Guide to Whitewater Rapids

A Quick Guide to Whitewater Rapids

River conditions can vary widely and unpredictably. The following ratings were developed to give those unfamiliar with a river a feel for what they are getting into – before the get into it.

• Class I: Flat water, some current.
• Class II: Small waves.
• Class III: Big waves, requires maneuvering through hydraulic holes, in which the water breaks back on itself over a rock.
• Class IV: Big waves, many rocks, and very fast, powerful water. Requires precise maneuverability. Not fun to swim in if you make a mistake.
• Class V: Pushing the limits of navigability, should be done only experts. Extremely steep gradient of river: 30- to 40-foot drops. Mistakes of capsizing will result in injury or possibly death.
• Class VI: Pushing the absurd. Paddlers on the West Coast define it as not runnable. Those on the East recommend it only for experts, lunatics, or both. Injury or death is a distinct possibility.

Learning to paddle. Photo by Elena.

Learning how to paddle

Where to find out more about canoeing or kayaking before getting on the water.

Paddling Clubs: Paddling clubs are a good way to get your feet wet. Those looking for a club close to home should call the American Canoe Association – The largest paddling association in the country, it sets instructor certification tests and general water safety standards. Or North American Paddle Sports Association – also covers kayaking. Can put you in touch with a club near you.

Outfitters: Be sure the outfitter has a trained staff, a clean safety record, and is affiliated with a national paddling organization such as those above. To locate one near you, contact America Outdoors, which lists recreational opportunities with premier backcountry outfitters on public lands and waterways. National Association of Canoe and Livery Outfitters – A professional organization that will put you in contact with members.

Paddling schools: For those who prefer to have some easy experience on the water before embarking on a more challenging trip with an outfitter. Canoe and kayak retailers sometimes offer classes and can also be good sources of other information, including local water conditions. For schools near you refer to: Canoe & kayak magazine, all the news you need, and useful listings and ads from a variety of outfitters and schools.

Trails of Native Americans

Trails of Native Americans

Where the traffic is low on America's original superhighways

The weekend traffic is approaching bumper to bumper. And no wonder. Canoe Magazine estimated in 1992 that some 14 million Americans participate in some form of paddling sport every year, be it canoeing, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking, or rafting. To make matters worse, more and more rivers are polluted or unsuited for paddling. For every mile of American river that's preserved, say experts, 85 miles are plugged with concrete.

Traffic jams in America's waterways are nothing new, however. America's history is full of the canoe exploits of adventurers such as René-Robert La Salle, who discovered and named Louisiana, and Jacques Marquette, the French explorer and Jesuit priest who first reported accurate data on the course of the Mississippi. And the Europeans, of course, were only taking their cue from nearly Native Americans, who perfected canoe travel and used rivers much more than overland routes.

The good news: Many of the routes originally mapped by Native Americans remain in, or have been restored to pristine condition. Native Trails works to preserve pre-mechanized travel routes. Below are its top eight picks for canoe routes you can still travel today that look much as they did centuries ago.

Boundary Waters: Grand Portage, Minn., to international Falls, Minn. Length: 160 miles. 10 days. The key highway for Native Americans and Canadian Voyageurs in the rich fur trade west of the Great Lakes. The route is still a wild chain of granite-reefed lakes and backwater rivers, little changed from the days of the bitter rivalry between the Northwest and Hudson Bay companies. Though little whitewater skill is needed, good judgment on wind-whipped lakes and stamina for portages are necessities.

Landscape. Photo by Elena.

Coosa Trail, Carters, Ga, to Coosa, Ga. Length: 150 miles. Seven to 10 days. Next to Carters, Ga., is the archeological site of Liitle Egypt, where 16th-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto raided the temples that crowned the city of Coosa's earthen pyramids. The raid yielded no gold, so de Soto marched on, leaving behind only the plague of smallpox, inadvertently destroying the Coosa people. The pristine route allows for keen appreciation of this former center of the Native American kingdom..

