Tricks and Treats

 Everyone has their own ideas about what makes the perfect Halloween party.

I'm just lucky enough to have experienced mine!

It all began with an invitation to dress up in costume and go run, walk, and generally maraud around causing some good-natured trouble in Grimsby. You had to know I was all in for that!

Bonus views of really neat fog on the way down the escarpment on Hwy 6

It obscured the raging fall colours of the forest as we headed along the QEW

Arriving at Dree's, we wandered into the backyard to find the patio suitably decorated.

To be honest, with my food allergies the peppers are the scariest thing on this table!

We all got kitted up - the Grim Reaper, a bottle of Fireball, a tree elf, and some dork pretending to be a bounty hunter - and got Tank to snap a photo before we headed out.

We don't have to make sense to anyone else!

We had convinced Tim the Grim that a few blocks of road wouldn't kill him, so we all piled into our vehicle and got Tank to drop us off for a point-to-point run.

Safest ride in town - you know he's not capable of hitting anything!

We set off from the main entrance of Beamer Conservation Area for a little bit of exploring.

You always run when the Grim Reaper chases you

The weather was incredible - 17c and sunshine on Halloween weekend!

There were lots of people out enjoying the trails

..which were absolutely beautiful in all their leaf-strewn glory!

We got a few strange looks from folks who hadn't expected a pack of ne'er-do-wells in costume in the woods.

Pretty sure they were just jealous of how much fun we were having!

We also got a lot of smiles and positive comments from folks out there, including some who wanted to pose for photos with us!

Which we happily did, then ran away

The fall colours were a bit past their peak, with many leaves decorating the forest floor instead of the branches, but the views were absolutely stunning.

Still some colour out there!

Grimsby from above, with Lake Ontario beyond

We were bopping around having a great time, following whichever trail looked less people-y, when suddenly we drew up a little short.

There's a bit less trail in this trail than I ordinarily prefer

We could see a path that ran along the bottom of the cleft - which apparently used to be spanned by a wooden platform that has since rotted away - and I'd seen another path a few feet back that seemed to lead downward. More exploring required!

We sent a scout

When Tim made it through ok, I followed along.

The path below the rock outcropping didn't seem to go much further, or at least not much further that we wanted to try

There was a pretty incredible view of the tower of rock on which we'd started, though.

Such a fascinating puzzle of sedimentary layers all eroding at different rates

We got a group shot, then clambered back through the cleft
(Photo from Patty's phone)

We found a way to continue, but of course that meant a little bit of scrambling to get back up top.

Dree the tree elf made it up first

I was up second, with Patty and Tim coming up behind

Definitely some hands-on terrain

Up on the summit of the escarpment again, we had views for days!

Occasionally with some unique additions

We retraced our steps a bit along the edge of the giant cliff

The sun already beginning to dip, but still radiating heat

..not to mention lighting up the orange leaves of the forest

We started to make our way down off the escarpment via the Bruce Trail

It's all downhill from here!

I saw a creek flowing over a jumble of giant slabs of rock, and knew I wanted to get a better look.

Despite the way down being best described as "hazardous"

The leaves concealed moving rocks and foot-sized holes among the fallen trees, but eventually I made it down into the valley.

With - as I'd suspected - the sun shining right down it

I found a really neat rock, too!

Not quite sure what this is - some kind of fossilized tube-like coral or critter?

A bit more sketchy scrambling got me a view of the actual water, covered in fallen leaves.

It was so beautiful!

Then - not wanting to test the patience of my companions too much, as they'd all declined to follow after watching me nearly fall and break my fool neck - I just had to clamber back out of the valley.

Slightly more easily said than done, but I didn't die!
(Photo by Dree)

It took a bit of bushwhacking to get us back to the actual trail, which led us down a series of stairs as we lost a heap of elevation in a hurry.

My knee wasn't very happy about these, but IT'S NOT THE BOSS OF ME

A little side trip on road took us to a local historical site - Nelles' Manor.

Explanatory plaque

Nice shack!
Dree used to be a tour guide here, so we got a lot of amazing context

Then it was another short stretch of road to get us on the way back to Dree's place.

Despite complaining about the running, Tim got away on us

We also met a kitty!

As we came through town, we spotted another bit of trail that Dree said used to hook up at the other end, but the last time she'd tried it was all underwater.

With the very dry conditions this year, though, I suggested there might be a way through

So, of course we had to give it a try. 

It started off beautifully, even if I had to give Dree a bit of space so I wouldn't step on her elven cloak

We soon got down to creek level, which was lovely in the sunshine.

