where I was getting all this beautiful scenery.
More pictures of the water in the creek.
And then I made my way back to the side path and continued further along.
I found this tree(s) interesting.
I was going to investigate where this path led as I could see water in the distance but there was a large fallen tree blocking the path. Maybe another time.
There were many trees here where more than one seemed to come up from the same root.
Here is a side view of the tree that was blocking that path a bit ago.
I don't know if you can see it but the creek is visible here too.
Heading further through the park to see where I end up and can work my way back to the other side.
And then just ahead I saw another tree and this time it was blocking the path I was on. I felt I had to go and see if there was a way under or over it.
And once I got there, I found the path takes a turn, but even without the fallen tree I would have had to turn left at this point as Laurel Creek come close to the edge of the bush area here.
Parts of the fallen tree with the creek behind it.
There was a man sitting on the fallen tree and we chatted for a while about the park and regional history. He told me that they are going to dredge the creek next year so I'm glad I went out there to see it in its natural setting and state.
Once I left there I headed to the bridge he had mentioned would take me over and to the other side.
As you may have noticed, I found a lot more beauty still on this side of the park.
I took another side trail but as I got to this point I realized that I could not go much further along here as the path was too narrow and precariously close to the edge of a drop-off into the creek.
So I got as many pictures as I safely could here.
There has been some erosion here and it made it a bit treacherous to get out onto the path that passes the ball diamond.
When I came out to the ball diamond a game was just finished and lots of whooping and hand-slapping was in progress. I went on till I found the path that took me to the bridge to cross the creek. And a memory from 9 years ago flashed into my mind.
This is the creek as it comes down from the north-west side of town.
This is the creek as it come from where I had just travelled.
It is interesting what will trigger memories from the past, but this spot here definitely did. The bridge was where my friend and I turned around and went back.
Just another beautiful glimpse of the creek here through the trees as I made my way out of the full sunlight toward shade.
And then I found another side trail that I plan to explore more next time I'm out.
I don't know if you remember the pictures where I headed out to the ball park, but this was taken on the exact opposite side of the path.
Because the mosquitoes were plentiful and I had not applied any repellent, I decided to get back on the groomed path.
Once I was out on the groomed path, I took another shot of where I had come from before turning around and heading further into the park area that I know quite well.
Just ahead of me there is a split in the path and it looks like there is a trail that leads to the left.
While I was contemplating this shot three men came along the path and were discussing where that path goes. I suggested that the only way to know was to check it out. One of my future missions.
If I didn't know this area as well as I do, I would have thought I was heading into more bush.
Views on my left and views on my right slowed me down but it was getting hazy from the heat that I was avoiding by the shelter of these trees.
This picture doesn't give you a very good idea, but this whole area to my right is covered in bullrushes.
It's not easy to spot but the ION is stopped at a train stop just to the right of that boom crane. It was when I saw it pass across the path ahead of me that I realized why I had been hearing the train noises all the time.
Straight ahead is where I saw the ION pass through the park.
Now I was getting to the edge of the bullrushes, but I was also coming to a spot that I had to decide if I stayed on the trail, and therefore in the sun, or cross the parched grassy area.
Looking back to where I had emerged onto this spot, I wondered how much I was going to miss the trees and the shade they provided as it was getting hazier and more stifling from the heat.
Having grown up on a farm, I know that when bullrushes grow somewhere it has to be either marshy or a water source of some sort. That was what drove me on to explore along the edge further toward the main park area.
Seeing no shade if I was going to drive on the right side of the trail, I decided to hurry and get into shade on my left.
And here there are some teasel plants that I was able to get closeups of.
There is an open soccer field to my right here.
If you look closely between the two large centre trees you can see the ION stop called Waterloo Park Station.
I just had to get a selfie before I was completely sunburned. I was sitting in the shade of some tall scrub, or small trees.
In the spring people were bemoaning the amount of rain we were having. Take a look at the grass on July 25th, after a lot of heat and dry spell. That was over a week ago and I'm wondering how much worse it looks as we've had temperatures of over 80ºF/26.7ºC every day since that.
It was not even fun walking on the grass but at least I was able to move from one tree to another to get particles of shade and with a bit of a breeze it was bearable.
I rested at that picnic table for a bit and was astounded when I walked over here to see the brown grass.
I knew that if I went far enough along this grassy area I would see the creek again from this side.
Here you get a small glimpse of the creek. It is wider here than a bit further down toward the main part of the park.
In this picture you can see that the creek is fairly shallow along here and the shoals are showing.
Another shot of the same basic location, but closer to the bank.
At that same spot it is harder to spot the creek, looking the opposite way.
And then the undergrowth was too thick and I had to make my way out onto the groomed trail again.
Taken from the groomed path.
In the shade of another maple tree.
You may not be able to see it, but this pole has wires, like guy wires, all around it with Christmas lights on it. I just had to capture that one so I know where to go come winter to get a picture of it.
