Home » Friends » Walktober 2020 – Iles de Boucherville and St-Bruno National Parks

Walktober 2020 – Iles de Boucherville and St-Bruno National Parks

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“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
― Lauren DeStefano, Wither

It’s here!  One thing we can count on, Pandammit or not!  Walkober is what I’m talking about. Thank goodness for peeps like Robin who keep the good things happening, don’t you think?

Mother Nature decided to be most generous last weekend and I went out both days with my bestie, Julie. First time I am accompanied during Walktober and it was lovely. The result? Over 500 photos.  No, don’t worry, I won’t post them all here!  But oh… how to choose…

On Saturday we met up around 2:00 pm at the St. Bruno National Park.  There are miles of trails and there were quite a few people so we kept trying to take the paths less travelled, so to speak. We “done good”, I think.

Getting up close and personal

We decided to search out some fungi, figuring there must surely be some, somewhere!  There were, indeed. Do not ask me to name a single one. I’ve zero clue.

I did not realise there are five lakes in this beautiful park.  We knew we wanted to make our way to the main one (in our minds, the only one) and tried to find a trail less populated without getting lost.  I’m assuming this lake was the main Seigneurial one! So beautiful and did not disappoint.

Such a pretty dock
Through the reeds
Hallelujah!
The colours are already muted

We found a lovely Salon de Thé that was open and were pretty sure would also have coffee, but if they didn’t, a nice hot tea would do.  They had the machinery necessary for us to each have a latte – would have been nice if it was hot and had more flavour but hey, it was something.  I do know that I would love to return post-pandemic to be able to sit for a spell.

Tea house
Path to the tea house
Latte in teh making
Quarantined

Coffee in hand, we continued our walk.  We both wished we hadn’t missed the reds of the season. It’s amazing what one week does in terms of autumn colour.  The oranges were beautiful and we could see the yellows were truly taking over but when we saw red?  How could we not stop?  Though bright green and white also got our attention.

 

We headed back, passing by someone’s property, marvelling how people who lived in these areas were never outside to enjoy their own views.  Then again, when you have all sorts of people traipsing around your backyard, would you?  Once upon a time, those who lived here had found tranquillity. Now, they were smack-dab in the middle of a national park.  I might wait for after-hours myself, now that I think of it.

Sit on your porch, you see this
the wall surrounding the property
A small view of the house

Have I lost you yet?  No?  Oh my goodness. You are all so kind.  That was day one.  Now, onto day two and the Parc National des Îles de Boucherville…

“The magic of autumn has seized the countryside; now that the sun isn’t ripening anything it shines for the sake of the golden age; for the sake of Eden; to please the moon for all I know.”
― Elizabeth Coatsworth, Personal Geography: Almost an Autobiography

This time, we decided to get an earlier start. We didn’t stay long enough for the sunset the previous day and we couldn’t get to this park by sunrise, but still.  We didn’t want the same time frame.  We should have packed ourselves a lunch but that would have required either of us to be organised and honestly? It was Sunday. We have to be organised all week, let the weekend be more relaxed, eh?

We met, this time, at around 11:00?  Five little islands with 21 km (13 or so miles) or trails form this national park, it’s also a great place for kayaking, paddle boarding, picnicking, and you can even camp there – when life is normal, that is. Again, there were quite a few people. This is when I appreciate my time working on shifts. I could visit these areas during the week. Alas, those days are over. For now.  We set off, grabbing a map of the area.  We did take it out once to make sure we were going in the right direction and according to Jules, we were (I suck at reading maps.)  It was another spectacular day of golds and oranges with a few pops of red.  We were so hoping to see some wildlife – there are deers galore, but other than a frog, ducks, geese, a snake that slithered too fast to capture, and a few caterpillars – nuthin’. Sigh. But I have to say, it was pretty cool looking at my hometown from across the river. We had a perfect view of the old Ste. Famille Church.

Paroisse Ste-Famille
Paddle boarding on the St-Lawrence River
Still flashy
Not the red we were seeking

It’s amazing how two areas, a mere twenty-minute-drive apart, felt so very different. There were so many textures to enjoy.

Fluffy
Delicate
Sharp
Wispy

As we walked along, Julie reminisced about late summers spent working on her friend’s farm. (Actually, I also went to high school with Marielle – just didn’t hang around her!)  They were expropriated some time just after we graduated from high school and are now settled up the road from my childhood house. Julie was trying to visualise where it was exactly but we could not find any “remains”.  So we kept walking until we spotted an old barn and, without having to discuss it, started towards it, through a field that has been ploughed. How weird. Of course, once we crossed the uneven terrain to arrive at the said barn, we saw there was a sort of road that we could have taken. What’s the adventure in that? And what is so intriguing about old barns?

