Chicago Nature Blog: Canada

Better late than never - a quick glance at our 2400-mile road trip tour of eastern Canada. This took place the first full week of February. There are simply way too many photos to post, even just the highlights would have taken a full day to post, and ain't nobody got time for that.

We drove from sweet home Chicago straight to Toronto. We stopped at an enormous discount imported junk store called Honest Ed's. I guess it's a local landmark. Anywho, you can buy pretty much anything your heart desires for less than most lunches. Here are some jackets being sold for a buck. Something tells me these jackets aren't made to last.

Aimee and I love greenhouses and conservatories. They are especially worth visiting when the temperature outside is downright bitter cold. We checked out Allan Gardens, located downtown and built in 1910. It is free, and a really nice place. Here's one of two resident red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans).

There were two melanistic squirrels living inside the greenhouse. One was asleep on top of some equipment near the ceiling as we first walked in, and another on the prowl. This one nearly attacked this poor lady as she tore open some food packaging. Gluttons.

Ripley's Aquarium was an amazing place. Built in 2013, it is the newest aquarium I've ever been to and is very modern and well-designed. We visited on an evening when they were open late, and there was a snowstorm, so we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves and a few brave souls.

I'm a sucker for these underwater tunnels. This tunnel allowed for spectacular views of sharks, rays, and other fish, plus a green sea turtle.

Then we drove from Toronto to Quebec City. Long drive.

It was very very cold in Quebec City. So cold, that I stopped taking pictures because my hands would hurt from the cold. Probably the most cold day was our first full day there. We woke up and headed out to town for some frigid sightseeing, and it was just insane.

Aimee wanted to stay in the Hotel de Glace, aka the Ice Hotel. Basically, it's what it sounds like, a hotel made completely out of ice and snow. Everything - the walls, floors, chandeliers, bar, beds, and even the shot glasses are all made out of ice. Very fun, very surreal, very...cold.

Maple whiskey shot

After our time in the QB, we drove to Montreal. We had previously driven through on our way to Quebec City from Toronto, and the traffic had been oppressive. This time, it wasn't as bad. One highlight was our trip to the Insectarium. By far one of my favorite parts of the trip. If you love bugs, you'll love this place. This is just one place we visited that is deserving of its own post. Maybe one day I will, since there are just so many great exhibits.

Caligo eurilochis - a moth with what appear to be crazed eyes on the ventral side of the wings.

Cool blue flowers from a conservatory adjacent to the Insectarium.

I chose not to stick to the rivers and the lakes that I used to. Sorry, TLC.

Okay - on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, there exists a natural history museum called the Redpath Museum. One of the best museums I have ever gone to. It is free; donations are suggested, and we gladly donated to this amazing facility. I was overwhelmed, to be honest. Another topic deserving of a cold winter's day post someday.

A Labrador duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius), one of only 55 known specimens in existence. This species went extinct in the late 19th century.

Behind me, an impressive Gorgosaurus skeleton.

Documenting each day's activities for purposes of sentimentality.

We drove south from Montreal through upstate New York, south and west toward Niagara Falls. Would you believe that on the way, we drove through Mexico in a tempestuous snowstorm?

Mexico, New York, that is.

I don't recall being as tired as I was when we arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Physically, mentally, I was beat. But our view from the hotel room was worth the look. Here are the American and Bridal Veil Falls at night, nearly frozen over completely. Did I mention that it was cold?

Oh these silly Ukrainians. This guy with the flag tried to get up and stand on the slick, iced-over railing separating man from the churning surge of water and ice that is the Horseshoe Falls. His friends quickly urged him to get down immediately and insisted he stand on solid ground to wave his flag with pride.