Letter 21 Gaspe’
Wednesday, July 15 as we were preparing to leave St Anne de Beaupre’ we closed up the awning with Fred holding with lots of pull on the middle fabric strap. Suddenly the strap broke, with him falling flat on his back, mostly his butt! Hard! After he recouped his immediate hurt, Olivia & Blaire drove to a trailer supply and bought a new strap. It took us an extra two hours to get off. We drove into Quebec, across the St Lawrence and back NE following the St Lawrence to St Alexander. We stopped for the night in a commercial park, in a grove of aspens.
Thursday, July 16 we poked around about getting off, then drove the coast road viewing
hills on one side and
clumps of wild roses, to Cap Chat and another
commercial park. The coast terrain was getting
more interesting.
After supper we walked the beach and watched a
nice sunset. A little later the sun really put on a good show behind
campers and their campfire.
At this point the St. Lawrence is changing from a river to a bay and it is difficult to see land on the north side of the river. It is very wide.
Friday, July 17 we explored the Saint Anne area driving east to see the
Eole’ Windmills. This wind farm contains about 40 working mills generating electricity. Their flower bed
was full of
Peonies. Then we drove inland to the National Park du Gaspesie and followed the river Anne through the big ditch (Grand Fosse), where we saw
Mt Albert and a
pretty waterfall. Look closely in the
trees for Blaire.
Saturday, July 18 we drove the top of the
Gaspe’ Pennisula in, you guessed it, the RAIN. Actually a lot of
fog and wind, and as we reached the tip it started raining. The scenery improved with us driving
right on the water most of the time, then topping out on top of the cliffs. This top of the pennisula is actually our turn around place. We have been gone from hone four months and this is the furthest north we will go. So you can say we are headed home. Of course it will take us another four months to arrive in Waxahachie. As we drove along the waters edge there were
caution signs to watch for waves big enough to wash away cars. Yes, there was a
minimum of construction, but we
found the road to be in very good shape considering the location. We found
the location of Muddie’s picture she painted when they made this trip.
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It is named Grande Vallee. This painting is now in the parsonage of our First United Methodist Church in Waxahachie.
We ended up staying in a commercial spot at Cap Aux Os because the pretty spots in the national park were not made for us. It was too hard to make the turn to back into the spot without hitting something on the other side of the little narrow park road.
Sunday, July 19 we explored Forillon National Park on the tip of the Gaspe’. Fortunately we had saved our National Park pass from last year and we still had until the end of July to use it.
The north entrance led us to a
15% down hill view of
Mont St Alban and on to Cap Bon-Ami. From here we could view the 
cliffs of Des-Rosiers, named
cliff of Roses by Champlain for all the wild roses growing on the cliffs. They are still here in profusion. We walked to a beautiful little point where we could see the beach,
look for Blaire, and the Cap-Gaspe’. On our way out of this side of the park we spotted a 
black bear grazing on the roadside wild flowers. Fred slowed and Blaire popped out of the sun roof. Olivia & Blaire both took pictures as we crept along getting closer and 
closer. The bear did not care that we came within feet of him. He just kept grazing.
At the south side of the park we happened on a
Canadian Ranger’s beachside nature program. It was an excellent program and in English. He showed us lots of the sea creatures including this scallop as it tried to get away by opening it's shell. To Fred’s surprise, we learned northern waters were more fertile because the colder waters are richer in oxygen and thus support more ocean life. The whales eat in the north and play in the south seas.
On the south side we arranged for a whale watching trip. We had wanted to do this last year, but seemed to miss the whales. The Gaspe’ bay is a prime place to see whales as this is very fertile grazing for them. We were only out a few minutes when one was spotted
flashing his tale. Then we saw a mother and baby. These were all hump back whales
and gave us a good show of their
backs and
tails.
Blaire was excited and
covered the boat to get good views.
15% down hill view of
Mont St Alban and on to Cap Bon-Ami. From here we could view the 
cliffs of Des-Rosiers, named
cliff of Roses by Champlain for all the wild roses growing on the cliffs. They are still here in profusion. We walked to a beautiful little point where we could see the beach,
look for Blaire, and the Cap-Gaspe’. On our way out of this side of the park we spotted a black bear grazing on the roadside wild flowers. Fred slowed and Blaire popped out of the sun roof. Olivia & Blaire both took pictures as we crept along getting closer and 
closer. The bear did not care that we came within feet of him. He just kept grazing.
