Day 3

Day Three, Sunday

During our final day in Quebec we wanted to get out of the city (as much as we loved it) and see some things in the area. Horrible weather, driving winds, frozen rain and heavy snow kept us from accomplishing much but we did get to two places we had wanted to see. The Ice Hotel and the Chute Mont-mourncey.

Both my wife and I wanted to visit the Ice Hotel the most. I’m sure many of you have seen it on television. In pictures it’s a wondrous place. Cathedral shaped rooms suffused with pure, blue light, columns of transparent ice and carved statues and walls.

It’s all that and perhaps, just a little less (and maybe more, it’s confusing).

The 30 minute drive from Quebec to the Ice Hotel only punctuated by the freezing rain and blustery winds thankfully changing to snow not long after our arrival. The weather was the warmest during our stay in Canada, hovering around 34 degrees (F) most of the day. And what happens two degrees above freezing? Yes, things melt.

The Ice Hotel is located next the the Station touristique Duchesnay on Lake Joseph. The Ice Hotel itself is quite unassuming. While the rooms are large, from the outside, they seem almost timid. Blending in with most everything else (snow is good camouflage in Quebec during February) the Hotel’s impressive features are hidden inside.

Visitors pay $14 (CDN) for the opportunity to explore the hotel on their own or take advantage of a guided tour. We opted to go on our own. You can also visit the hotel in the evening, for a reduced rate of $10 (CDN).

When you walk in the main hall you’re stuck by the light inside. The sunlight that pours in through the large panels of clear ice at far end of the room as well some minor, electric spotlighting. Obviously, for heat reasons, electric is held to a minimum. This is made possible because everything is white to start with, and light is gathered from outside and passed through “windows” of clear ice. The buildings themselves are shaped around forms with packed snow which is opaque.

Tall columns of ice run down opposites sides of the room. Doorways off the main hall lead to the N’Ice Club, the Absolute Bar as well as an art gallery, guest rooms and another large, meeting room.

Enough sparkling generalities, here are the images.

You can click on each of these thumbnails to view a higher resolution version

	The sign, outside of the ice hotel (which is surrounded, in a rather fort-like manner, by ten foot high walls of packed snow).
	Getting ready to visit the Ice Hotel.
	Mrs. Priusownersgroup at the entrance to the Ice Hotel
	The entryway to the N’Ice Club, one of the two Ice Hotel’s night clubs. This is just inside the main doorway beyond a reception desk (yes made of ice, you’ll see it below)
	Here I am standing behind the main reception desk.
	Behind the bar at the N’Ice Club.
	Bellying up to the bar in the N’Ice Club.
	A N’Ice Club booth. The seats are actually trays in the ice structure fileld with packed snow and covered with the furs you see here. They’re fairly warm (as long as they are dry).
	Yes, it is I, your humble narrator, holding forth in a booth at the N’Ice Club.
	Detail of a column in the N’Ice Club.
	My lovely wife offering up a toast in the N’Ice Club.
	N’Ice Club interior.
	As I mentioned above, the weather was unseaonably warm and this day hovered right at the freezing point. One of the walls in the N’Ice Club was melting at a fairly prodigious rate. The water was dripping down and pooling on this table.
	Faces carved into the walls of the N’Ice Club.
	Another view of the faces carved in relief in the walls.
	A stage in the N’Ice Club.
	A close-up part of the above image. What’s that on the stage? Yes, two space heaters!
	A sculpture of a group of penguins in the main hall. One of the things that you miss on television or in pictures is how creative this whole enterprise is. Much of the interiors are decorated with reliefs, sculptures and various treatments of ice and packed snow. It’s a beautiful, tone on tone sort of decoration that seems flat in imagery but when you’re there, it’s really compelling.
	Another view of that penguin sculpture in the main hall.
	The chandelier in the main hall.
	Another view of the chandelier in the main hall.
	I assume these are sponsors signs, outside the art gallery.
	Inside the Ice Hotel art gallery. There are pedstals for art to sit on as well as prints encased in ice on the walls.
	Here you can see the images, encased in ice, on the walls of the art gallery.
	This is another hall that was completely empty. I know they used to have an ice chapel where they performed weddings. Perhaps this was it.
	A view to the outside where the freezing rain has turned to snow.
	The back wall of the empty hall.
	Another view of the back wall.
	Outside that same wall.
	Another exterior view showing the back of the N’Ice Club and the outside of the hotel itself.
	One of the many hallways to the guest rooms. Each hallway featured its’ own style of reliefs carved into the walls.
	A detail of one of the pedastals for the beds in the guest rooms. We got to roam through the rooms, a number of which I’ve put below.
	The beds tend to be decorated specifically for each room. The beds themselves are simply slabs of ice made into a box with a tray at the top that holds packed snow, covered with an insulating pad and furs. It’s not comfortable but it’s not cold either. So I guess there are trade-offs.
	Mrs. Priusownersgroup testing the bed for comfort. As I said above, the beds rate a 7 out of 10 for warmth and 1 out of tenth for comfort.
	Another guest room.
	Mrs. Priusownersgroup posing behind a large slab of crystal clear ice in one of the halls.
	Outside the guest rooms.
	Mrs. Priusownersgroup takes advantage of me (note snowball, in the air, headed directly for me, at the top of the frame)(yes, it did hit me).
	Another one of the guest rooms with a fancier bed frame. At the top of the image you can see the bottom of a “window”. Basically, a round “pane” of clear ice built into the wall.
	Same room, different angle.
	A different room.
	Same room, slightly different angle.
	This room actually had a fireplace made of ice. Ice shards illumuinated by a red light underneath. The flash kind of washed the light out but it had a nice effect.
	A room with two beds (most rooms only had one). The rooms are all quite small, so this was unusual.
	This larger suite had a backlit, sculptured headboard and a small table.
	Relaxing in the suite.
	Another view of the magnificent bed.
	Another hallway to another wing of guest rooms.
	In another room, another wildly scupltured bed and carved walls.
	An ice window.
	As I recall, the name of this room was “sanctuary”. The bed is round and centered in the room. All I know is, that while it may be called “sanctuary” it wasn’t safe as I almost fell over slipping on the narrow edges of the room.
	A sculpture in one corner of a guest room.
	The exterior entrance to the Absolute Bar.
	Another view of the entrance to the Absolute Bar.
	The Absolut Bar.
	Behind the bar.
	Columns frame the exit in the Absolut Bar.
	Relaxing in a booth in the Absolut Bar.
	Another booth in the Absolut Bar.
	The exit.
	A long shot of the main room of the Absolut Bar.
	Sculpture at the entranceway to the Absolut Bar.
	This long bench seat, ice sofa, if you will, runs along the wall to the main entryway of the Absolut Bar.
	Another view of the bar itself.

