28 August 2013 - Quebec

We decided to not drive much today and instead explore Old Quebec, a city of history and charm.  A short drive from our hotel put us at the foot of the massive cliffs that protected the city for so many years.  The city is set on a plateau overlooking the confluence of the St. Charles and St. Lawrence rivers.  For decades it has been the controlling spot for commerce and trade with the Atlantic and the Great Lakes regions. Because of its strategic location, it has been fought over more than once.

The French settled the area and fortified it and for about 150 years they controlled the location and contested dominance of the region with Great Britain.  Finally in 1759, the British won control and have remained in control since. In about 1860, The Canadian Confederation was formed making the country essentially independent. Still, they have made themselves subject to the British Monarchy and keep many traditions.  Quebec is home to the only French speaking regiment in Canada, one that has covered itself with glory in many campaigns.  The Citadel, on the south of the city  is overlooking the Plains of Abraham, site of the most famous battles for the city.

It was built in about 1860 as a defense against the USA but was never attacked, obviously.  But it is still functioning and is the headquarters of the 22nd Regiment and all their orders and actions are done in French, including the changing of the guard, which we witnessed today.  The goat is the regimental mascot, and declared the "royal goat" because the original mascot, Bessie, was given to the regiment by the Queen.  The current goat is the 11th Bessie and the goat was picked because of its fierce attitude of defending its family.  The regimental motto is translated  " I remember" and refers to Country, family and comrades.

The martial spectacle, with its drums, band and stylized maneuvers was fun to watch.  They change the guard, all dressed in traditional uniforms, only once a day and only until the end of August and then close down until the spring.  But at all other times, they are a real military unit, on active duty and have been called to fight in World Wars I and II, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.

We then spent hours walking the city, with its narrow streets, hills, cobblestones, shops and cafes.  We had a splendid lunch at the Creperie, saw the iconic Chateau Fontenac, watched a diorama of the battles of Quebec and visited ornate and beautiful churches.  By the time we got home, we were tired but found Quebec to be a lovely visit.

We had a snack of cheesecake at a sidewalk cafe on the square.



Many of the churches date back to the French days and are Catholic or have a strong Catholic/Anglican flavor.  Stain glass windows abound and gilded alter pieces and relics are present.  I found them beautiful and in a couple of them, they had background music of Gregorian chants and other acapella singing.  In addition, street side performers made lovely music on guitar, harps, etc.  They added a unique flavor to the city.

We went up and down a lot of steps to get about on the heights where Quebec is situated.  We indeed had a good days walk and it was tiring but rewarding.  The city is like being in Europe without having to endure the long overseas flight.  People were so friendly and warm and most could speak English, though the preferred speech is French.  The commanding view is spectacular and one can easily see the strategic planning that went into the city.  I enjoyed it very much.  I also found the history fascinating and was reminded of all the things I learned in the past about this historic location.

27 August 2013 - Quebec

Today we intended to have some spiritual refreshment and uplift during our journey.  Each Sunday, so far, has been good and we have truly enjoyed visiting different Wards.  We have met wonderful people and felt of the Spirit and enjoyed worshiping with brothers and sisters from different areas.  We strongly recommend  when you travel that you follow our example and take the opportunity to go to Church each and every Sunday, it is worth it.  But today we elected to expand our experience.  We took a room overlooking the Saint Lawrence River across from Montreal.  It is in the town of Longueuil, which also happens to be the location of the Montreal Temple. It was closed yesterday, but offered 3 sessions today.  We went for a walk this morning and as we walked, I noted something sticking up above the trees.  As we got closer, it became a recognizable icon.

We were fortunate enough to take a place literally about 15 minutes walking time from the Temple.   When it came time to leave the hotel, we just headed down the road and turned in to the Temple.  It is one of the small temples so does not stay open each day and does not have all day session options.  Today there were sessions at 0900, 1100 and 7:30.  We choose to attend the 11 am session.  A few cars were in the parking lot when we arrived and we walked up to the door and found it locked, which surprised us. 

I looked about to see if there were another entrance, but none presented itself.  As we looked closer, we saw a doorbell beside the door. Now, if your were to go to  the House of the Lord and ring the doorbell, who would you expect to answer?  We found that it is answered by a servant of the Lord. A kind brother with a French accent opened the door and invited us in.  Each patron who comes to this temple has to ring the bell to be admitted.  I think that is because the workers all have extra duties to perform and one is not assigned to just wait for people to come.

