City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

 My last of the three today. In October I took a shuttle bus up into Gatineau Park for a fall colours tour. Most of the park lies within the boundaries of Les-Collines-des-l'Outaouais municipality, and it is a federal park administered by the National Capital Commission.

One of my stops was at the Champlain Lookout, with a breathtaking view down to the valley floor. The Ottawa River is over there, and across it are the last stretches of the city of Ottawa, mostly village and countryside at this point.

Another stop was at Pink Lake, an unusual lake that is popular for hiking. It is a meromictic lake, one in which the layers do not mix. 

My visit included a tour of the Mackenzie King Estate. One of our greatest Prime Ministers, William Lyon Mackenzie King, started buying land in the Hills as a young lawyer and politician, building a weekend retreat and ultimately a home in a place that gave him much solace. He was instrumental in the creation of Gatineau Park, and left his estate to the people of Canada in his will. This is the old cottage, Kingswood.

Down slope from the cottage is Kingsmere Lake, particularly beautiful in the fall.

The main house, which he built as he became more and more prominent as a national leader, is Moorside.

He was a character. Mackenzie King had a sentimental streak and a love for nature, as well as an eye for landscape design. He would take pieces of buildings being demolished in Ottawa and bring them to the estate. Some are found on their own. Others are incorporated into a larger creative work called a folly. This is the Window on the Forest.

This is his Arc de Triomphe.

While here we have the Abbey Ruins.

A beautiful day to be at this estate.