The scenic route sure is nice. This is my first time in a semi-rural Canadian area so seeing so much emptiness was a little bit jarring. Even then, the peacefulness of it all still lingers in my head as I’m writing this.
Passed by a few small towns on the way through Caledon. The sky was heavy with clouds, making the fields look even more dormant. The drive itself felt like a transition. From the car park filled, everything’s paved city vibes into the quiet, tree filled endless farmland areas. If we had gone a few weeks earlier, I bet the leaves would’ve been a lot more vibrant.
There’s a really small hike to get to the badlands. It’s all paved so you just gotta go forwards. It’s more of a stroll than a hike, really, but the boardwalk is nice and keeps you above the slightly damp ground.
The vegetation here is so brittle this time of year. Everything is just waiting for the first real snow to hit. I love the sort of autumn, sort of winter color these branches have. Really hits you with the, “winter is coming” vibe.
The badlands at last.
They had a cool info board explaining the geology. Apparently, we were looking at 450-million-year-old earth formations. The red comes from iron oxide, and those green-grey streaks are where groundwater circulated through the shale. It used to be a shallow tropical sea back then. Hard to imagine tropical vibes when I’m literally wearing two layers of clothing on top of a winter jacket.
The sun finally decided to show up. Guess it’s time for that all-important harsh lighting shot
Up close, the formations look like they belong on Mars.
Found this stump on top of a pole just as we were leaving. I love how it sort of looks like waves moving outwards from the center.
One last look at the trail before we headed back to the car. It rained a bit so the greens really popped. To make life easier for hikers there’s also these white lines painted on trees every so often. I’m not sure how you’d get lost here, considering it’s a really short walk, but I guess it’s nice to have.
We went to an Apple Orchard for lunch. They made their own apple ciders so we had to try a flight of em. The pesto pizza was a nice touch, though of course I went with rice and curry for my main. The original menu item was a fully vegetarian dish, but the chef was nice enough to honor my request to add chicken to the curry.
Nothing beats a warm bowl of rice after a cold walk.