Eastern Ohio Trail: Cleveland, Ohio, to Marietta, Ohio, Length: 270 miles. 15 days. The Cuyahoga River was so polluted in 1967 that is caught fire. Today, it is a model of recovery. Its valley leads south to waterfalls and on old portage route to the Tuscarawas and Muskingum River system. French explorers, settlers, and the Ohio Canal all followed the water trail to the Ohio River. Though no longer wild, the scenery is still beautiful as the rivers wind through the western edge of the Appalachians.

Missouri Breaks: Fort Benton, Mont,, to James Kipp recreation Area, Mont. Length: 160 miles. Seven days – Much of the upper Missouri has become a series of shallow, windswept lakes, hostile to canoes. This federally protected section escaped that fate. The painted cliffs of the Badlands hem the river from Virgelle to the end. Good current and few rapids make this an easy, scenic trip.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Old Forge, N.Y., to Ft.Kent, Maine. Length: 680 miles. 1 t0 2 months: Like the Appalachian Trail, it traverses the wildest regions remaining in the Northeast. Some sections are not marked, but the trail is usable throughout – beginning where the St. John and Fish rivers meet at Fort Kent and following more than 15 rivers across the Adirondacks, Vermont, New Hampshire, and ending in Maine. Some sections are easy, others are broken by difficult rapids. Intermediate (class III) whitewater skills are needed to do the entire route. There are at least 30 mandatory portages on the trail.

Potomac Heritage Trail. Old Town, Md.. to Piscataway National Park, Md. Length: 200 miles. - Eight to 10 days – The Potomac was the Native American's major highway through the Appalachians. Most miles are easy, but rapids and falls break the river at Harpers Ferry and between Seneca and Georgetown. Many of the falls require portages for other than expert canoers. The last portion of the trip, just before Georgetown, is in tidewater, so paddlers need to plan their trip according to tidal charts.

Rogers Retreat: Newport, Vt., to Williams River Landing near Bellows Falls, Vt. Length: 260 miles. Ten days. Charts one of the boldest initiatives of the French and Indian War: the attach on St. Francis, Quebec, by Robert Rogers and his rangers. Experience the agony of victory by climing slowly up the Clyde River, racing and portaging down the Nulhegan and Connecticut rivers, then up the Johns River to portage the ammo for a long downriver run to where the Rangers finally reached a safe retreat. The route is difficult but rewarding.

Wisconsin Trail : Menasha, Wis., to Prairie du Chien, Wis. Length : 240 miles.!4 days. Indian guides introduced this route to Europeans in the middle of the 16th century. The route has pretty, in not particularly wild, scenery starting with Lake Winnebago, ascending the slow-moving Fox River, and finally following the Wisconsin River past the Baraboo Range and into the hills of western Wisconsin. Some short portages at a few dams are required along the way.

Best Places on the Planet

The Best Places on the Planet

The United Nations has declared these sites to bi vital to humanity

Without doubt, the most difficult landmark designation to obtain is that of a World Heritage site. Established by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's general conference in 1972, the World Heritage Convention chooses sites that members feel have such outstanding value that “safeguarding them concerns humanity as a whole.”

Today there are about 400 designated World Heritage sites in more than 80 countries. Signatories to the convention not only agree to forever preserve sites located within their own territory, but also to respect designated sites in other countries. Following is a list of the 18 sites included on the list in the United State:

Cultural Sites

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois:

The low bluffs and alluvial terraces of this region where inhabited by large numbers of pre-Columbian people. Here they built a major agricultural and trading base that extended 1.2 million square miles, to include Monk's Mound, probably the largest prehistoric earthen site in the New World. The mound is larger at the base than the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, although, at 108 feet, it is not as tall.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico:

The pinnacle of pre-Columbian civilization in the United States, this site is also the largest, with over 2,800 archeological sites and the ruins of 13 major pueblo villages.

Independence Hall, Pennsylvania:

This two-story, red brick structure was the seat of the U.S. Government through the 1780s until 1790, when Washington, D.C. Was designated the capital.

