FRIDAY 08 July

Rocher (the rock) from Bonaventure Island.

Our plan for today was to take a boat ride around “Parc national ‘ile-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher” (National Park Bonaventure Island and Rock) just off the coast of Perce, Quebec.  Linda’s research last night indicated that there were two boat companies doing these rides and providing service to/from Bonaventure Island.  She was going to make a reservation for the four of us, but they could only be made for parties of 20 or more, and appeared to be unnecessary anyway.  The cost would be 45$ per person for a 75 minutes narrated tour around the Rock and Island with the option of getting off the boat onto the island to hike and visit historic buildings.  Otherwise, the ride back to Perce was an additional 15 minutes.  The “Rock” and the island, together, make up the “Parc national ‘ile-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher,” a Quebec provincial park, so exiting the boat onto the island would mean paying the 9.50$ per person provincial park entrance fee.

Birds on the east cliffs of Bonaventure Island (Linda). Photo stylized as an oil painting.

The rock is an iconic, often seen symbol of the province, and the island is a significant bird sanctuary.  With over 250 species recorded (migratory or nesting), the highlight of the island is the birds that nest in the cliff faces.  In particular, the island is a major nesting place for the Northern Gannett with over 50,000 pairs recorded this season.  But there are also Cormorants, Kittiwakes, and many other species.   It is one of those “wonders of the natural world” that we thought would be well worth the 90$ to see.  And it was.

Bonaventure Island cliffs—steep and rugged—with a few birds.

Paul and Nancy decided not to hike on the island and returned to the mainland for an early lunch while we went ashore.  We could have paid our entrance fee in cash, but a QR code marked “English” took us to the Sepaq website (Parcs Quebec) when Linda made a “reservation,” paid the fee, and got a confirmation code.  There was a gift shop, café, and restrooms in the dock area.

Northern Gannetts nesting on the cliffs of Bonaventure Island.

The Bonaventure Island cabin of artist Kittie Bruneau.

There was a system of trails on the island, three of which went over the top of the island and through the woods to the other side where the nesting cliffs are located.  These trails had enough elevation gain that they were all marked “intermediate.”  A fourth trail ran parallel to the coast facing Perce and was lined with the homes and other buildings of the community that once existed here.  Most of the buildings were well preserved and maintained.  Some were open for hikers, and others are opened only for escorted tours.  The island became a bird sanctuary in 1919 by international treaty, and the last human inhabitants were removed in the early 1970’s.

Bruce on the trail next to a Cow Parsnip plant.

There was a plant that we thought was giant Queen Anne’s Lace, but Google Lens identified it as “Cow Parsnip.”  (We had an excellent cellular signal on the island.)

Our boat left the mainland dock at 9 AM and arrived at the Bonaventure Island dock around 10 AM.  The available return boats after that were at 11:30 AM, 1 PM, 2:30 PM, and 4 PM with the final return passage at 5 PM.  We decided to  hike the coast trail for the views and photo opportunities, with the goal of taking the 1 PM boat back to Perce.

A Grey Seal takes a look around.

Along the way, we discovered informative signs about the history of the island and its inhabitants.  We also saw quite a few Grey Seals.  Their Latin classification is “Halichoerus grypus” which translates as “hook-nosed sea pig.”  They are a “true (earless) seal.”  Locally they are apparently referred to as “horse seals” as the shape of their heads resemble that of a horse.  They are not small animals, growing to a length of 10 feet, weighing up to 4,400 pounds, and eating 22 pounds of food (fish, squid and eels) per day.  They are curious creatures, and were often positioned vertically with the heads out of the water so they could look around and watch the passing boats and hikers.

Chalets Camping Nature Ocean on the hillside as seen from Bonaventure Island. Our Airstream is upper left in the yellow oval.

Since we could see the entire length of the island from our campsite, we figured we could see our campsite from the island.  I was fairly sure I had found it, but this photo confirmed it.  Our travel trailer is in the little yellow oval in the upper left corner.

We were back in the dock area by 12:15 PM, got something to drink and split a piece of raspberry bread while waiting for the 1 PM boat.  We visited the gift shop (boutique) looking for post cards, but they did not have any.  There was a larger boutique back in Perce, and Linda found several post cards there for our youngest grand-daughters.

Paul and Nancy had lunched at “La Maison du Pecheur” near the dock and were relaxing in some large wooden lounge chairs on the boardwalk, waiting for us to come back.  They had already walked the town, and we were not interested in window shopping, so we headed back to camp.  Since they had dined out, and everyone was a bit tired, we agreed to each take care of our own dinner this evening and retreated to our respective homes on wheels.

Rain was forecast to begin around 2 PM so I put the stinger in the F-150 receiver, stowed the two foldup lawn chairs in the truck bed, and positioned the truck with the stinger ready to back into the trailer hitch in the morning.  Linda took a load of laundry over to their rig.  We then settled in to get some work done.  Linda entered receipts in Quicken and reconciled bank balances while I worked on blog posts.  Dinner was a simple affair, after which Linda read and I continued to work on blog posts.  I was going to start reviewing e-mails and cleaning up my e-mail inboxes, but it’s a long and somewhat tedious task and I was too tired to start.

Rain was still in the forecast through 11 PM, and finally started at 9:15 PM with a flash lightning and thunder.  But we should have dry conditions for our final departure preparations in the morning.  We plan to pull out around 10 AM.  Check-in time at our next stop is 2 PM, and the drive is only about three hours, but we will be crossing into New Brunswick, which is currently on Atlantic Daylight Time where it is an hour later than here in Perce.

…

THURSDAY 07 July

There were several reasons we booked an RV park in the Perce area:  1) It was a good distance from Saint-Anne-des-Monts, 2) our research had not turned up good options near Gaspe, and 3) It wasn’t too far from Forillon National Park (FNP).

The park was our focus for today.  We had to drive back north through Gaspe and then east into the park.  This should have taken about and hour but was closer to 90 minutes due to a detour around a bridge closure.  The sky was clear, the sun was warm, and the winds were mild.  A perfect day to visit a park and go hiking.

