My first winter tour in Quebec was certainly a growth experience.

Snow, sleet, blizzard conditions, freezing rain, a few sunny days, and a few whiteout days. Being an excellent winter driver myself, I had my own thoughts about how best to tackle the driving conditions (Um, don’t drive) and then realized it wasn’t my problem! Even though I was sitting in the back seat and in a perfect position to offer my insights, there really wasn’t any reason to offer them. Why not? They weren’t needed!

I also found that my high school French came in handy as I was able to read the huge electronic billboard “Conditions de conduite difficiles” (Difficult driving conditions) and blizzard was in there somewhere as well as they had just opened the roads from the storm the day before. Off we went!! After observing the road and how the vehicle was handled, I realized I could sit back and not micro manage - well, at least not out loud.

I also became an expert at photographing snowflakes! I really didn't have any idea that with all the snow falling, it was best to use manual focus so that you could actually capture the horse (and eye tracking didn’t always work and come to think of it, wasn’t available on my current camera).. It was a bit discouraging, however, live and learn!