GATINEAU PARK IS AFLAME WITH FALL COLOUR

Here are a few of my images taken yesterday in Gatineau Park, Quebec. I have long wanted to see the famous fall colours and, despite visiting Ottawa twice a year for decades, I have never seen them. Well, now I have on a sunny, warm fall day. This is a must-do, easy day trip from Ottawa; even a half-day drive.

Champlain Lookout on Eardley Escarpment
overlooking the Ottawa River valley

L: Country lane that I inadvertently drove down.

R: At King Lake

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE - DAY ONE

Today we sailed through seventeen of the forty-nine locks we'll negotiate on the Rideau Canal.

I'm cruising with Ontario Waterway Cruises on board Kawartha Voyageur, a small specially built ship for the waterways of southern Ontario. We joined ship in Ottawa and this cruise takes five days to Kingston.

Forget the typical idea of cruise luxury and loud entertainment, casinos and dancing — this is a 45-passenger vessel without stewards and pools and midnight buffets! Instead, we sail along tree-lined banks, life is quiet and relaxing. Except for a hard-fought game of bocce after the first dinner aboard. We do have amazing home-style meals, three significant snacks a day, and drinks.

I enjoyed seeing osprey fishing and then feeding their young, Great Blue Herons by the banks, and many red-winged blackbirds in the reeds in the wetlands.

Locking through our first lock brought all the passengers out onto the top deck to watch the process. This was Hog's Back Lock just south of the heart of Ottawa. The ship only just fits into the locks, but to do so has to raise it's bow. There's not much clearance on all sides — a matter of inches — and it takes skill to manoeuvre the ship in and out. The photo on the right, taken from the port side of the bridge, shows us approaching a lock . It was a glorious morning and everyone had their cameras at the ready.

The majority of passengers are repeat cruisers; one lady I spoke to had done eleven before this cruise and another had done twenty. They keep coming back because it is so restful and the customer service is second-to-none. They dislike crowds and appreciate being moored alongside at night. The ship is quiet then without the engines running.

 

We also experienced our first flight of locks, three in a row at Long Island. This is a particularly pretty spot with a chatty lock keeper who rattled off the statistics of water flow, lock capacity, and traffic through per year. Here too is one of the original arched masonry dams built in the late-1820s when Lieutenant-Colonel John By, a Royal Engineer, managed the huge project. The dam is 31 feet high and 700 feet long. The locks lifted us up 25 feet.  From here we went down the Long Reach, the longest lock-free stretch on the canal, sailing by huge mansions and modest cottages of the town of Manotick.

As I finish up this post, the sun is down and the Kawartha Voyageur is moored at Burritts Rapids, just below the lock.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM

Part of the exterior of the Canadian War Museum

I was given a chance of a lifetime, thanks to Ottawa Tourism's assistance, to visit the CanadianWar Museum (completed in 2005) for two meetings and a private tour with the WW2 historian, Dr. Jeff Noakes.

Top of lookout with the hay
field to left and Parliament
framed by the building

On a beautiful September morning, I arrived early at the site on the banks of the Ottawa River. Outside, the building is long and low-slung with a roof that turns skyward at its eastern end and points at the Parliament Buildings in the distance. But the building above ground is the tip of the iceberg—much of the behind-the-scenes stacks, collections, archives, etc. are below the ground.

I followed the signs on the river side and climbed a twisty, long ramp to the lookout and found a hay field on the roof and a spectacular view of the Peace Tower. No happenstance! The roof was designed this way deliberately, and I found many other examples of brilliant architectural ideas inside.

After a discussion with the WW2 historian, he whisked me away for a tour. The interior of the museum is stark and austere with cement walls that rise at all angles. Initially I wasn't sure about this ultra-modern concept but soon discovered how well it worked. First, the walls didn't distract from the art that hung there, some of which is huge and needs big blank spaces. The mid-grey colour was the perfect background, and I thought it complemented the subject of war and military history. (Cheerful colours wouldn't work!)




There were two smaller galleries or spaces that moved me deeply. The first I saw was Regeneration Hall. High, narrow and angular with a window facing east, it contained the original plaster casts of some of the carvings that are part of the Vimy Memorial in France, commemorating the dead of WW1. There is no adornment or explanation: the magnificent sculptures speak for themselves of the horror and pain of war. Through the window visitors see the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill—no accident of design. I was quite overwhelmed.

