[Why-Why]

Great updates, dear friend, and I like both photographs and detailed informations

Thanks for the link to know more about Randle Reef, i'll take a look (great interest about this matter, because Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro is still more polluted than it should be after years of money spent on cleaning...).

James Street is a cool place to be, loved the Architecture with many scales

And Train Stations are a must be seen for a guy that collected scale model trains like me

Many thanks for your thoughtful feedback, Eduardo. The Randle Reef clean-up is at an early stage and will cost hundreds of millions. I hope those involved have learned from the Guanabara effort!

:lol: This made me laugh so hard :lol:

Me too, Skopje! And what is even more ridiculous is that though this railway was based in Hamilton, it never managed to reach either Toronto or Buffalo during the almost 100 years it operated!

 

[shik2005]

I like these glimpses of urban life.

 

[Why-Why]

I like these glimpses of urban life.

Many thanks, Igor. I like your comment, but as we don't seem to be able to "like" each other at the moment, I'll send you one of these:
And I hope you stayed safe in St. Petersburg.


And now let's get out of town for a while:


Burlington Beach




A fine sunny day, the beginning of spring ... time to hit the beach!




And it’s not very far from Dundas to a wide, sandy one.




(That’s downtown Burlington in the background.)




Burlington Beach (the red dotted line) occupies the northeast side of the narrow 7 km-long sandbar that separates Lake Ontario from Hamilton Harbour.
The sandbar also supports a major highway (the QEW), several lesser roads, and a walking/biking path.
A short canal cuts through the bar, allowing ships to enter or leave Hamilton Harbour.




This is definitely not Ipanema, Bondi, or Kitsilano.
There are pylons instead of palm trees.
And warm jackets and toques, not bikinis and shorts, are de rigueur in March.




The waterfowl, such as these mute swans ...




... these long-tailed ducks ...




... and these mallards are starting to pair off.
(This drake is wondering what he's got himself into.)




A sailboat leaves the Burlington Bay Canal for the main Lake.
Here the Niagara Escarpment dominates the shoreline ...




... then as the yacht heads east, the tallest towers in downtown Toronto about 60 km away come hazily into view.




Near the end of the beach, two massive adjacent bridges loom into sight.
(More on these soon.)




This frozen spray is a reminder that winter is not quite over yet.




Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes, but it’s still a mighty body of water.
It’s about 330 km from Hamilton at its western tip to Kingston at its eastern.
This is the Lake end of the Burlington Bay Canal.




Looking east towards the heart of the Lake ...




... and northeast towards Toronto.

 

[openlyJane]

Great pictures.

My granddaughter would love that climbing frame......she’s really into climbing at the moment.

 

[Gratteciel]

Beautiful pictures, Why-Why!

 

[christos-greece]

Indeed great, very nice updates; well done :cheers:

 

[Skopje/Скопје]

I miss the "like" button. Great set of photos.

 

[shik2005]

Nice stroll along the shore

As for me - I prefer cold to humid & hot weather.

I'm very far from Saint Petersburg now. This blast is a horrible tragedy. Too many such disasters in lot of places all over the world...

 

[Why-Why]

Great pictures.

My granddaughter would love that climbing frame......she’s really into climbing at the moment.

Thanks, Jane, very kind. This area specializes in elaborate and colourful playground equipment. Your granddaughter would love it.

Beautiful pictures, Why-Why!

Indeed great, very nice updates; well done :cheers:

Many thanks, Roberto and christos! Really appreciate your support.

I miss the "like" button. Great set of photos.

Thanks! I miss that button too, Skopje. There's always a lot to like on this thread.

Nice stroll along the shore

As for me - I prefer cold to humid & hot weather.

I'm very far from Saint Petersburg now. This blast is a horrible tragedy. Too many such disasters in lot of places all over the world...

Thanks, Igor. I love St. Petersburg, and I hope you'll continue to depict its beauty. Sadly, such atrocities can happen anywhere.

 

[Romashka01]

Wonderful pictures! I especially like the photos of ducks... they are so cute

 

[Why-Why]

Wonderful pictures! I especially like the photos of ducks... they are so cute

Many thanks, Roman!

