Albion Falls & Haldimand County (Day 3)

Today Mike and I resumed our nature photography with a visit to the Albion Falls. This waterfall is quite a large one compared to most of the local waterfalls. It is also very easy to access and so draws a continuous stream of admirers. While we were there, there was a constant flow of visitors, including a number of serious photographers taking shots from multiple angles much like I was doing. It was easy to climb down to the base of the drop and gather shots; the falls was a wide one with several ledges and protrusions which made for hundreds of items of interest in the curtain of water. I felt it would be worth a whole day here gathering shots of the many portions of the scene under lighting conditions that changed as the day progressed. In the end we did spend well over an hour on this one subject. Once done with the traditional view, we found a path to the top of the drop and gathered a few more while hanging over the edge!

After the Albion Falls we decided it was late enough to get lunch so we trekked along to a nice deli at Fortinos and then we set off along highway 6 to the deep south. Our first destination was the Grand River. Where we found the colours muted as we shot across the river into the sun. We took a few minutes to explore a small park on the eastern shore of the river but found only a few trees of interest. We decided to head further south and cross over to the west side. Here we found a bit more colour. Mike was unfamiliar with this side of the river. It seems that he only traveled the main road on the east and had never explored the lesser roads on the west side. 

Soon we came by McKenzie Creek which flowed into the Grand, there we found some interesting trees and water shots. Once done we rounded a bend and noticed an old cemetery. I have had a growing interest in viewing these old sites and so we stopped to explore the tombstones. Some were placed in the mid 1800’s and were now barely readable. It seems that even stone will wear away and leave nothing to remind one of the person buried below. After trying to read all the older panels, we returned to the car and continued south along the back-road. We came by a few fields of interest where we gathered more photos but soon passed another cemetery on a hill that we decided to explore.

This cemetery was almost as old as the first one but was much bigger. We saw quite a few older stones as well as some very recent ones in a modern style. I was dismayed to see quite a number of plaques to young children – some less than a year old – most dating to the later 1800’s. We certainly don’t see that level of mortality anymore and I am glad for it. When we were done walking a loop around the area, time had reached 3pm and I remembered I had a scheduled radio call to my radio club friends who were participating in a Scouting radio event.