Another Snowy Day

A bit of open water on the Ottawa River

In case you've been hiding under a rock (In which case, you've likely frozen to death. Sorry. I'll miss you.), you've heard that Ontario has been hit by a serious cold snap, with temperatures in the negative double-digits (Celsius).

It's been so cold that you could see steam rising from the open water on the Ottawa River, steam that quickly edged every twig and leaf in a delicate lace of frost. It was spectacularly beautiful, but I did not have my camera with me to take pictures of that cold, cold world. I did have my camera with me when Steve and I went for a walk on Saturday afternoon, expressly to take some pictures of the mist rising from the water.

Unfortunately (fortunately?), the temperature had risen to a balmy -11 Celsius (11 Fahrenheit). It was still bloody cold to be out walking, but the mystical weather effect was not on display.

Nevertheless, I found some beautiful sights. We parked at the War Museum (almost typed it as Warm Museum! Subconscious slip!) and made our way as close to the Ottawa River as we could. Our parking meter gave us 48 minutes, which was plenty in this weather.

Out behind the museum, we saw this:

You see abandoned bicycles often, and it always mystifies me.

It was only three in the afternoon, but the sun was already low on the horizon, just dipping below the clouds.

There were a few sculptures along the path, of voyageurs, or coureurs de bois, (translates as "runners of the woods"), the early settlers who plied Canada's rivers and forests in the fur trade.

This one wears the more typical toque with a pompom:

The scenery really was beautiful, even without the mist on the water.

But the walking was a little treacherous as the trail had not been plowed. Other wanderers had been there before us, including a cross-country skier. (I think I will check Kijiji for some cross-country skis.) But it required careful stepping to prevent twisted ankles, so we kept our heads down a lot.

My destination was a bridge I have seen as I've driven by, but have never approached up close.

This is an old disused rail bridge -- not the bridge that I'd wanted to reach, which was too far for our 48-minute time limit.

This bridge actually connects Ottawa to Gatineau, on the Quebec side of the river, and the rail lines run right beside the building where Steve works. If a train still ran on it, it would shave 20 minutes off his commute.

However, instead of serving commuters, it serves graphic artists.

It was time to turn back.

Facing directly into the wind now, we really kept our heads down. I saw this, mostly.

Following in his footsteps.

We were both very grateful to get back to our warm living room (not a warm museum). I will try to get the other bridge on another day.