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15-Jul-2000 -- Close but no cigar!

The Confluence Hunt - 47N 6E

We are back at the car after N47 E5. Chris, Marylin, and I are impressed with this rental Renault. Very roomy and the seats are comfortable. I have just realized that I did not bring more than one diskette for the camera. Luckily Chris has his 35mm and Marylin has her digital camera. So off to Switzerland -- well almost Switzerland.

First, back north through Gorberon and east on D 973. This takes us through the towns of Labergement, Seurre and on to D 975. These "D" roads are two lanes asphalt type surface with minimal shoulders. Chris said that the "D" roads are similar to our county roads and that the "N" roads are maintained by the national system.

We head south east to la Villeneuve and pick-up N 73, which heads east a short way through Pourlans and Annoire before it turns north-east through Chemin.

After Chemin we picked up D 468 and back south-east through Peseux and Chaussin. From Chaussin we took D 469 past Balaiseaux into Villers-Robert and on to Mont-sur-s/s-Vaudrey. Here we made a detour to Arbois. I had heard/read that there are numerous waterfalls and caves around Arbois and wanted to see what the area looked like. We were delighted. This is a mountainous region with lovely pastoral valleys. Arbois has a small river running through the town. It also has some small waterfalls that were once used to drive a mill.

In Arbois we rested a while. We took some pictures and bought some postcards (see pictures). Then we found a small bar with a view of the mountains behind town. There we had a beer (7FF, $1) - draft, and filled out some postcards. We have got to come back some time. I especially want to visit the surrounding caves and waterfalls.

Off again. We worked our way east, up the mountain roads on D 94 to Salins les Bains. I tried to get some shots but Chris was really enjoying the rented Renault and was moving rapidly up the mountain. I did manage to get one shot. The road is tree lined and almost every tree had a nick in it at roughly bumper height.

From Salins les Bains we tried to find D 492 to Nan s/s Ste. Anne, but kept getting turned around. So instead we took D 472, winding due east to Villeneuve d'Amont and headed due north to Nan on D103. This is incredibly beautiful mountain country. We all thought of the movie Sound of Music.

Now we are close. We headed out of Nan on D 492, up through the mountains until the GPS indicated we were just east, about 800 meters, and stopped. The target is down in the ravine, I think. I can hear the roar of water. The map, a Michelin road map, indicates that below us is the river Lison and a feeder creek. I hope I am on the right side of the river. Chris and Marylin were ready to head back and call it close enough. But I am not ready to give up.

I grab the GPS and Marylin's digital camera and head down the mountain. The terrain is heavily wooded, rocky, and mossy. The hillside is rather slippery and I suppose a little worse than normal with the recent rains. I have to hurry as we have dinner reservations at 2030 and it is 1810. I t will take an hour at least to get back to Dijon. I made my way down and ended up at the confluence of the river and its feeder creek. The target confluence is still 300 meters west. Foiled! I am on the wrong side of the river. It is moving swiftly and about 50-70 feet wide. The river does look like a lot fun in a canoe.

I took several pictures and headed back up. It feels like I am climbing 1000 feet. Later I found out it was only about 300 feet. My thighs are burning by the time I get back to the car. Chris and Marylin are a little ticked. I scared them a bit as I am 20-25 minutes late. It is 1910 and we need to get on to Dijon.

I later discovered that if we had taken the left fork out of Nan we would have ended up on the other side of the river, on top of the mountain and probably within 20 meters of the confluence. It pays big bucks to have the right details and a 1:24000 scale map.