In the quaint village of Saint Joseph de Beauce, the Chaudiere River runs north easterly, eventually joining the brackish waters of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Like many earliest villages in the area, Saint Joseph de Beauce sits on the edge of this transport route. Although not deep, the Chaudiere with its white peaks, whips by at a fast pace. Its name means ‘boiling pot’ from the many rocks and rocky edges under the water that cause so many white caps. Its depth averages 3 feet, perhaps 6 feet in some spots.

the locals have named it the ‘land of lost time’

At the village of Saint Joseph, near the southeastern edge of the Chaudiere River, there is a piece of land that the locals call ‘the land of lost time’. It has probably taken a hundred years to figure out the cause of so many mysterious disappearances in this exact spot. Simple. It’s a bog. A bog hidden by tall, rich greenery that lines both sides of the river. Over and over, industrious men have wandered on the bog with cow, workhorse or tractor and just disappeared. No trace left.

The bog is probably safe 90% of the time but it’s that 10% that always gets you.

Looking down on the Chaudiere River in Saint Joseph de Beauce at the bog.

So the locals have named it the ‘terre de tempts perdu’ or the land of lost time. Regardless of how many hours a farmer had invested to reclaim that piece of land, the land has never accepted all the effort.