On the other side of the ION tracks there is a barn and you can see its red roof here.
You might be able to see the Christmas lights here better, and also the string of stars between the poles. I guess they thought it would be easier to just leave them for this winter.
I am basically exposed here and there are no trees to find shelter under, but I am headed back to where that lookout was.
Looking to see how far I had come, and also capture some wildflowers.
A fallen tree makes for a bit of non-green colour, along with the weeds.
Not sure what this building is but am guessing it has something to do with the ION.
It doesn't seem as if I have come that far, but I must have as I can see the tracks of my walker on the gravel.
I am almost up by the lookout platform here, and where I could see the path two hours ago.
Here you can see the lookout platform in the left side of the picture.
The lights and "wig-wags" are working as another ION travels past. And I'm back on the path to the lookout.
I managed to get across the tracks before the ION coming in the opposite direction came, but just barely.
Now I am heading for the boardwalk around Silver Lake.
There are a lot of waterfowl in the water, and here you can see how shallow it is as they have to walk in a piece to be able to swim.
And then I came to the boardwalk. It is part of the uptown loop.
Lots of waterfowl, and their droppings corrupt the boardwalk and make it hazardous to walk without checking every step.
I kept having to wipe my sandals on clean spots to keep from tracking deposits along the boardwalk.
My next shelter from the heat will be that gazebo.
That grass looks so parched and it is right beside the lake.
At this point I am under the gazebo.
There were waterlilies across the lake from where i was sitting.
I love the reflections in the lake. It helps that we had clouds in the sky all afternoon.
There was a piece of driftwood or part of a tree sticking out of the water here.
On my way to the next gazebo, I paused to take a shot behind me.
The PI and four high rise buildings spoil the beauty of the lake.
Those lamp shades should be taken off and cleaned.
Looks like some have been cleaned or are new globes.
This boardwalk is longer on a hot day than if it is cooler like late September. It is all of 180-plus metres/200 yards long.
I am just imagining how cool it will be in the gazebo here by the water.
My goal is to get to the other side of that Grist Mill in the centre of the photo.
Views of what I saw from the shelter of the gazebo.
I didn't know that the path ahead has a name till I got to this point. It is called the History Trail, and knowing that Abraham Erb's Grist Mill is on this trail I can understand why it might have that name.
Another path for investigation another day. It is getting hot and I'm getting tired.
Forging ahead I came across some really old trees, or at least they look more dead than alive.
I'm not sure what the red dot on this tree is for, but guess it could on the list for removal.
And then I could see the lake through the foliage.
In the distance there is a plaque that tells about the wildlife on and around Silver Lake.
Looking out across the lake at PI.
That Grist Mill is getting closer.
Another view of Silver Lake.
Looking up the path I have already come.
The lake is again visible through the shrubbery and trees.
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is visible through the trees here. Soon I will have completed a figure 8 in my travels today here in Waterloo Park.
That dock is tempting me to go out onto it.
The greenery that hides us from Caroline Street on this path.
Another look at Silver Lake though the trees.
It is a long and winding trail from that last gazebo to this point.
I am now at the dock....
....Looking out over Silver Lake.
This one was taken as far back as I could go with my walker without tipping into the lake.
One more view from the dock over the lake.
And another look at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
Then I made my way back to the trail and headed toward the Abraham Erb Grist Mill just ahead.
A glimpse of the lake as I arrived by the Grist Mill.
And then one taken closer to the Mill.
This one was taken from the porch at the Grist Mill.
The side of the Grist Mill and the waterwheel.
I went out to Caroline Street after the last few shots and saw that there was something just up the street from the entrance that I had come out from. This is what I found.
A view of the Grist Mill and the sign from the Caroline Street location just up from the sign.
There were some more lilies and shrubs along the street here that made it beautiful at the entrance into the park area.
An angle shot of the front of the Grist Mill from the sidewalk...
...And an angle shot of the rear of the Grist Mill from the sidewalk.
A view from Caroline Street into the park.
A picture similar to this was posted by a friend recently on FB and it was one of the things I had in my mind when I started out on this walk that day. I am thankful for clouds that make this picture so much more beautiful than if it had just a blue or slightly grey sky.
From the other side of the culvert I didn't notice that the railing on this side had a fancy grate in it, so I just had to capture a length of it.
Here the Grist Mill and the dam are both in the shot from street level.
Another view of the lake from street level.
The reason I said street level is because I went down to the level at the end of this slope.
This was taken part way down the slope.
And as I sat at the bottom on my walker I took this shot. The flagstones were a bit tricky to navigate but once I realized that my wheels were exactly far enough apart to run on the sides of the flags, I made it without much difficulty.
One more shot while on the flagstones.
And then down toward the aqueduct area.
Some scenic shots and then to go and catch a bus.