FNP is a true national park run by Parks Canada.  It occupies the easternmost tip of the Gaspe peninsula and, like all national parks, exists to protect a unique landscape, habitat, or cultural/historic site.  It also provides recreational opportunities when and where appropriate.  Even though most of the park is inaccessible, even to backpackers, FNP ticked all of those boxes.

The marsh by the west entrance and visitor center at Forillon National Park (Parks Canada).

Our first hike was out a narrow spit of land with the Bay of Gaspe (and a beach) on one side, and a marsh on the other.  We walked along the beach for a while and then found the trail and the marsh observation shelter.  FNP is heavily forested with a large and diverse flora.  Black Spruce thrive here, a tree normally only found much farther north in Canada or in Russia.

The Gulf of St. Lawrence from eastern end of Forillon National Park (at or near the eastern most point of the Gaspe peninsula).

We then drove over the mountains (on QC-132) to the main visitor center on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  We hike a boardwalk trail, complete with informational signage.  Three of us then hiked out to the Irish Memorial (1.2 Km round trip), erected in remember of the lives lost when the ship “Carricks” sank of this very spot in the 1840s, loaded with people from County Sligo, Ireland trying to escape the potato famine and establish and new and better live in North America.

The “Irish Memorial”. Erected to remember those who perished when the sailing vessel “Carricks” sank just off the coast at this point, in sight of land after sailing from Ireland in the 1840s.

Though limited, we were satisfied with our time in the park and the time it took to get here was worthwhile.  On the drive back to camp we also noted that there appeared to have been more options to camp in the Gaspe area, including in FNP itself (although not with Paul and Nancy’s big rig) as well as many rental chalets.  We all agreed that we could have spent more time in this area, and would like to return someday.

We stopped in Gaspe for fuel and to do some minor grocery shopping at an IGA.  A minor disappointment was that we had not allowed time to just drive around a bit and see the city, which looked charming.

It was a long day for us, having left camp at 9:30 AM and returned at 5:45 PM.  We had already agreed on leftovers for dinner, so minimal preparation was needed for the evening meal.  I took the time before we ate to investigate the loose propane tank cover.  Fortunately, the threaded rod was not loose at the base.  The special nut on top that was slightly loose, but could not loosen any further due to a locking mechanism.  I removed the lock, repositioned the tanks slightly, tightened everything back down, and locked it.

There was already a chill in the air, but we decided we needed to have a campfire because, well, camping.  Paul drove to the campground office (it’s a long walk from our sites) and bought a bundle of firewood.  He built a nice fire—one of the best so far—and we enjoyed it until it dwindled and the cold became dominant once again.  We retired to our respective rigs and I think we were all early to bed as we had plans to head out earlier than usual to take a boat trip to the Rock and Bonaventure Island.

…

WEDNESDAY 06 July

Today was the beginning of our third week on the road, which is about half of the time we will spend caravanning with Paul and Nancy and a bit less than a quarter of our total planned trip.  It was a repositioning day, leaving Camping Ancre Jaune in Saint-Anne-des-Monts, Quebec and driving to Chalets Camping Nature Ocean in Perce, Quebec.  We have three nights booked here, our last in the province of Quebec for this trip.

There was a possibility of rain overnight into this morning, so I did most of the exterior departure preparation last night.  The rain did not materialize in the morning, so it did not take long to finish the departure process in relative comfort.  It was strongly overcast, however, and remained so for the entire trip.

Our route was mostly QC-132 along the northwest coast of the Gaspe peninsula, with occasional turns inland to go around bays or headlands that plunged into the sea.  At one point we were even in the clouds!  Most of the bays had towns along them, and were fed by rivers flowing down from the mountains.  It was the most dramatic scenery of the trip so far.  It was a challenging but fun drive.

We saw a lot of this on the drive today. 14% grade with sharp turns and low speed limits at the bottom.

Challenging?  Yes, our most challenging drive yet, and the truck performed well.  The road was very good, the best stretch of QC-132 so far, but was rarely straight and had lots of ups and downs.  There was quite a bit of road maintenance taking place as well, and it seemed that every small town had a major bridge repair underway, reducing traffic to one lane controlled by stoplights at either end, perhaps a dozen places in all.  There was even one repair that was long enough to require an escort vehicle.  But it all went smoothly, and we were able to travel 90 KmPH much of the time, slowing down to 80, 70, or even lower (55, 45, 35) for some curves, which always seemed to be at the top or bottom of steep grade.  It was nice to have to slow down to 50 KmPH (~32 MPH) going through the towns as I was able to see them a bit better.

The sign is for a 17% grade downhill into Perce, QC.

Speaking of grades, this stretch of road had them.  7% to 10% grades were common, and we saw at least one 12% and one 14%.  And these were just the ones going down.  Uphill grades are not marked and there were an equal number of them.  The winner, however, was the final descent into Perce, at 17%.  While steep, most of these grades were not very long.  The F-150 powertrain (3.5L V6 twin-turbo ecoBoost with 10-speed, multi-mode transmission) handled all of the climbs and most of the descents with relative ease.  The F-150 has a hill descent assist feature to keep the speed to 20 MPH or less at 2,000 RPM, and I used this feature on the 14% and 17% grades.  The travel trailer has also held up well, other than the few minor things I have previously mentioned.

And here it is. The first viiew of Perce, QC. End of “the rock” at left. Bonaventure Island at the top.

Just as we reached the northwest corner of Forillon National Park, we took QC-197 along the west edge of the park rather than staying on QC-132 which follows the coast all the way around the park and into Gaspe, QC.  QC-197 is the designated “transit” (truck) route to Gaspe, so using it was the wise decision.  We also took QC-198 south from Gaspe to bypass the stretch of QC-132 around the small peninsula there that is a marked “tourist” route, and not advised for larger vehicles.  These two bypasses saved a few miles and additional steep grades in an otherwise longer than usual driving day.

Rain was forecast for much of our travel, including our destination, and we caught up to it before we reached Gaspe.  It was there waiting for us when we reached Perce, but it was always light.

Perce is an attractive little tourist town, the main draw being “the Rock” and Bonaventure Island, both part of the Parc national de Bonaventure, another Quebec provincial park.  The Rock was first visible has we got closer to Perce, and it is large.  It is possible to walk out to it during low tide.  Bonaventure Island is a major nesting and resting place for migratory and local birds.

