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August 26, 2006
Quebec 2006 - The St. Lawrence River
We left southern Ontario in the first part of the afternoon on Wed. August 16th and spent our first night at Long Sault just west of Cornwall at a beautiful campground in the Parks of the St. Lawrence. The next day we crossed the St. Lawrence river west of Montreal and stayed near the town of Delsen so that Ross could visit the newly renovated and expanded Exporail which was formerly known as the Canadian Railway Museum.
We stayed on the south shore which seems to be much flatter than the north as we were soon able to see large hills showing up across the water.
We stayed in Levis, which is connected to Quebec City by two bridges and ferries. The view of the Chateau Frontenac from the heights of Levis is outstanding. On Saturday, we visited nearby farms where we stocked up on local strawberries, corn, blueberries, tomatoes and beans. We also went to a local cheese shop and got curd and pepper goat cheese. I am becoming quite adept at fitting everything into my 8 cu. ft. refrigerator.
Sunday, the 20th, we headed northwest following the river. It is narr
ow at Quebec, then splits around Ile d’Orleans and widens as we continue. Ile d’Orleans can be seen quite easily, with its wonderful farms sloping gently to the water. As we travel the south shore we are impressed by the quality of the land and the farms.
We are following Hwy 132, which we picked up when we crossed into Quebec and we will follow it all the way around the Gaspe. It is the local highway and in general is the road closest to the river. It has a variety of surfaces and they range from excellent to terrible. We have a new shock absorbing hitch that seems to be working. We don’t feel the back and forth jerking of the trailer as much as before so it makes for a better ride in the truck. However, it does seem to shake the contents of the inside of the trailer so I end up with more things on the floor. Guess, I’ll have to batten down the hatches better.
Kamouraska is a small town about half way between Quebec City and Riviere-du-Loup and has to be one of the prettiest towns in the province. We have been very impressed by the wonderful stone houses with their flowers and impeccable landscaping. In fact, the whole quality of care as we travel this highway is impressive. This house is very typical of what we have seen and note the swoop to the roof at the eaves. I guess the only thing that is missing is a red roof that is so typical in this province.
At Trois Pistoles we parked right on the shore of the St. Lawrence. The river is widening now and we are losing the details of the far shore. It is also tidal here and there was a wonderful sunset at low tide. The next day we went hiking in Parc du Bic – it’s good to get out walking as we sit so long in the truck when we are on the move.
At the campground in Matane we met up with a RV Caravan that had come across the St. Lawrence (which is 62 km wide here) on the ferry from Baie-Comeau. Turns out it was being led by the organizers of the “ Safe RV’ing” caravan that we participated in, in the spring of 2004. We spent the evening with one of the couples that had also been on that caravan. What a great chance meeting!
The next day we took the tour of a “windmill farm” and now are even more impressed with the size and intricate simplicity of this energy source. The mountains now come right down to the water and the new road is built for miles and miles right beside it and is protected by huge sea walls.
We are now headed right out to the end of Gaspe and I’ll continue the journal from there
Till then
Bernie & Ross
Posted by Bernice at August 26, 2006 11:42 AM
Comments
Enjoying your travel news and the pictures are great also.All the best,Fay and Bill
Posted by: Bill Gee at September 5, 2006 07:16 PM
Such fun--I got out the atlas and I am tracing your route through Quebec. It looks so interesting. Have written down the names of some of the places you are staying. Really looking forward to your next part.
Sincerely, Bette
Posted by: Bette Andrew at September 7, 2006 06:01 PM
Well I finally figured out who was emailing me all those lovely photos with uptempo descriptions of Canada eh? You did it! Congratulations Ross. Since I did not remember your wife's name, Bernice was the mystery to me. Then I figured out how to go to your home page and looked up the furthest date of departure to see if I could get a hint as to who was sendimg me these emails. I started at the beginning. Then ureka the STORE. I was a client of Ross's and he was always very professional and kind with the ability to have many ways to do things. A consumate detail man. Well I now see how you both have accomplished this most amazing adventure. Not many people have the courage to do what you did. Staying power to stick to your dreams made this happen no doubt. Thanks for including me in your travel log as it is always wonderful to know how this kind of travel actually works. Many thanks. Louise Fell
Posted by: Louise Fell at September 12, 2006 03:34 PM