Looking back at 2012
2012 was quite the year! With many changes happening in both my personal and work life, I feel like I’m entering 2013 in a completely different place and with a brand new perspective. The last year was definitely one to remember as there were many adventures (both good and bad), lessons learned, even more photographs taken and a lot of places that I’ll be sure to revisit!
Here are some of the highlights:
- A luxurious visit to Niagara Falls with birds, butterflies, and flowers along the way
- A miserable and ultimately stupid trip up north to Lake Rosseau to visit waterfalls that resulted in a big scare and later an expensive tow
- An overnight trip to Owen Sound to get a better taste of winter, hike along frozen waterfalls and visit the Harrison Park Bird Sanctuary
- A long overdue trek to Guelph and Waterloo in hurricane winds to see some old friends
- Multiple explorations in High Park, Humber Bay West Park & Tommy Thompson Park to find migratory birds
- A bus tour with Authentic Canadian Tours to Algonquin Park where we hiked, fed gray jays and tried (and failed) to see moose
- A sloppy hike through a muddy Short Hills Provincial Park and then a wild ride down the gorge to see Decew Falls and Lower Decew Falls
- A May long weekend spent camping at Presqu’ile Provincial Park, touring Prince Edward County and talking to many, many birders
- A long awaited Labour Day camping trip at Sibbald Point Provincial Park that included seeing the family roots in Beaverton
- A climb down the gorge at Hoggs Falls on my yearly escape to Tobermory (really not as bad as I thought)
- An exhilarating return to Mono Cliffs Provincial Park after not being able to hike for so long
- A perfect thanksgiving camping trip at Ferris Provincial Park full of hikes, a swing bridge, Petroglyphs and a wild porcupine
- A day of redemption for that winter trip by exploring the other side of Wilson’s Falls and finding the other waterfalls from that disaster
- Many fed chickadees and other birds at the Hendrie Valley
- Multiple tours around Hamilton photographing waterfalls in all seasons
I fell short of my goal of visiting 20 new provincial parks this year, but I attribute that to some poor weekend weather and breaking my ankle which ate up most of my hiking season. I still got to visit 12 new parks which brought my current total to 30. This year I’ll keep the goal of 20 new parks to try and reach 50 and I pray that I can stay healthy!
Here’s to a great 2013!!
