There's a place in the northeast part of the island of Montreal where a stream has been allowed to stay in its natural state. It's surrounded by woods, and a path runs along the top edge, but there is also a path that leads down into a rather deep gorge where the stream flows.
We had never been there, and visited on Saturday afternoon. Hardly anyone else was in the park. As natural places go, it's not extraordinarily beautiful -- what's remarkable is that it exists at all. Elsewhere on the island the natural waterways have all disappeared -- been diverted underground, covered, paved over, built up. I've never gone on an urban walk that visits some of these areas, but I'm sure remnants and signs of the former environment are still there, and a few people know all about them.
We were glad to have made the trip to find it. The stream seemed to be in fairly clean condition, and the aspen-filled woods were light and lovely, giving us a respite from urban life before emerging again into the northern suburban neighborhood bordering the park.
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