Spring Visit to Arnprior

I enjoy the convenience of living in the city - but from time to time, I long to get out for a change of scene.

A week or so ago (before our last big snow storm) Terry and I headed for a country drive.

In some places, there was still a bit of snow.

We ended up in Arnprior, a beautiful historic town less than an hour away.

It's on the Ottawa River, which separates Ontario and Quebec. The river is wide here - in summer, a ferry crosses not far from here.

It also seemed a little muddy... Spring run off?

Some winters, the river freezes over - but not this year. The day we were there, most of the ice had melted, but we could still see some, floating near the shore.

One of the most impressive sites in the town is the hydro dam, built on the Madawaska River (which drains into the Ottawa River)

We stopped to watch and marvel at the powerful surge of water flowing over the dam, now that the snow was melting.

Then we took a walk along the shore.

The air was still chilly, so we drove down historic main street, stopping for coffee in a cute cafe...

It's attached to a book store...

... and a gift shop.

No trip to Arnprior is complete without a stop at Wes's French fry stand.

That's all they make - and they do a good job! Customers come from miles. There was a line up the whole time we were there!