797 August 8, 2022 Bonaventure Island

I began the day with an easy walk through the town. 

While I was out, I purchased tickets for the ferry.  When we hiked the other day to Land’s End, we met a gentleman from Nova Scotia.  He had just been through Perce and he told us that we had to take the ferry ride to the island to see the birds.

We got to the wharf and stood in line with hundreds of others also waiting to board.  We departed and the boat took us around Perce Rock.  It really is impressive to see it close-up! 

Three Sisters.

The captain then steered us around Bonaventure Island.  This bird sanctuary is the summer nesting place for northern gannets.  These are the diving birds I have been watching.  There are an estimated 150,000 gannets here right now.  They arrived in April, returning to the exact place where they nested last year.  Each pair hatches one egg.  The chicks are white fluffy things!  Each bird eats 1 pound of fish each day.  The chicks get so fat that they cannot fly and do not take to the skies until September.

We saw the birds soaring overhead, catching wind currents and sitting on the ledges and depressions in the cliffs.  They looked like frosting drizzled on a cake.

We could see seals bobbing in the water.

Once we arrived on the island, we hiked across on the Colonies Trail.  Each morning, when Tim and I walk out into the world, we have no idea what we will see. 

I was totally unprepared for what greeted us.  First there was the smell…it smelled like birds that eat fish.  Then, there was the noise; a loud, raucous chorus of squawking.  Then, there were the birds…thousands of birds.  There were many coming in to land, flying low and carrying what looked like bunches of seaweed.  They whizzed overhead.  They have a wingspan of 3-4 feet and they are incredible to see.

This reminded me of college kids on spring break…the chaos, the multitude of them, on the beach!

I could have stood there all day…it was amazing and an experience I will never forget.

We decided to take the longer hike back to the ferry.  This trail skirted the edge of the island giving us lots of opportunity to see other bunches of gannets and more seals and the beautiful coastline.

A guy hiking in front of us spotted this fox in the weeds.

There was a bunch of feathers on the path not far from that fox…

The last part of the hike was past houses…years ago, people lived on this island and subsisted on cod fishing and had small farms and grew vegetables here. In 1971 when this became a national park, the Canadian government evicted the 35 families living here.

We stopped for a snack…I had packed boiled eggs…which might have been in poor taste!

We had hiked about 5 miles and we were happy to arrive at the snack bar where we snagged a powerade and a date bar.

We met another couple as we were hiking and then met them again while we waited for the boat.  They were from Montreal.  They wanted to know if we were lucky enough to get reservations at La Maison Du Pecheur and we had.  Apparently, it is a world class restaurant and they had really wanted to go.  There are no more reservations available until late August and so they were going to miss going.  Tim and I had talked about canceling our reservation but instead, we gave it to Sean and Kim…we hope that they are enjoying a spectacular dinner!  We were tired and we went to a pub and ordered drinks.  They brought us our order and told us that they were closed until 5 when they would reopen for dinner…darn!  We went instead to the food truck and Tim got fish tacos and I got a quesadilla; both delicious and enough. 

We got back to the RV at around 5 and I put some laundry into our washer.  The washer broke and so we had sopping clothes and wet carpet and wet basement compartments.  I am at the laundromat now waiting for clean clothes…it’s all part of the adventure!!! 

We still had a wonderful day 😊

796 August 7, 2022 Ville de Perce

One last walk along the Gaspe Bay.

We traveled today about 1 hour further east; as far east as we can go in Quebec.

On our way, we stopped at an overlook for breakfast.

The first glimpse of the town of Perce.

We checked in and settled and waited for a rain shower to pass and then we went to explore.

We walked to the harbor. The main attraction in this town is Perce Rock. This is a 50 million ton monolith.

The town is filled with vacationing families. This is a more touristy place, with lots of shops and restaurants.

We went out for dinner at Fluer de Lys and had a nice view of the water and the rock.

There is a boardwalk along the gulf where we strolled after dinner. We sat on a bench watching the changing light and the clouds and the diving birds.

795 August 5-6, 2022 Hiking In Forillon

We packed the Jeep for an overnight camping trip in the national park. We had planned first to hike the Sentier Les Graves. This 6.4km hike was a gradual uphill climb to the lighthouse.

If you wanted to see Land’s End, it was another 375 meters. There was no way that we were going to hike that far and not finish! The trail took us to the overlook…totally worth the effort to get there!

For many days, we have enjoyed watching these northern Gannets. They soar above the sea and plunge into the water from heights up to 100 feet. They hit the surface at 60mph. Other birds would be killed on impact but these birds have evolved and adapted and their skulls are specially reinforced to withstand the pressure. They are very quick and it is hard to get good pictures!

We hiked back to the Jeep.

We stopped at this beach area. We could see seals in the shallow water.

