Visiting Sudbury Part 2 - Science North

On the first day of our girls trip, we visited the Big Nickel & Dynamic Earth.  On the second day, we visited Science North, an interactive science centre in Sudbury, Ontario.

Science North had many educational and informative exhibits and theatres for kids and adults of all ages to enjoy.  We watched Born to Be Wild 3D at the IMAX Theatre, which was a fascinating look into two different wildlife rescue centres and the women who started the incredible rehabilitation centres to faciliatate the return of these creatures to the wild.  One story takes place in Kenya where abandoned and orphaned baby elephants are rescued, and the other takes place in the rainforests of Borneo where orphaned chimps are rescued.  The reasons why these animals are in such dire need is due completely to the reckless actions of humans - the elephant poachers and the destruction of the rainforests.  This movie provides a look into those who devote their lives to reversing these savage acts.

We saw some forms of wildlife at Science North, including a small butterfly room where the butterflies were able to fly freely all around a tropical climate.

We also met the darling Quillan, a porcupine who lives at Science North.  Quillan is unable to live in the wild so he makes his home at the science centre.  He has a space to run around, twigs to chew, and a huge tree to climb up into.  Quillan is a very sweet and much loved porcupine at Science North!

We also met Drifter, the beaver.  Drifter is also rescued and lives at Science North as he is missing part of his tail and is unable to live in the wild.  He has a big area to swim in and was sleeping happily in his habitat when we visited him.  What a cutie!

We saw many more exhibits that related to nature, outer space, the environment, the human body, and many more.  There was this bed of nails that you could lay on, which I tried out!  Of course, this did not hurt at all because the nails were not up when you got onto the apparatus, and then you pushed a button and the nails raised up.  Since your weight was distributed evenly across the bed, it didn't hurt one bit!

There was also a fantastic show at the Planetarium that we watched, followed up by a brief explanation of the stars that you can currently see in the Ontario night sky.

We walked outside on the property of Science North to the boardwalk that extends around Ramsay Lake.  Just outside of the building, there were many Canada geese enjoying a swim around the lake.  It was a beautiful day outside and a great day for watching the geese swim around.

Sudbury is a very interesting place to visit if you'd like to explore the Canadian Shield, the history of nickel mining and enjoy the science centre.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent here!

Visiting Sudbury, Ontario - The Big Nickel

I drove up north to Sudbury, Ontario last week with a couple of my girl friends on a road trip.  We've travelled to the east two summers ago, to the south last summer, so this year it was time to drive north.  Sudbury is about a four or five hour drive so we left early in the morning and spent one night there at a hotel.  On the first day, we visited the Big Nickel and Dynamic Earth.

The Big Nickel is a giant roadside monument to the nickel mining in Sudbury.  It is exactly what you think it is - a giant replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel!  Just like a regular nickel, there is a front and back side - heads and tails.  The Big Nickel is definitely one of Sudbury's most famous landmarks, and I believe it has got to be one of the world's largest coins!

After admiring the Big Nickel, we went into the building that is located directly beside it - Dynamic Earth.  This area is owned by Science North (where we went the following day....blog post to follow!) and is a museum devoted to the city's mining heritage and geology. 

We took a tour down into the mines several flights down into the ground.  There were replicas of actual mines that existed in Sudbury - a century old mine, a mid-century mine, and what a modern mine in Sudbury looks like today.

Overall, the tour guide was incredibly knowledgable and the tour was excellent for kids and adults alike.  There was a brief movie presentation on some screens as you descended into the mine in an elevator.  While in the mine, our tour guide explained the differences between the three mining eras and told us all about the lives and working practices of miners.  It was really awesome walking through the tunnels and passageways.  We also got to see some past and current equipment that was used in actual Sudbury nickel mines.

There was a very unique experience at the end of the tour - Sudbury helped to develop some of the equipment used to rescue the Chilean miners in 2010.  Some of the equipment is even owned by Chile and is on loan currently to Dynamic Earth.  There was also a replica of the rescue capsule that we were able to go inside!  I can imagine that it would have been a pretty tight fit for grown men to get into as I felt it to be pretty tight, and I'm just a 5'3" girl :)

There were also some other movies and displays to see at Dynamic Earth.  I really enjoyed my visit here and would recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Sudbury!

