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Happy Monday, wonderful readers! Unfortunately we don't have an article this week either.

Which is why we rely on the efforts of dedicated writers such as yourselves! Exploring the Sound is primarily a submission-based magazine; we need your stories to survive!

Interested parties can email us at exploringthesound@gmail.com. No ideas? No problem! We have plenty of subjects for you to choose from.

We hope you're enjoying your summer!

The Best Waterfronts in Downtown Parry Sound: A Guide

Now that the longest day of the year, June 21st, is over and Parry Sound's Dragon Boat Festival has come and gone, we can officially declare that Summer is here! With the sunny season finally upon us, it's time to look at how best to spend a day off in Parry Sound and the surrounding area. We start with a guide on the best places to swim in downtown Parry Sound.

Waubuno Beach

The most popular (and safest) place to look for a swim is Waubuno Beach, affectionately dubbed "New Town Beach" by the locals. Waubuno Beach sits at the end of Prospect St., which runs off of Waubeek. Though the most common point of access is at the intersection of Seguin St. and Church St., there are more than a few ways to reach Waubuno. A quick internet search will tell you where you need to go.

Waubuno Beach comes highly reccommended for one strong reason: lifeguards. From July 1st to August 31st, the sands are supervised during daytime hours by certified life-savers. The waters are also clear and shallow - a perfect place to take the kids (or new swimmers!) for a summer dunk.

Waubuno Beach is Parry Sound's largest beach - plenty of room to lay down your towel and soak up the sun! The sand is bright and clear, and if you find yourself burning your feet, there is plenty of vibrant, green grass to retreat to. There is also ample parking space - no need to circle the lot looking for that one empty spot.

Kids and young-hearted folks alike love the playground equipment just up the hill - complete with a slide, a large swingset, and fun little games littered along the plastic structure. Would-be explorers can also venture into the rocks alongside the water. It was one of my favourite places to play as a child.

Being the most family-friendly waterfront in downtown Parry Sound, Waubuno Beach is the perfect place to take the kids for a sunny summer day.

Old Town Beach

Sister to the "New Town Beach", Old Town Beach is more of a (poorly kept) local secret. Found at the end of Waubuno St. (confusing, right?) the most common point of access is the aforementioned intersection of Seguin St. and Church St.. However, as with Waubuno, there are many ways to reach Old Town Beach! A quick internet search for directions will tell you where you need to go.

The most immediate difference between Old Town Beach and Waubuno Beach is the lifeguards - Old Town Beach is not supervised. The water is also deeper here, and there is a drop-off that might deter less experienced swimmers. Old Town Beach is for beach veterans only.

Old Town Beach is much smaller than its counterpart - maybe half the size. Parking is minimal, and sand is the only thing you'll find at this beach. To some (myself included), these differences hallmark a better beach. Because of the added risk and minimal convenience, Old Town Beach is often much emptier - less noise and bustle, and fewer screaming kids. The deeper water is also less frustrating for stronger swimmers who would like more space to dive in.

Old Town Beach is downtown Parry Sound's most adult-friendly beach - a perfect place to spend the day lounging with your friends.

The Salt Docks

Lacking sand (or anything else organic) the Salt Docks are good for one thing only: jumping. The Salt Docks have long been a favourite spot for thrill-seeking swimmers. The docks rise high above the water, providing ample space to fly through before splashing into the depths below.

However, do so at your own risk! The Salt Docks are unsupervised, and there are many ways that dock-jumping can go wrong. Between this and the deep, deep waters, The Salt Docks are for strong swimmers only. That being said, The Salt Docks are a great place to cool off and go for a swim - as long as you can handle the extra risk!

The Salt Docks lie at the end of Marion Ave., which is in the same neighbourhood as Waubuno Beach and Old Town Beach. Drivers may find a better access point at the intersection of Isabella St. and Church St., but a quick internet search will give you the best directions.

Your favourite waterfront will depend on what you want from a beach - family-friendliness, seclusion, or excitment. Please practive proper water safety, and don't attempt anything beyond your abilities. Enjoy the water!


- By Aimee Lynn Gleeson

Springtime Smelting

I know spring is on its way out the door in a weeks time, but I thought I should mention this interesting spring pass time that occupies the local persons.

Smelting. Smelt. It’s a very popular pass time in the spring 'round these parts. The Magnetawan river cuts through the northern section of the Parry Sound District. It’s a wide, winding river, fat with fish, rapids and spills wide against the locks in the town of Magnetawan.

Every year there's a large fish fry and the river banks are flush with fishermen dipping their nets in the water for large clusters of those fishy treats.

If you want something to do in the Spring with a group of friends, grab some nets and head up past Dunchurch and see how many you can catch! Evening is the best time.

I was asking around and it seems that there's a pretty basic recipe for making them. A warning: this isn't your five star French cooking.