Once we were done exploring this old barn, we followed the “road” and it led us to three more abandoned buildings. One looked like a storage shed for, I’m not sure, grain for animals? It was very low to the ground. One looked like an atelier (workshop) of some sort and the main one might have been a stall for horses – I didn’t venture inside but there was a structure that looked like it might have been a well once, right beside it.

Well?
Inside the atelier
Barn/stall
Atelier
Storage for feed?

After taking a bazillion pictures, we slowly made our way back.  We ended up at a lookout point and found that as we watched the grasses sway like waves, and the few trees in the middle, it gave us a sort of African Serengeti Steppe vibe (okay, maybe we were both weird but you be the judge!

Standing out
African Serengeti Steppe Vibe
Trio
Why such ugly bridges in such beautiful surroundings

There is a golf course on one of the islands and the only way to get there is by ferry. How cool is that?

Ferry to the golf course
Floating
Beaver dam – no beaver
Aligned

Our feet were feeling the two days’ worth of walking and we were glad to see the parking lot.  Such great company and we are planning on making this a regular thing.

Carpet
Solo
Glowing

I wasn’t planning on going on and on but it’s all Robin’s fault. She said go big for this year. So I did!  Hope it wasn’t overkill. 🙂

Heck, I’m plumb tuckered out from creating this ramble, so I’ll be taking a week off starting tomorrow – completely unplugging.  Please note, if I don’t get to any comments right away, don’t think I’m dissing you, I’ll take care of them upon my return.

124 thoughts on “Walktober 2020 – Iles de Boucherville and St-Bruno National Parks”

  1. Wow! What a beautiful post, Dale. Your photos are wonderful. The photos of the fungus amongus are exceptional, as are the white leaves. Everything looks so good. A fun Walktober.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Oh, now you’ve done it!!!!!! What an amazing celebration of our favorite season!!!!! Super Wow! You made my day! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
    ❤☀️🤗☀️😘☀️🤗☀️😘☀️🤗☀️❤

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Thank you for sharing your beautiful weekend walks! I love that little dock (of course you know I would), and all the beautiful colors, the barn–and I’d love to sit and have coffee with you, too!

    Enjoy your week off! ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Dear Dale,

    Many thanks to our brilliant tour guide. The photos are stunning (some suitable for watercolour 😉 ) Enjoy your unplugged getaway, I look forward to details upon your return.

    Shalom and lotsa golden hugs,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Rochelle,

      Thank you for joining me on my tour. Thank you re the pics and I was thinking some of them should make their way to you (not to toot my own horn, or anything)… I shall enjoy being unplugged and wireless for a week. And you bet!

      Shalom and lotsa autumnal love,

      Dale

      Like

  9. Q

    How cool to have the run of the place the way you girls did. And talk about an autumn tour, that supplied it! I love the stone, and the infinite array of colors strewn in every direction like a crazy patch quilt. And how serene the water is right before the winter digs its claws deep below the surface and carries its flow away for a time.

    I loved all of it.

    Go fall!

    B

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Wow. A beautiful place indeed and a perfect location for Walktober. I must say, your choice of opening set of pics was outstanding as the colors set the stage. Your eyes also caught some great ideas. Well done, Dale!

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Oh, Dale, these are stunning photos. Such variety. And it comes across so clear in your words how much your enjoyed it. This season is precious, squeezed between the killing heat of summer and the lifeless cold of winter.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. I love October, my very favorite month in my very favorite season! It looks like you caught October right with your walks. The photos are beautiful and it sounds like you had a great time on your hikes.

