Fall trip 2013 - Forks of the Credit, Caledon

Every year some of us friends go away from home for a night or two to enjoy the fall colors of Ontario. This was our sixth year. Initially we had planned to go to Waterloo for one night but things didn't work out. So, instead of totally scraping the fall trip we decided to make it a Fall day trip. As we have kids who are relatively small and extremely reluctant to go for long drives we always plan to visit places that are not more than 3 - 4 hours drive, preferably much shorter. Having been to Midland, Huntsville, Ottawa, Peterborough  our choices near home was limited. After some researching in the net I felt Forks of the Credit Provincial park would be a good place to go for a nice hike. Especially the long stairs down to the river was a sure pull. In addition there was the Badlands nearby. Between those two spending 4-5 hours seemed like fun. 

From Ajax we took 401 West, hopped onto 410 North and then merged into Hwy 10 or Hurontorio road. After about 9 kilometers on Hwy 10 we turned left on Olde Side road (West). After driving about 4 kilometers we noticed several dozens of cars parked on the side of a hilly road. There was no large signs but I sort of assumed that this was probably the Badlands. We parked the car by the side of the road and walked about 50 meters to the spot. The Badlands was a spectacular view and the kids who were sort of reluctant to come in this fall trip were totally amazed and amused.

From there we went to Forks of the credit provincial park. There are many ways to get there. But from Badlands one of the most scenic way would be to take Mississauga road north all the way to Forks of the credit road (11), follow it all the way to McLaren road. The road meanders through woods and goes uphill and downhill with one hairpin turn. Overall very nice drive. On McLaren we drove several kilometers before reaching the park entrance. This is a popular park and in fall a large crowd comes to visit it. When we reached there most of the parking lots were totally full. Many people parked on the road leading to the parking lots and some even parked on McLaren road and walked several hundred meters to the trail mouths. We were fortunate enough to find some parking spots as some people were leaving. My friends bought parking passes from a machine and placed it on the dashboard (I received a parking pass from an elderly couple who were leaving early. How generous of them! The parking passes are $5:50 and above depending on duration). Later we saw a police officer was issuing tickets to the people who did not buy a pass.

There are several trails in this park, most are very easy meandering through meadows and small hills. We took the trail that is called Meadows trail. Here are some of the images.

From their we went to the village of Belfountain which seemed like a popular place with hundreds of visitors flocking the small but scenic place. We all stopped by an ice cream shop and savored in delicious scoops of ice creams. Later we bought some honey from a street vendor and head toward waterloo.

Picnic 2013 (Ex-cadets of Canada)

 After last year’s eventful picnic there was a certain amount of expectation about the proposed yearly picnic in 2013. One problem that popped up right away was the fact that Ramadan was taking place from second week of July to second week of August limiting the available time frame for the picnic. After some contemplation the volunteers had setup August 24^th as the day. Venue was Darlington Provincial Park in Durham region near Oshawa. We were slightly undecided until two days before the picnic due to various personal reasons. However, finally we three friends decided to participate in the picnic with our families.

 

The day was a sunny, warm day perfect for a outdoor picnic. The plan was to have some games on the spot and then hit the beach. When we arrived there it was already past noon. Many picnickers had already arrived with their families. An open sky drawing competition was in progress where our kids quickly joined.  

The sheltered picnic spot was very specious, surrounded by spectacular set of trees of various kinds and had the kind of privacy that any large group would usually prefer. I was instantly in love with the place. A perfect place for a picnic. I had been Darlington Provincial Park before but primarily spent time in the beach area. I had no idea they had such beautiful coves for group events. The shelter itself was pretty big, could easily sit few hundred guests, at least that’s what seemed to me.

The organizers had collected a nominal fee from the participants but made no reservation in their attempt to make everything appropriately enjoyable. A late breakfast with desi style Singara and plenty of donuts, muffins and other food were offered. The singaras (fried treats made of flour with fillings of mixed vegetable or meat inside) were just so delicious that I had consumed four or five of them even before I realized. Interestingly my son who is twelve and quite skinny had gobbled up twenty. I had hard time believing.  

Several games were arranged for the ladies with points awarded after each one. A good participation from the ladies (bhabis and ex-cadets) made these series of events truly interesting.

 

A kid’s lozenge run was organized where several dozens of kids of varying ages and sizes dashed madly to catch hanging lozenges on thread with their mouth, snap the thread and run back to the starting line. This turned out to be a very interesting and enjoyable event with some kids struggling to reach the lozenges as two volunteers kept on waving them up and down making it quite difficult. At the end three of the kids were adjusted winners and rest of kids got something they all liked – lozenges, of course.

Next a cock fight for men took place. With relaxed rules and sporting manners this also turned out to be a very enjoyable event.

A view of the park near the picnic spot, a short walk down a trail.

Next lunch was served. The food was delicious and filling though some had found it slightly cold.

The men’s volleyball with 8 or more players a side became the main attraction of the afternoon. After three close matches one team emerged as winner.

Participants of the volleyball games posing for a snap shot after the game.

Some of the kids were really looking forward to go to the beach but time flew by so quickly between the events that it was already too late to hit the water. However, the next event had the attention of the kids, which was the much awaited raffle draws. We all gathered around the shelter as the draws took place. Also prizes were awarded to the competitive events. In between other events a cultural program was also arranged with several accomplished singers offering songs.

Finally everybody gave the volunteers a hand to pick up all the trash scattered all around the place. Within a short time the spot looked neatly cleaned. It was our time to say bye. It was a very enjoyable day, a true family oriented picnic and would definitely be alive in our memories until the next one take place a year later. Many of us would definitely look forward to that. 

 

                                     

A few of the volunteers who made this program a success: Hyder, Rimon, Ataullah, Anwar, Mobin and Kishore.