We headed to the campground and had a late lunch. We were both so tired, we took naps! We passed the rest of the pleasant evening with a fire and music and dinner.

The stars were stunning.

This morning, I walked about 3 miles in the park. We packed our gear and headed back to Gaspe. We stopped at this overlook for breakfast. We watched kayakkers and seals.

The water was so clear that we could watch this guy dive down and hunt among the vegetation on the sea bottom.

We stopped again at Penouille. This is a long finger of land that juts into the Gaspe Bay. We walked almost 3 miles on the easy boardwalk and paved trail all the way to the beach.

We had the bay on one side…

…and the salt marsh on the other.

We took our dinner to a park near the water. After eating, we drove on roads we hadn’t been on yet, looking at the views of the bay.

794 August 4, 2022 Parc National Forillon

I drove to a scenic overlook by the bay and began my morning walk, taking the same path we had cycled on yesterday. I felt strong and got in my groove and easily walked more than 3 miles.

We packed our lunch and drove to the information center in Riviere-de-Renard to get maps for the national park. The girl there was well informed and spoke excellent English. She told us where we should stop and she recommended some hiking trails. From there, we went to see the tallest lighthouse in Canada. We walked a short distance on the pebble strewn beach.

We proceeded to Parc National Forillon. In the US, national parks are for the preservation of very special places. We were excited to go and see the best of Canada. We were not disappointed. We entered at the Nord Gate. The view was spectacular.

We hiked a very steep trail, only .6km, but that was enough. We elected not to continue to the observation tower which was another 1.6km straight up!

We drove to the waterfall trail and hiked down lots of steps. It was a pretty little fall with water splashing over the moss covered rocks.

The red chairs sit in Canadian National Parks in places with particularly pretty views. I had to sit in this one!

We drove through dense forest to the south entrance. We parked at the end of pavement and sat watching the water, looking for seals and whales.

These little beetles or green immigrant leaf weevils are everywhere!

It was really a lovely day. We are looking forward to going back to the park tomorrow. We have a campsite reserved for the Jeep and the roof top tent. We also have a hike planned to the end of the point at land’s end “where the Appalachian Mountains plunge into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.”

We went into town this eveing and had a simple dinner at Cafe des Artistes.

793 August 3, 2022 Gaspe

A walk along the river in Grande-Vallee.

The Canadian people have found eyecatching ways to remind you to slow down and watch for children.

Grande-Vallee is the beginning of the region known as La Pointe or Land’s End; the translation of the name given to this land by First Nation People; Gespeg. We were traveling around the end of the peninsula. There are crashing waves here as we approach open water. We stopped at a scenic viewpoint for breakfast.

We arrived at Fort Ramsay Campground in Gaspe around noon. We will stay here for 4 nights. Today, we went with the Jeep to explore the town. We took the bikes and rode on the bike path on the Bay of Gaspe.

We stopped to see a naval exhibit. During WWII, German submarines patrolled the Saint Lawrence and attacked and sunk many ships. The Canadian goverment decided that if the Germans tried to overtake Gaspe, the land and village would be sacrificed. They had decided to burn the town, detroy the wharfs, and blow up anything that might be useful so that if the Germans came. there would be nothing here for them.

This is a giant game of Battleship on the boardwalk.

Always interesting sculpture…lots of testosterone here.

At the end of the path there is a set of steps that leads to the Musee de la Gespesie. We decided to go into the museum. Here we learned a lot about the history and culture of Gaspe.

The Chic Choc mountains are the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains; one of the oldest mountain chains in the world. These mountains were formed 450 million years ago. In 9,000 BC this area was first inhabited by the native people. Eventually the Eastern Algonquin Indians merged with the Plano People and the Mi’gmaq culture was formed. These people of the sea subsisted on walrus, whales, porpoises, and seals.

Early history of this region involves Vikings, pirates, shipwrecks, whaling, fishing, and industry.

In 1534, Jacques Cartier, sailing for the King of France, erected a 30 foot cross in the mouth of the bay and named this Canada.

There was another exhibit dedicated to the artwork of Yves Gonthier, a local artist. These are two of my favorite pieces. The first is his interpretation of raspberry bushes.

The second is a sort of seascape…where the waves meet the shore, the colorful rocks visible through the clear water.

Other interesting art.

We were glad we took the time to visit the museum and we learned a lot.

This evening, we drove back into town and had dinner at Bistro-Bar La Brise-Bise. Tim got a salmon poke bowl and I had a lobster club sandwich…delicious!

We heard the couple next to us speaking English and we asked where they were from. Bonnie and Wendell live in New Brunswick and are in Gaspe for the first time on vacation. We really enjoyed talking with them about travel and life!

When we got back to the RV, a neighbor here in the campground approached Tim and spoke with him about traveling. People are amazed and in awe of the way we live and the things we get to do…we really do know how fortunate we are and we are grateful every day!