We were able to change clothes and then have about an hour to wait.  It was peaceful and quiet, with few people around. In the endowment session there were only about 20 attendees.  Only two people were at the veil at any one time. We were greeted by the Temple President himself who also opened the session.  He welcomed people in French, English and Spanish, he is truly multilingual.  In deference to "visitors" from Salt Lake City, they held the session in English and we were the Witnesses.  We very much enjoyed the session and both had names that were very French.  Pronunciation was a challenge, however, the brother assisting at the veil was from Murray, Utah on a mission to the temple and he also struggled with saying the name.  He does not speak French and in fact is assigned to help Chinese members, but does not speak Chinese either, which I thought was a unique challenge for him.  He was very kind and helpful and nice to meet.  It was a soul refreshment to attend the Temple and worth the time.  We find that we enjoyed this small temple, with the slower pace, quieter environment and intimate sessions.  We hope to attend others.

Notice the red and white flowers bordering the grounds, the colors of Canada. 

After the session, we headed east again, traveling through the continuous lush country.  We did get a bit lost heading for the freeway and drove through the center of Longueuil.  It was like being in France itself, with small shops. sidewalk cafes, looming stone churches, narrow roads and everything in French.  I though it was charming.  We found the freeway and are now in a little town outside of Quebec called St. Nicholas.  Tomorrow we will take a stab at exploring old Quebec, with its citadel, battlefield and historic sites.  I am looking forward to it.  Bon jour.

26 August 2013 - Montreal

Ottawa beckoned us this morning to investigate Parliament Hill, the seat of government for all of Canada.  We walked from our hotel and up the streets to this impressive location.  It is set on a rise overlooking the Ottawa River as it divides and joins around a series of islands.  It was here, in years past, that another set of rapids obstructed passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the interior, so another series of step-wise locks were built, becoming the focus for the founding of a town.  It has since grown to a metropolis.  The government buildings are made of sandstone and roofed with copper.  In about 1906 Parliament Building burned to the ground, leaving only the old library standing. When it was rebuilt, they made an impressive structure.  I am sure that in days past, before larger buildings were constructed, Parliament members loved to look out from the hill over the growing city.

 The tower is girded by 4 gargoyles, to divert rain water away from the high tower. We noted in places, however, that the water from the copper roofs have stained the sandstone green.  I felt that the gargoyles are to look in all four directions for any planes that might threaten the tower.  The clock chimes the same melody as our grandfather clock at home, and not much more in tune, either.  But it does have a greater volume.

In the large court in front of the building has been erected an eternal flame to commemorate the century anniversary since the confederation of all the provinces under independent, central government.

The grounds have a number of statues on them, cast in bronze to remember the first Prime Minister, the man who mapped the area, trappers, soldiers, war fallen and other events.  One statue is of Queen Victoria, standing in majesty and another of the current Queen Elizabeth, astride a horse and looking over the city.  We also found one grouping of suffragettes, meeting to plan their strategy to gain the vote.  Ronda felt that she could join in the effort.

I think she looks so pleased with the opportunity to vote.  If we could just have gotten the American women to be informed enough to have helped to choose a different President.  We had a truck pull up along side us on the freeway, after entering the Montreal area, and as traffic slowed, he rolled down his window and yelled that he liked our bumper sticker.  We have had nothing but good comments on our sentiment.  I am sure that one of the statues heard about the sticker and also expressed her feelings about it.

We noted an interesting part of the Parliament building, circular in shape with flying buttresses, stained glass, crenelated top and appearing to be a bit older that the rest of the building.  A plaque informed us that this was the old library, as I mentioned above, the only part left standing after the great fire.  It was designed by Thomas Fuller and I think is it magnificent.  It is still used today for government records.

  After our tour of Parliament Hill we headed east again.  We got lost leaving the city and found ourselves on a lovely parkway along the river, with rolling hills, manicured grass and interspersed with fields of yellow wild flowers, allowed to flourish among trees.  Here and there in the midst of the flowers, we noted brilliant purple blossoms. These flowers seem to be along the roadsides throughout the Province of Ontario.  This time of year they are most lovely.

Leaving Ottawa, we had a relaxed drive until we neared Montreal. If you think the "spaghetti bowl" in Salt Lake Valley is convoluted, the roads in Montreal constitute a Gordian Knot.  I am convinced that without the dulcet tones of the voice of our GPS system, we would surely have ended up in London, England.  Boy, it was a confusing mess.  I am glad that we found our hotel.  It looks across the St. Lawrence River at docks and large ships.  I think we will make a short visit here and then try to take a couple of days in Quebec to rejuvenate.  We do plan to try to attend a session in the Montreal Temple in the morning.

