Hello Bon Echo

Hello Bon Echo Earl Plato
“Bon Echo” - know your French? We were opposite the towering 300 foot cliffs of Bon Echo in mid-August. Our tour boat hostess asked, “Give me a one-syllable word.” Wife, Elaine suggested “Ed.” (That’s her brother-in-law’s name.) The hostess told us on the count of three to yell, “ Ed!” We did. The echo was clear and loud as it reverberated from the cliff face.. Bon echo. We repeated the call. Same results - Great echo! I don’t suggest that our whirl-wind trip is the best way to enjoy nature.
Bon Echo Provincial Park had been suggested to me over the years as a neat nature spot to visit. This was the time for our first visit. The weather was ideal. What a summer!
After our stop at Emily Provincial Park the previous day and a stay at Peterborough we headed west on Highway 7 to Kaladar. Here we turned north on Highway 41 to Bon Echo.
Hey we’re seniors! Where was the Visitor Centre? We parked where the signs pointed. It was parking space for the Amphitheater. We walked back to a meandering road and followed the signs. A half mile? More. I thought, as this guy with his sore leg avoided dips and dives. What a place for a Visitor Centre! I asked the young park guide, “How close can you drive to this place?” “Where did you park?” “The Amphitheater parking lot!” “That’s as close as you can get.” Not convenient for all.
Our boat ride on Lake Mazinaw was delayed. Why? People had booked up to three months ahead for the hour plus tour. We had to wait until the third trip of the day. Time to wander around in the bookstore and go out to a good local restaurant. We came back to the Centre - same way - me stumbling over tree roots. There were the other seniors - some thirty of them. They had driven to below the Centre in two large vans. Hey a walk of about fifty feet! Could we have done the same? No, you had to book the vans ahead of time. Call first if you want to check the time of the tours.
After the ‘echo’ exercise we headed for the cliffs where they claim the Algonkians painted 250 red-ochre pictographs on its face. Use your imagination. Our guide pointed out the barely discernible drawings. She explained the religious significance of each.
Ahead two small motor boats had tied up at an outcrop. Two families had scaled a ledge about twenty feet up. ‘Cannon ball time’ on this hot day was the exercise.
Our Guelph University graduate guide gave us a great deal of geologic information. We looked closely at the rock formations of this Canadian Gibraltar. We saw climbers above us at a lookout at the top that must offer them a panoramic view. No time for that climb this day.
Campers will like Bon Echo Provincial Park. It has a full program for you according to their brochure. Keep exploring Ontario.