A Wednesday Excursion to Mont Mézenc and Les Estables!

I headed south for a change of scenery to see Mont Mézenc (only 30 miles away although it took an hour to drive there).  The volcanic Mézenc range forms a natural barrier that divides the rivers flowing to the Atlantic from those flowing to the Mediterranean.  The Mont Mézenc rises to 5,751 feet which gives its name to the whole range.  This area saw the first creaters during the Tertiary Era, though they are no longer recognizable.  Later eruptions led to the formation to the great planèzes on the eastern slopes  followed by  huge phonolithic cones.  The Quaternary Era brought the extention of the glaciers and the last eruptions filled in the valley with thick flows of basalt.   On the Valey side of the Mézenc massif the range looks like a vast, barren plateau dotted with low farmhouses and barns displaying thatched or stone slab roofs.

I drove further to Les Estables, a small mountain village lying at the foothills of the Mézenc.  It is a popular winter ski area offering both cross country skiing and a few T-bar lifts for Alpine skiing.