Village of Chateau-Chalon.
On down to the village of Baume les Messieurs which surrounds an old abbey and is located in a canyon.
This area of France is famous for steep valleys and flat plateaus above. The valleys end in spectacular cirques (or 'reculées' in French) and in some there are caves. With the heat approaching 37 C (which is about 99 Fahrenheit and unseasonably warm from what I could gather from the locals) I went on a 90 minute cave tour (where it was a cool 13 degrees C (55 F) inside). While not the biggest, deepest, or even most spectacular caves I visited (that honor belonging to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico) I found the tour interesting. The guide only spoke in French but I was given a one page information sheet (laminated to save it from the water dripping off the roof) that explained the main features and history. Discovered in 1610, these caves were formed in the tertiary era thirty million years ago. A platform gave access to the cave some 20 meters up the cliff face. From there a long tunnel like passage opened on to 500 meters of galleries with some rooms with 30 to 80 meters high ceiling having unusual stalactites and stalagmites.
Entrance into the cave.
Up the steep road to reach the rim of the plateau then off across the country side which was now much hillier. Past the first glacial lake (Lac de Chalain) signaling I was getter ever closer to the Alps but the lake was again ringed by those expensive and crowded campgrounds. The roads now became increasingly twisty but they were magnificent for driving. A quick stop to hike to view Cascades du Herisson (an impressive waterfall). Then a great kebab dinner (these take away restaurants are really common in Europe and provide a satisfying meal) before finding another gem of a free campsite in a forest.
My morning routine is to brew up a pot of coffee on my gas camp cooker usually with a baget, some cheese, and salami type meat for breakfast. All the while my tent fly is drying to remove the night dew. Although not cold at night it has been getting cool and a very heavy dew forms before morning. Then a quick pack up (usually stuffing everything in the back of the car) and back on the road.
Today took me first to the town of Morez. This town is famous for eye glasses. Many large manufactures are headquartered here, there is a special school for learning skills for jobs in the optics industry, and the center of town houses a massive museum called Musée de la Lunette de Morez. A link to a little history on how this village in a step-sided valley in France became home to eyeware.
Leaving Morez I now entered into the mountain range (and province) known as the Haut Jura. Interestingly much of this range in part of a national park – with whole villages and towns included inside the park boundaries. I headed on my way passed fields filled with cows with their melodic clanging bells before reaching St. Claude, a town famous for diamond cutting and pipes (of the smoking variety). I paid a visit to the local diamond and pipe museum for my father’s sake (he is a jeweler and a pipe smoker). A few nights of camping had me seeking a room with a bed with a shower and I found a good rate and enjoyed the comforts of the hotel.
The following morning took me passed several ski areas and over the Col de la Faucille, a high mountain pass. I had not been paying attention to how much gas (diesel in this case) was left and now got warning beeping at me that I had only 40 kms left. My GPS showed me the closest was down the other side of the mountains across the border in Switzerland – 40 kms away. I made it with turning the engine off to coast down the hill where ever possible getting to the gas station with very little to spare. I then headed south along the lake shore to Geneva where I spent an enjoyable day wandering around the city. One of the principle tourist sites is an incredible water fountain called Jet d'Eau (or translated to Jet of Water).
Rainbow and the Jet d'Eau - Geneva.
After an amazing dinner at a small restaurant (a kind of huge salad with spiced chicken) I followed the main highway (again a toll road) towards Italy stopping to sleep in the parking lot behind the town hall in the town of Maglan. It was raining and quite late by the time I stopped so I just fully reclined the front passengers seat in the car and had a surprisingly good night’s sleep. The next morning I awoke to a clear sunny morning for a 45 minute drive into the most impressive range of mountains I’ve ever seen. I had arrived in the Alps.
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