After growing up in B.C., I thought mountains and valleys were huge, safe and commonplace. Easy to drive, civilized pull offs, even run away lanes in case your brakes fail. Nothing can prepare for the twists and turns of the Haute Jura! We took a drive over many ridges and through several valleys. Every where we looked there were ski hills, viaducts and tracks over the snow. We stopped in Les Rousses, very much a ski town like Banff, and discovered that everything is closed between 12 and 2. The next stop was St. Claude, famous for pipes (not the plumbing kind). The descent into the town, which is nestled in the meeting of four valleys, was steep and oh so narrow. One blink and you would miss a little village, the next moment you would round a bend and the view would be breathtaking. All that while gripping the edge of your seat......
The climb out of St. Claude was the most breathtaking, straight up (and I mean straight up, ears plugged and all) alongside a gorge. Some side rails, some wooden guard rails and some stretches of snow. Was there anything beneath the banks? I'm just going to say there was....... I would like to say that I was prepared, B.C. and all, but it took a long while to look back along the way we came. I tried to imagine the people who lived along the road, centuries ago, the mill that looked all but deserted, the barns (what are they raising, mountain goats?) and the villages with the ever present chateau and church. Wonderful, a switchback in time as well.
During the final descent to Divonne, we were blessed with the view of Mont Blanc and many cloud free Alps. We found a pull off and took pictures, couldn't help ourselves.......
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