As we drove through Perce to our campground on the south side of town, it was busy with tourists walking about in the rain with rain gear and umbrellas.  Chalets Camping Nature Ocean turned out to be an interesting and lovely campground, set up for both RVs and tents, as well as offering lots of rental cabins (chalets).  It looked and felt more like a really nice state park than a private/commercial campground, with large, well-spaced, sites separated by hedgerows of varied plants.

Our campsite at Chalets Nature Ocean. Paul and Nancy’s rig behind to the left.

Our site (W3W=disapperars.imperious.carpeted) was at the very back of the campground, which sloped up away from the road and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  It looked dubious at first, but turned out to only be slightly out of level and was easily compensated for with our equipment.  We were parked with the trailer on a north-south orientation, facing north, and high enough up to have a clear view of Bonaventure Island.  We set up in a light/occasional drizzle; the first time on this trip that we have had to make camp in any sort of inclement weather.  But it wasn’t bad and we got it done.  And it’s not like we had a choice.  When you RV (or camp in general) you simply do what you have to do.

Both rigs on a nicer day, weatherwise.

I had noticed recently that the cover for the propane tanks was not sitting level.  When I checked, I found that it was loose.  My first thought (which always seems to go to the worst possible outcome) was that the threaded rod that secures the tanks and the cover was coming loose.  Yikes!  I did not take the time to investigate and correct whatever was wrong at the time due to the weather, and left it for the next day.

We could see all of Bonaventure Island from our campsite

The biggest problem we had was that the lids on several of our bulk food containers popped off and some of the contents bounced out.  This is the second time this had happened, and we have no idea why.  The container lids have a good, strong seal.  A serious change in altitude would cause an increase in the internal air pressure, but the mountains here are not that extreme.  In fact, the mountains in the Gaspe peninsula are the northern extent of the Appalachian Mountain chain.  Perhaps the bouncing of the rough roads had caused the ingredients to bang against the inside of the lids and push them open.  But that seemed unlikely, especially with things such as sugar and quinoa.

The view of the campground to east of our site. We are at the back of the park, at the highest point.

For dinner Nancy made vegan chili with jackfruit and lots of other ingredients.  It was great, one of the best we have ever had (and Linda makes a very good vegan chili too.)  By the time we finished dinner it was 7:45 PM.  It had stopped raining and there was still plenty of daylight, so we drove into Perce to look around and perhaps get some ice cream (P&N) or sorbet (us).  We selected a Creamerie and Resto we had noticed on the drive in.  The restaurant was open, but the ice cream counter had stopped serving.  They told Paul it was “too cold” for ice cream.  We stopped at a shop that sold t-shirts and other things, looked around, and chatted with the owner.  We made a mental note to return on Friday.  Back in camp, and lacking firewood, we retired for the evening.

…

TUESDAY 05 July

We are at 49.124… deg. Latitude and –66.511… deg. Longitude (W3W=constraint.magpies.fairly).  That puts us farther north than we have ever traveled by land and somewhere near the eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone.  We are here only two weeks after the summer solstice, so the sun rises early in the northeast, travels high overhead, and sets late in the northwest.  At this location, it rises over water and sets over water.  With the right cloud conditions, the sunsets are beautiful.  The sunrises probably are too, but we are not up in time to see them.

My first awareness this morning that it was not completely dark outside was at 03:22, but I suspect the first glow of morning occurred sometime before that.  The winds calmed down a bit overnight, but started up again with the appearance of the sun.  By early afternoon they were steady out of the west at 20 MPH.  We don’t know if this is typical, but persistent wind seems to be a feature of this location.

Just a simple camping breakfast with our travel companions.

For breakfast, Nancy made baked vegan French toast.  She prepared it the night before using Just Egg and other ingredients poured over 1” thick slices of a freshly bough baguette from Metro market and topped with sliced apples.  The assemblage soaked overnight in the refrigerator and then baked in the morning.  She also made an apple/almond caramel sauce.  The French toast was paired with Mimosas, made with orange juice and the sparkling Maple syrup “wine” from Domain Acer.  We ate outdoors in the cool air and warm sun so, basically, a simple camping breakfast.

We then turned our attention to chores, Paul and Nancy are full-time RVers, and we are temporarily the same while traveling.  We had a big day yesterday, so errands and chores were on tap for today in advance of another travel day tomorrow. As retired people on an extended travel adventure, we are not on “vacation” and are not trying to cram every day full of activities.

It’s hard to miss Camping Ancre Jaune (the yellow anchor).

We paused to chat with our other neighbor, Guy, a thoroughly charming fellow.  He was cutting up some bread and I asked if it came from the Metro market.  He said they shop there but this bread came from L-Hotel Cie, just across the street from the Patisserie and Boulangerie, which was also very good.  Guy is a retired air traffic controller.  He and his wife reside in Montreal, but had been at Camping Ancre Jaune for the last six weeks while he working as an aerial surveyor on a crop-dusting plane flying out of the Saint-Anne-des-Monts airport, which was just across QC-132 from our campground.

Camping Ancre Jaune Office.

Our chores included straightening up and cleaning the interior of the trailer (Linda), dumping the waste water tanks (Bruce) and cleaning the truck (Bruce).  The truck bed, and everything in it, had a fine coating of grey dust as a result of our drive around the east end of Parc national de la Gaspésie.  I emptied out the entire bed and Linda help dust of everything.  She and Nancy then headed to the Metro market as grocery shopping was her major errand of the day.  While they were away, Paul cleaned the inside of their coach and I cleaned the truck bed, interior floors, and dashboard and dumped the waste water tanks.

One of the many driftwood sculptures at the sculpture park, and throughout the city of Saint-Anne-des-Monts.

Mid-afternoon we walked to a nearby sculpture park.  The sculptures were all made from driftwood, and were very interesting.  They were spread out in a way that did not allow me to photograph the whole place.  The wind was still strong from the west, but the sun was warm, which was a pleasant combination.  Linda knew we could walk all the way to the center of town on sidewalks and a boardwalk, so we kept on going.  We eventually turned back and came up QC-132 looking for the Marie 4 Patisserie and Boulangerie.  Once there, we each had a cup of coffee and split a small vegan brownie with raspberry puree and vanilla cream.  We bought two more to take home for dessert after dinner.

