Today we took another guided tour, conducted by Tom, and Charlie Button got to go. She showed her enthusiasm by promptly perching her front feet on the window ledge and winding it down – twice. Tom had to activate the child lock on the truck! Oh, we miss those days of corralling the kids! Our plan was to drive out to the Montmorence Falls Park to view the waterfalls. They are taller than Niagara falls – but not nearly as wide. The park down below was dog-friendly and Charlie got to accompany us on the walk around the base of the falls. The hillside beside the falls was just an ugly, mud-washed cliff, and didn’t add much to the visuals. The falls themselves were also a bit “dirty” – but they were indeed tall and powerful. We found the Av. Royale drive to the top of the falls where there was a beautiful Maison Vezina (Historic Site.) There was a long boardwalk that wound around the top of the cliff and the crest of the falls, but we did not take it all. Eventually the boardwalk led to an impressive wood staircase structure dangling from that mud cliff, with over 450 steps leading to some viewing points. Not for us! Leaving the falls, we continued on the Av. Royale that followed the cliff along the St. Lawrence River for quite a distance. Then, we came back down to river-side and found the impressive Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre – the grandmother of Jesus. The first Chapel was built in 1658, and a second/bigger was built in 1676. The third Church was a stone church that lasted until 1876, when the first Basilica was built. It was destroyed by fire in 1922, and rebuilt. There are multitudes of magnificent paintings, mosaics, stained-glass windows, and stone sculptures. They take their many witnessed healings very seriously, and there are several columns inside the main Basilica that bears testament with crutches and canes and other mobility aids affixed. There was a funeral being conducted as we toured, but that only limited walking down the center aisle where the family was gathered. Otherwise, the service went on as planned, with visitors streaming along the side-aisles. An added benefit, because of the funeral, was we were able to hear the massive organ play and the bells toll. Outside there was a switch-back hill hike that portrayed the Passion of Jesus in live-size bronze statutes; It was absolutely magnificent. A small tour group was reenacting the walk with a tour guide and we heard portions of the narration and understood what a meaningful walk it was. Those were the two visits on our agenda today, and even at that we didn’t get back to the KOA until after 4:00. There was a certain amount of picking up and cleaning up to be done, as we would be leaving Quebec in the morning! Check back for our journey deep into the Gaspe!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |