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http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-summer-2011-photos/ 10 Best Trips of Summer 2011 1. Muskoka Cottage Country, Ontario, Canada Photograph by Randy Craig, Getty Images In Eastern Canada, “cottage country” covers any lake destination within easy driving distance for a quick weekend getaway. Central Ontario’s Muskoka district is close to Toronto—about two hours north via Highways 400 and 11—while still offering an unplugged pace that’s a world away from Canada’s largest city. The 2,500-square-mile natural playground includes 8,699 miles of shoreline; 17 historic towns and villages; and countless waterfalls and lakes bordered by the granite peaks of Algonquin Provincial Park to the east and the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay Islands National Park to the west. Spend the day paddleboarding on Muskoka Lake or exploring the Riverwalk and shops of Canada’s waterfall capital, Bracebridge. For an old-school family vacation, head north to Peninsula Lake’s Pow-Wow Point Lodge, a 91-year-old, all-inclusive resort featuring simple summer pleasures like campfires, canoeing, and volleyball. Plan an August visit to catch Algonquin Park’s educational Thursday evening wolf howls starring—weather-permitting—the reclusive, inhabitant, four-pawed chorus. Pictured here: Colorful deck chairs invite lingering at Kahshe Lake in Muskoka, Ontario.National Geographic – Muskoka Cottage Country, 10 Best Trips of Summer
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Solar Energy National Geographic: Solar Energy Photograph by Otis Imboden Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun’s energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand. Many people are familiar with so-called photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, found on things like spacecraft, rooftops, and handheld calculators. The cells are made of semiconductor materials like those found in computer chips. When sunlight hits the cells, it knocks electrons loose from their atoms. As the electrons flow through the cell, they generate electricity. On a much larger scale, solar thermal power plants employ various techniques to concentrate the sun’s energy as a heat source. The heat is then used to boil water to drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in much the same fashion as coal and nuclear power plants, supplying electricity for thousands of people. In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. The hot oil then boils water for electricity generation. Another…Read More
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Press – Hunstville Forrestor, Muskoka, Ont. Land Development, How To Sell Your Land Faster and Make Money How to sell your land faster and make money There are benefits to developing your lot on your own before you put it up for sale, especially if you’ve tried to sell it unsuccessfully. By developing it yourself or by doing some land staging or landscaping, or additional marketing you can generate more profit from the sale of your land in the long-term and often sell your lot quicker. Why is land without a building permit, at times so hard to sell? There are many possible reasons. Many buyers looking for lots to build on are reluctant to take a risk by purchasing a property without it having a building permit or the proper municipal bylaw approvals. There are many cases when a lot cannot be built on, until restrictions and obstacles have been met. The lot may require the building of a road, clearing up obstacles with road access or getting the permission of neighbours. You may also require an engineer to help with site evaluation or a marine biologist to evaluate fish habitat and whether a dock can be built. Certain…Read More
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Chris Winney, a real estate agent with Royal LePage, presented the following information at the 2011 Fall Cottage Life Show. 1. Privacy: You have to decide how much privacy you would like to have at your cottage. How close do you want your neighbours to be? Do you want to be on a crowded, busy lake, or a quiet one with only a few cottages? 2. Accessibility: Cottages that are accessible only by water are generally less expensive, though you have to add in the cost of buying and maintaining a boat, plus marina expenses and the added travel time. If you want to use your cottage year-round, you’ll want to buy one with road access, though you may need a four-by-four to get there at certain times of the year, when the roads are muddy or unplowed. (And remember: Water-access cottages are accessible in winter by snowmobile, so even if you don’t go, strangers, and possibly intruders, will be able to get there.) 3. Lake: The size of the lake often dictates the kinds of activities that can take place there. A small lake means there will be less boating and fewer motorized boats. Medium lakes tend to be fishing lakes. And a…Read More
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