The Coldwater Steampunk Festival has been going on for the last seven years and this is my third time visiting. When I was a kid my parents bought property just outside of Coldwater so a lot of summers were spent in proximity to the town with the occasional visit so it’s always a treat to go back, especially for a completely different reason. People from all over and in town come out to have a grand time – some even dress up for the occasion.
A Different Time
Now not everyone has to dress up and if you’re saying “I want to but I have nothing to wear!” – Never Fear! there is much to buy on the main drag so you are ready for next year.
Booted Steampunk
The place also sparks your imagination into all the things you can do. You can buy but you can also create. My favourite place is the vendor areas. There is so much to be inspired by here.
Alternate Time
But watch out for dark alleys that may transport you to other worlds!
So if you’re ready to enter the strange and awesome world of Steampunk…
I was back on the Bruce Trail today, doing my usual thing…you know…hiking and taking photos, when I came across one of those signs. Not the regular signs that say Hiking Only or the Bruce Trail that way sign but the one that tells you exactly how far you’ve walked.
221 km to go
Wow! I have walked 664 kilometres. Well actually, I’ve almost walked double that much because there is this little thing about hiking the trail with only one car available to you…you have to walk back down the trail to pick up said car. So let’s just say I’ve walked somewhere around 900km of the trail (there are some areas where the trail loops and I can pick up a side trail so I don’t have to walk all the way back the way I came – kinda handy). That is essentially the length of the trail and yet I’m still 221 kilometres away from the end.
When I came across this sign I must admit I was pretty pumped…this sign was telling me that I had 25% more of the trail to hike. Now that said I have walked a few kilometres here and there along the north end so that 221 km is more in the neighbourhood of 190 km or so. Now that makes me pretty stoked to get more of the trail done. I am sooooooo close.
On another note – check out this awesome blue shed.
Blue
I swear I pass this shed every time I drive north on highway 10 and every time I say to myself, “Sue, you need to stop and get a photo of that shed”. And what do I do? I drive right past because I am either heading to the trail and am eager to get there or I’ve just hiked the trail and I’m too lazy to stop the car and get the photo. But not today!! Today I made myself get my ass out of the car and take some photos. I’m glad I did ’cause I love this photo. What do you think?
There was another ice storm that rolled through the area last night so I went out today to explore this new crystalline world at Claireville Conservation Area.
Claireville Entrance
Walking down the main road there was a grey world looking back at me. On a sunny day it would have been a blinding, glittery Swarovski land but today it was a bleak, washed out one instead.
Lonely Road
Going off on the smaller trails I felt like I was walking through a brittle world ready to collapse at my touch. Crunching my way through it was a little eerie at times.
Icy Trail
I love when days like this happen. You get a better idea of how fragile the world can be and how beautiful it can be at the same time. It’s hard to do it justice in a photograph.