At the south side of the park we happened on a
Canadian Ranger’s beachside nature program. It was an excellent program and in English. He showed us lots of the sea creatures including this scallop as it tried to get away by opening it's shell. To Fred’s surprise, we learned northern waters were more fertile because the colder waters are richer in oxygen and thus support more ocean life. The whales eat in the north and play in the south seas.
On the south side we arranged for a whale watching trip. We had wanted to do this last year, but seemed to miss the whales. The Gaspe’ bay is a prime place to see whales as this is very fertile grazing for them. We were only out a few minutes when one was spotted
flashing his tale. Then we saw a mother and baby. These were all hump back whales
and gave us a good show of their
backs and
tails.
Blaire was excited and
covered the boat to get good views.
Another
Mother and baby,
big backs and
tales were seen all around the boat.
Fred was not as happy as Olivia.
After seeing a few more
tails
the captain took us around the
tip of the Gaspe’ looking for other types of whales, but instead he showed us the
large bird estuary on the north side of the tip. At the tip, the very last rock formation is called the
“Old Man.” At one time there were two such formations and the other one was the “old woman.” About 1850 she fell into the water. The old man’s profile looks like a man standing with his arms crossed looking for his woman. Up close we could see what the guide was talking about, but the camera battery had died. Blaire enjoyed seeing rainbows and a
beautiful sky during the trip.
Monday, July 20 we followed the coast around the Gaspe’ Bay through the town of Gaspe’ and following Hwy 132. Actually the main road at that point was Hwy 198 S. The old 132 followed a peninsula and the road was terrible and there was lots of construction. We sure were grateful to see the main 132 at the end of 198. Crazy. The highway carried us around the east end of the big peninsula to a a>bay north of Perce’. As we neared the town we went up, over, around and then down a 17% hill. Blaire had been following all the signs and this time said,
“I don’t want to look!” This hill took us right into the town of Perce'.
drove
back into town and visited the harbor and their pier where we
clowned around.
The island (Bonaventure)
at the end of the pier is the summer home for the Gannet bird, where they nest and raise their babies. Many birders were taking the boat trip to the island where pictures showed thousands of birds to see. Blaire and Olivia had to make all
the tourist traps including ice cream, after we fell for the biggest trap of all, parking! It seems in most of the tourist areas, parking lots profit the most.
Blaire has been very patient with us old folks. She lets us go to bed before dark and stays up watching movies on her dinky machines. She stays quiet as Fred is negotiating towns and wrong turns. And she is fun when we are rested. We have really been enjoying her company.
Before taking the road to the point at Gaspe’, we discussed omitting this section because, at the time, it wasn’t very interesting and we could save about 250 miles. Now, we are glade we made it to tip to Gaspe’. It is worth the drive.
Tuesday, July 21, Most of the day we were still traveling on the south side of the Gaspe’ peninsula, with miles of retaining wall next to the sea or over a hill. As Olivia went to the rest room (toilet) at one road side park, when she opened the main door she saw windows on the opposite wall. Yes, there were stalls but the other wall was glass! Certainly different! The roads were ok, with a few strips of construction and a bad temporary roadway. They don’t make very good temporary roads. We left Quebec! And we celebrated when we saw
road signs in English! Quebec was wonderful! We leave with sadness, but it sure is nice to be able to read the road signs.
At the end of our road we turned south on HWY 11 of New Brunswick. We stopped at Sugar Loaf provincial park and found a great place to spend the night. In Quebec we had too many commercial parks. Here we had a level pull through spot with electricity, trees on each side of us to give some privacy. The price was about 1/3 less than the commercial spots. Before we saw the campsite, Blaire and Olivia liked this place more than other RV parks. Neither minded going without the internet. Blaire even enjoyed going to the public restroom for her shower. She could let the water run as long as she wanted. This building also had a washer and dryer as well as a place to cook, eat and wash dishes. Very nice.