792 August 2, 2022 Grande-Vallee

I took a walk from the campground all the way through town to the fish market.

Each of these villages has a huge church in the center.

Wild beach roses

When I returned from my walk, Tim was ready to move. 

We stopped on our way to admire the view and to have breakfast.

Black guillemot. This bird has bright a red mouth, feet, and legs in the summertime.

We needed to have a clean windshield before we could preceed!

Grande-Valle from the scenic overlook above town.

Red elderberry.

We had light rain showers on and off today.  We did wander through the grocery stores.  It seems to be our entertainment, looking for new things to try.

We walked on the rocks near the fishing pier.

Tim took a bike ride this afternoon and I met him with the Jeep down by the river.  He took this picture from the church.

The covered bridge.

We had seen signs in town for a live show in the next town.  We got excited and went to see the venue.  We got the brochure.  Before buying our tickets online, I googled the band, Ayrad from Montreal.  Their sound is a contemporary version of Moroccan music.  We listened to bits of songs and we decided that we didn’t care for the music. 

Instead, we packed spiced smoked salmon and smoked crab dip and fresh bread and caprese salad and strawberries and had our dinner by the river.

791 August 1, 2022 Mont- Louis

This morning, I drove to town in the Jeep.  I took the trail,  Sentier pedestre de la mer au mont Pointu.   I began my walk in this driftwood sculpture garden.

The path then led me to a bridge across the mouth of the Sainte Anne River.  This is where the salmon return to the place of their birth and begin the final phase of life, spawning and then death.

The trailed turned to follow the river.

As I walked, I startled great flocks of Canadian geese; an eruption of squawking and wings as they lifted, forming perfect v’s across the water.

Along the river and through the woods to a marshy area rich with cattails.

I walked back the way I had come to the boardwalk along the gulf.

When I got back to the “VR”, as they call it here, I had my breakfast while watching a seal bobbing in the shallow water; diving and resurfacing; perhaps having his breakfast as well.

We had a short 40-mile drive today to Mont-Louis.  We are hopping from one quaint coastal village to another, taking our time to explore.

We stopped to see Chute Le Viole de la Mariee.

We arrived in Mont-Louis by noon.  We took our bikes into town and went into the shops.

We cycled back to the campground and stopped to check out the local music venue.  It was closed for today but Nick, who works there, came out to talk with us.   He gave us lots of recommendations of things to see in town.

We spent some time planning ahead…something that we rarely do. We are getting close to Gaspe Pointe and the National Park. Campgrounds are less frequent. Tomorrow, we found a place about 30 miles away in Grande-Vallee. After that, we wanted to stay in the Parc National du Canada de Forillon. The only site we were able to get was for the Jeep and RTT on Friday evening. We called several campgrounds and found a spot for 4 nights near the town of Gaspe. We will use this as our base camp to explore.

This evening, we traveled up the hill to the site of the cross.

From this vantage point, we could see the cove and the whole village below.

We went into the smoked fish market and bought some salmon and some crab and lobster spreads.

We went to the café and bought poke bowls and local stout and cider.  We took our meal to Lac de l’Anse Pleureuse.

We saw a bald eagle resting on a rock in the gulf.

One last trip to town to watch the sunset.

We have noticed that almost all of the other campers are from Quebec. There are hardly any Americans here. The Canadian people are very gracious and welcoming. Everyone says Bonjour as they pass. Everyone makes an effort to communicate. We have enjoyed our time in Mont-Louis…thanks Nick for your guidance!

790 July 31, 2022 Parc National De La Gaspesie

Welcome to the world sweet Stella Elizabeth!!

I took just a short 2 mile walk along the side street this morning.  I knew that we had planned  a hike later in the day and I needed to save my legs!

Breakfast by the sea.

We had reserved two nights here in Sainte Anne De Monts so that we could spend today doing a day trip to the national park.  We took the Jeep and drove inland.  We began to see mountains.

Our first stop was at La Grande Fosse.  This is where the salmon swim up the Sainte Anne River to spawn. It is unclear if they have already been here this year or if they are still on their way.  They were not here today!

We drove to the trailhead for the hike to Mont Ernest Laforce.  This hike was rated as moderate.  We were told that it was about 5km and would take about two hours.  The trail was gravel and well groomed as we ascended the mountain.  We rose 600 feet in 1 ½ miles.  It was a gradual climb.  We made it to the top in less than 50 minutes.  Pictures don’t capture the majesty and grandeur of the view. 

The video does a better job! This is why we hike!

We began the hike down.  This way, the trail was a little rougher.  What a gorgeous place!

As we drove down the park road, we saw a mama moose and her calf crossing the road in front of us. I was too slow with the camera to get a picture…but what a thrill!

