Imaginative Landscapes
Feb. 16th, 2009 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pyatWhen I was in high school, the city of Hamilton and the town of Stoney Creek were still clearly divided by a narrow strip of scrubland, vacant lots, orchards, and one or two farms. They have since grown into one another, though a large forested park, the site of a battle in the War of 1812, still serves as a demarcation point.
My best friend, Bill, used to host RPG sessions at his house in Stoney Creek. His house was an odd sort of adobe split level, built on a low hill that ran into the side of the Hamilton Mountain. His neighbourhood was about 100 feet over the surrounding terrain, accessible only via two very steep hills. We sometimes referred to it as "Minas Tirith" because it had white walls, and a curious little non-functional courtyard entrance that reminded us of a fortress. North Hamilton, with its fire belching steel mills, was clearly Mordor.
This structure, which rises out of the trees between the two cities, was Cirith Ungol. When we saw it, we knew we were getting close to Minas Tirith. No, the geography and directions are not specifically equivalent to Middle Earth. Never mind that. It's actually a monument to the Battle of Stoney Creek, and an extremely cool one at that.
There was also a 1960s Catholic church, as we got closer, with a bell tower that reminded us of Isengard.
The East End, where we lived, was generally considered something akin to Hobbiton. Gage Park was the Old Forest. Dundas (the valley town west of Hamilton) was Rivendell, a fact which I'm sure pleases the majority of my current D&D group, who live there.
Today is Family Day in Ontario. While![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
velvetpage was cooking some meals to put in the freezer, I took the girls out sight seeing.
Claire loves this. She waves to it anytime we drive past. "Hi planet! Look, daddy! It's a planet!"
The Devil's Punchbowl, also on the border of Hamilton and Stoney Creek, atop the Mountain. I believe this was also a significant point in our imaginative landscape, mainly because of the nearby beacon, which we could see at night as we drove. (See below)
Closeup of the falls. Hamilton is known as the "Waterfall Capital of the World," albeit mostly to the local tourism council. We have something like 100 named waterfalls within city limits, some of them quite impressive, others mere trickles.
The "beacon" atop Devil's Punchbowl. It's an enormous illuminated cross, visible for miles around at night. While other local teenage guys were busily getting to second or third base in the glow of the cross (the nearby park and wooded area is a notorious make out spot), we were making jokes about the Beacons of Gondor being alight. Usually while eating Taco Bell and hurrying to Bill's house in time for ST: TNG.
Downtown Hamilton, as viewed from the base of the cross. This is zoomed in a fair bit - the actual view is much more expansive.
Looking north to Hamilton Harbour and Skyway Bridge. The peak you can see in the middle horizon of the photo is Mount Nemo. Mount Nemo is home to some impressive cliffs, hundreds of turkey vultures, some caves, and 1000 year old cedars. Despite it being incredibly cool, and living in sight of it for most of my life, I didn't visit Mount Nemo till a couple of years ago.
Looking northeast across Lake Ontario, we can see the skyline of Toronto. Those buildings are 37 miles away as the crow flies, according to Google maps.
Looking down into the Devil's Punchbowl....
...same scene, zoomed in. :) I really, really, really like my camera.
My best friend, Bill, used to host RPG sessions at his house in Stoney Creek. His house was an odd sort of adobe split level, built on a low hill that ran into the side of the Hamilton Mountain. His neighbourhood was about 100 feet over the surrounding terrain, accessible only via two very steep hills. We sometimes referred to it as "Minas Tirith" because it had white walls, and a curious little non-functional courtyard entrance that reminded us of a fortress. North Hamilton, with its fire belching steel mills, was clearly Mordor.
This structure, which rises out of the trees between the two cities, was Cirith Ungol. When we saw it, we knew we were getting close to Minas Tirith. No, the geography and directions are not specifically equivalent to Middle Earth. Never mind that. It's actually a monument to the Battle of Stoney Creek, and an extremely cool one at that.
There was also a 1960s Catholic church, as we got closer, with a bell tower that reminded us of Isengard.
The East End, where we lived, was generally considered something akin to Hobbiton. Gage Park was the Old Forest. Dundas (the valley town west of Hamilton) was Rivendell, a fact which I'm sure pleases the majority of my current D&D group, who live there.
Today is Family Day in Ontario. While
velvetpage was cooking some meals to put in the freezer, I took the girls out sight seeing.Claire loves this. She waves to it anytime we drive past. "Hi planet! Look, daddy! It's a planet!"
The Devil's Punchbowl, also on the border of Hamilton and Stoney Creek, atop the Mountain. I believe this was also a significant point in our imaginative landscape, mainly because of the nearby beacon, which we could see at night as we drove. (See below)
Closeup of the falls. Hamilton is known as the "Waterfall Capital of the World," albeit mostly to the local tourism council. We have something like 100 named waterfalls within city limits, some of them quite impressive, others mere trickles.
The "beacon" atop Devil's Punchbowl. It's an enormous illuminated cross, visible for miles around at night. While other local teenage guys were busily getting to second or third base in the glow of the cross (the nearby park and wooded area is a notorious make out spot), we were making jokes about the Beacons of Gondor being alight. Usually while eating Taco Bell and hurrying to Bill's house in time for ST: TNG.
Downtown Hamilton, as viewed from the base of the cross. This is zoomed in a fair bit - the actual view is much more expansive.
Looking north to Hamilton Harbour and Skyway Bridge. The peak you can see in the middle horizon of the photo is Mount Nemo. Mount Nemo is home to some impressive cliffs, hundreds of turkey vultures, some caves, and 1000 year old cedars. Despite it being incredibly cool, and living in sight of it for most of my life, I didn't visit Mount Nemo till a couple of years ago.
Looking northeast across Lake Ontario, we can see the skyline of Toronto. Those buildings are 37 miles away as the crow flies, according to Google maps.
Looking down into the Devil's Punchbowl....
...same scene, zoomed in. :) I really, really, really like my camera.
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Date: 2009-02-16 10:19 pm (UTC)http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20121538
Sorry - I don't know how to post the actual photo, because I'm lame, and my skillset is lacking in this area. :(
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