Iroquoian Village Day-Trip

Summer vacation means FRIENDS!

Today I met up with my good friends Zoey and Mylee for some serious PowWow type fun! We hiked along the Niagara escarpment today at Halton Conservation. Even though we walked for about 1.5 hrs, we only saw a smidge of the 468 hectares.

Definately we are returning in the fall to explore all that Halton Conservation has to offer.

• A rare meromictic lake
• Elevated boardwalk with lookout stations around Crawford Lake
• A 15th century reconstructed Iroquoian Village and heritage site
• 19 km of hiking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails
• Connects to the Bruce Trail
• Education programs and exhibits
• Visitors Centre, Gathering Place facilities, Gift Shop, theatres, displays and picnic areas

These are pictures of Crawford Lake, a Meromictic lake. These types of lakes are rare here and are usually found in the tropics. The rock beds contain salt and the lake bottom is brine. This is why the waters do not have fish. The lack of fish means the lack houses an unual amount of algae and bacteria which create the unual blue-green colour. These lakes are common in the tropics but a rare find in North America.

This snapping turtle is sporting some weird looking algae growing on his back! Poor Mylee - she really wanted to leap off the rock ledge and join this slimy algae guy for a dip! Not a good idea considering he is the largest turtle in Ontario. Sadly he is now listed by the Canadian government as a "Species of Concern" due to declining numbers.

Don't know about the humans, but the dogs loved the smell of the burning fire and animal skins found in the longhouse of this 15th century reconstructed Iroquoian Village.