INTERMISSION

	After the Ice Hotel it was time to fuel up and head for the falls…
	On the way we stopped for food and were confronted with this enormous pile of snow in the parking. Check out the light poles for scale. How they piled this stuff so high is beyond me but there it was nonetheless.

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency

	The Chute-Montmorency falls are almost 300 feet high. They’re spectacular, to say the least. Sadly, about the time we got there, a nearly gale force wind started up which kept our outside time to an extreme minimum. Still, I think you’ll get a sense of how beautiful these falls and the surrounding area are.
	A little closer.
	Can you tell how thick that ice and snow is the bottom of the falls. We estimated about thirty feet thick.
	As I said, gale force winds.
	The Kent Cafe Bar is located inside the mansion next to the falls.
	Another shot inside the bar.
	Again, just for scale, this was shot out of the exterior exit of the Kent Cafe Bar. Notice how the snow seems to be about seven feet tall. It was.
	An absolutely charming lounge (that was closed) overlooking the falls, in the mansion.
	The obligatory shot of the Prius in the parking lot of the Parc. We love front wheel drive. Even with stock tires.
	Some parting shots of the falls.
	A stairway down the bluffs to the base of the falls.
	Across the river these brave people were actually climbing the ice and rocks near the falls.
	A shot of the tram that normally (under reasonable weather conditions) runs to the base of the falls.
	The tram.
	A panorama of the falls. This is a big image, be forewarned.

The Trip Home

	A final view of Quebec City.
	There isn’t much to say. It snowed lightly for most of the first four hours. The winds had calmed a bit. All in all, it was a nice trip. We left about 8 p.m. Sunday night and arrived home the next morning about 8:30 a.m. Along the way we stopped for fuel and whatnot…
	The whatnot would be on the left…
	Finally, the majestic Prius at a rest stop in the Adirondacks about four in the morning.

We averaged about 44MPG on the way home (I’ll have more exact once I actually sit down and check the math). The temps ranged from 30-36 (F) degrees. Winds were variable but at some times quite high. The snow was, if at all, light. The roads were fairly clear, so driving conditions were actually better than the trip. We usually ran the speed limit, which in Canada translated to 62MPH, down here in the lower 48 of course, we ran about 65MPH the entire time.

And that’s all!

It was truly a wonderful trip. The drive was long and given the weather, more tiring than I had expected. However, I would add that the Prius performed flawlessly throughout the trip. It handled the rain, ice and snow without a hitch. We drove, both ways, non-stop for almost 12 hours. But I think it’s safe to say we’d do it again tomorrow if we could.

Thanks to all of our sponsors who helped make the trip possible. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out and click on a few of their links. We would appreciate it a great deal.

Thanks for visiting. We’ll be announcing a Spring Road Trip soon. And this time, everyone is invited!

Click here to go back to Day One

Click here to go back to the page for Day Two

Click here to go back to main Winter Road Trip 2006 page

Click here to back to the main POG page