Happiness

My second stop for this visit to the Gatineau Hills was the Mackenzie King Estate.

This was the summer retreat of William Lyon Mackenzie King, the dominant force in Canadian politics in the first half of the 20th century. Prime Minister from 1921-30 and 1935-1948, King led the country through crises, built national institutions, and raised the country's profile in the world. Simply put, one of our greatest prime ministers.

He first came up this way at the turn of the century, where established names like King Mountain and Kingsmere Lake would have appealed to him, and started buying land, building cottages, and hosting guests over time. The property became his refuge and his place of contentment, nestled in the beauty of nature.

Two of the residences are open to the public. The third, where King spent his final years, is called the Farm, and is official residence to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Any visit here should start at Kingswood.

King was a diarist, and some of the quotes from his diaries are found along the paths on the estate.

Kingswood is where he started building, with a main cottage, guest cottage, carriage house, and lake house on the grounds. The name is a mix of Kingsmere and his childhood home, Woodside. The creamy yellow with white and green colour motif is common to buildings on the estate. This is the carriage house.

Solace

"Earth has no sorrow that earth cannot heal." ~ John Muir 

I mentioned yesterday that I'd really needed this, to be out here. Those of you who follow me on Facebook might have seen my post a few days ago mentioning my current bout with depression. It comes and it goes, but it will always be there. I've been coping with a strong wave of it for several months now, and the cause remains unresolved. And with Christmas right around the corner- which guarantees another wave- even if this one stops tomorrow, the next will be coming. Getting out here helped a bit.

Muir was right: "in every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."

Peace

 The Champlain Lookout is an ideal spot to spend time in, to let the wind blow in your face, and find some peace.

I descended to the lower area.

There is a hiking trail one can take as well.

I really needed this.

Views

 My first stop in Gatineau Park was at the Champlain Lookout. Here at the end of one of the parkways is the last of three lookout areas, and the most spectacular. The southern flank of the Gatineau Hills is called the Eardley Escarpment, where the heights of the park descend dramatically below to the valley floor. In the distance, the Ottawa River can be seen. On the far shore is the northwestern portion of the city of Ottawa- in fact countryside and small villages in this area. That is reflected on this side of the river, classic Quebec countryside of the Ottawa Valley.

There are a series of panels here explaining the geological history of the region.

I was here at just the right time.

I took a panoramic shot.

One more shot for today. I have more from this location over the next two days.