We stopped at Chute Sainte Anne.  The signage told us that the salmon swimming upstream were stopped by this obstacle!

We enjoyed a pique nique of crusty whole grain bread with marinated mussels and cheese and veggies and grapes.

We spent a quiet Sunday evening.  We had a fresh green salad with salmon sausage for our meal.

789 July 30, 2022 Sainte Anne des Monts

Another walk in another place that I haven’t been before. The trail started in the lot where we were parked overnight. There was a passage under the highway and then along the Matane River. These coastal towns and villages have all been so picturesque.

Lots of art in town.

The mouth of the Matane River opens up to the Saint Lawrence here.

We moved again today. We drove only for an hour, transitioning from the coastal region to La Haute Gaspesie or the Upper Gaspesie. The Saint Lawrence River had become wider as we traveled and is now the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The terrain had changed. The coast is now more rugged. There are small coves and bays interspersed with areas of steep cliffs.

We stopped in Les Mechins at this memorial park.

We stopped again in Cap Chat. There was a very nice Farmers Market right at the rest area. I got fresh greens and spring onions and a cucumber and a vine ripened tomato. We also found saskatoon berries. I thought I was buying blueberries. The young girl at the stand explained, in beautiful English, that these berries taste like a combination of pears and blueberries…and they do!

We arrived at Sainte Anne des Monts around noon. The woman at the campground spoke no English. I knew this from my phone reservation the night before. I had practiced asking for 2 nights or “deux nuits.” I had also practiced “Do you have a laundry?” and “Change for the laundry please.” The woman had no clue what I was trying to say…we used hand signs and when that didn’t work…I asked SIRI! I left with 1 dollar coins for the washer and dryer.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a drive in the Jeep.

Chateau Lamontagne.

We did find an information center and the gentleman spoke English well and had a great knowledge of the area. We left him with maps of the National Park and lots of suggestions for shopping in the area. With his recommendation, we went to Cevic. This was a really nice store. We purchased salmon turonedoes stuffed with shrimp and cheese and lobster and peppers and onions and spinach and we had a great dinner with all the fresh vegetables we had purchased earlier.

Tim took a bike ride this evening. It is rather hilly and it was windy so he worked hard.

Our campsite is right along the gulf. We have been entertained by diving gulls and Tim found a radio station that plays country music. Most of the songs are in English and are songs we recognize. Some songs are French remakes of classic US country and other songs are just French!

Our view from our window to the world.

This is where we are!

788 July 29, 2022 Matane

The promised overnight thunderstorms never materialized.  We had some gentle rain this morning.  By the time I was ready for my walk, the rain had stopped.  One of the greatest pleasures of this gypsy life is waking up in a new town and going for a walk in a new place! 

No rain, though the clouds looked kind of threatening.

Many of the houses here have cheerful red roofs or doors or planters or green roofs or blue roofs. I love the brightly painted houses. There are also lots of beautiful flower gardens and hanging baskets with a profusion of brilliant annuals. I think if I lived here in the winter when everything is grey and snow covered and frozen, I would want lots of color too!

We traveled only a short distance today in La Cote or the coastal region.  This beach in Saint Ulric was a terrific breakfast spot.

We were lucky to find another free RV site on the Saint Lawrence River.  The mall in Matane allows RVs to stay in the back parking lot. 

This afternoon, we took the Jeep and traveled 20 plus miles inland.  It is amazing how quickly the scenery changed from seashore to fir trees and mountains.

We saw this covered bridge and stopped for pictures.

Our destination was the Reserve faunique de Matane.  This is a wildlife preserve.  This region has the highest density of moose in all of Quebec.  I was hoping.  When we arrived though, I saw that there were other cars and knew that it would be unlikely to see anything.  I also know that moose like to be in the water in the early mornings and around dusk. 

We drove on the gravel road through the park.  The scenery was magnificent.

Lac Matane.

Cedar waxwing.

It was already midafternoon and so we decided to take Route 4 through the park and back to Matane, in lieu of the much longer route.  As soon as we made the turn, the road got much rougher.  We rode up a series of switchbacks to the top of a mountain.  The views were incredible.

We noticed very dark sky, then thunder, then lightning.  We could see the rain cell over the distant peak.

We got back into the car and it began to rain and then to hail!

As we descended the mountain, the weather improved.  As we rounded a bend, we saw a bull moose trotting along beside the road.  He veered into the brush and disappeared.  Tim stopped the car, climbed onto the footboard and saw movement.  I got out just in time to see the moose look directly at me and then he turned and sauntered away.  I was giddy with excitement.  What a joy to see this guy today!

We finally made it back to pavement. 

As we drove back to the RV, I saw a seal perched atop a rock in the Saint Lawrence River.  What a day…what an adventure to live this way!  Thank you, Tim for bringing me here!