JULY 1, 2016
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T he C oast News
Rolling down the St. Lawrence river
Passengers from Adventure Canada’s ship, Ocean Endeavor, land on the beach about a mile from the entrance to Reford Gardens in Canada’s Quebec Province. Photos by Jerry Ondash
hit the road e’louise ondash
T
he first thing you notice about the St. Lawrence River
is its size. It’s so big that it’s the longest east-west river in North America. So big that it more resembles the ocean. So big that nine species of whale, including 400 belugas, call it home. So big that, from the middle, you can’t see either shore, home to 6 million Americans and Canadians. The St. Lawrence River is so big, so fast and so cold that we quickly forget about any fantasies of a leisurely paddle or swim, which makes the converted Russian ferry on which we are traveling seem like the sensible alternative for cruising this 744-mile-long waterway. It is Day Three of our 11-day cruise with Adventure Canada on the Ocean Endeavor. The trip began in Quebec City and will
Visitors at Reford Gardens stroll the meandering paths that run through 17 gardens and 44 acres. Each spring, a small army of gardeners plant thousands of seeds, plants and bulbs. The summer growing season is short, but long hours of sunshine at 48 degrees latitude help nurture the plants to maturity.
eventually deliver us in St. historians, artists, authors John’s, Newfoundland, the and musicians who enterfarthest eastern point on North America. This is the first year that Adventure Canada has offered this itinerary. Our destination today, Reford Gardens, is 220 miles northeast and downriver of Quebec City. It sits at the neck of the Gaspe Peninsula where the Metis River empties into the St. Lawrence. Aboard the198-passenger Ocean Endeavor are numerous expert naturalists, birders, geologists,
tain and educate us on their respective fields. But on this morning, we welcome aboard an outsider — Alexander Reford — who has come to give us a crash course on the amazing gardens that we will soon visit. They were designed and created by Elsie Reford, his wealthy, independent-minded, great-grandmother. (She inherited fortunes from her father and uncle, who founded the Canadian Pacific Railway). Elsie was 54 in 1926 when she began her grand garden experiment — cultivating a collection of both common and rare blooms that were never meant to flourish at 48 degrees north latitude in a short growing season. Many bulbs and
seeds were imported from faraway countries, and because of Elsie’s determination, leadership and a lot backbreaking work, her 44 acres of forest, hillsides, river and streams is home to more than 3,000 thriving native and exotic species.
An hour late after Alexander’s presentation on the ship, passengers board 20 Zodiacs. After a somewhat choppy ride, we are pulled ashore by the ship’s staff, using a small ramp built especially to accommodate TURN TO HIT THE ROAD ON A23