The Parliament of Canada

The two pictures below are just a sampling of what I will be talking about in my next post.  The last time we traveled across Canada, Tom really enjoyed seeing the multitude of silver capped churches along the St. Lawrence in Quebec.  He wanted to take pictures one day.  That day had come as he began snapping some shots while driving by. He didn't tell me, but I knew what he was up to.

Back to today's post...Traveling down the road on the Trans Canada Highway has become familiar to us, especially in this part of the country.  The First Nations have also become familiar, or at least knowing how to locate them on the road.  With that in mind, our first stop was the Nippising First Nation to get some gas.

I did my research before I left the states and found I had to have a specific gas card for a number of provinces across Canada.  Ontario is one of them.  I received them the month before departure and was ready to receive my non-taxed petro.  Score!

We continued East towards Ottawa, the capitol of Canada.  We had traveled through a few years go and found the city to be very busy and did not bother to stop at the parliamentary building.  This time around, it was definitely a must see.

It was a Tuesday and the capitol city was bustling with activity.  We came into the city and found ourselves fairly close to Parliament.  Now to find some parking.  We passed the Parliament and went around the block and found a garage.  We found our spot and unloaded the dogs, cameras and leashes. I couldn't locate the stairs, so into the elevator we went.  The only drawback to this parking structure was that the elevator did not bring us outside, but rather into a mall.

Our dogs may be photogenic and travel North America, but they are not the best on leashes after being cooped up in a car all morning.  Add to that new smells and these dogs just wanted to run and find what they could.  The elevator door opened and out come two dogs like two bulls in a china shop.  The looks we got from the people in the mall were like, "What the heck?!?"

We made it to the outside and proceeded to walk to the Parliament Building.  It was big.  Very big.  The compound consisted of a multitude of buildings on Parliament Hill located on the banks of the Ottawa River.

Canada's Parliament

Luther and the Parliament

To the right was another beautiful building as well as to the left, although they were working on that one with scaffolding surrounding it.  They were also working on the sod in a few different areas.

It was time to check out the interior.  Tom walked the dogs around the property while I attempted to go inside.  Security was strong.  I asked the guard at one of the entrances and asked if I could go in.  Not here but you can join a tour around the corner.  And if I didn't want to take a tour?  He didn't know.

I headed towards the tour meeting area and they asked for my ticket.  No ticket.  Again, can I just go in and take a few pix?  No answer, but I did happen to be swept up in a tour and entered into the building.  Someone asked for my ticket again and I replied that I had none.  I just wanted to take a few pictures.  They sent me over to security, presented my ids and walked through the security system.  In!

I did not know what to expect from the interior.  There was no dome or rotunda.  We were also in Canada where their styles would vary much form the states, I thought.  Upon entry, I saw this.  It was gorgeous.

I exited the Parliament satisfied.  I thought it would be easy to find Tom and the dogs, but the crowds were heavy.  I walked down to the Centennial Flame.  Everywhere I went, the building just towered over me.  Cheers to Canada!

 eventually found Tom and the dogs and he proceeded to show me what he found on the grounds.  First was a statue of Queen Mum, riding her horse.

Walking along the back of the building, we saw the Library and more shots of the Peace Tower.

To the left of Parliament was a stature of Queen Victoria.

Having seen the Parliament in all it's glory, we headed out of Ottawa and back onto the Trans-Can.  Before heading out of Ontario, we stopped at a boat ramp along the Ottawa River and had some ball play with the dogs.  Luther immediately caught his ball and ran towards the water.  Plop.  That's one way to beat the heat of the day!

Back on the road with damp dogs, we entered into Quebec within the hour.  As I mentioned, we were familiar with this road and as if right on cue after saying there was an info spot in a food court up ahead, a sign verified it for me.  We pulled into the non-shaded parking lot and rolled down the windows for the dogs.  It was pretty warm outside, so we had to make this stop quick.

I got a map of Quebec while Tom perused the other brochures on the shelves.  I asked about First Nations, looking for gas and we were told the first reserve was located down the road by ferry.  Hmmm.  Let's do it.

The Traverse Oka-Hudson Ferry runs every 15 minutes, so as soon as we arrived, we were on the ferry and traveling across the Lake of Two Mountains.  It is only a ten minute ride across the water, but it was a unique and unexpected experience.

We never did find the reserve so we just got some gas in town.  Between Liters and Dollars, I never knew how much I was paying.  The exchange rate was fairly even, so it was definitely close to $80 to fill the tank.  I grumbled, but BuddyJack just wanted to keep on going.

"Why did we stop?"

"If you are not going to drive, I will!"

We stopped at one of the farmers markets along the side of the road and picked up some fresh produce and bread.  Something to eat at our campsite that night.  Being in french speaking Quebec gave us some difficulties in communicating with the clerk and we may have gotten to many scallions because of it, but the cherries were awesome.

We wanted to end our drive earlier than the day before, so we stopped at a small campground in Lanoraie named Camping Chez Denise located on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence.  It had been a few days since we camped, so we were a bit out of practice.  Our site, located among dozens of RV's, was in the middle of no man's land.  No other tents and not a lot of space.  I guess we are what they call travelers.  The guidebooks say they have 44 3 service sites and 1 2 service site.  They also can accommodate 13 "travelers".

We set up our tent and Tom prepared some food.  The bugs were not too bad and the sun was setting.  We took a walk down to the pier on the property.  A nice sunset and then back to camp to sleep.

Tomorrow...Churches & more churches and then even more!