Something tells me it’s all happening at the Doubs…

I do believe it.

I do believe it’s true!

(and here is the youtube link to that wonderful Simon and Garfunkel tune if you now want to listen…)

Behind is simply an inadequate word that does not express how many blogs I have in my heart and soul just waiting to burst out!

Business first.  We went to the Saut du Doubs about 3 weekends ago!  We had visited the Doubs last summer with Regis and family but wanted to see it in the winter as well. We were particularly interested in how much bigger the waterfall would be due to spring melting.  It had been a warm few days and all the snow in our area was gone.

Little did we know it was only an Indian spring.  (If we have Indian summers, why not Indian springs?)  It got cold again, very cold and even snowed a bit.  Did we let that stop us?  Of course not!  Off we went, anyway.

We did make a stop along the way since, horror of horrors, we had run out of Comté!  We found a shop open until 12:30 on a Sunday (very unusual) and got the goods. I also got some Montbeliard sausage.  The production of this sausage goes back at least to the 14th century. At that time, the region's farmers were already filling pig guts with pork lean and fat, and seasoning it with garlic and cumin. Today's craftsmen have maintained the tradition, using prime quality meat from pigs fattened in Franche-Comté only.   It is very delicious to eat with potatoes and cheese and was quite affordable at this particular location.  They had a variety of items and were even offering fresh frogs (grenouille) which we passed on purchasing this time.  I do want to eat them out one day before we leave France.  As usual, we got a bit lost getting there and ended up on a road we have never traversed.  It was a beautiful drive, winding along the river and we eventually passed a place that had some gorgeous rock formations.  While driving along this section of the road we passed signs including a reported ‘treasure cave’ and a ‘church in a cave’ as well. Obviously fodder for yet another one of our future adventure day trips.

   

Finally, we got close to the place where you can park and walk a short 2.5km or so to the waterfall.  By close, I mean about a 10 minute drive away from the parking lot.  It was at this point that the roads became a bit more…interesting.  There had been a large snowfall and, though the roads had been plowed, the wind was so strong that many sections of the road had drifts across them, even on the highway.  There had been a few sketchy spots but we had been fine.  At this part of the more rural roads, however, no plow had yet come.  Although Mr. Liberty is equipped with snow tires – he is by no means a 4WD vehicle!  So it was with great trepidation that I began to traverse hilly and windy roads that looked like this…. (see left)  Keep in mind, that I am the only one driving the vehicle at this point since my international license is good but André’s has expired.  Until he gets his replacement, I am behind the wheel.  Most of the time this is fine, but in slippery situations, my skills are not that great, to say the least!   It was quite an adventure….but Mr. Liberty once again proved his worth.

When we got there, it was all worth it! 

  

The trails were totally deserted – we only saw a few other people the entire walk.  Perhaps that was because it was freezing cold and the wind was blowing.  Wimps….    We even had a picnic in the building that Marie had designed that wasn’t finished at our last visit.  Looks great, and blocked most of the wind.  Poor Griffin nearly froze to death by the time we got back to the car!

We headed home and made dinner for a new friend – Adeline!  Callie told me a story about how one of her classmates in her rhythmic gymnastics team will not be able to compete in the upcoming event ever since “her arm broke off”.   She insists she is not confused and does not mean the girl broke her arm.  She literally doesn’t have an arm any more.  When I asked her how this happened, she was unable to provide more detail for me.  Sometimes that is the most frustrating part of talking to my kids – they give me pieces of what are surely fascinating stories – but then can’t fill in the blanks.  How, in 2010, did a little girl’s arm break off?  The imagination runs wild… was it a car accident?  A slip of a saw?  I guess I will never know….