The second space I wanted to experience is hidden deep in the heart of the museum. Memorial Hall is reached through a narrow twisting corridor whose walls press in on visitors. This opens into a bare rectangular space with a small window high in one wall. I was alone and felt the space was a cross between a dungeon and a Cistercian abbey—no accident either. At waist height on the wall opposite the window is a marble plaque honouring the Unknown Soldier. Every November 11 at 11a.m., the sun shines down through the window and strikes the plaque. Remembrance Day services are held here annually, of course, but need official invitations to attend. My brother-in-law was lucky enough to be invited and told me the experience was one of the most moving in his life. For me, just being alone in that sacred space was a once in a lifetime moment.

Next I browsed through the permanent exhibitions, which guide the visitor through all the wars Canada has fought from earliest times before we were a country to Afghanistan. None spare the visitor from the agony and heartbreak. I was struck that every artifact on display is connected to a Canadian Forces member at war and the story is provided. This focus on the human connection is evocative and often poignant.

In the WW1 section is a tiny, pocket-sized teddy bear with a letter in childish script next to it. The bear was given to a Canadian army officer by his 10 year old daughter "to keep him safe" when he left for the front. It was found in his pocket after he was killed and returned to the family with his personal effects. No one can fail to be moved by displays like this.





There is a huge gallery devoted to military vehicles—tanks, armoured cars, staff cars, torpedoes and an array of cannons and other field artillery. Even a CF 101 fighter jet! Here too, there are explanations that tell the story of the piece. I was looking for displays related to submarines as this is my area of interest, but all I could find was a German midget submarine collected by Farley Mowatt. There was one WW1, 18" torpedo that might have been used by Canada's first submarines in 1914, but the staff can't prove it, despite trying hard.


One battered jeep attracted me the most. It was used in a UN peacekeeping mission and demonstrates how dangerous they can be. Canadians have often been stuck between warring factions trying to keep them from annihilating each other and civilians. The bullet holes through the windshield need no words of explanation. Next on my itinerary was the big exhibition devoted to our peacekeeping missions on land, sea, and air. Very well done.

I also spent some time in the Military History Research Centre that houses textual and image records, a massive library, and ninety journals that the museum subscribes to. I was taught how to access the catalogues for each, so that I can continue my work at home. Technology is a wonderful asset for writers!

Before I knew it, I'd spent the whole day in the Canadian War Museum and, as I left, I vowed to come back. I highly recommend a visit for Canadians to learn about our contributions to maintaining peace with freedom and the human cost that goes with it.

ALL IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2013. All rights reserved.

STAMP: Ottawa, June 2011

Parliament Hill

Ottawa smacked me in the face on arrival. It's 34 degrees C! After a miserably cold spring in Vancouver and a taxi with no air-conditioning, it was a shock.

Ottawa is packed with several huge conventions and there is not a hotel room to be had. Glad we booked early. Our room looks out over the Rideau Canal to Confederation Square with the Parliament Buildings and the Chateau Laurier hotel to the right. As always, there is a good breeze and the Canadian flags, which are everywhere, are stretched taut.

Did some shopping this morning in the huge Rideau Centre that can be accessed directly from my hotel. This is one mall that I enjoy wandering through - fashions are different from the west coast, more dressy and sophisticated, and there are some good eateries as well as the more standard fast food outlets.

Tomorrow: Family 

Image: (c) Julie H. Ferguson 2011

STAMP: Ottawa, June 2011

(c) Julie H. Ferguson 2010

I'm heading to Ottawa, Canada's capital city, in five days for five days. I go often as my family lives there - in-laws and grandchildren. It's a small city as capitals go, beautiful if you know where to look and even has a farm in the middle of it. Packed with politics and history, Ottawa also has a fun market, and great museums. Foodies should visit the old quarter behind the Byward Market and Gatineau across the Ottawa River.

My favourite restaurant is Beckta's on Nepean Street in an old house. Has an amazing wine list, but if you go be prepared to spend lots!

I'm probably not going to write about Ottawa and may not even take photos, except of my grand-kids. This is a break.

Au revoir!