KayakDan
New member
Well,it may not start at a trailhead,but it has winter conditions,plenty of snow,and all the vertical gain you could ever need.
Our annual pilgrimage to Carnaval started off with a fortunate weather window,at 3AM Saturday. We cruised north on 93 with a clear and starry sky,until we had light snow in Franconia Notch. Conditions improved and we enjoyed the beautiful Northeast Kingdom in the light of dawn.
The border crossing was uneventful and we stopped in the little Quebec village of St. Somebody outside of Drummondville for a breakfast of crepes avec sirop d'erable.
Our usual custom is to stop at the info center and change into "outdoor "gear,and we made the short drive to B&B Center Ville,and met our host and good friend Bernard. The B&B is an 1874 home converted to a B&B,located in an industrial city block. The simple exterior gives no clue to the beautiful home inside the building. After a short visit to catch up on things,we were off to Valcartier for a day of snowtubing. Bad move-Saturday is crazy there-next year we'll do an evening run. But it was still a fun day of tubing at the mother of all tubing parks.
On our way back to the city,we stopped in Charlebourg for the Carneval Parade,the first we have been to.
Sunday we spent the day wandering the streets of old Quebec city,working our way over to the Plains of Abraham to enjoy all the craziness that is Winter Carnaval. There is an ice castle,hundreds of snow sculptures,dogsledding,music,food,sleigh rides,snow rafting,a zip line(new!),an awesome toboggan run,ice skating,a party tent(beer and fireplace). And of course the the big event,Canot de Glace. Canoe racing across the partially frozen,fast moving St Lawrence River.
We followed up the day,meeting with friends at Le Pape Georges,a 250 year old pub in the cellar of an old building. A bottle of wine and a cheese plate-and another bottle of that wine please. And back to our home in Quebec,at 1:15AM. What a way to finish the day.
Monday morning,it's a heart breakfast assortment,enjoyed with guests from all over the US and Canada. When the guest have gone on their way,we have a chat over coffee with Bernard,say our au revoirs,and we're on our way home.
This year we took the scenic route home,passing through small villages with snow piles hiding all but the roof of many homes. They know how to do winter in Quebec!
Ah,but there was a bit of a glitch. I pulled to the side of the road to check our map,only to discover it wasn't road-just snow! Off we go,into the ditch,sinking window deep,and stopped at a 30o angle. Hmmm...this isn't good.
Before I could climb out of the car,a friendly Quebecois, stopped and offered to call for help. The neighors in the house nearby invited us to come in to stay warm while we waited. A passing plow driver stopped to make an attempt to haul us out,but his tractor was not up to the task at hand. Finally,the tow truck arrives,hooks up and in French(he speaks no English) gives me directions,which I assume were"get in ,and hold on while I yank you out!". So...$65.00 later we're on our way again after figuring out that if I hand him cash,there would be no taxes,and no paper work. After looking over our vehicle which was unhurt,and hearing a figure about half what I expected,I decided it could have been a whole lot worse. Off we went to a local restaurant for lunch,and on to the drive home. A little detour,but still a great visit to one of our favorite winter destinations.
So next year(#8 for us) we will be back at Carnaval,without the tow truck of course,and we're planning on putting a trip together for those who would like to join us for "hiking" in Quebec.
Carnaval anyone?
Our annual pilgrimage to Carnaval started off with a fortunate weather window,at 3AM Saturday. We cruised north on 93 with a clear and starry sky,until we had light snow in Franconia Notch. Conditions improved and we enjoyed the beautiful Northeast Kingdom in the light of dawn.
The border crossing was uneventful and we stopped in the little Quebec village of St. Somebody outside of Drummondville for a breakfast of crepes avec sirop d'erable.
Our usual custom is to stop at the info center and change into "outdoor "gear,and we made the short drive to B&B Center Ville,and met our host and good friend Bernard. The B&B is an 1874 home converted to a B&B,located in an industrial city block. The simple exterior gives no clue to the beautiful home inside the building. After a short visit to catch up on things,we were off to Valcartier for a day of snowtubing. Bad move-Saturday is crazy there-next year we'll do an evening run. But it was still a fun day of tubing at the mother of all tubing parks.
On our way back to the city,we stopped in Charlebourg for the Carneval Parade,the first we have been to.
Sunday we spent the day wandering the streets of old Quebec city,working our way over to the Plains of Abraham to enjoy all the craziness that is Winter Carnaval. There is an ice castle,hundreds of snow sculptures,dogsledding,music,food,sleigh rides,snow rafting,a zip line(new!),an awesome toboggan run,ice skating,a party tent(beer and fireplace). And of course the the big event,Canot de Glace. Canoe racing across the partially frozen,fast moving St Lawrence River.
We followed up the day,meeting with friends at Le Pape Georges,a 250 year old pub in the cellar of an old building. A bottle of wine and a cheese plate-and another bottle of that wine please. And back to our home in Quebec,at 1:15AM. What a way to finish the day.
Monday morning,it's a heart breakfast assortment,enjoyed with guests from all over the US and Canada. When the guest have gone on their way,we have a chat over coffee with Bernard,say our au revoirs,and we're on our way home.
This year we took the scenic route home,passing through small villages with snow piles hiding all but the roof of many homes. They know how to do winter in Quebec!
Ah,but there was a bit of a glitch. I pulled to the side of the road to check our map,only to discover it wasn't road-just snow! Off we go,into the ditch,sinking window deep,and stopped at a 30o angle. Hmmm...this isn't good.
Before I could climb out of the car,a friendly Quebecois, stopped and offered to call for help. The neighors in the house nearby invited us to come in to stay warm while we waited. A passing plow driver stopped to make an attempt to haul us out,but his tractor was not up to the task at hand. Finally,the tow truck arrives,hooks up and in French(he speaks no English) gives me directions,which I assume were"get in ,and hold on while I yank you out!". So...$65.00 later we're on our way again after figuring out that if I hand him cash,there would be no taxes,and no paper work. After looking over our vehicle which was unhurt,and hearing a figure about half what I expected,I decided it could have been a whole lot worse. Off we went to a local restaurant for lunch,and on to the drive home. A little detour,but still a great visit to one of our favorite winter destinations.
So next year(#8 for us) we will be back at Carnaval,without the tow truck of course,and we're planning on putting a trip together for those who would like to join us for "hiking" in Quebec.
Carnaval anyone?
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