We drove to Gatineau Park one of my favorite places. The Park is part of the Canadian Shield, a Precambrian rock mass that covers a large part of North America, not all in Canada as the name might suggest. It was created at least one billion years ago. Since it was created, tectonic shifting and massive continental glaciers formed the rolling hills, flatlands, bare rock and steep escarpments visible in the Park today. Within the park,  Eardley Escarpment marks the dividing line between the Canadian Shield and the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Because of this transition zone, the park contains an unusual variety of plants. For a plant guy, like me, that makes it heavenly. Literally.

On our way to the park we realized we had made a horrible mistake. We had chosen to drive to the park on Thanksgiving Day. As a result the road in was jammed with cars.  I was frankly dismayed. Things looked hopeless until my brother-in-law Norm astutely decided it was time for Plan B. Instead of the main road into the park he would take a back entrance and we would avoid all of the popular places.

Norm’s quick thinking allowed us to avoid the crushing crowds. As a result we missed the famous parts of the park, and instead we headed towards Meech Creek where we stopped to photograph a wonderful covered bridge.

After that we walked along a marvellous trail along an old road that brought us to a wonderful valley forest. It was magnificent. We stopped for a family portrait that I think made even our motely crew look good. I was very proud of that photograph. Included are, from right to left, Norm, Monique, Margot, me, and Christiane. Quite a good team.

Along our journey through the park we saw a Great Blue Heron taking off like a majestic jumbo jet. We also saw a family of wild turkeys.  It was a great day in the park, though not what we had expected.

It was a great day in the park, thanks to quick thinking by Norm.