I wanted to wash the grey dust from yesterday’s drive around the east end of Parc national de la Gaspésie off of the truck.  There was an auto wash not far away so I drove over there.  It was a coin operated self-serve (pressure wash) facility in a separate building that was part of the Esso fuel station and pizza restaurant complex.  The machine took Loonies (1$) and twonies (2$) coins.  We had been collecting them along our way, but I did not have any with me, so I returned to camp.

For dinner, Linda made vegan fish stew.  While she was preparing it, I returned to the car wash and rinsed off the truck, but not before stopping at L-Hotel Cie and buying a loaf of orange-cranberry bread.  I got enough high-pressure spray to do the entire truck once for just one twonie, and concentrated on the wheel wells, wheels, tires, and windows.  As long as I was there, I topped up the fuel tank.  I knew I had not filled it yesterday, and it took another 25 liters.  The price was 2.06$, which the best I’ve seen since entering the Gaspe peninsula.  For the second time on this trip, the pumps did not take credit cards.  The young man inside the building spoke perfect English and confirmed that I filled first and then paid.  And they took American Express.

The vegan fish stew was outstanding.  We had this same dish on Christmas Day with the family’s Italian themed Feast of the Seven Fishes.  It was excellent then, and excellent again.  We had slices of fresh baguette and a Pelee Island un-oaked Chardonnay with the meal.  Linda split the two vegan brownies for dessert.  All-in-all, just another simple camping dinner in a lovely place with good friends.

Friends on the beach for sunset at Camping Ancre Jaune.

After dinner, I put the stinger in the truck receiver and positioned the truck in front of the trailer hitch, ready for docking in the morning.  We also disconnect all of the fresh water apparatus and stowed it away.  All that left for tomorrow morning was to disconnect the shorepower, raise the stabilizer jacks, connect the truck to the trailer, and remove/stow the wheel chocks and levelers.  Rain was forecasted for overnight through the morning, so this would minimize the time required to finish our departure routine.

Linda at sunset on the beach.

Last, but not least, we went to the beach to walk and watch the sunset.  As we headed west down the beach an older gentleman walked out towards us from the first house adjacent to the campground.  We thought he was going to tell us this was private property, which it is not, but he must have heard us speaking English and just wanted to talk.  He was a thoroughly delightful fellow, who winters in the Ft. Lauderdale area of Florida, and just wanted to chat with someone in English.  We picked up some good tips from him about things to see and do in the Gaspe and Perce area.  I photographed the sunset until the light was fading and then we returned to our rig for the night.

A lone fisherman in the St. Lawrence River at sunset from the beach at Camping Ancre Jaune.

…

MONDAY, 04 July

Parc national de la Gaspesie from Discovery Center

The main part of today was devoted to exploring the Parc national de la Gaspésie.  Indeed, this park is the one of the reasons we looked for an RV park in Saint-Anne-des-Monts.  The park was created in 1937 to protect the flora and fauna of a unique ecosystem that included alpine, tundra, caribou and moose.  It is the last place that Caribou are found south of the St. Lawrence River.  Since that time, it has also become a mecca for hikers, bikers, campers, canoeists and kayakers, perhaps the preeminent spot in Quebec.  This was another of the Quebec provincial parks that they call a “national” park, but are not under the management of Parks Canada and do not recognize the Parks Canada pass.

Friends on the Saint Anne River Trail.

The park was about 40 Km from our RV park.  QC-299 starts at QC-132 in Saint-Anne-des-Monts and heads south towards the park.  The road was good and marked 90 KPH most of the way, so it took less than 30 minutes to reach the park boundary.  We expected to find an entrance station there, but there was just a sign.  Our map had indicated that QC-299 runs all the way through the park, out the south side, and r on going, so it’s a public throughway.

Saint Anne River rapids.

We knew there was a visitor (discovery) center about mid-way through the park and that was our initial destination.  At the discovery center, we learned that we did, indeed, need our paid reservations (which Linda had made the night before) and that there were staff throughout the Parc who might ask to see our confirmation if we came across them.  We also got a map that showed the trails and camping areas.  A staff member highlighted the three “easy” hikes in the surrounding area.

Saint Anne Trail carpet of green.

We decided to hike the La Chute Sainte-Anne trail which started just across QC-299 from the discovery center and ran south between the road and the Saint Anne River (Riviere Sainte-Anne) with access to a viewing platform for the Saint Anne waterfall (Chute Sainte-Anne).  Further along it crossed over QC-299 and became the La Lucarne trail back to the discovery center with the La Lucarne viewing platform at the highest point.

La Lucarne Trail. It was steep and rugged.

The park encompasses a dramatic terrain of modest (3,000 – 4,000 foot) but steep mountains with river valleys and lakes.  It was a dense woodland, and everything that wasn’t road or water seemed to have a thick covering of green trees and plants.  The Sainte Anne trail had its ups and downs, but the La Lucarne trail seemed vertical at times.  It might have been a language issue at the discovery center, or perhaps a different cultural calibration of the meaning of “easy,” “intermediate,” “difficult,” and “expert” as applied to a hiking trail.  In spite of being labeled as “family friendly” in the map guide, there was no way this was an “easy” hike.  The two trails combined were 4.2 Km (~2.6 mi) with a time of ~90 minutes.  It was not easy and it took us longer, but we made it.

Friends stop to rest on the La Lucarne Trail.

Back at the discovery center we rested on the deck and had a vegetable juice blend for calories and hydration.  Everyone was tired, but we looked at what other “easy” hiking options might exist.  The best options were down Rte 11, but Routes 14 and 16 formed a loop around the eastern portion of the park.  We decided to drive the loop counter-clockwise, starting with Rte 16 and ending up on Rte. 14.  The roads were gravel and often very rough.  Not “off road” but a good test of the F-150.  We had hoped to see Mont Jacques-Cartier, the highest point in the Gaspe peninsula at 1270 m (~4,128 feet), but most of the time the trees were close to the edges of the road and tall, so our views were out the front and rear windows of the truck, and some of them were very good.

A path in the woods.

By the time we got back to QC-299, everyone was tired and waved off looking for another hiking trail so we headed back to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.  It was a worthwhile visit to a special and spectacular place and we were all glad we went.

