The group had a delicious dinner last night at the Golf Nominingue Hotel. The rain started coming down quite hard in the evening which made for a good night’s sleep after the bike ride.

Sadly, this morning it is still raining, and quite hard. The weather is as unpredictable as the USA – might stop, might not by such and such a time. At our 7:30 AM breakfast, a new plan for the day is formed. Regroup at 10 AM to determine if the rain is letting up.

And when we regroup at 10 AM, the rain is not letting up. Yes, we are sad or ? Happy? Because we are not going to ride in the rain.

New plan – load up the van and go to the train station in Labelle for lunch, stop in the museum in the train station, listen to a tour guide tell us about the history of the Laurentides region.

The museum is interesting and includes information about the man the town was named after:

“Father Antoine Labelle (1833–1891) was a parish priest in nearby Saint-Jérôme and a passionate advocate for settlement in the Laurentians. He saw colonization as a solution to poverty and emigration among French Canadians, many of whom were leaving for the United States. He lobbied for the construction of the railway, which he believed would open up the north to farming, forestry, and tourism.”

Another man made cross country skiing famous and there was quite a bit about him in the museum – “Jackrabbit” Johannsen. Quite a pioneering individual.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Smith-Johannsen

The flowers outside the train station are in full bloom in spite of the rain.

Then we climb back in the van and we are driven to the old village of Mont-Tremblant and the tour guide provides more history and some ideas of what to do in the town.

From here, we board the van for a short drive to the main town of Mont-Tremblant. We are staying at the Fairmont hotel for two nights. Luxury!

Once checked in, everyone does their own thing. I decided to walk down the hill from the hotel to the historic church. One of the things we were told about Father Labelle is that he built a church in every town along the railroad. Smart man.

There is a river rushing down the mountain towards the Lac Tremblant. Love the sound.

To go to the lake, there is a small hut noting prices to enter Parc Plage, sign in French, so I cannot tell you much more than that.

Back in the hotel, a little laundry and heading to get some food and drink. Tomorrow, biking with the group below on the Le P’tit du Nord trail portion we were going to do today. Departing at 8 AM. tomorrow.