Ingredients

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Canola Oil

Shake and Bake fish Batter

Directions:

1. Prepare batter: Shake and Bake, garlic, salt, and pepper
2. Run fish under cold water
3. Cook fish in canola oil

For something a little fancier, but a little less local, try this one on for size:

Ingredients:

cooking oil for frying (I like to use olive oil)
1 cup matzo meal
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound smelt
2 tablespoons butter
handful fresh herbs, minced
1 clove garlic
minced fresh chili pepper (I used 1 whole chili)
salt and pepper
1 lemon, halved

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, add oil to reach 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil until 350F or when you drop a few flakes of matzo meal into the oil it begins to bubble and lightly brown.

2. In a wide, shallow bowl, mix together the matzo meal, garlic powder and the salt. Have the matzo meal, the smelt, a wire rack on top of a baking sheet ready by your stove. Coat a smelt on both sides with the matzo meal then carefully slide into the hot oil to fry. Repeat with a few more smelt fish (just make sure you give the smelt enough room so that they don't touch in the oil). Fry both sides of the smelt fish for 2 minutes each side. They cook very quickly! Let the fried smelt drain its excess oil on the wire rack. Repeat with remaining batches.

3. Just before serving, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and when hot, add in the garlic and chilies. When garlic becomes fragrant, season with salt and pepper and squeeze in the juice of one of the lemon halves. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh herbs. Pour this over the plated fried smelt and serve immediately with lemon wedges.



— Kelsey Ward
Second recipe: http://www.steamykitchen.com/15666-fried-smelt.html

Photo Walk: Rose Point Recreational Trail

A photo walk exploring Rose Point Recreational Trail — a staple of my childhood! Read Railway Lands to learn more about the history of this long standing trail.

A sign details the enormity of this trail.

It's very green this time of year.

One of the old railway tracks detailed in Aubrey's article.

Explore more of Rose Point Recreational Trail after the jump...

The Long Deep History of Parry Sound, Pt. 2

The Long Deep History of Parry Sound is a two-part series telling the geological history of our area.

The mountains that formed were not just in Parry Sound, but in the whole local region — thousands and thousands of square kilometers. A second story occurred in the same place, but deep in underground.

Perhaps before or during the great mountain building period, a hole formed deep in the crust and filled with liquid rock, called magma. Had it burst through to the surface, the lake of magma would have spewed hot lava as a terrific volcano; but it did not breach the surface. The mountain sized lake of magma cooled slowly beneath the ground. This deep landform is called a batholith, and it only becomes exposed when the rock covering it is worn away. Today, the quarry chips away at the deep formed granite, and chunks reside outside the Earth Sciences Centre at the University of Toronto.

Read more about Parry Sound's varied lands after the jump...

The Long Deep History of Parry Sound, Pt. 1

The Long Deep History of Parry Sound is a two-part series telling the geological history of our area.

The first white settlers came to this region in the 1850s – but history is more than just what is recorded by people. To some people, the unrecorded past can be just as interesting; but the reading of that history is often difficult as it requires special knowledge. I have a bit of the special knowledge, and so I want to tell you a bit of the hidden history of Parry Sound.

Everyone who lives around here knows that the area is old. We live in the Precambrian Shield, but for most people that is all they know. I would tell you that saying we live in the Precambrian Shield is like saying, “Parry Sound is in North America.” One hundred percent correct, but not very specific. I think that is a shame, because Parry Sound is located in a very interesting place.

Read more about Parry Sound's geological history after the jump...

Crafts N' Things Hobbies & Games

Just south of town is a little known shop, one most of you might not have heard of: Crafts N' Things Hobbies & Games. I know I did not know about it for a long time. It is small and somewhat out of the way, but that adds to its presence and flavour.

The vast collection of action figures, models, cards and miniatures, not to mention the colossal collection of comic books, as well as a mighty amount of t-shirts, craft and hobby supplies, will please almost anyone’s niche. However it is not the store that makes this place stand out; it is the owners, Tammy and James Federico, who make the small store a home to gamers and nerds of many varieties.

There is more to this place then just a store; it is a place of imagination and creativity, a place to escape from some of the more mundane parts of life, a place where one can become something more.

Explore more of Tammy and James' store after the jump...

Seedy Saturday: Starting the Growth of the Food Revolution

Way back in March, in the high ceiling, a voice rose up in a bubbling stew of ideas. Fresh vegetables, canned goods, home-spun yarn, handmade household goods, and of course seeds for the coming spring are swapped down among the people, and ideas become action.

Canned goods from Mrs. Wilson's Kitchen.

Welcome to the world of McKellar's vibrant food culture.

McKellar is an interesting place. It's wrapped in forest, shored in by lakes, and blanketed by sky. Earth, nature, food and our impact upon it is in our backyards. It is something unavoidable. More than any other place in the Parry Sound District people want good food, and control over the way they eat.

