MIssion Control...
This is Eco1...
I've passed into Quebec and have set camp in your ancestral playground, Farrview, in delightful Riviere-Beaudette.
A light rain falls as I sit under cover of the ancient maple tree a few metres from the St. Laurent shore. A speed boat pulls a beautiful, laughing woman behind it on an inner tube. "Encore! Encore!!". Quecbec, why have I waited so long?
I thought I was in cycling paradise today as the 2 Hwy with excellent bike path eased along the shoreline only feet from the water's edge from Cornwall to Lancaster. Such a pleasure it must be to live here, so close to the river with such lush vegetation.
As I set camp tonight, I opened a rare expedition bottle of wine. I celebrate the completion of the Ontario portion of the expedition, the start of our Quebec adventure, and in memory of an epic fishing holiday I once spent with Skipper and Sammy at Farrview.
Farrview was built in 1915 by Frank far and originally used as a hunting and fishing lodge. In the old days, a steam train, then horse cart transported the happy hunters to the lodge for the weekend from Montreal.
I'm happy to report that the ducks, once hunted to near extinction in these parts have now returned.
I'm tempted to spend a rest day here. But, I think it's better to press on, into Quebec. Will try for the ferry crossinto to Oka, but not sure how far I'll go. I don't want to get stuck near Montreal overnight.
Hope all is well.
This is Eco...Out.
-- Major Dude
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
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4 comments:
Congrats on your arrival in La Belle Provence! You are making excellent time on the eastern portion of the journey. Four days from Toronto to Quebec - Awesome!
Doesn't sound like Ontario offers much in the way of a challenge after the mountains of BC. Enjoy your time at Casa Graham.
Major Dude, I hope you enjoyed your stay in Riviere Beaudette!
And I love your dramatic flare, "...the ducks, once hunted to near extinction in these parts..." Very funny.
But the truth is, kids, the mallard and black duck and fish population decline around the Saint Lawrence River basin was due to decades worth of industrial contamination (mercury, PCB, heavy metals, agricultural pesticides), as well as the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which opened in 1959.
The blasting, dredging and flooding required to build the Seaway, in combination with the afforementioned accumulative industrial toxins had a devastating affect on the surounding wetlands. (Across Canada we have already lost 70% of our wetlands due to man-made toxins and construction.)
Without these wetlands, ducks lose their vital source of food (wild rice, etc.) This, of course, leads to serious population decline.
In the late 1970's, realizing the Saint Lawrence was dying, the "Save The River" campaign was launched to decrease the amount of toxins released into the water, and to clean up the existing toxins as best as possible.
And nearly 3 decades later, this clean-up iniative has been considered a resounding success.
For (a small) example, just check out the "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish"; it is now far safer (4 times safer!) to eat game fish caught in the Saint Lawrence River than practically anywhere in the Muskoka region. This was not the case even ten years ago.
Ironically (and some critics would say in a self-serving way) hunters and sport fisherman were among the very first envrionmentalists this country has ever had. In 1938 a non-profit wetland protection organization was established here in Canada. It's called Ducks Unlimited. (Cynical wags sometimes refer to it as Ducks Eliminated, which is kinda funny.) Nearly 70 years later, this organization has about 850,000 members. Not to mention the many other non-profit sportsmen organizations throughout North America who also help to lead the charge in preserving our wetlands and waterways.
So rest easy, kids. The Happy Hunters won't be repeating the "Dodo" syndrome. Because they wouldn't be too happy if suddenly there aren't anymore ducks around!
Thats interesting stuff. Thanks Skipper!
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