We had a slow start this morning: the weather was a lovely 18° by the time we set out. We drove about 40 minutes east to Base31 where we parked and started our ride.
Base31 operated as a military air training base until 1969. The site was acquired by PEC Community Partners in December 2021. “The new ownership group has embarked on an ambitious revitalization program that includes the adaptive re-use of many of the heritage buildings, transformation of the landscape, and significant investment in placemaking, public art, programming, site activation and food and beverage.” It will be the “cultural heart of a larger 750-acre site that is being developed over the coming years into a dynamic collection of neighbourhoods with a mix of uses: retail, restaurants, places to work and create, parks, trails, and recreation areas, a full complement of community amenities, and a range of housing to suit many needs.”
Today there wasn’t much activity as, at least at the moment, it is seasonal, operating primarily on weekends right now. But we were able to explore the site. Containers have been arranged around a courtyard, to create places to sell food, and consume it. It was a very pleasant place to walk around, but unfortunately, we were not able to get a coffee there this time of year.
The buildings that made up the base are mostly in very poor repair, with very interesting, very worn textures.
Some have been renovated.
There is the sensory garden and playground.
There are several murals scattered around the grounds.
After exploring the site, we headed towards Picton. It was a very long, very steep descent into Picton, and the whole time we were descending I was thinking, what goes down must come up, and that I did not want to ride back up. Fortunately, we came back to the base via a different route and climbed back up over a much longer distance.
We stopped for lunch and coffee at The Bean Counter. The coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and cookies were all very good.
We then rode down Picton’s Main Street, which has the ubiquitous small town Ontario Carnegie library. Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish American businessman and philanthropist. A total of 2509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929. There were 125 built in Canada, 111 of which are in Ontario.
We then headed up to Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park. Patti and I rode there there from Picton 14 years ago, when neither of us were doing much long-distance cycling, and we were both on heavy upright bikes. We found the ride challenging so I was very curious to see how I would find it today. We started climbing out of Picton but stopped to look at several interesting things along the way.
We stopped at the District courthouse and gaol, which was built in 1832. It took two years to build this in the Greek Revival style. John McDonald, Canada‘s first Prime Minister, practised law in and the courtroom here.
Next, we stopped at Saint Mary Magdalene Church, which was built in 1825. The building houses A Path Forward, a permanent and evolving exhibit co-curated by Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, and The County Museums at Macaulay Heritage Park. This mural leading to the door is designed by Melissa Brant, a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
We continued our climb to Macaulay Mountain conservation area. There was a collection of dozens of whimsical birdhouses called Birdhouse City. It began with a scale model of the Massassauga Park hotel crafted by Doug Harnes. Once he completed that he turned his energy and skill to creating an entire city of birdhouses, organizing and enlisting the services of students, businesses, and community groups.
We then turned off the paved road onto a couple kilometres of gravel, some parts with very large rocks which we had to walk over, and other places where we were able to ride.
It brought us to our destination, Lake on the Mountain, where we were able to see the Glenora ferry travelling from Prince Edward County to Glenora. The Glenora ferry is considered part of Highway 33, and is a free car and passenger ferry. On my first bicycle trip from Ottawa to Brampton we use the ferry. I wrote about it here.
This is the lake on the mountain.
We had a strong headwind going back to the car, but it was a relatively flat ride, and because we returned to Base31 via a different route we did not have to climb the long steep hill that we descended at the beginning of the day.
On the drive back, we stopped at Oeno Gallery and Winery. They have a lovely, bright gallery, and an outdoor sculpture park, all free of charge.
The paintings in this image were priced at $30,000–$40,000 apiece!
This cute little guy was entitled “Dogman Grew a Pear”.
There must’ve been 40-50 large pieces outside set in gardens and fields. It was a wonderful way to view the artwork. It reminded me of Danubiana in Bratislava which I wrote about here and here. Here are a few of my favorites from today.
We had dinner back at the house, and spent the evening relaxing, and planning tomorrow’s adventure.
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