25 August 2013 - Ottawa

Today we let rain wash us down the road east to Ottawa.  All of our days so far have been essentially gloriously clear and bright.  Today we awoke to gray clouds and an initial spattering of drops.  We went to church in the Sudbury, Canada Ward and were warmly welcomed.  We very much enjoyed sacrament meeting, especially as they featured the serving missionaries in the ward, from Halifax, New Zealand and (Hi, y'all)  Houston. Their talks were uplifting and spiritual and a blessing to us.  We elected to leave after the meeting because we wanted to get to Ottawa tonight and the drive was somewhat long.  Shortly after leaving church, it began to rain and heavily at that.  But the roads were not crowded and the moisture seemed to make the landscape colors more vibrant and rich. Again we traveled through beautiful forests and farmlands.  The fields are surrounded by thick woods, lending a lush, verdant look to the terrain.

Many of the farms have old barns in various states of use or disrepair. Actually, they lend a touch of uniqueness that we don't see so much in Utah.  Some are just weathered wood, others painted red or white or even maroon.  Each seems to be nestled in a sea of flourishing grass or woods and we comment on almost all that we see.  I find them a neat touch to the scenery.



As we continued on, we came to the little town of Matawa, at a crossroads. We stopped to take a picture of the old Anglican Church near the roundabout.  It gave me the opportunity to march out in the rain and down the street from where we had parked the car.  We noted a number of carved wooden statues in the little town and one of them caught my eye.  I thought "What are they doing with a statue of the Prophet here?"  Closer inspection removed the question, but I thought it an interesting find, even to the prophetic pose and the book in hand.

 

The roads were only 2 lanes but not crowded. As mentioned, speeds are not great here, so driving is relaxed and easy.  I enjoy the way the asphalt stretches out and beckons me to keep going.  I like driving in Canada, at least this part of it.  I still have on my "bucket list" a drive on the Trans-Alaskan Highway.  I think Ronda is certain that I am a bit nuts, but I like to drive.

   Tonight we have arrived in Ottawa and have a room downtown, withing walking distance of Parliament Hill, the river locks, old churches and the city hall.  We walked to dinner and found a place that served Italian. I had a wonderful meal of veal and figs with potatoes and Gorgonzola sauce.  Mom stuck to polenta, but they put a spicy sausage ragu on it, enough to make her eyes water and nose run.  I think it was a great meal.  Tomorrow we plan to wander about some of the city and then drive on to Montreal.  I like Canada and am enjoying the trip.  Mom is feeling well and back to "normal" (whatever that is) and is also enjoying seeing new things.  The journey continues!

24 August 2013 - Canada travel

When you look at a map, you can see that the sizes of Canada and the USA are somewhat similar.  The contrast is in the population, with Canada having about 1/10 the number of people as we do.  That was evident as we drove for about 4 hours today.  We are staying in Sudbury, a city with a population of about 160,000 and the only place we encountered after leaving Sault Ste.Marie that had more than 6000 inhabitants.  Because of this the the country is magnificent, beautiful and uncrowded. Roads are smaller and traffic much reduced compared to the States.

This morning, before driving on, we decided to investigate the Soo Locks.  When the trappers came here, they found a difficult rapids on the river between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, with the water dropping 21 feet over a short distance.  The French fur traders decided to build a system of canal and locks to bypass the problem. The initial lock was only 9 feet wide and not very long, but a series of them made transportation with canoes and small boats possible. Later a private enterprise built better locks and finally the Corp of Engineers took it over.  We visited the locks today and watched them work.  We went to the lock on the Canadian side, made for smaller ships and boats.  The really big locks are on the American side and handle huge carriers and ships.  It was fun to watch a ship make the transit.

This tour boat has entered the lock from the Lake Superior side.  In the background you can see the orange/red lock gates closed. Water is allowed to fill the lock from Superior by gravity and a valve.  Once the gates are closed, the water is allowed to flow out to the lower Lake Huron, also by gravity and the boat is lowered to the proper level to leave the lock.  Power is only needed to open and close the gates and the large butterfly valves, no pumping is necessary.

Then the gates are opened downstream and the boat heads into Lake Huron.  It is a cool sight to see.











We could also get a good view of the international bridge which we crossed yesterday from Michigan into Canada.  It is often backed up with cars waiting to pass through customs.  We had no problem with customs because we carried no contraband, except a Book of Mormon (which we did not declare).

After our lovely lock learning lesson we left, leading east.  The countryside is lush and covered with thick forests with some leaves already beginning to make the fall color transition.  In places, with much effort,, I am sure, fields have been cleared and farmed.  The speed limit did not exceed about 58 mph until we reached a true freeway, a few miles from Sudbury.  Then it rose to a magnificent 70 mph.  We did not take any pictures after the locks but will see what tomorrow brings.  We plan to attend church and then push on to Ottowa.  This country is beautiful and we love the laid back pace of life here.

