Canadian Roadstories

Stories & Pictures about Canadian People, Places and Things

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Home
  • Canadian People
  • Canadian Places
  • Canadian Things
  • Canada’s First Peoples
  • About

Ron Brown’s Backroads of Ontario

August 20, 2016 by Judy Leave a Comment

cover of Backroads of Ontario by Ron Brown

I attended a book publishing workshop at the Travel Media Association of Canada conference not long ago. Ron Brown was one of the presenters. We had just received a copy of Backroads of Ontario from Firefly Books and I was anxious to hear what Ron had to say.

According to his website ‘Nobody knows Ontario like Ron Brown’ and I’m beginning to think that’s correct. Ron describes himself as a geographer, but he wears many hats and has been at one time or another a community planner, historian, tour guide, movie location scout and consultant, as well as the author of over 20 books since the 1970s. He specializes in Canada’s historic buildings, main streets, trains, railway stations and ghost towns. I use his large-format, softcover books to guide some of my travel fantasies, or as actual guidebooks that get kicked around the back seat of the car or stuffed into backpacks on excursions of discovery.

Tyrone Mill

The Tyrone Mill began grinding grain with water power in 1846, and the mill still does.

Through a series of 24 planned routes with maps and pictures, Backroads of Ontario takes us from Neptune’s Staircase on the Niagara Escarpment to the Silver Mountain Road west of Thunder Bay, and from Manitoulin Island to the Opeongo Pioneer Road. What usually happens on a trip is that we get lost (maybe on purpose) and rarely (if ever) complete one of Ron’s carefully planned tours. Sorry Mr. Brown.

church at Roche's Point, Ontario

Located at Roche’s Point is one of Ontario’s most picturesque churches.

Backroad driving in a place like Ontario is a relaxing way to discover the history and stories of people you wouldn’t normally meet. A pastoral, rural place today might have been a scene of tragedy and despair in colonization times not that long ago. Mining, lumbering and farming have shaped the province and her people in ways not immediately obvious. Ontario is a very large place and the geography can go from calm to violent and back around each bend in the road. This book gives us an informed and elegant introduction to many of these places.

Also by Ron Brown with Firefly Books: Ontario’s Ghost Town Heritage and Top 150 Unusual Things to See in Ontario.

mural in Welland, Ontario

The “Women at Work” mural is just one of many located in Welland.

Filed Under: Canadian People, Canadian Things Tagged With: Book Review

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RANDOM ROADstories

statue of Queen Victoria, Queens Park, Toronto, Canada

Victoria Day

silhouette of a bat at sunset

The Year of the Bat

Q&A with Aboriginal hoop dancer Alex Wells | Canadian Geographic

Road Trip Through Old Growth Forests in British Columbia …

Yuquot Master Carver Sanford Williams

Yuquot (Friendly Cove) — Centre of the World

Louie Kamookak - Inuit oral historian and finder of Sir John Franklin’s lost ships

Louie Kamookak – Inuit oral historian and finder of Sir John Franklin’s lost ships

inukshuk sunrise at Forillion National Park

10 Things You Need To Do For A Perfect Day At Forillon National Park

A Canada Day of Remembrance

inukshuk in Rankin Inlet, 1968

Inukshuk

Billy Bishop

Billy Bishop – Canadian War Hero

Dundas Square, Toronto

Dundas Square party

Western Uplands Ranch near the Red Deer River in southeastern Alberta

Cowboys, Guest Ranches, Ghost Towns

Slipway Use sign

Island of Newfoundland – A Photographer’s Dream

Colville Bay oysters

Shucking Oysters

Canada's First Peoples
Previous
Wanuskewin – Showcase for Northern Plains Indians Culture, History
Next
First Nations Culture Enriches the Yukon
  • Home
  • Canadian People
  • Canadian Places
  • Canadian Things
  • Canada’s First Peoples
  • About