When we got back to Saint-Anne-des-Mont, we crossed QC-132 and pulled into the Metro grocery store parking lot.  Nancy needed a couple of baguettes for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow and we went in to check it out for a possible reprovisioning trip tomorrow.  It was a very nice store.  Dinner was vegan cream of mushroom soup, made from scratch, with sherry and freshly baked croutons.  The remainder of the baguettes will be used for a special breakfast dish, to be revealed in a later post.

Saint-Anne-des-Monts from the beach in front of our campground at sunset.

When I got our folding chairs out of the back of the truck, I discovered that the bed cover is not dust proof; everything was coated with a fine grey powder, acquired on the Rte 16 -14 loop around the Parc.  Cleaning the back of truck would have to wait until tomorrow.  For now, we relaxed for a bit after dinner and then went to the beach to watch the sun set, something for which this area is noted.

Selfie on the beach at Camping Ancre Jaune.

There were quite a few people there already, some with lawn chairs, some sitting on large pieces of driftwood, and others sitting or lying on the sand.  The campground only allows fires on the beach and there were several already going, even beyond the borders of the campground, which is private housing in both directions.   We stood and waited, and finally started taking pictures as the color developed.  When the sun drops low in the sky the temperatures follow so once the color faded, we returned to our rigs for the night.

All good blogs end with a sunset, right?  So here it is.

Sunset over the St. Lawrence River from the beach at Camping Ancre Jaune, Saint-Anne-des-Monts

…

SUNDAY, 03 July

Caution – long blog post ahead without pictures.

Due to our experience trying to visit Parc national du Bic (provincial park) yesterday, Linda decided to try and make a reservation last night for Parc national de la Gaspésie (provincial park).  She was able to book entry for all day Monday for four adults.  Admission was 9.50$ per person, paid in advance by credit card.  (The $ following the amount indicates that this is Canadian dollars.)

Today was a travel day, and our destination was Camping Ancre Jaune in Saint-Anne-des-Monts, Quebec.  We were looking forward to the drive as most of it would be on QC-132 (RTE-132) along the coast of the St. Lawrence River.  We targeted a 2 PM arrival at Camping Ancre Jaune and planned an 11 AM departure from the Bas St-Laurent KOA.

Juniper (our cat) was in a bratty mood this morning.  First light was around 04:00 with sunrise around 04:50.  With the arrival of morning light, she started her routine of pawing at window shades and walking on and around us in bed.  I managed to hold out until 6:30 AM and finally got up, but I didn’t mind.  Being up early means a quite campground and coffee, with time to work on this blog or a few puzzles, have a light breakfast, and still prepare for departure at a leisurely pace.  Until something changes that.

While taking care of outside tasks, specifically dumping the waste tanks, I noticed that the bracket which holds the handle and shaft for the Main (black) Tank dump valve had lost two of its four mounting rivets.  Going down the road in that condition did not seem like a good idea so we set to fixing it.  We came up with a decent, albeit temporary, solution involving 3M VHB (Very High Bond) double-sided tape and a 12” cable (zip) tie.  That little repair took at least 20 minutes out of leisurely prep time.  We took care of most everything else and then set about hooking up the truck to the trailer.

This hitching process has mostly gone smoothly since we wrote down the steps and follow them, but not today.  Try as I might, I simply could not get the stinger aligned with the hitch.  Part of the problem was that the truck was casting a shadow directly behind itself.  The shadow obscured the stinger and then the hitch opening just when I needed to see them the most clearly.  I got out and looked (G.O.A.L) repeatedly and finally got it lined up.  The rest of the process and departure was smooth from there, but we had used up another 20 minutes of prep time.  We were still shy of the required noon check-out time, and did not have to be at our destination at any specific time, so we were not under any real pressure, but I was frustrated by having to make the unexpected last-minute repair and then struggling with the hookup.

Based on our previous relocation, we decided to put the center console up and put Juniper’s carrier between us on the front seat.  She seemed to do better there, but ultimately Linda put the carrier on her lap.  It was easier for her to reach inside the carrier and allowed Juniper to see outside and have some sun on her face (which she likes).  We set the destination in the on-board GPS and pulled out.

The drive made up for the delays and frustration.  We were on QC-132 Est and then the A-20 Est, through woodlands and farm fields, until it ended somewhere past Rimouski.  A left turn via a roundabout took us north a short distance back to QC-132 Est.  For the rest of the way we were usually in sight of the St. Lawrence River.  It was very wide by this point, but the far shore was still visible.  In some places the road was flat and next to the water.  In other places it rolled up and down and twisted left and right through large hills or along bluffs near the river.  This is beautiful country that reminded us a bit of the Maine coast, but not exactly the same.

The weather was near perfect, with temperatures in the upper 60s F and mostly sunny skies.  The numerous small coastal towns were generally neat and tidy and picturesque, although we did not get any photos.  The road surface was another matter.  Smooth in a few places, but very rough in many more.  The speed limit was usually 90 KPH (~56 MPH), but occasionally dropped to 80 KPH (~50 MPH), and anywhere from 70 to 50 KPH going through towns.  Somewhere along the way we left the Bas St. Laurent Tourist Region and entered the Gaspésie Tourist Region.

We found our campground without difficulty.  This was the place where we were “in the book” via a phone call, with no other confirmation of our stay.  When making the reservation Linda originally had a less than wonderful interaction with a male you couldn’t, or wouldn’t, speak English.  In a subsequent phone call, she spoke to a woman who was able and willing to speak English.  We knew we had sites 46 and 47, both full-hookup (3-way, or 3-service) 30A, but did not know the daily rate.  The same woman was in the registration office and as both sweet and helpful.  The daily rate was 40$ + tax, cash only.  She did not require payment before parking us, and said we could “go to town and get cash and pay her sometime while we were there.”  That’s the second time on this trip we got something before paying for it.  The first time was the day we visited Domaine Acer when I stopped at a remote fueling station where I filled first and the went inside and paid.

