Petroglyphs
John and I went to Petroglyphs Provincial Park north of Peterborough yesterday to go hiking.
We hadn't been hiking in a couple of weeks due to busy schedules so it was great to have a whole day to travel off to a park a bit of a distance from home to go exploring. Petroglyphs Provincial Park is up near the Warsaw Caves, a park we'd gone exploring early in the summer.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park has a special significance to the Native people in the area because of the rock carvings left in the cliffs by traveling shamans 600 to 1100 years ago. Those petroglyphs are now protected by a glass building which looks as if it was picked up and then gently set down on top of the petroglyph site. The building maintains temperature and humidity to keep the carvings from fading or cracking. You can walk along a circular sidewalk to see the petroglyphs from all sides and read small signs explaining the significance of the carvings. On the rock you can see feathers, sweetgrass and tobacco that have been thrown into the site, as the petroglyphs are often used as a site for Native ceremonies. There are also signs along the path leading to the building asking visitors not to take pictures or use video at the petroglyphs in respect of it being a sacred site.
After seeing the petroglyphs and exploring a Native Learning Centre nearby we chose one of several hiking trails in the park to go do some more exploring. We chose the "Marsh Trail" and it was really beautiful. It was a warm golden September day and the walk was just perfect. The path was earthen, covered with bracken, with tree roots and Canadian Shield rock coming through the ground and making walking interesting. There were four types and colours of moss blanketing the ground in rustic patterns and tall evergreen and birch trees shading the path. Just a lovely trail.
The theme of my Gr. 5 religion lessons next week revolves around rock, so I collected a large rock on the path to take home with me. The rock has quartz crystals on one side and strains of red and black granite on the other. Though I was sure not to pick up the rock in the area designated as sacred ground, it did seem a good area to collect a rock to base a religion unit around.
Exercise log: 5.5 miles along the petroglyph trails taking me to 393 miles on my walking challenge. 65 more miles to Rivendell.
We hadn't been hiking in a couple of weeks due to busy schedules so it was great to have a whole day to travel off to a park a bit of a distance from home to go exploring. Petroglyphs Provincial Park is up near the Warsaw Caves, a park we'd gone exploring early in the summer.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park has a special significance to the Native people in the area because of the rock carvings left in the cliffs by traveling shamans 600 to 1100 years ago. Those petroglyphs are now protected by a glass building which looks as if it was picked up and then gently set down on top of the petroglyph site. The building maintains temperature and humidity to keep the carvings from fading or cracking. You can walk along a circular sidewalk to see the petroglyphs from all sides and read small signs explaining the significance of the carvings. On the rock you can see feathers, sweetgrass and tobacco that have been thrown into the site, as the petroglyphs are often used as a site for Native ceremonies. There are also signs along the path leading to the building asking visitors not to take pictures or use video at the petroglyphs in respect of it being a sacred site.
After seeing the petroglyphs and exploring a Native Learning Centre nearby we chose one of several hiking trails in the park to go do some more exploring. We chose the "Marsh Trail" and it was really beautiful. It was a warm golden September day and the walk was just perfect. The path was earthen, covered with bracken, with tree roots and Canadian Shield rock coming through the ground and making walking interesting. There were four types and colours of moss blanketing the ground in rustic patterns and tall evergreen and birch trees shading the path. Just a lovely trail.
The theme of my Gr. 5 religion lessons next week revolves around rock, so I collected a large rock on the path to take home with me. The rock has quartz crystals on one side and strains of red and black granite on the other. Though I was sure not to pick up the rock in the area designated as sacred ground, it did seem a good area to collect a rock to base a religion unit around.
Exercise log: 5.5 miles along the petroglyph trails taking me to 393 miles on my walking challenge. 65 more miles to Rivendell.