One more set from the Beach Strip coming up ...

 

[Why-Why]

The Burlington Bay Canal Bridges




Two very different bridges stand side by side over the Burlington Bay Canal.
The full name of the bigger one is the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway.
(“The Skyway” for short.)
From just about anywhere on the Beach strip, the Skyway is too long for the frame.




The Skyway is a fixed span, opened in 1958 and twinned in 1985.
It carries the eight lanes of the QEW (yellow on the map) over the Canal.
The QEW is the freeway running between Toronto and the US border at Fort Erie. No pedestrians are allowed on it.




The Skyway is about 2.5 km long with a clearance of 36.7 metres.
That’s high enough for large vessels to pass underneath.




But in the foreground there’s another bridge with a much lower clearance.




It’s the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, which carries Eastport Drive over the Canal.




The Lift Bridge is open to pedestrians.
I find it the more impressive structure, if only because you can get close up to it.




The Lift Bridge was constructed in 1962. Its lift span is 116 metres ...




... and while clearance is only 5 metres when the Bridge is in its default lowered position, it’s 36.5 metres when fully raised.




The lift span weighs almost 2,000 tonnes and is raised about 4,000 times each year.




That’s a pedestrians-eye view of the Lake end of the Canal from the Lift Bridge.




The Lift Bridge also allows a good view of the old stone lighthouse between it and the Skyway.
The lighthouse, 17 metres tall, was built by a Scottish stonemason in 1858.
Its dolomite exterior is still in great shape.
Hopefully, its interior will eventually be restored so you can visit it.




The southeast pier of the Canal is currently off limits to people (but not to seagulls.)




That’s the Hamilton Harbour end of the Canal from the Lift Bridge ...




... and from here a zoom lens allows you to get up close to the steel plants that line the Harbour.
This may be as close as most people would want to get.

 

[Gratteciel]

Excellent set Why-Why! I have always liked steel structures.

 

[openlyJane]

Amazing bridge structures. Such bridges and other features create character, and tell something of the area's history.

 

[General Electric]

Awesome, very nice updates kay:

A special like for the obsolete looking tower

 

[Leongname]

great bridge kay:

 

[Why-Why]

Excellent set Why-Why! I have always liked steel structures.

Amazing bridge structures. Such bridges and other features create character, and tell something of the area's history.

Awesome, very nice updates kay:

A special like for the obsolete looking tower

great bridge kay:

Many thanks, Gratteciel, Jane, General Electric, and Leon. And everyone else who liked bridges, lighthouses, and ducks.

And now let's head back to the woods ...

 

[Why-Why]

Dundas Valley in March: The McCormack Trail




Dundas Valley is beautiful at every time of year ...




... even at that uncertain time when winter is not quite over and spring has not quite begun.




The McCormack Trail takes us to the north side of the Valley. It’s a Bruce Side Trail.




We’ve been near this area before on the main Bruce Trail




Eastward, the McCormack takes us to a high viewpoint in the centre of the Valley.
(You can make out the Skyway in the far distance.)




From this spot you can see all too clearly how new suburbia encroaches deep into the Valley.
That’s Dundas Peak, the highest local point on the Escarpment, rising to the left.




There’s downtown Hamilton in the middle distance.
(And a section of the Mountain looming to the right.)




This view of the distant steel plants makes me think of Pandæmonium in Milton’s Paradise Lost.

 

[Why-Why]

The McCormack is a trail of two halves.
The westward half begins with a walk through a small wood, away from civilization.
The sun is struggling to come out.




Now the view opens out.




Rounded postglacial hummocks decorate the Valley floor.




The fitful sunlight warms the air. Birds are singing somewhere ...




... and then suddenly there’s silence.




A turkey vulture is scrutinizing me.
It feeds mainly on carrion, so I’m not on the menu.
At least not yet!

 

[Eduarqui]

I feed a passion in my mind about steel structures, and your photographs of bridges are a meal with everything delicious :cheers:

Other passion is the countryside - and Dundas Valley fits very well for me