La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Sites, Puerto Rico: Both sites are part of the fortifications that surround San Juan and together make up the largest historic fortifications in the Americas. La Fortaleza dates from the mid-16th century, evolved into a 19th-century palace, and today is the residence of Puerto Rico's governor.

Mesa Verde, Colorado: this site has the most complete record of the Anasazi culture in existence, including ceremonial shrines and residences, that range from one-room houses to enormous cave villages.

Green Bridge. Photo by Elena.

Monticello and the University of Virginia, Virginia: Jefferson drew his ideals of universal freedom, self-determination, and self-fulfillment from Greek and Roman precepts. Here he built stunning neoclassical structures that embody those ideals. Monticello, his home, was built between 1784 and 1809, and the university was built between 1805 and 1824.

Statue of Liberty, New York: This symbol of freedom was presented to the United States by the government of France on the occasion of the first centennial in 1876. The 151-foot figure is dressed in a Roman toga with a torch in her right hand. In her left is a tablet marked July 4, 1776. She is stepping forward from shackles of slavery – a broken chain lies below her feet.

Pueblos de Taos, New Mexico: Taos is a prehispanic town that has successfully retained many of its early traditions. It was founded by the Anasazi Indians of the prehistoric period, and remarkably today most of the multitiered adobe buildings have retained their original forms, changed only by the addition of a few new external doors and windows, and modern fireplaces.

Natural Sites

Everglades National Park, Florida: The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, the Everglades are a heaven for over 800 vertebrates. In addition, the park has one of the greatest natural history, and environmental education centers on earth.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: The Grand Canyon's walls, a mile deep at some points, are a geological record that reaches back some 2 million years. Also in the area are ruins from the ancient people who lived in the rugged environment.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee: In addition to one of the last great virgin forests in North America, this park contains one of the largest collections of fungi, mosses, and lichen in the world.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii: Here, active volcanoes rise directly from the Pacific Ocean floor. They have provided the best records and understanding of of volcanic activity on earth. Also throughout the park are numerous archeological sites that indicate that indicate the understandable reverence early Hawai'ian peoples had for the volcanoes.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky: The largest cave system on earth, with hundreds of miles of charted chambers. In fact, the known chambers are 10 times as extensive as the next-largest cave system.

Olympic National Park, Washington: The park contains one of the largest temperate rain forests remaining on the planet. Its relative isolation on a peninsula accounts for the park's many rare plant and animal species.

Redwood National Park, California: The park contains the three largest trees on earth – the largest is 468 feet. Redwood also has archeological sites stretching back to 300 b.c., including well-preserved semi-subterranean plank houses, sweathouses, and crematoriums.

Wrangell-St.Elias National Park, Alaska: Contains the largest number of glaciers and greatest collection of peaks over 16,000 feet on the continent. One of the most unspoiled national parks in the United States.

Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming: The central third of the oldest national park in the United States is the largest volcanic crater on earth. In addition there are 27 fossilized forests, and over 10,000 geysers.

Yosemite National Park, California: The multitude of glacial features found here is virtually unmatched in the world.

Stunning photographs and essays by world-renowned figures about all World Heritage sites can be found on many websites.

Manhattan - Part II

Manhattan - Part II

In 2010, the City launched the City Hall Rehabilitation to correct structural issues and preserve the historic building. In addition to structural repairs, the project included the installation of a new fire safety system, an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, a fuel cell, and vastly improved electrical service in order to bring the building up to 21st century standards.

All the pictures have been taken by Elena.

A lonely bench.

Manhattan buildings.

Manhattan Place.

New York, downtown.

New York... New York... Staten Island Ferry.

Manhattan costline view.

Manhattan, modern city.

Manhattan, downtown.

Battery Park Blok of modern buildings.

New York City Hall. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, New York`s City Hall is one of the oldest continuously used City Halls in the nation, and houses the offices of the Mayor and City Council, the executive and legislative branches of government. Considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period, City Hall was designed by architects Joseph François Mangin (before 1794-1818), a French émigré, and John McComb, Jr (1763-1853), a native New Yorker.  The building is in the Federal style, with clear French influences that can be seen in the large arched windows, delicate ornamental swags, and more decorative Corinthian- and Ionic-style columns and pilasters. City Hall is a designated Hew York City landmark, and its soaring rotunda, dramatically encircled by a keystone-cantilevered staircase, is a designated interior landmark.