I am well immersed in this. Since I was little I've seen it grow into a movement, like the seeds they plant in their gardens.

Learn more about Seedy Saturday after the jump...

The Persistence of Winter

Parry Sound area fell prey to yet another snowfall this week. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever escape winter.

Nature's impertinent refusal to join the land of the waking reminds me of my own reluctance to participate in spring; like the seasons, I too prefer to pull up my downy, white blanket rather than leave the comfort of my sleep. I'm having a hard time shaking winter from my fingers, my toes – electing to stay in with a hill of blankets and a warm mug of tea more often than not. Hibernation's end comes late this year.

See more after the jump...

Railway Lands, Pt. 2

Railway Lands is a two-part series exploring Parry Sound's history with railroads.

When I first came to live in Parry Sound it was 1977. I was only about five years old then. The town was very different from the way it is now. Now there are two busy continental railways passing through the town: the mighty Canadian Pacific and the equally proud Canadian National Railway. They wind their way through the town, heading to and from greater markets in the East and the West. But when I first came here, there was more.

When I arrived in Parry Sound the town was entering a transition period. Booth's Parry Sound-Arnprior-Ottawa railway was coming to a close, but was still in operation, and the port of Parry Sound was slowly ending its industrial phase and entering the more peaceful tourist phase. Let me paint you a picture of what this looked like:

Learn more about old Parry Sound's harbour and its railways after the jump...

Railway Lands, Pt. 1

Railway Lands is a two-part series exploring Parry Sound's history with railroads.

The other lost railway local to the area is the Parry Sound-Arnprior-Ottawa Railway, built at the turn of the 19th century and completed nearly a decade before any other railways came to Parry Sound. It did not end in Parry Sound; it ended in Depot Harbour, on Parry Island. Depot Harbour was located in a natural deep water harbour on the north shore of Parry Island.

The harbour was sheltered and had a large entrance. The land secured for the terminus was flat and sandy, which is an oddity for the area. A small town was built there. The railway was connected to the mainland at Rose Point with a low swing-bridge across the South Channel, which was the main water route into the town for passenger steamships. Steamships were taller than the bridge, so the bridge had to be able to move to let ships pass. At one time it was possible for a train, a car, a ship and a person to use the same space in a short period of time. The bridge, originally meant only for trains, is only a single lane to this day.

The wharf at Depot Harbour

More about Depot Harbour after the jump...

Dinner Time At Wellington's

A common question:

I'm hungry for pub food and quiet Parry Sound steeped atmosphere, where should I go?

A common answer:

Wellington's.

Wellington's is a pub and grill just on the outside of what would be considered the downtown. Like many buildings, it has the brick exterior but with a big green overhang.

Having been to Europe, and in pubs, I find that Wellington's entry emphasizes what a pub is -- and that is a local gathering place. The way in is close, with one wall containing a panel of adds from other local businesses. Then it opens in to a warmly lit room, with the bar and its tap shining brightly. The waitress will seat you now.

See more of Wellington's after the jump...

Photo walk: McKellar Balsam Trail

Read Midwinter McKellar for more information on Balsam Trail.

We begin our journey at the top of the steps, with a map explaining the area.

A smiling Kelsey looks back for a picture.

Continue your walk after the jump...

Lunch at Lill's

Lunch at Lill's.

How do you combine the small town feel, the old style diner, and the qualities that make Parry Sound Parry Sound? Well in Lill's of course.

Lill's sits in the downtown area, just past the CIBC and Mitch's. Outwardly it is very Parry Sound in its red bricked exterior, and there is a quaintness to the red banner cloth that hangs down.

Serving breakfast and lunch, they are all that I have described above. With a warm theme of red paint, soft pine trim and closeness of tables that give an intimate feel, it's not hard to think of Lill's as a great place to go for a bite to eat.

Often, I go to Lill's for breakfast, early on a Sunday morning, post party or pre-parting with friends. Lately I've indulged in their delightful lunches where heady discussions of life are done over fish 'n' chips.

Sample some of the food after the jump...

Midwinter McKellar

Like other townships surrounding Georgian bay, McKellar is often blanketed with the term "cottage country" and rightfully so. Come summer, the population blossoms with visitors. The great summer migration north is a shining light for tourists and local business alike.

What is most often forgotten though, is midwinter.

The cold bitter weather sets in and gone is the glow of Christmas, leaving everyone shivering at the bus stop waiting for warmer weather to arrive.

What is often forgotten is how much there is to do in these frosty months. Sure, there is the hockey on TV and cavalcade of Hollywood award ceremonies, but these are crumbs of entertainment. The big question remains: what is there to do?

For this, I ask you to put aside your computer, just for two hours of the day, pull on thicker socks and even dawn the dreaded and not very fashionable snow pants.

Read our suggestions after the jump...