Don't litter.

You can at least control the trash and waste you create yourself. In Ontario we used to have "Keep Ontario Beautiful" on vehicle license plates. I miss seeing it there. But, the slogan was all about appreciating what we have and keeping it clean and looked after.

Reuse plastic bags, they are great for repacking when you have dirty clothes and your walking shoes.

Walk.

You see more when you walk anyway. But, you also make a much smaller carbon footprint. For an adventure explore other ways of getting around that don't rely on fossil fuels. Other places have different situations and weather conditions, you could have a great day exploring on horseback, renting a bike, or even taking the local bus (at least you're not consuming extra fuel resources that way).

Eat In.

Shop at the local stores and pick up whatever fresh food you can find. Fresh food will have less packaging and create less garbage.

If that isn't practical you can still buy food from the grocery store and have a picnic outside or bring it back to your hotel and eat indoors. Give support to the local economy, save yourself some money and don't eat food that has been imported from "back home" when you aren't at home.

Power Off and Save Water.

Energy and water are world wide problems. Be energy and water conscious even when you aren't at home and won't see the bill at the end of the month.

Take Tour.

Being in a new place can be intimidating. Make sure you get out, take a tour recommended by your hotel, site outside somewhere and people watch, go for a walk. Make sure you see more than your hotel before you head home.

Pick up a map and find local attractions, historical places, art galleries. Some museums and galleries will have free admission days during the week.

Be Careful What You Buy.

Chances are any natural exotic product is going to be a problem when you cross the border going home. Exotic animals and plants are a big NO, even if they are no longer alive. Understand the rules before you start spending your money.

The notion of urban exploration usually entails this sense of off-limits, abandoned, forgotten and neglected places. However, these places, as Josh Clark writes, were once “created with people in mind; they’re constructed to serve some function that benefits us. But [once] abandoned, these sites cease to have any sort of purpose. By gazing upon these structures as art or historical monuments, urban explorers give them a new purpose.” Hence, our call invites you to leave your “normal” world, venture and wonder through less usual paths. Please share with us your stories of encountering, examining, infiltrating, appropriating the normally unseen or off-limits parts of the urban areas around you. Imagine and image for us what you encounter and what there was once to be seen.

via 2011 Open call for entries on URBAN EXPLORATIONS « Diversity in Place Film Project Initiative.

This is mainly a link farm while I work on putting the sites I have found into a web directory on this domain.

Canoe.ca: Haunted Ontario
The Toronto and Ontario Ghost and Hauntings Research Society
Terry Boyle: Haunted Ontario
The Haunted Walk: Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario.
Burlington Ghost Researchers
Haunted Hamilton
Whitby Ghost Walks
Ghost Tours of Niagara
Flickr: Ghosts of the Niagara Region
Haunted Ottawa
Canadian Haunters Association
Suite101 by Jason Gray: Tales of Haunted Ontario
Wikipedia: Ghost Towns in Ontario
Abandoned Ontario: Haunted Houses in Ontario
Facebook: Most Haunted Places in Ontario
St. Thomas Elgin Paranormal Society
Facebook: London Ontario Ghost Squad
Paranormal Knights of London
Spirit Matters for Durham Region
Paranormal Toronto

Canadian Links:

CBC Digital Archives: Halloween and Tales of Canadian Ghosts
Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada
The Halloween Project: Celebrating all things Halloween in Canada.
Canadian Haunters Convention.
Ghost Towns Canada.ca
Ghost Town Pix.com
Haunted Sites in North America: Haunted Sites in Canada by Province

• Ontario Rural Ruins on Flickr\
• Creepy Ontario\
• Urban Exploration Ontario on Google Groups\
• Ontario Abandoned Places\
• Abandoned Houses of Ontario on Facebook\
• Northern Ontario Abandoned\
• Abandoned Ontario on Flickr

Noticed any great road signs lately? Not just any road signs but those big billboard displays you often see to welcome you when you enter a town or city. I especially like the ones that have the "Thanks for visiting" on the reverse side for people to see as they leave town, that's a nice touch. I found a group for signs like this on Flickr and will see what else I can find now that I've got it in mind to look.

To give it a creative writing slant... think of how you would design the welcome billboard display for your town (or a town of your own creation). Come up with a welcome message people could read in the flash of time it takes to see your sign and drive into town.

Flickr: Canadian Road Signs

This is the first house I ever explored. I had my first digital camera from my Mother for my birthday/ Christmas, an early present before she went down to Florida for the winter. It was great. But, I did not know I would need to buy a memory card. I assumed the memory with the camera would give me all the space I needed to photograph the house.

I never did get all the way around to the back of it. Not long after the house was demolished so now I never will get back there for more exploring. But, I did learn to do my best while at the site and not leave anything for another trip. Another trip might not happen.