We were in our site 47 with Paul and Nancy in site 46, both parallel to the river with us one site closer.  That worked well as we had a view of the river and they could see past us in front and over the top.  Once the trailer was level, we went about “setting up camp.”  That’s when Linda found that the upper hinge on one of the under-sink cabinet doors had come loose.  This happened once before with a different cabinet door, and was easy to reattach.  No so this time.  I looked at it but could not see what was wrong.  I left it for later as Paul was working on a bay door latch problem and I wanted to assist with a possible fix.  The door had come unlatched while driving today, twice.

I also wanted to better secure the Main Tank dump valve handle support bracket.  A drill, drill bit, pop rivet, rivet gun, and a half hour to find and use this stuff, is all that was required.

I then returned to the cabinet door hinge but was not able to diagnose and resolve the problem.  There was a curved piece that was supposed to hook around a pin, but it wouldn’t hold.  Clearly it had not held up to the rough roads but I could not see anything that was broken.  The hinges are adjustable, and a bit complex, to allow the doors to be installed and then perfectly adjusted for fit.  They have locking tabs, and I could not get the bottom hinge loose, which would have allowed me to remove the door and examine them from a better angle or take them apart.  In the end, I snapped the hinge back together and wrapped it in tape while Linda held it in position.

We walked down to the water but the breeze was strong and cold.  Campfires are allowed on the beach, but not at the RV sites.  A lovely idea, but too windy for tonight.  We sat outside with Paul and Nancy, our backs to the wind and setting sun until the sun was no longer warming and went into their rig for a bit.  I brought over the bottle of Emilio Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado Dry Sherry that Linda bought for me at the LCBO in Ottawa.  Unfortunately, it was not to my taste, so the bottle was donated to future cooking projects.  What I like, but can rarely find, is Lustau East India Solera, which is a sweetened Oloroso.

When we returned to our rig, we both noticed an odor but could not identify it.  We had a few cookies while I worked on the blog and Linda played an online game.  We forgot to manage our meager 30A electrical supply, and I was running one of the heat pumps while the electric heating element for the hot water heater was also on.  The heat pump had cycled fine, but then tried to start and quit.  What?  A quick glance and I saw that the microwave clock was dark, as was the plug in volt meter.  I looked outside and the Hughes Power Watchdog EPO was dark.  We had tripped the circuit breaker and had no AC power to the rig.  It was also not at the location of our connection, but somewhere else in the park.  It was after 10 PM.

The overnight low was forecast to be 50 F, so we would have survived without power, but not been able to charge our various devices.  I walked up to the little registration office to see if they had an emergency phone number.  There were several names and phone numbers, but everything was in French.  I picked the first one listed and called Caroline.  She answered, and spoke enough English to be helpful, so I guessed that I had reached the same woman who registered us and us parked.  She patiently explained where the circuit breaker was located but I would need a flashlight.  Lucky for me I have one built into my phone.

I found the circuit breaker box in question on site 24 across for our site (46).  It had a lot of circuit breakers, but none labeled “46.”  As I was about to call Caroline back, she walked down and said it was a different box by site 48, just on the other side of the Class B parked next to us.  Yup, that was the one.  I apologized profusely for bothering her at this late hour, but she seemed to indicate that it was genuinely OK.  I left the hot water heater off, made sure the HVAC equipment was off, and went to bed.  If you have an RV and use it, things will have to be fixed.  If you have a “50A” RV (lots of electrical loads) plugged into a marginal 30A service, you will have to actively manage your electricity usage.  We knew this, of course, but forgot to pay attention.

SATURDAY, 02 July

I was up and 6 AM and Linda was up shortly thereafter.  I know that might sound crazy, but the sunrise here at the moment is 04:40.  Linda is usually in bed by 10 PM and me by 11 PM, so we have both had our quota of sleep by this time in the morning.  It’s also a great time to get online and take care of blog posts, play games, or research things.  Quiet hours at the Bas Saint-Laurent KOA Resort are 11 PM to 8 AM, and we see few, if any, people out and about in the morning before 8 AM.

My objective for the blog of one post for each location where we camp, with a few photos and even fewer words, has not worked out.  The fact is, it’s not my “style” and, to the extent that the blog is a travel log for us rather than entertainment for an audience, the short form approach does not work for me.  Besides, now that I am getting back into the rhythm, I am remembering how much I enjoy doing it, especially when seeing new things and getting to photograph them.

Paul in front of the bagel stand in St. Simon, QC

The weather forecast for today was a bit tricky, but we decided on a mid-morning departure even with a chance of rain between noon and 2 PM.  We took the F-150 again, and dropped off our laundry basket when we picked up Nancy and Paul at 10:30.  We headed to QC-132, and turned left/west (ouest) into St. Simon.  Our objective was to find the Bagel Vending machine, which we did, right next to a small open-air market (March).  We got the photos we came for, but took a pass on the bagels.

Yes, that is a bagel vending machine

Our main destination for the day was the Parc national du Bic (a Quebec provincial park) back east on QC-132 just past St. Fabian and St. Fabian-du-Mer.  I missed the turn into the main entrance and had to find a place to pull off and turn around.  There was a line to get in and when we finally got to the window, the ranger, whose English was marginal, said we could not come in.  Nothing personal, mind you, it’s just that we did not have a reservation and the park was “fully booked.”  Well shucks, we certainly did not see that coming.

Park Bic. Trees upper left are on the island, part of Parc national du Bic.

Paul was able to locate a nearby location named Bic Park, so we headed there.  A small twisting road took us along the edge of a golf course to a small parking area, beyond which we could walk to the St. Lawrence River and an island.  The tide was out, so we were able to get to the island along an elevated isthmus.  The high tide mark was obvious from the detritus line, at which the isthmus would still be above water, but just barely.

Not sure what this is. I called them Sea Grapes.

The island turned out to be part of the Parc national du Bic.  A sign said it was a protected area and seemed to indicate that we could not hike into the woods.  Not that we could have anyway as they were very dense.  We walked around the edge, both above and below the high tide mark.  Besides lots of rocks, there was evidence of crabs and mussels, but a sign on the way in said not to harvest them due to contamination.

Linda at Park Bic (lower left corner)

By this time, we were all ready for a bite to eat, so the search was on for someplace with vegan options.  It looked like Rimouski was our destination and I headed there.  A Korean restaurant appeared promising, but we ultimately decided on a Copper Branch location on the north/east end of town.  When we got there, we discovered a Thai restaurant and a “Risto 9” restaurant.  Having had a good experience in Ottawa, we stayed with our Copper Branch choice.  As before, three of us had an Asian Poke bowl.

