Another night in Saguenay

 It took me a while yesterday to realize that Saguenay is the name for the area that happens to include where we are now, Chicoutimi (which I remember from when I was a kid)

Today we checked out of the motel along the river/fjord knowing that we would be coming back to the city and could reserve again there if we wished.

We drove about an hour and a quarter through (surprising to me) mostly farmland to our first stop; Val- Jalbert Historical Village. This place is an old pulp mill town that flourished between about 1902 and 1927. 

In the 60’s the government realized they had a potential gold mine (for attracting tourists) and so reconstruction  and reclamation work began (it reminds me a bit of Barkerville). The pulp mill part was super interesting and while many of the important stores etc have been rebuilt there are numerous houses falling down as they have been abandoned for 100 years. I actually liked seeing the houses this way

We were there for about one hour and a half before heading back here. 

Our first stop in town was the remnants of the old pulp mill here. We paid our entry tickets and went inside the permanent exhibition hall. This was really a mistake as the only interesting thing in there that we liked was the complete house of a very famous painter (in these parts) named Arthur Villeneuve. This fellow had painted all the inside walls of his house in the same style as he did his regular paintings. There was a huge selection of his work and all we can say about his style is “meh”, definitely not for us.

What we didn’t realize at the time was that the remainder of the park (including what remains of the old pulp mill) was free.

We really didn’t spend much time there (especially after seeing Val-Jalbert). 

There were many high school grads (and families) getting their photos taken in the scenic parts of the city today.

Our final touristy stop was nearby. Called the Little White House, it is famous for surviving the massive Saguenay flood of 1996. There are countless videos and photos of the flood waters roaring around this house and somehow surviving.

The building on the left in the photo was washed away.

Anyway the house is now a protected heritage site.

We picked a new place for tonight. It is a hotel downtown and better suited us as we were able to walk around enjoying the downtown. Earlier, in the late afternoon, we spent some time walking along the river/fjord boardwalk. The weather today was not great; spitting rain on and off and 10 degrees cooler than two days ago in Quebec City but we enjoyed our time here.