"What I Did On My Summer Vacation"

For the second time, I decided to spend my vacation in Le Parc
National de la Mauricie, Québec. I really enjoyed my stay there!
The park is renowned for the abundance and diversity of its wildlife.
there are over 180 species of birds and many wild animals such as
moose, deer, black bears, wolves, foxes, porcupines, beavers,
raccoons, minks, ermines, otters and all sorts of rodents.
Of course, one can do many activities there, such as fishing,
canoeing, rabaska rides, mountain climbing, rafting, diving, biking and
hiking.

For my part, I went canoeing and although I have thin arms I
learned to portage and gunwale a canoe. I also did some swimming
and hiking. Pierre Berton is reported to have said: " A Canadian is
someone who can make love in a canoe." I'm afraid I'd never qualify
under those terms! lol! Anyway, I was too busy fighting against
deerflies, I think they decided to make a feast out of us!

Deerflies notwithstanding, I added to my store of summer images:
moonlight swims in the crystal waters, lakeside picnics with iced tea,
the plaintive tremolo of the loon...I will never forget the fox cubs that
kept coming to me in the path.
Yes, they were five!

I squatted down and fed then with toast and cookies.
They seemed to love it! Many driversby stopped to take
pictures of the scene. When I had nothing left to feed them
I took about 1 minute to raise up. I did it very, very smoothly
not to frighten them. There's a rule I have with any wild
animals: stay calm and keep a respectable distance and they
won't run away. As for the black bears it's the same except
that I would never feed them for they might become dangerous
if you stop feeding them for a while.

At the end of my stay, I came to the conclusion that has stuck with
me ever since;that a more unifying emblem for all of Canada than the
Maple Leaf is the blackfly, which, along with its evil cousins the
mosquito, the deerfly and the no-see-um, brings us all together, from
sea to sea to bug-lined sea.

I must say that there is something special about La Mauricie forests
and trees; it is mythical, magical, life-giving, grand, and colourful. This
collection along with the aroma of pines in the air is guaranteed to
transport you to a relaxing place of soothing contemplation.

The foxes were about the same age as the ones in the picture here.
It was the first time that foxes came to me like that. We took pictures
of the foxes but we haven't taken the film to the photograph for it isn't finished yet...

 

Wow - sounds like you really had a great time! We've missed ya but man that must have been one refreshing vacation

 

I hope you'll post some pic's when they get developed, uguel. Glad you had a great time!

& come over an visit Algonquin Park if you ever get a chance ... you'll love it too!

If anyone is ever interested in a great Resort there ... Bear Trail Inn is the place ...

here's a link http://www.couplesresort.ca/index2.jsp

I've taken my better half there on more than a few occasions ... it's pricey, but truely unforgetable ... Get a Honeymoon Cottage (there's only 8.) it's well worth the expense (around $295 PP/PN). I actually purposed to Mrs. Dog there Christmas Eve 8 years ago ... winter is the best time to go ... We've also been in the fall (which was also nice) ... but no dog sledding

Hmmm ... now they have three chateaus ... we'll have to go back this winter and check them out ...

I can't say enough about the place ... but I don't want this to sound like an advertisement ... if you ever get a chance make a reservation. You'll thank me

 

Hi Detox! Yes I had a great time, so much so that I missed the park
not long after I came back. When I was in the park, I thought of the
people at Wilders and thought "Oh I wished he/she was here to see
that!!!" Especially when I saw funny things, I was thinking of my
Martian thread friends, lol! Beetlejuice would laugh and Bigc would
have stg rational to say with tongue in cheek. ANW, I am sure many
people here have very interesting things to say about their vacations!

 

Hi Ronjor! Thank you for the nice welcome! I stayed at the Auberge
Grand-Mère Inn. It was both comfortable and affordable too.

 

Looks like a dream vacation you had Uguel. I am sorry about the deer flies, we have the large variety here to and they can really tear you up. Itch for ever.

 

Hi dog!

you said:

If they are clear, I will show them, but the camera got wet while we
were paddling. I don't know how they would look when developed. I
went to your website and yes, the Algonquin Park looks great! I read
about all the accomodations and I like the idea of one-day trip
horseriding It sounds like it is a great place, both for adventurers and
those who want to relax.

 

Well guys, let me tell you this: I had a friend who was constantly bugged by deerflies and every time he got bit he took his revenge by taking off the deerfly's wings with an evil smile... and that friend had pretty long teeth, lol! So when I went away from him, and on returning saw his big teeth showing, I knew that he had caught (and been caught by) a deerfly, lol!

 

I don't think we have any mayflies in Québec and that's a good thing!

 

Oklahoma deer fly

 

The Oklahoma deer fly has not the same colours as our deer fly but it looks as scary as ours!

Now, here's a Canadian true fisher...

 

And he does it without a pole

 

Hi Uguel

So nice to see you back !!!
Oh WOW, it all sounds so nice !
I'm happy you had such a great time

Warm regards, Jan.

 

Although the black bear looks very plumpy and awkward, it is very agile when the time comes to catch its prey. In fact, a while back, a relative caught a fish that had four parallel claw marks from a bear along its side! That happened in the fish and hunt club.

 

Hi Fanj! it's always nice to have you around!
I'm sure you would love been in the forest with us.
We had a good time and lots of laughs too!

 

Grizzlies are much taller and mightier than the black bears.

 

what a lovely story . thank you for sharing such a glimpse of nature and such joy .

 

You also have a pure white bear up there called the kermode

http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/species/kermbear.html

Only found around Terrace BC at the base of Alaska,

Cheers

 

Solarpowered candle:

Hey thank you Solar! I had a great time. I shall say thanks to God for creating such beauty around us. I might return there tomorrow but only for the day.

Blackspear:

I read the whole page and although it was interesting, I was disappointed (but not surprised) to read that it is another endangered species. I hope that they will be able to achieve the special sanctuary in B.C. as planned.

Oh! I wanted to share these funny things that happened in the park:

Unexpected Visitors

There were a few picnickers sitting and eating quietly at the table, enjoying the calm and peacefulness of the surroundings, when suddenly they all jumped up pop-eyed with cries of alarm and consternation when a flock of very huge crows surrounded them to get some leftover (and not quite leftover) crumbs. The crows had become accustomed to being fed by people and had just assumed that the funny picknickers were being very generous with their food.


Rock'n Flute

When we were paddling on the Wapizagonke Lake we saw a canoe that stopped by a huge rock and there was a man in it playing the flute. All the other people were looking at the big rock for an hour. I don't know if they waited for the birds to answer to his song or what, but it was like they were expecting that something would come out of the mossy rock. Nobody was speaking, they were all in a trance.


A funny swimmer

There was also a woman who swam across the lake with her head down in the water all the way to the shore, but the only thing you could see of her was her self-assertive and round behind showing out the water and moving across the lake as if on parade. A small girl shouted to his parents: Look! There is a beach ball drifting away!!!


Hold tight!

A man walked up to wade into the lake holding a beer. He slipped on a rock and fell down in the water and made a big splash!!! Although he was lying down flat, his arm was still held the bottle straight like it was the Holy Grail, lol! Fortunately he was not injured.