|
 Dwight
Peck's low-res photos
Farms
of the Jura in winter
[The
Jura mountains run in a southwest-northeast direction along the border between
France and Switzerland, from Geneva (Genève) to Basel (Bâle), holding at about
1300-1400 meters altitude (4350-4500 feet), and peaking in the range of 1650 meters
(5450 feet). These photos of high alpage farms in winter are mainly from the southwestern
end of that range, between the cities of Geneva and Vallorbe.]
Chalet
à Roch Dessus
The Chalet
à Roch Dessus (1460 meters) lies on the long ridge between the
French frontier and the Combe des Amburnex in the Swiss Jura, just north of the
wonderful hidden Combe des Begnines, between the Cols du Marchairuz and de la
Givrine. Here it is, just before turnaround time (16:30) on 11 February 2001.
See the graffiti? 
Better
graffiti here than you've got at your house, with wildlife, écussons, and (on
the right) the Trois Suisses from 1291. 
Friend
Lisa in front of the Trois Suisses. 
End of
an unusually sunny Swiss day in winter 2000-2001, but two hours' return still
in prospect. 
More
- call it graffiti if you want to - around at the front, 11 February 2001. 
Chalet
à Roch Dessus (bis)
Here's
a better look at the wall paintings, taken 24 November 2001.
Prof.
J. J. Pirri poses before the Chalet à Roch Dessus, November 2001. (Luckily
for viewers, he's not wearing his patriotic USA suspenders today. A jarring sight!)
The legend
painted above the shuttered window says "Restore the old houses instead of
building new ones". In Switzerland, that's really good advice; in the USA,
only rarely does it make much sense. Why bother to restore a cheesy 60-year-old
mall? (Don't
form opinions too quickly! At least one White Castle 30¢ hamburger joint
in Newark, New Jersey, has been designated an historical monument as a living
forerunner of the ubiquitous McDonald's culture.) 
Former
Prof. Peck, in his insufferable vanity, obscures some of the best parts of the
painting. Get out of the way, you presumptuous git! 
Les
Trois Suisses -- the Iconic Three from the small central Swiss cantons
of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwald who on the 1st of August 1291 took an oath to resist
the Hapsburg's empire and win independence (and William Tell was said to be in
the crowd, nodding approvingly). To put this in context:
Think Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Ethan Allan and the Green
Mountain Boys, Benedict Arnold before he lost patience with the whole thing. The
six-pointed star would seem a little incongruous here, but hey! why not? 
Heraldic
shields of the Canton of Vaud and the Swiss Confederation, and two more I don't
recognize, probably local villages. 
Drs.
Peck and Pirri revel in the neat wall art and prepare to descend again before
night tumbles in upon them in the forest.
Chalet
à Roch Dessus (ter)
Pete
and Mercedes debate which gets to pose for photos under the halo, November 2003. 
Lisa
and Mercedes and the six-pointed star. 
Les
Trois Suisses 
The
fourth Suisses. 
 Feedback
and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative,  .
All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 4 March 2001, revised 31 July 2008.
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