Manhattan street.

New York buidlings.

A statue in face of an official building.

An old building.

A park.

St-Andrew Church. 

Old residential buildings.

Evergreen Park - 2

Evergreen Park -2

The Don Valley Brick Works

The Don Valley Brick Works made bricks that built Toronto. Now, these same buildings (and the new LEED Platinum building added) generates ideas and tools for building the sustainable city of the future.

Evergreen has transformed this site into an environmental centre where communities can discover how to live, work and play more sustainably. Evergreen Brick Works is a social enterprise; the money you spend supports the programs the society delivers. Explore the natural spaces. Get your hands dirty. Enjoy local food. Discover the past. Think about the future. Ask questions. Share your ideas and explore new ones. Take part in the programs and activities. Or just wander about.

Evergreen is a national Canadian not-for-profit that inspires to green cities. A national charity since 1991, Evergreen makes cities more livable by bringing people and nature together for the benefit of both.

All the pictures have been taken by Elena.

Quarry-building An old building of brick works.

This 12-acre industrial site is owned by the Toronto and Region conservation Authority (TRCA) and managed by the City of Toronto. Evergreen is operating the site under a 21-year lease. The TRCA and City of Toronto have contributed to the project.

Rim of what was once a huge day quarry. What is now transformed into natural habitat was once a large quarry for brick manufacturing.

As you explore this special public park, you will discover aspects of its industrial past, how natural habitats are maintained in the present, and how the landscape may evolve in the future.

A conference room on the site.

You can also explore the edible landscape, water features, as well as the spaces to build things with natural materials.

The site’s living landscape is designed to grow and change throughout the seasons and evolve through the interactions between children and nature.

Don Valley Brick Works Park is an important link in Toronto’s natural ravine system. To appreciate the extent of Toronto’s green corridors, take a look at the Watershed Wall sculpture located at the Evergreen Brick Works.

Please enjoy the park responsibly. Walking off the trail, climbing the slopes, letting dogs off leash, and disturbing wildlife or vegetation all cause serious damage to the park. Choose to help, not to hurt!

The Skyline of Toronto spells Don Valley Products.

This Evergeen site hosts a few gardens: Aspen Garden: The Garden Club of Toronto designed this garden highlighting one of Ontario’s best pioneer species, trembling aspen. First to come back when a forest regenerates, pioneer species thrive in poor growing environment and help create ideal conditions for other plant species to take root and increase biodiversity. Seed Producers Garden: this garden features native trees, shrubs and wildflowers that provide an abundance of seeds that feed birds and other wildlife throughout the seasons. Space family garden. Meighen family garden.

Old-brick-plant Deep into the Earth. As recently as the 1980’s, where this photo was taken would have been at the edge of a pit over 50 metres deep. Brick manufacturers operating here over 100 years dug an enormous quarry in order to extract clay.

Quarry Chimney court. Quarry Don Valley Chimney of the Bricks Worksю

Skyline Toronto -  The skyline of Torono spells Don Valley products.

Harbinger foundation water tower.

 To appreciate the extent of Toronto’s green corridors, take a look at the Watershed Wall sculpture located at the Evergreen Brick Works.

Evergreen Bricks Works graffity, detail.

Wolf Graffiti on the back wall of an old industrial building.

Beaver and Owl, graffity on the old walls

The level you are standing on is the result of thousands of tonnes or rock dirt and broken brick (spoil) used to fill in the quarry after brick making stopped in 1989.

To get an idea of the size of this huge pit, look up at the ridge of the park. Now imagine that same rim extended down at least five times deeper below.Ground level today - quarry pit now filled in - bottom level of quarry

Weston Quarry Garden. Return often to enjoy and help care for this special place!

