Quebec City celebrates 400

This weekend we hit the road for Quebec City to help celebrate her 400th birthday. We arrived around noon hour and after a quick bite to eat we headed out to explore Chute-Montmorency (aka Montmorency Falls).



What a sight! The falls are 272 feet high and 98.5 feet higher than the Niagara Falls. By the time the water cascades over the edge and on the rocks below it is nothing but a fine mist floating on the breeze (soaking my camera lens).

We managed to find a free parking spot up above the falls and from there we walked across the suspension bridge and then down down down the 487 stairs to the bottom. Only myself and one other daring soul in the group headed out to the closest point to the falls for the ceremonial soaking. Luckily it wasn't winter time when the mist from the falls actually freezes to form a 100ft ice cone for climbing and tobogganing. We'll have to come back to check that out.



The next day we drove towards Old Quebec finding an awesome parking spot at the Plains of Abraham. From here we spent the rest of the day hiking the Plains and then down and around La Citadelle to the Chateau Frontenac and finally down even further to Lower Town Old Quebec.






Chateau Frontenac

Just east of the Funicular we found another set of stairs leading down to the famous Lower Town of Old Quebec. After snapping the prerequisite Chateau Frontenac photos we headed through Porte Prescott to the top of Breakneck Stairs and Rue Du Petit Champlain. This is the area famous for its Parisian like atmosphere and having spent some time walking the back streets of Paris I would have to agree. The two main differences being the scale (can you guess which one is larger?) and the dress of those strolling the streets (can you guess which is more fashionable?). Quebec scores points for the lack of dog doo that tends to litter the Paris sidewalks in the late hours of the day before the morning street cleaners attack.


Recreating a photo from our Eyewitness Travel Guide.
Quebec is easily one of Canada's top ten most beautiful cities and there is definitely more to see and do here than we were able to fit into our 3 day trip - heck we didn't even get out to see the whales. Guaranteed we'll be back...


Cheers from the top of Breakneck Stairs.

Last GAT hike of 2007

Here we are at the end of the hiking season and you couldn't have asked for a better day to soak it all in one last time before the snow falls.

Sunday morning Kenmore, grizz, and I headed up into the GAT via a secret trail known to only a few that still hold one of the "Lost Trails of Gatineau Park" maps. So under a blue sky and a toasty 3°C we headed up the escarpment to catch the Yellow Box Trail.


Grizz points out the Luskville Fire Tower and tells a tall tale about some old hiking adventure with a legend named Binthair. Not sure if Kenmore and I bought it but it was entertaining nonetheless.


Ice on the trail - a sign of things to come.

View of the Ottawa River.


Heading home (but not before hitting the local poutine shack).

Cheers.


Soaking it all in (and testing out my mini-tripod).

MULE in Montreal

Friday afternoon I headed east to see Gov't Mule at Le National on Ste Catherine's Street in Montreal. This show was promising to be a heavy dose of Mule. No opening act. Two and a half hours of Warren Haynes' smoking voice and rocking guitar. Needless to say, the evening surpassed even my high expectations.



Warren Haynes... Now if all you do is listen to the radio and watch American Idol you may not know this man. However if you've ever bothered to step out into the real world and flick off your mainstream pop swill you'd know that Warren is not just a man but he is a machine.

In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed Warren 23rd on the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list. There's no doubt that he's moved up since then.



He's been the driving force behind The Allman Brothers Band since 1989 and he's toured and performed with a list of bands a mile long. Warren is the same guy who steps from stage to stage to stage jammin' with numerous bands at the weekend music festivals before pickin' up a full set with either Gov't Mule, Allman Brothers, Phil Lesh, or his own solo act. Hours of pickin', sometimes as many as 7 or 8 in a single day. That folks, is unheard of. Nowadays you're lucky to get a straight 45 minute set from a band. What is up with that anyway?



Anyhow, this evening was awesome. Warren rolled through one song to the next and as per usual he slipped in several teases and of course a couple of full length covers. "Smokestack Lightning" (Howlin' Wolf) was a driving force leading to an inevitable train wreck. I'm sure the Wolf was howling in his grave.

In the middle of the first set Warren proved his guitar-god status with a 12 minute instrumental version of Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself". The crowd chanted the lyrics and Haynes sang them through his guitar. Sweet.

Warren's "Lola" (Kinks) tease got the crowd singing before he faded off into "Lola Leave Your Light On". In hindsight, the Lola tease was likely a little humor on Warren's part as Le National Theatre is located at the heart of "Le Village Gai" (the gay district for those of you that don't speak French). But that's another story...

"Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)" was a pump for the recently announced Led Zeppelin reunion concert scheduled for November 26 at the O2 Arena in London.

In the second set Warren paid tribute to Canada's Gordie Johnson with his rendition of "I'm a Ram" (by Al Green but more familiar to us Canadians thanks to Gordie's Big Sugar) and it was kickin' to say the least.




Last but not least, Matt Abts the drummer and fellow founding member of Gov't Mule raised the roof with an amazing drum solo in the second set. As far as drummers go this guy is at the top of the heap. Sporting nearly as many tattoos as Tommy Lee, Matt took control of the crowd for 10 minutes while he threw down a flurry of sticks complete with cowbell.

Nuff said. Download the bootleg here:
Gov't Mule - 2007-09-14 - Le Nationale - Montreal, QC

Set I: Brand New Angel Mr. High & Mighty Lay Your Burden Down-> Smokestack Lightning-> Lay Your Burden Down Reprise Banks Of The Deep End Lively Up Yourself A Million Miles From Yesterday Lola Leave Your Light On Livin' Lovin' Maid Mr. Man

Set 2: Like Flies I'm A Ram-> Love Me Do-> I'm A Ram No Celebration Drums Fallen Down-> Gimme Shelter Tease The Other One Jam Temporary Saint Mule Soulshine