Nice spot!

Ahead of us lay a stone arch - a road bridge - and we once again sent Tim to scout.

Death beckons!

It turned out we could get through by using the shoulder of the bridge's foundation, so we did.

This would definitely not be viable during the snowmelt, or winter for that matter

There was a faint trail on the other side, continuing to follow the creek.

Obligatory urban hydro pylon

Then, another tunnel...but much longer this time, and with no easily-followed cement shoulder path.

Well...the only way out is through, right?

The light at the end was deceptive - it made the tunnel look foreshortened, but it was actually a few hundred metres.

Death awaits, as we tried not to get our feet too wet on the shifting rocks

This bit was definitely only passable by chance, with the dry summer and fall we'd had

We figured out that we'd come under the service road, and still had one more tunnel to traverse - under the QEW itself. Fortunately this had a real cement pathway for us!

..as well as some pretty elaborate graffiti

Having recently done some work with spray cans myself, I was impressed!

We stopped to get another group pic with one particularly neat bull

This looks like we're dropping the most baffling album of all time - hit the comments to tell me what its name should be!

Tim and I trotted along a bit further and looked back, then knew we had to set up another pic:

HE'S GAINING ON US

Out the other side, things definitely got more bushwhack-y.

"Trail becomes indistinct"

We knew we had to get up out of the creek valley sooner or later - or start wading through it - so we began to climb at what looked like a handy spot.

With a helpful tree, as long as you didn't whack your head (or your horns) on it

Of course bushwhacking always has its hazards.

Like turning into a burr-ito

I had just managed to get the last of the little stickers off me, when any semblance of trail petered out entirely and our way was largely blocked by a tall chain link fence. We knew we needed to head toward the road, so we followed along the fence until we found a steep embankment that looked promising.

By "promising" I mean it was fence-free...but also made of tangled weeds and fallen trees

We managed to climb up to Christie Street without incident (though I picked up another load of stickers), getting quite an odd look from a passing driver as we emerged at the top and stepped over the barrier.

I'm pretty sure he'd have been baffled even if we weren't in costume, but you don't often see a tree elf, bottle of whisky, a bounty hunter, and the Grim Reaper clamber out of a creek valley and onto the road

We tried to find the entrance to the last bit of trail in Dree's neighbourhood, but fencing once again stymied our efforts, so we just took the road instead.

Finding some fun decorated houses along the way!

We bopped down toward the lake shore to run through a park.

..and met another (very floofy) kitty!

The pathway through the park was lined with painted rocks, presumably done by locals.

Some of which were very seasonally appropriate

There was a sort of of point made of big chunks of rock that jutted out into the lake

Like a breakwater, but perpendicular to the land instead of parallel

I suggested we get another group shot, and set up my phone again.

Timer pics FTW!

Since the lake seemed a little chilly an un-inviting, we all headed back to Dree's to hit up the swim spa.

A much more pleasant temperature!

Of course I hit the swim spa literally - wanged my skull really hard off the giant cedar beam that forms the frame of the privacy shade and roof as I stepped in!

Maybe instead of a hat I should have worn a Boba Fett helmet?

Patty and Tim had to head out not long afterward, but Dree and I weren't quite done menacing her neighbourhood. After a solid hour or so in the swim spa, we got dried off and back into costume for some after-dark fun!

We totally ditched Tank, but there was a hockey game on so he was fine

Running over the QEW at sunset was a sight to behold!

Neato!

The moon was coming up bright over the escarpment as we reached the business section of town.

My photo does it no justice at all

We hit up the downtown core to see what it had in store for the Saturday night of Halloweekend

There were a few costumes about, and some decorated shop windows

This had got us a bit on the dried out side, so we had to stop for some refreshment.

Running amok is thirsty work!
I may have also fed candy to strangers..

Then it was off to the local purveyors to pick up some essential supplies, and back to Dree's with a few detours to go check out decorations.

There weren't many houses in on the fun, but some of them had gone all-out!

Tank fired up the grill for some sliders and Dree got the oven nice and toasty for some delicious cauliflower wings, just as Kevin returned home from his gig as an actor in a local haunted house. We ate, drank, and watched Hockey Night in Canada until I was ready to turn into a pumpkin, then we bade our wonderful hosts goodbye and my sweetheart drove me home.

As I say - it might not be everyone's idea of the perfect Halloween party, but it sure was mine!

Wheeeeee!

Hope your Halloween was amazing!