Quebec was certainly an experience for all three of us. French was THE language, no second language or translations on signs. Catholicism is the religion. Each town had one church, Catholic. Multiple Quebec residents told us they weren’t having a summer this year. It has been unusually wet and cold this year, For the locals, temperatures have been well below normal. For us, highs in the upper 60s or low 70s were typical. Perhaps the two highlights of Quebec were Quebec City (now celebrating their 450th birthday) with all the street shows and beautiful old buildings and the Gaspe’ area with its wonders of nature—of land and sea.
Next letter New Brunswick.
For comments, updates from you, contact us at
Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com
Mother and baby,
big backs and
tales were seen all around the boat.
Fred was not as happy as Olivia.
After seeing a few more
tails
the captain took us around the
tip of the Gaspe’ looking for other types of whales, but instead he showed us the
large bird estuary on the north side of the tip. At the tip, the very last rock formation is called the
“Old Man.” At one time there were two such formations and the other one was the “old woman.” About 1850 she fell into the water. The old man’s profile looks like a man standing with his arms crossed looking for his woman. Up close we could see what the guide was talking about, but the camera battery had died. Blaire enjoyed seeing rainbows and a
beautiful sky during the trip.
Monday, July 20 we followed the coast around the Gaspe’ Bay through the town of Gaspe’ and following Hwy 132. Actually the main road at that point was Hwy 198 S. The old 132 followed a peninsula and the road was terrible and there was lots of construction. We sure were grateful to see the main 132 at the end of 198. Crazy. The highway carried us around the east end of the big peninsula to a a>bay north of Perce’. As we neared the town we went up, over, around and then down a 17% hill. Blaire had been following all the signs and this time said,
“I don’t want to look!” This hill took us right into the town of Perce'.
drove
back into town and visited the harbor and their pier where we
clowned around.
The island (Bonaventure)
at the end of the pier is the summer home for the Gannet bird, where they nest and raise their babies. Many birders were taking the boat trip to the island where pictures showed thousands of birds to see. Blaire and Olivia had to make all
the tourist traps including ice cream, after we fell for the biggest trap of all, parking! It seems in most of the tourist areas, parking lots profit the most.
Blaire has been very patient with us old folks. She lets us go to bed before dark and stays up watching movies on her dinky machines. She stays quiet as Fred is negotiating towns and wrong turns. And she is fun when we are rested. We have really been enjoying her company.
Before taking the road to the point at Gaspe’, we discussed omitting this section because, at the time, it wasn’t very interesting and we could save about 250 miles. Now, we are glade we made it to tip to Gaspe’. It is worth the drive.
Tuesday, July 21, Most of the day we were still traveling on the south side of the Gaspe’ peninsula, with miles of retaining wall next to the sea or over a hill. As Olivia went to the rest room (toilet) at one road side park, when she opened the main door she saw windows on the opposite wall. Yes, there were stalls but the other wall was glass! Certainly different! The roads were ok, with a few strips of construction and a bad temporary roadway. They don’t make very good temporary roads. We left Quebec! And we celebrated when we saw
road signs in English! Quebec was wonderful! We leave with sadness, but it sure is nice to be able to read the road signs.
At the end of our road we turned south on HWY 11 of New Brunswick. We stopped at Sugar Loaf provincial park and found a great place to spend the night. In Quebec we had too many commercial parks. Here we had a level pull through spot with electricity, trees on each side of us to give some privacy. The price was about 1/3 less than the commercial spots. Before we saw the campsite, Blaire and Olivia liked this place more than other RV parks. Neither minded going without the internet. Blaire even enjoyed going to the public restroom for her shower. She could let the water run as long as she wanted. This building also had a washer and dryer as well as a place to cook, eat and wash dishes. Very nice.
Quebec was certainly an experience for all three of us. French was THE language, no second language or translations on signs. Catholicism is the religion. Each town had one church, Catholic. Multiple Quebec residents told us they weren’t having a summer this year. It has been unusually wet and cold this year, For the locals, temperatures have been well below normal. For us, highs in the upper 60s or low 70s were typical. Perhaps the two highlights of Quebec were Quebec City (now celebrating their 450th birthday) with all the street shows and beautiful old buildings and the Gaspe’ area with its wonders of nature—of land and sea.
Next letter New Brunswick.
For comments, updates from you, contact us at
Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com
