City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

 My last of this set of favourite shots of the year takes us out to Gatineau Park, a federal park run by the National Capital Commission over on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. The NCC runs shuttles into the park on weekends, and I took one in the fall, stopping at the Champlain Lookout, where the southern flank of the Gatineau Hills descends to the valley floor along the Eardley Escarpment. The Ottawa River can be seen, with the limits of Ottawa on the far shore. This place is a delight to visit, high above the valley floor.

Another visit made on this fall day was to the Mackenzie King Estate. William Lyon Mackenzie King was one of our greatest prime ministers, and no one was more dominant in the Canadian political scene in the first half of the 20th century, seeing the country through much of the Depression and the Second World War. He bought land up here early on in his political career, inspired by nature, and would make it his weekend and summer retreat, starting with cottages he called Kingswood. This is the main cottage.

The land was along one shore of Kingsmere Lake- the name preceded his time here, but must have convinced him this was his place to call a home.

As time went on and he became prime minister, he built a house that he could properly entertain the great and the good in. The second house on the property he called Moorside, and here his ideas of landscaping, gardening, and being engaged with nature took full form, alongside his ideas for the country.

He was a man of staunch Scots Presbyterian sensibility and sentiment, and among his ideas were follys- structures that served no purpose but sentiment, salvaged from buildings that were being demolished, and turned into something new on his property.

This is expressed best in the Abbey Ruins, which blends together pieces from homes in Ottawa, as well as sections of the former Center Block on Parliament Hill, and even stones from the printing press of his own grandfather.

King left his estate to the people of the country he loved so much, as thanks for the opportunity to serve them in leadership. A visit to this estate uplifts the soul.

My last stop on this visit was Pink Lake, not that far away from the estate. Named after a family of settlers from the 19th century, it is a meromictic lake- a rarity among lakes in that the layers do not mix, and there is low oxygen content in the deeper layers. A hiking trail winds around it.

It is a peaceful place, with a life all to its own.

The Grandest View

 Concluding our look at the Champlain Lookout in fall today, here are more shots.

I headed back up to the upper section.

Waiting for the shuttle, I took some final shots, and let myself enjoy the wind on my face, while watching raptors glide along on the prevailing winds above the valley. I will never get tired of coming to this place.

The Champlain Sea

 More today from the Champlain Lookout.

Display signs tell of the geological history of this area, and the nature of the escarpment.

Long ago, this area was covered with shale and debris of an ancient sea, forming a plain, before faults pushed the Canadian Shield to the surface and created what is now the escarpment.

Ice ages buried this region in ice, along with much of the continent.

When the last ice age ended, and the ground started to rebound, there was an inland sea of the Atlantic that ended here- known today as the Champlain Sea. Gradually that receded out, and the St. Lawrence lowlands, as well as much of the northeast coast, became more what we know today.

The escarpment is now home to a rich but fragile ecosystem.

I decided to descend to the lower section of the lookout.

There's an additional trail that moves down along the steep slope of the escarpment.

Champlain Lookout

 My first stop on this visit is also one of my favourite places in the entire Ottawa Valley. The Champlain Lookout is one of three lookout spots at the top of the Eardley Escarpment, the great southern flank of the Gatineau Hills. It rises dramatically above the valley floor, offering grand views of the Quebec countryside directly below, as well as the last stretches of the city of Ottawa on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. Though what's over there is in fact rural countryside, the village of Constance Bay, which is found at the northwest end of the boundaries of Ottawa, is still geographically Ottawa. This is a beautiful spot, especially so on a sunny fall day, with a breeze flowing up from the valley floor, two hundred seventy meters below.

I decided on a panoramic shot.

I'll have more from here over the next two days.