Bruce at Park Bic

The drive back to camp took us through a residential area before getting to the A-20.  Just before getting back to the KOA, we detoured into the small town of Saint Mathieu-de-Rioux to have a look before leaving the area tomorrow.

Back at camp, we stopped at the office on the way in and Paul bought a bundle of firewood for this evening.  We then them at their rig and returned to ours, where Linda had planned on taking a nap and I had planned on working on photos and the blog.  But sometimes life has other plans, and a mishap with a bottle of Sandeman’s Ruby Port had us spend the next hour or so cleaning up the mess.  But these things happen, and when they do there is nothing to be done about it except to deal with it, which we did.

By this point there was no time or interest in cooking dinner, so we had vegan hotdogs and potato chips.  We then had a phone chat with Brendan, Madeline, and Sadie, but mostly Sadie, just ahead of their departure in the morning for a northern Michigan get-away.  The girls sang happy birthday for Ama, and then Sadie sang a song she made up.  It took quite a few minutes, but it was charming.  Nancy arrived (in her car) with our laundry just in time to catch the end of the song and then to take us back to their site.  We brought the blankets from our beds, which had wine spots, to lauder while we sat by the fire and finished the bottle of Madeline mead from Schramm’s.  As the sun set, the air cooled, the sky lit up with color, and the fire was warm.  When the fire and light had faded, we walked back to our rig with our blankets.  We folded and hung laundry, made our beds, had a few cookies (more than usual) and went to bed.

FRIDAY, 01 July

We went exploring today.  After studying maps and guide books for a while this morning, we decided to head up QC-132 (NE) along the coast as far as Rumouski.  From there we planned to head inland (SE) and then southwest before turning northwest and working our way back to QC-132 and then back to camp.  Along the way we passed Bic National (Provincial) Park, which we planned to visit tomorrow.  I (Bruce) was driving, which left Linda and Nancy free to research places where we might find baked goods, including bread and pastries.

They found three of them in Rimouski that sounded promising, so we picked one,  Patisseries & Gourmandises d’ Olivier on St. Germaine and headed there via “Business” QC-132, unsure if they would be open on Canada Day.  They were, the offerings were spectacular, and they accommodated us in English.

The second one was closed so we put in the address for the third one, Boulangerie Folles Farines.  It was back about 8 miles in Bic.  Road construction after we exited QC-132 resulted in an interesting detour through a lovely little town, but we found it.  Again, they were open and the products on offer were very nice.

The final road into Domaine Acer. Gravel and steep. 4-wheel drive engaged, because I could.

We still wanted to do our “loop” so I headed back towards Rimouski, this time on the regular QC-132 (Autoroute Jean-Lesage).  Near Rimouski, we exited onto Chemin Sainte-Odile heading southwest into the “hills” with Lac-des-Aigles as our initial destination.  By this point Nancy was already researching wineries in the area.  The only one that was at all convenient to our route was Domaine Acer – Magnifier l’erable in Auclair.  It was a bit further south from where were had planned to turn north, but we were not pressed for time.

In the parking lot of Domaine Acer

Auclair is east of Lac-Temiscouata “National” (Provincial) Park in very hilly country.  The final few kilometers where on steep gravel roads, and I got to put the F-150 in 4-wheel drive.  That was fun!

Were we ever glad we decided to visit this place?  Yes, we were!  It was not technically a winery.  All of their beverages are made from fermented maple syrup using traditional winemaking techniques, including a “champagne method” (2^nd fermentation in the bottle) sparkling version.  No grapes or other fruit are used.  The young lady tending the tasting room was very friendly and knowledgeable and spoke enough English to make the tasting experience educational and fun.

Domaine Acer tasting room and store building

The tasting included four offerings (not the sparkling one).  Two were dry – with only a little residual sugar – one from early harvest and one from late harvest.  There was a slight difference between them (to may taste) and they reminded me of delicate wines.  The other two were on the sweet end, again one from early harvest and one from late.  These two were more distinctly maple, with the late harvest being a bit more intense.  They reminded me of ports, both in the mouth feel and richness.  Guess which ones we bought?  ?

Domaine Acer tasting room and host. We didn’t get her name, but she was very sweet.  We liked this place very much.

The tasting also included two different maple jellies and two different maple butters.  The jellies were early harvest and late harvest, while the “butters” with and without walnuts .  They were all excellent, but the maple butters where more unique, and the one with walnuts was our favorite.  BTW: there is no butter in maple butter.  It’s just maple syrup that is whipped to a creamy, butter-like consistence.

The Domaine Acer cafe. Rustic but refined. An assortment of tapas (but not called that). (Linda is trying to be as tall as Nancy.)

By this point it was after 3 PM and everyone was a bit hungry and we had at least an hour drive to get back to camp.  No problem, Domanie Acer had a small, quaint café in an adjacent building.  Nothing fancy, food wise, but a nice assortment of small items that could be shared.  All of them were very tasty.  Our energy restored, and pleased to have discovered Domaine Acer quite by accident, we headed back to the Bas Saint-Laurent KOA Resort.  With a forecast of rain, we skipped the evening campfire and retired to our respective rigs for the night.

Our patio swing

THURSDAY, 30 June

Happy birthday, Linda.

Our drive today was to the Bas Saint-Laurent KOA Resort near Saint-Mathieu-de-Rioux, QC.  Check in time was 2 PM and our estimated travel time was ~ 2-3/4 hours.  With no major construction slowdowns or urban traffic to deal with, we targeted an 11 AM departure.  That allowed for an early breakfast and a leisurely departure routine.  We pulled out of the Quebec City KOA Holiday at 11:08 AM.

Lac Saint-Mathieu from the upper campground at the top of Rue Principale. It’s steeper than it looks.

The first part of our route was, once again, the Trans-Canada Highway (T-CH) which was still the A-20 in this area.  We were on a NNE track all day, roughly parallel to the SE edge of the St. Lawrence River headed into the Gaspe peninsula.  The road was mostly good, traffic was mostly light, and the scenery was all new to us, a lovely, a mix of beautiful lush green farm fields, rolling hills covered in trees, and occasional massive outcrops of rock.  The temperature and partial cloud cover allowed us to run without the air-conditioner on.

