Quebec Whales and Trails, Part 6: Jacques Cartier National Park

September 24th, 2023, was the last day of our group's Quebec journey with Natural Habitat Adventures. We drove from our hotel, the Manoir de Lac Delage, to the Jacques Cartier National Park.

Our first view of the Jacques Cartier River was impressive.

Within the park, most of our group, including Joan and me, wandered along the Cascades trail.

The bridge to that trail was visible from the lawn of the visitor center.

From the other side, we spotted the center and its lawn.

Many beguiling forms lined our way,

and mushroom aficionados were abundant, both singly and in organized groups. Jacques Cartier is especially popular due to its proximity to Quebec City.

This was a sign-up mushroom collecting group.

Further upstream was a beaten path to the river, where we could poke around.

Pause, and look at the sunlight and ripples.

Moisture is abundant, generating a myriad forms of green.

And mushrooms were recycling this wood.

We returned to the visitor center in time for a mushroom talk, using specimens collected today by the sign-up 'shroom group.

Then, it was time to return to our hotel, where Julia and Jackie hosted a lawn party,

with treats.

The next morning, we drove to the airport for Quebec City. Everything was straightforward for Joan and me -- a quick hop to Toronto, where we passed through customs and boarded an Air Canada puddle-jumper for the short flight to Columbus. It was such a small plane that I was forced to stoop while walking down the aisle, and my knees poked into the seatback in front of me.

And we waited. Everyone was on board, but nothing was happening. Then an announcement arrived: a "management issue" had arisen at our gate, and the managers sent to deal with it were delayed getting through security. They had to get from the Canadian side of the terminal to the US side, you see ...

Finally, we took off; our packed and marvelous Quebec Whales and Trails adventure was over.

Quebec Whales and Trails, Part 5: Grand-Jardins National Park

On September 23rd, 2023,  our NatHab group departed from the Manoir Richelieu hotel for an hour-long drive into the Grand-Jardins National Park. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

This park suffered a severe burn in 1999, which consumed much of the ground we will cover this day. How will it look 24 years later?

Before reaching the visitor center, we stopped at a viewpoint and spotted a black bear wandering away in the distance.

At the center were exhibits, a picnic ground, and so forth. I took a photo of this map,

and of this negative-silhouette artwork. Note the second, positive-silhouette caribou in the distance, seen through the cutoff of the immediate one.

We set off to hike in this recovering area. Things to investigate and identify included scat,

and baby trees.

We ventured downhill and passed by a stream, encountering mosses and lichens.

Our turnaround point was a lake with an old cabin, a pit toilet, and a few canoes. Here we lingered for a while.

We wound our way back up a gentle slope.

An intersection for more distant destinations.

There were plenty of places to visit, had we several days to explore.

All too soon, it was time to depart. A long drive lay ahead to reach Manoir du Lac Delage, our home for the next two nights. Our route ran through the outskirts of Quebec City and then headed north.

We stopped for some souvenir and refreshment opportunities along the way. Here our guides, Julia and Jackie, show off some plunder.

The Manoir du Lac Delage sprawls across an immense property, enabling it to host weddings and other events. This is a view from the "back yard."

Joan admired the sunset from the floating dock at the lake.

Tomorrow, our final day of exploration here in Quebec, we'll explore the Jacques-Cartier National Park.