road stories department

I spent most of the weekend on the road: Saturday in the Buffalo area, Sunday roaming through Wellington and Dufferin counties. Not much to report about Saturday, other than I find a $2 copy of Time Out London's Cheap Eats guide, which should prove valuable a month from now.

Sunday began with brunch with a friend in Guelph, which served up two of my weaknesses: eggs benedict and back bacon. After, I headed north of the city, destination unknown.

Near Elora, I drove by this attractive site.

I think someone decided to set up an open-air apartment in the middle of Pilkington Twp, to get closer to the land...or somebody arrange a load of crap they dumped. Here's two more shots to help you decide.

I drove into Elora and stumbled upon a book sale held by the Elora Festival. It was the kind of sale Dad would have returned home with books by the boxload, like the Essex County Library sales of my childhood. Prices were in his range (25 cents to $3). It was day two, but a lot of wacky material remained. Overheard one person note "these look like the books I donated five years ago!" I blew $6 - you'll see the results over the next few weeks. Think 1970s Toronto and 1940s vendor-sponsored cooking tips.

Heading out of Elora, I stumbled upon my next discovery of the day.

A vintage bridge over the Irvine River. Northbound, the bridge is date 1929, southbound 1928. Until I did a little web research, I didn't realize that Irvine was the name of the stream that goes through some of the nicer parts of Elora Gorge.

After finding a stream of dead ends around Luther Marsh, I wound up on old Hwy 25. Nearing Hwy 89, the horizon was suddenly filled with three dozen wind turbines. Guess where my next destination was...

The turbines are part of the Melancthon Wind Project, a renewable energy test site. They also serve as a religious shrine for local livestock (you may need to adjust the lighting on this pic for full effect).