23 August 2013 - Upper Peninsula

It has been a gloriously beautiful day.  Morning was clear, bright and the sky cloudless and blue.  We left Marquette and headed further east, toward the tip of the peninsula.  This is an area of the country about which we have been really unaware.  It is a land of rolling hills, thick pine and deciduous forests, straight roads and spectacular views of Lake Superior.  We also found lovely, clean, almost empty sand beaches with lapping waves and comfortable water.  The roads were nearly empty and we drove through small towns and intersections.  Homes and farms were well kept and clean.

When we stopped, the air was warm and comfortable, not hot or steamy like in some recent locations.  On the stretching beaches, occasional visitors basked in the sun or played with their dogs, throwing and fetching balls in the water and sand.

Ronda and I stopped to stroll in the sand and feel the sweet atmosphere of this lovely lake.  We had no idea before coming here how nice and beautiful the area is.  We would recommend a visit here for any of you and your families.  There are fun things to do and even spending time on the uncrowded beaches would be so pleasant.

As we proceeded further we elected to take a side trip to Taquemenon Falls. (Ta' kwe ma non).  Early trappers encountered rapids on the river between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan making transit difficult. They then found a way around the problem on the Taquemenon River, which flows between the two lakes near the end of the peninsula. It has some falls on it, but those were easier to bypass or portage.  Now the falls have become a state park, a beautiful spot to visit.  The water is stained rust colored by the tannins leaching out of the forest floor and into the water.  When the river reaches the lake, the nearby water turns dark red, a unique contrast to the blue water.

We found a little bakery and gift shop on the way, getting some sweet rolls and trinkets.  Now we have crossed the boundary into Canada and are staying in Sault Ste. Marie  (Soo Saint Marie).  Tomorrow we plan to head further east in the direction of Ottawa.

22 August 2013 - Marquette, MI

Last night, as we were preparing to go to bed, we looked out and had an awesome view of the moon rising over Lake Superior, silver light in contrast to the glow of a sunrise.  The night was soft and warm, wrapping us in comfort and peace, and we loved the angel reflection on the water.

We rested in comfort and have enjoyed our stay in Duluth.  We have been surprised by the loveliness of this area.  We had not thought of this location as a vacation destination, but now we appreciate its beauty, attraction and the things to do.  We are close to the Boundary Waters for camping and boating, Lake Superior is full of fish and a gorgeous body of water.  Duluth has a rich heritage, both historical and ethnic.  It would be worth it to come back to this area and spend more time.







This morning we walked the waterfront, the water a deep and unreal blue, sunlight glistening on its surface and found monuments and historical artifacts lending additional enjoyment to this area.  After breakfast, we headed east, across the border and into Wisconsin, the state of cheese, football and farms.  The north of this state was settled by many from Scandinavia, bringing the Lutheran religion with them.  It still boasts a number of churches devoted to that belief.  These people also brought with them an ethic of hard work, industry and family.  We have seen it in the farms, buildings and towns.  The area is lush, green, rolling hills and attractive farms.  It even has classic cars for sale, including a Buick convertible, in red, no less!  My level of temptation briefly flared, but I controlled it.

            

Even the cows seemed interested in watching those who watch them.  The grass is lush, the cows are getting fat and are the source of famed Wisconsin cheese.

 The roads are lined with lovely Queen Anne's Lace, clover and rich forests of pine, birch and other trees.  We have fallen in love with this beautiful part of our great country.  However, we think the winters here might be rather harsh and tough on the inhabitants.  Summer is so much nicer.

Our destination today has been Marquette, MI, over the border and into the upper peninsula of Michigan.  It has us again on the shore of Lake Superior.  We also found that this is the home of Northern Michigan University, which opens for the fall semester in a couple of days.  People are flocking here to start school and we found that we were indeed lucky to find a nice room.  As we looked out on the lake, we found we are right by the launching site for the rowing crews.  We watched them move out onto the lake and it is obvious that this is a new season for them.  The oars were not in sync, they went  slow and had a power boat with instructor shadowing them.  But they seemed to be having fun and I am sure they will get much better as time goes on.

Tonight we will review the coming journey with the plan to go to Sault St. Marie and cross over into Canada.  Weather has been as good as you could wish and here in Marquette, it has cooled off and is delightful.  Again, we find this is probably the most wonderful country on earth, with basically good people and a variety that is hard to imagine.  We love it!