Montmorency Falls

I have never been a city girl so I was none too sad about leaving the bright lights behind. It was an extremely short drive of 12 kms but so worth it. The drive took us to Parc de la Chute-Mortmorency.  Scoping out our stopover I decided to turn the rig around so we could have an unobstructed view of Montmorency  Falls.

Our site with falls behind us

Montmorency Falls is 83 m (272 feet) tall and 46 m (150 feet) wide, making it 30 m (99 feet) higher than Niagara Falls.  The basin of the falls is 17 m (56 feet) deep.  The falls were given the name in 1613 by Samuel de Champlain. He named the falls in honour of Henri II, duc de Montmorency, who served as viceroy to New France from 1620 to 1625. I explored the falls area but unfortunately the stairs leading up top was closed for repair.

Montmorency Falls

As the day wore down and people started to disappear from the parking lot, the rush of the water over the falls became surreal. Sitting outside enjoying an evening cocktail can’t get any better than this.

Fellow Ontarians...Ted, Bev, Bob, & Cathy

Where we entered the park earlier there is a smaller waterfalls called Bridal Falls. Of course not as grand as Montmorency but still worth the walk back to see.

Bridal Falls

As night began to fall, Montmorency Falls comes alive with lights. What a wonderful view and tranquil way to fall asleep.

Evening at Montmorency Falls

Early the next morning most of the group went to Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area. Susan opted to sleep in since birding is not really her thing. This wildlife area is located on the north shore of the St Lawrence River about 45 miles from Quebec City. It was established in 1978 and quickly became a critical habitat for Snow Geese during migration. Flocks numbering in the thousands would stop during the spring and fall to feed on the plentiful bulrushes. As we drove into the park we were treated with a male Bobolink in full breeding colours.

Bobolink

After watching and taking several pictures of the Bobolink we moved on in our quest for Snow Geese. Walking down by the water produced not a single goose, not even a Canadian Goose. Oh well, the trails were wonderful and it was not raining.

A cute red squirrel eating the bird seed

A Veery

Leaving the Cap Tourmente behind we had to return for our rigs at Montmorency Falls, then continue our travels up the St Lawrence River.