I didn't mention it yet but the scenery in Sudbury and surrounding area is really neat.  It is part of the Canadian Shield and as you drive up north, the terrain starts to slowly become more rocky.  Soon, you can see parts of the road where the rock has been blasted away on either side.  Many people have built Inukshuks on top of the rocks and it is interesting to see them on top of the giant boulders as you drive down the highway.  I wasn't able to capture many photos as I was driving at the time, unfortunately, but it was a very serene and peaceful drive up into the wilderness.  Of course, Sudbury is quite the developed city, but as you drive north all you can really see along the highway are trees, rock formations, lakes and streams.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles & Pickled Green Beans

 

I was reading some vegan blogs last night and came across these recipes for pickling that can be done just by using a few simple ingredients and by leaving these jars in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  I decided to give it a shot!  I have no idea how these are going to turn out as I have to wait at least two weeks before consuming anything, so hopefully the flavors develop nicely!  I will come back in a couple of weeks and post about how good (or bad) it ended up tasting.  Everything looks great so far so I can't imagine this going wrong!

I bought some mason jars at the grocery store.  For the dill pickles, here is the recipe:

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

1 cucumber or 2-3 pickling cucumbers (I used 6 baby cucumbers sliced in half)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
few sprigs fresh dill
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp pickling spices (I bought a pre-made one)
pinch red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed (I used several)
1 tbsp sugar
(I also added a few hot peppers, sliced in half, for extra heat)

Chop the cucumbers into spears, slice the majority of seeds off if you have cucumbers with lots of seeds.  Put all of the ingredients except the dill, cucumber, garlic, and hot peppers into a jar; cover and shake.  Put the cucumber, garlic, hot pepper and dill into the jar.  Top with water if necessary to cover the cucumbers.  Refrigerate for at least 10-14 days before consuming.

I also made these pickled green beans following a very similar method.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

1 lb green beans, trimmed
1 jalapeno (I used a few smaller hot peppers from the garden)
few sprigs of fresh dill
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red chili flakes
1 small clove garlic, lightly crushed (I used several)

For extra spicy beans, make a cut in the jalapeno.  I cut all of the peppers in half for maximum heat!  Add all of the ingredients to a large jar, topping off with water if necessary to cover the beans. Refrigerate for 3 weeks before consuming.

I'll post back and let everyone know how these recipes ended up turning out.  If you have tried something similar with great success, please feel free to comment below!

August Veggies Update & Fresh Salsa

The veggies are ripening and new ones are fresh to pick on a daily basis!  We had a couple of days with a good amount of rain coupled with some sunshine so lots of tomatoes and peppers are ready to be enjoyed. 

Here are all of the peppers that we are growing and at least one of each of them were ready!  The one on the left is the Little Bells Sweet Pepper.  I had no idea that these grew to be so big!  We used it tonight in our dinner and it was delicious!  Since the pepper is so big, we ended up only using half of it, so the other half will be used in a salad tomorrow.  The other peppers in order from left to right:  Hungarian Wax Hot Pepper, Red Cayenne Pepper, Variegated Fish Hot Pepper, and Chinese Five Colours Hot Pepper. 

Here are some of the tomatoes that I picked - Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (the smaller ones) and Baxter's Bush Cherry Tomato (the bigger ones). 

Then, I made a delicious salsa using the fresh tomatoes and hot peppers!  I added some baby garlic scapes that I bought at the farmer's market, some onion, cilantro, a splash of white wine vinegar and the juice of one lime.  You can see the full recipe in one of my previous blog posts.  Doesn't it look delicious? 

Chinese Five Color Hot Pepper

Fresh from my garden, here is my Chinese Five Colour Hot Pepper plant growing with peppers in all five colors.  They start out purple, then change to a creamy off-white, then yellow, orange, and red.  The red one must be just about ready to be picked and the orange one isn't too far off.  I haven't tasted these peppers yet but I hear that they are hot!

My plant is leaning a bit to the side so I should probably stake it.  Also, next year, I will be sure to plant my peppers in big pots like the tomatoes as I keep seeing that these pepper plants can grow quite a bit larger and bushier.  I am really happy that these peppers all seem to be growing really well, and I will have a great variety of hot peppers to eat throughout the rest of the summer!  This plant is quite beautiful with all of the bright colours.