Day 85: Montebello, Quebec to South Nation River, Ontario.
Day 85: Saturday, July 9th: Today we walked approximately a mile to the other side of town to see le Chateau Montebello, a huge log building that has a colorful history. On the way through town, we passed a big church (yes silver roof and steeple) and an artists' exhibit. The exhibit actually spread over most of town. This was a small but thriving town - mostly due to the tourist trade the log Chateau draws:
Closer view of the roof. We kept getting reminded that although it was in the high 80s, there is snow on the ground most of the year here. Note the devices on the roof designed to break up the snow and ice as it melts off the roof:
The former railroad station, also made of logs, is now a sort of museum and tourist information center:
Impressive stone work. There is no sign of a railroad anywhere around:
While the log Chateau is now one of the Fairmont hotels, it was originally a private club. It is built on property once owned by the Papineau family. On the same property is the Manoir Papineau. There were over 65,000 acres of land in this tract; all of it lies along the Ottawa River:
Apparently the Papineau's had tenant farmers. This structure, which looks like a chapel, is actually the "Granary" where the grains that were brought for rent were kept:
This is the front of the Manoir Papineau; impressive home:
This is a view from the left rear; note how the chimney takes a jig to the left to avoid the door. "1850" is the year the manor was completed:
One of the out-buildings had a fascinating upper window with an ornate wrought iron decoration. We guessed this building was completed in 1880:
Big fat badgers inhabited the entire area. They seemed unafraid of humans taking their picture:
This was a real chapel. While we couldn't decipher the French sign, it seemed that it was a chapel used for funeral services; charming little chapel either way. (Webmaster's note: The chapel is a shelter for the remains of Louis-Joseph Papineau, a most influential man and patriot of Lower-Canada, as well as the remains of many of his descendants. This building has great heritage value due to the exhibition of religious objects and furniture used for religious services and the patriot flag.):
We finally arrived at our target destination, le Chateau Montebello. The main building is built with six wings off a central grand room. Over the years, other buildings, still made of logs, were added. This shows the "wings":
The facility is very charming and elegant with a rustic, hunt-club air. Ruth was thrilled to see the gardens all over the grounds:
Since this is a year-round facility they built a tunnel from the main hotel to the enclosed Olympic swimming pool. Of course! We didn't see the tunnel to the gymnasium:
Inside the central great room it is comfortable, quiet and elegant in that rustic way:
A huge central six-sided fireplace warms the winter guests:
On the second floor of the great room are the meeting rooms - each named for a Canadian province. Big rooms. NATO has met here, as have many other well known organizations:
Overall, the facility was quite impressive. If you are ever in the area, you might want to consider staying a couple of days at this hotel. It is clearly Fairmont quality.
We had to hurry back to the boat to avoid being charged for another day. We got underway and almost immediately passed the "Canadian Empress" again. She was returning from her cruise to Ottawa, we guessed:
We cruised slowly about 12 miles west up the river and turned southeast into the South Nation River, a highly-recommended anchorage area. Two miles up the river we dropped the hook in this bucolic setting. Yes, that is a successful farm over there:
Position tonight: N45 33.695 W075 03.937
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