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Gorgeous photos! Personally, I love old barns. Any old abandoned structures, really. It’s fun to think about what it was like before. The animals, people, day to day occurrences. Really gets the imagination going! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  20. I am so glad you went big, Dale! Wow!! One stunning image after another. You are an excellent tour guide. Enjoy your unplugged time. It’s good for the soul, to unplug once in a while. And to go on walks like these. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  21. I love these ‘take us along’ posts you write. It really does feel like going along on the walk with you, and the photos are amazing and part of the whole flow of things. Lovely! Here’s to walks in nature with good friends, and may we also take a walk together, for real, in 3D one of those days soon. xo

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Smashing collection of impressions and pics, ramble and tumbles…. I did the same with HH in our ‘national sun room’ called Ticino – that’s the most Southern canton (county) of Switzerland. Around an year ago I found out that they get the most sunshine but also that they get one of the highest amounts of rain – and after 3 glorious weeks of sunshine we had to pick the time it rained….. boy, that was something. We arrived by ‘covered’ skies on Thursday pm, happily walked along Lago Maggiore, had lunch and coffees, and in the evening rain started in serious. We took the bus to another place where we had glorious food and when we were fully replenished, we hopped off the bus a few stops before reaching Locarno, where we had taken a studio and marched, already in light rain, for some 20-30’ before going to sleep. The night and the whole Friday it rained non-stop. We were soaked to the bones, took many a pause, returned for a moment to our abode to warm up and change, went out again, always in pouring sunshine – and on Saturday, hurrah, we knew we had to return home – AND YES, it was a BEAUTIFUL, warm, sunny, late summer day….. such is life – i too took many,, many photos, posted them to my contacts on WApp and they all shared my laughter over our halfway bad luck and told us ‘but it was great for such a long time before’….. yeah, I’m glad it was mentionnend, I wouldn’t have known otherwise 😉
    Enjoy your blog-pause, we all need breaks from time to time – and don’t feel bad if not everybody gets their answers. You all have bigger fish to fry anyway – some vote for a new president (read that correctly? A NEW one), others go to funerals, or simply to work, thank heavens…. Love you.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, Kiki! We were so lucky to have the beautiful weather we did.
      You had quite the adventure! Great memories I bet.
      I will!
      Bisous!

      Like

  23. I was mentioning to Merril somewhere that I miss autumns in upstate NY. October was always the best month for colors and apple cider and mulled wine and cool, crisp air that always had a tinge of wood smoke. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous. How wonderful that you live close to such beauty! There’s beauty where I live too but not the riot of color that is autumn in the northeast 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, Marie. It is such a fabulous time of year and I am always bummed when I miss my chance to go out and capture it. So this was definitely a bonus for me, too. Love that you enjoyed my photos.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. My word, what lovely photos (even though those chairs aren’t socially distancing! Bad chairs!). All so pretty and Autumnal. What a lovely walk. Thanks for taking us on it!

    Enjoy your break. I’ve been on one for months now (unintentionally that long). 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  26. This post was very calming. These weeks right before the US election down here, on the other hand, feels like a scene from Chicken Little.

    My favorite photo is “trio.” Hope to enjoy a little chill in the air vicariously thru your posts! Still pretty much monochrome green and muggy here in Florida. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, Andrea. What a great comment. I love that my photos were calming to you. And yeah… it is kinda nuts down there.
      I was rather pleased to find these three trees, each wearing their own colour. Muggy can be nice (when we’ve been freezing our butts off for months…)

      Liked by 1 person

  29. You did real good, Dale — thanks for letting me enjoy your part of the world vicariously! I don’t know how you managed to choose which photos you took, but I think these truly illustrate your mini-walks. I wouldn’t have thought a barn would be that interesting, but I’d have been wrong — this one certainly was. Enjoy your break!

    Liked by 2 people

  32. Beautiful, splendid post, Dale!
    All those shots were worth it.
    I love the adventure. It’s a good tuckered out, right? ⚡️💥
    The opening quote is fabulous.
    See you soon!
    – Sorceress

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much, Resa!
      So glad you think so.
      It was a great two-day adventure and a very good tuckered out!
      I had to find something that spoke to me so I am even more pleased you think so too!
      – Thunder 😉

      Like

  35. This was so wonderful! I’m glad you went out 2x, so we got to see so much. I LOVE that photo of the barn with the big tree. So many of your photos were awesome, I think I need to go back and read it again!

    Liked by 2 people

  37. This is so gorgeous esp for one who doesn’t get the fall colors. Thanks for taking me along and the fine narrative,I felt like I was walking right alongside you and Jules. The photos are magnificent!🍁🍂🧡

    Liked by 2 people

  38. Dale, Fantastic Walktober you did! I’m familiar with the autumn colours in this part of Canada and I was still mesmerized by your photos and storytelling. How wonderful that you’re close enough to two national parks. We’re fortunate to have many parks to explore. Have a wonderful November!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much, Natalie. Very glad you enjoyed. Truly, I’m 10 minutes away from either.
      You, too! May it be less dreary than it can be. A very nice start we have, for sure.

      Like

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