Quarry Lake North slope of the park, where plant growth is now covering the once exposed layers of geological history.

Toronto Monuments - Part II

Toronto Monuments - Part II

Toronto ranks highly in global rankings and is consistently ranked first in Canada.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, significant pieces of Toronto's architectural heritage were demolished to make way for redevelopment or parking. In contrast, since the 2000s, Toronto has experienced a period of architectural revival, with several buildings by world-renowned architects having opened during the late 2000s. Daniel Libeskind's Royal Ontario Museum addition, Frank Gehry's remake of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Will Alsop's distinctive Ontario College of Art & Design expansion are among the city's new showpieces. The historic Distillery District, located on the eastern edge of downtown has been redeveloped into a pedestrian-oriented arts, culture and entertainment neighbourhood.

You can appreciate here a few monuments that make Toronto one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

A group on Bloor street.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806). first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1791-1806). Founder of the City of Toronto, July 30th, 1793.

Queen Victoria.

Sir Oliver Mowat (1820 – 1903). Born in Kingston, Mowat studied Law under John A. MacDonald after moving to Toronto in 1840, he was elected a liberal membere of the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1857 and served as provincial secretary in 1858 and Postmaster General, 1863 – 1864. He took part in the Quebec Conference of 1864 which led to Conederation in 1867. Mowat became Ontario’s third Prime Minister in 1877, succeeding the Honorable Edward Blake and retained that post for almost 24 years. Resigning in 1896, he accepted a seat in the Senate, and became Minister of Justice, 1896-97, in the cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Mowat served as lieutenant-governor of Ontario fromm 1897 until his death.

George Brown, one of the Fathers of the Confederation.

Monument to Whithey.

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Robert Gourlay (1778 – 1863). He championed reforms ahead of his time. In Scotland – a vote for every man who could read and write. In England – a living wage for workers. In Canada – fair land distribution. Banished from Upper Canada in 1819 on false charges of sedition brought by the Family Compact. His writings had an impact on events leading to the 1837 rebellion. Monument erected thanks to Lois Darrocj (Milani) Christine (Milani) Bayly Families and Friends, North Yora Historical Society, Toronto Culture. "The first question in political economy should be, can the mass of the people live comfortably under this or that arrangement? But this most necessary question was forgotten, and many of the people have perished." (Robert Gourlay, Statistical Account of Upper Canada, 1822).

A Roman statue on the University of Toronto campus.

Business images, or illustrations pertaining to daily lives of real and animated businesspersons. More pictures grouped according to theme can be found on the artwork, photography and animation index page.

A monument on Avenue Road in Yorkville.

Woman's Head. Animated businessperson.

Mayberry Fine Art, Yorkville

Per Ardua Ad Astra. Im Memory of our Canadian Airmen who fought in the skies to preserve freedom and order in the world.

Sculptor John Robinson. This symmetrical combination of interlocking hollow triangles, no two of whick are linked, is an example of borromean rings studied in knot theory.

Gwendolyn MacEwen. Poet and Author (1941 – 1987). But it is never over nothing ends until we want it to. Look, in shattered midnights, On black ice, under silver trees. We are still dancing, dancing. (From Late Song – Afterwords, 1987).

The Vessel. Artist: Ilan Sandler 2009. This sculpture of a water-carrying vessel is made from 4 kilometers of stainless steel rod. The rod measures the approximate length of Taddle Creek, which ran from Taddle Creek Park through downtown Toronto to Lake Ontario. The piece reconstitutes a memory of the buried creek by referencing its length and by bend in the steel rod into water-carrying arteries. Water from the Vessel  is stored in an underground cistern and used to irrigate the park. Vessels have accompanied all peoples for millennia and are often seen as a surrogate for the body; like a container, it also acts as a fountain, relating the creek`s historical significance as a life-sustaining water source to the future pleasure of the community. (Commemoration and Installation: June 2011. Commissioned by the city of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Cultural Services, Public Art Office. Taddle Creek Park, Toronto.

A monument to an unknown lady between Bay and Yonge Street in down-town Toronto.