Back from the Laurentides

My first two blog posts of 2008 are going to be written in backwards chronological order; they'll be in the correct chronological order, therefore, if you come upon them at a later date.

Chris is performing Haydn's Trumpet Concerto for us as I write this... on his clarinet, with George at the piano representing the orchestra. At the other end of the room, a log fire is burning in the hearth.

This morning, in our bedrooms at the Comfort Inn, we drew the curtains on a fantastic view of blue sky over white mountains, dark fir trees and the little town of Ste-Jovite in the middle distance, clustered around its church. We had an even better view of this scene after breakfast from the top of the glissades—the steep tube run. Despite the wind chill of minus 25, Jonathan was obliged to remove one of his gloves, risking frostbite in order to video the three-man descent from tube level, while I recorded the same from above. If this ever appears on YouTube we shall entitle it YouTube, of course.

Highway 323 from Mont Tremblant to Montebello was a spectacular route to drive, past the white expanse of Lac des Plages, and the roadside cliffs flanked with ice. The Omega Park, with its population of wild animals we could not only see clearly but also touch from time to time, gave us yet more beauty and pleasure. Here's a young deer approaching for the sake of a carrot, besides which we saw coyotes, wapitis, bison, a moose and wolves.

Ontario bound, we took the river ferry from Masson to Cumberland, grazing the river ice as we crossed over.