PARC MAURICIE

 This summer, we visited this National park run by Canada Parks. We didn't have a reservation, and we stayed in Shawinigan at a hotel, but we did have a chance to visit.  We came in via the southeast entrance from Saint-Gerard-des-Laurentides and parked near Lac-à-la-Pêche at Saint-Gérard. We walked to the Parker waterfalls on the way to Parker lake. 

There are three drive-in campgrounds: Mistagance, Wapizagonke, and Rivière-de-la-Pêche. The most hikes seem to be near Rivière-de-la-Pêche, but there are trails that interest me across the park. It may be a mistake to follow the beach icons, as the campground Wapizagonke doesn't list one even though it seems to be along the shore of a lake, but I am going to book us at Mistagance and RdlP if I can. If I found a willing partner, it would be quite a feat to canoe/portage up Lake Wapizagonke to hike up to Waber falls some day too. 

Actually, there is a provincial trail in the Mauricie region that is 99 km long! It's part of a longer 1650 km network of trails called Le Sentier National, and it's free! It was a collaboration between 9 regions including the Mauricie organized by La Fédération Québécoise de la Marche. I am inspired, especially if visiting the US is a few years off still, with the longer hikes laid out in detail, like this weeklong intermediate hike (divided into sections or "troncons"), or a shorter 4 day version, complete with elevation maps and shelter photos. The only caution is to avoid it during hunting season, that tourists might be tempted as it coincides with autumn colours. . I might have to join a hiking club. A website called RandoQuebec might help! Years ago, the bus for the group called Randonnee Aventure came close to my apartment, and I went a few places because of it! Maybe one day again!

Within the park, there are 5 maps of trails. They all look tempting! To narrow it down, since the next visit will only be for 3 days, I found an article that lists a top five beautiful places within Mauricie Park. It may not be scientific, but it gives me a template. I always like to find the lookouts (eyeballs on a map), and hiking to get there makes it seem even more worthwhile. From the southwest around to the southeast, Sentiers les Cascades et Les Falaises (Falls and Cliffs starts at Shewenegan picnic spot), Belvédère de l'Ile-aux-pins (up a short path with stairs between km 52 and 53), Belvedere du passage (view of Wapizagonke lake),  Sentier du Lac-Solitaire (Pavillon RdlP, 3 hour loop, et Belvédère du Lac-Bouchard (between km 8-9 near Saint-Jean-des-Piles) 

SUMMER HARVEST TIME

Rapunzel corn doll

 

MASKS BY MOM/GRANDMA

 

MONT SAINT BRUNO

 

VIGNETTE: MINT TEA

 My garden is starting to look touched with the colour of the advancing autumn. A hausta has lost its colour on a cooler night, and my mint is colouring a deep burgundy. I have the mint growing in my garden, but as expected, it did not respect the raised bed perimeter, and grew across my path. It's annoying to some who probably try to walk around it, but I love the smell of spearmint that arises when I tromp right through, knowing no amount of trampling is going to control this heavenly weed. 

I have dried a bunch of stems, hanging them upside down in the kitchen, and tonight they were ready for removal. It's not cold yet, but the colours are warmer than the night when it falls, so it seemed like a good night for mint tea.

Mint tea always makes me think of my friend Uli, and the sugar I put in it is because of him. The tea is perfectly lovely without anything but time to cool, but Uli would always make it sweet, so tonight I drink it sweet in the memory of Austria.  It became a ritual at school to meet up with Uli and my roommate Sara to enjoy a cup of this aromatic tea together just before saying good-night, or Grüsti or Ciao. 

I still imagine Uli sitting, like this figure he gave me to remind me of him, presumably at a later date that we have arguable arrived at, sitting in a comfortable chair, now with reading glasses, reading a book and drinking a cup of piping hot mint tea with a little sugar stirred in. I am pretty sure Sara might be doing exactly the same thing, but she would be singing a song while she did it. So, while tonight I have only the company of a purring kitty on a pillow on the couch, always an arms-length away, I drink my garden mint tea, and am in good company.

MISPRONUNCIATION

WRONG

Di-gi-lent

Diligent

Pa-si-fic

Specific

Per-scrip-tion

Prescription

Sup-pose-a-by

Supposedly

Nu-clee-er

Nuclear

Ir-re-gard-less

Regardless (There is no irregardless!)

?RIGHT

Prob-ly

Probably

Close

Clothes

Ah-mund

Almond

Sked-je-wel

Schedule

Mis-che-vus

Mischievous

Tri-ath-a-lon

Triathlon

Kern-nel

Colonel

Lef-ten-it

Lieutenant 

War-ches-ter-shire

Worcestershire (Woostershwa)

CROSS-BORDER RELATIONSHIPS

Not as bad as the Berlin wall, but the repercussions are large.