Our patio site.

Our only navigational mis-que came near the end.  Near Riviere-du-Loup we left the A-20 for QC-132.  At Trois-Pistoles, both the F-150 GPS and Google Maps on Linda’s phone told us to turn right.  I saw a sign for our next destination that indicated 22 Km straight ahead, but Linda didn’t see it and we decided to follow the GPS route.  We ended up on some smaller back roads, driving past farms, and eventually along the south side of Lac Saint-Mathieu before arriving at the RV resort from the south instead of the north as planned.  Our GPS units do not know that we are towing a trailer and thus are not routing for an RV.  On the plus side, I got to use the F-150 downhill assist feature on a 13% grade.  I’m happy to report that it works very well.

The road into our site. We were not at the very top.

We caught our first sight of the Bas Saint-Laurent KOA Resort as we rounded a corner and saw the southwest side of large, terraced hill.  Our initial impression was that the campground was built vertically rather than horizontally.  It was unlike anything we had every seen.  We pulled in to one of the multiple check-in lanes around 2:30 PM and Linda went in to register us.  We were registered for a 50A 3-way (full hookup) back-in patio site, but Linda had sent an e-mail before we left to see if we could move to a pull-thru site with same amenities.  She never got a reply to the e-mail, but they had us on a pull-thru site at check-in, so them must have gotten it.

The area around the resort looks like this. The ridge to or SW has a ski slope.

This was a big, busy campground with lots of rigs already here and more arriving in advance of Canada Day.  One of the women at the registration desk spoke English, so Linda was in-n-out fairly quickly. They had at least three people on golf carts (probably more) leading folks to their sites and I followed one of them as instructed.  Our site was in the “mountain top” area, and the road up (straight up) probably a 12% grade, plus or minus.  The resort was, quite literally, built around, up the side, and on top of small mountain (hill) and was unlike anything we had ever seen.  It also turned out to be one of “those” places with lots of “rules.”  Although apparently in the middle of nowhere, we had to have a different colored wrist band each day for access to the swimming pool area.

The road to the lower campground from Paul and Nancy’s site.

As always, it took a few extra minutes to get the trailer parallel to the edge of the patio with the truck sufficiently straight ahead that we could lower the tongue jack.  It took quite a few quick iterations of G.O.A.L. (Get Out And Look) but we got it done.  We were 2” low on the passenger/patio side, but the Anderson levelers took care of that.  We chocked them and the tires as before but got out the X-chocks for the first time on this trip and secured the tires on each side of the trailer.  We then proceeded with unhooking the truck.  The X-chocks did the trick and the stinger slid out of the 3P hitch smoothly with no movement of the trailer.  Success, finally.  We had the trailer/campsite fully set up by 3:30 PM and sat down to a light snack and cold beverages.  (W3W=scams.sunken.itches).

A warm fire on a cool evening with friends.

Paul and Nancy had arrived a bit ahead of us, having stayed the course on QC-132 and coming into the park from the north.  They were in the lower campground, but had to go up a hill in order to go back down the hill to get to that area.  We could see the lake from the front of our site, but they were much closer to the beach, which was part of the small portion of the campground on the other side of the main road.

Linda holding a bottle of Madeline mead from Schramm’s Mead. Paul and Nancy saved this for her birthday.

Even though it was her birthday, Linda made dinner for the four of us.  (Nancy burned her right hand on one of the homemade vegan marshmallows and has been on light kitchen duty until it heals.)  She made a nice green salad with strawberries, blueberries and peanuts to start.  The main course was cascatelli pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, garlic in olive oil.  And wine, of course.  She prepared the meal in our rig and we ate at the dinette as it was too sunny to use the patio table.

After dinner we all went to Paul and Nancy’s rig to enjoy a campfire.

WEDNESDAY, 29 June

No photos from today; just words.

Not every day is an epic adventure.  We had good weather on tap for today up until around dinner time, but we had various chores and errands to attend to in advance of a travel day tomorrow and decided not to venture back into Quebec City.  We had also planned to go out to dinner to celebrate Linda’s birthday, albeit a day ahead of time, to try and take advantage of restaurant offerings in the greater Quebec metropolitan area.

The main chore was laundry and the main errands were grocery shopping and fuel for our pickup truck.  We have been making use of Paul & Nancy’s washer/dryer, so no need for campground laundromats yet.  Errands necessitated that I drive all of us in the truck (which everyone likes).  Everything was close by, less than a mile (1.2 Km) from the KOA, and close together, so very convenient.

Our first stop was Costco and it was crazy busy, with the parking lot almost full and people up and down all of the aisles.  After experiencing this, we understood better how folks here drive; it’s a cultural thing, apparently.  Individually, everyone we have interacted with has been pleasant and accommodating of our lack of French language.  Collectively, there seems to be a certain “me first/only” rudeness.

The next stop was Home Depot for a short fresh water hose, but they did not have any.  We then stopped at a Shell station for fuel.  I did not notice the button on the touch pad for “Language” selection, so I bluffed my way through the French.  But the sticker said they accepted AMEX.  It worked, and the screen switched to English, so voila.

Next up was the IGA Extra for our main/fresh groceries.  Although it did not say Super Marche, it was a very nice supermarket and we found everything we needed except for some first aid supplies.  A search using the GPS in the truck showed a pharmacy (pharmacies) close by, so we went there.  Our shopping done, we returned to camp where we spent a quiet afternoon before going to dinner.

Paul and Nancy wanted to treat Linda to a birthday dinner out, so she and Linda had researched vegan restaurants in the area.  One was closed on Wednesday and another one said it was open but didn’t answer the phone.  The best one in the area appeared to be Don Vegan, but it was back in Old Quebec by the Frontenac Hotel and required a reservation with a credit card deposit.  We opted instead to go to Boston Pizza nearby.  It was fine, they had a vegan pizza offering, and none of us had to cook or clean up.  Back at camp we all had a little wine, and then turned in for the evening.

It started raining, off and on, while we were at dinner and then steadily for awhile starting around 10 PM, but was forecast to be done by morning.