Wow, we have bandwidth again, bandwidth that is not limited as it was when we were in Canada to 1/2 gig per day, 1/2 gig is about 3 minutes of FaceTime per day with our grandchildren then our speed is less then a snails pace.
We caught up with our travels on our blog, did some finances, board meeting for Fred, laundry and grocery shopping.
Wellesley Island State Campground was the perfect stop for our four days in this area, 1/2 price camping was an added bonus.
On a beautiful blue sky day we decided to do the tourist thing and took Uncle Sam Boat Tours’ tour of the 1000 Island area. To our surprise when we showed up there was tree tour buses of people waiting in line. The tour guide gave a house by house story of wealth and opulence as we motored for 22 miles. Our final stop was the Boldt Castle, built by a Prussian Immigrant who after making a fortune in the hotel business built this castle for his beloved wife at the turn of the 20th century. When his wife died at the age of 42 (tuberculosis) he abandoned the entire project. The castle sat vacant, unfinished and vandalized until the 70’s and today the 1000 Island Bridge Authority owns the property, it was decided that through the use of all net revenues from the castle operation it would be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. Several million has been invested so far for the preservation of this property.
Our guide for two hours, sitting on the bench behind the captain of the boatOur boat The Thousand Islands (constitute an archipelago of 1,864 islands[1] that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River. They stretch for about 50miles. The islands range in size from over 40 square miles to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, or uninhabited outcroppings of rocks. To count as one of the Thousand Islands, emergent land within the river channel must have at least one square foot of land above water level year-round, and support at least two living tree.Not considered an island, no treeOne of many large summer cottages, this particular place also had their son’s house on one side and the daughters house on the other side all very large properties The upper floors of the castle are in this conditionThe castle boat house across the way from the castle
The Boldt Castle Property was unique, beautiful and peaceful. We are glad we were able to get off the tour boat and experience one of the 1,864 Islands.
A lot of cities in North America claim to be bike friendly. Ottawa has them all beat, hands down, no contest.
From our campground twenty km from downtown, we took a beautiful bike trail all the way in as it meandered along the Ottawa River. It seemed like there was a park or greenway around every turn. Somebody had a lot of foresight to set aside this land and build a top notch bike trail system throughout the capital city.
River Art? What ever it is, this was pretty cool looking. Our ride into the City
When we first stopped to get our bearings we were right in the middle of the city among the monuments and statues of Parliament Hill. With our yellow/black mountain bikes, helmets and Camelbacks, we stood out a bit amongst the urbanites who were released from their offices for a lunch break on a gorgeous day. After crackers and cheese on the riverside bench below the Parliament, we rode on up along the side of the Rideau Canal observing this series of locks that runs 200+ kilometers to connect Ottawa to Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence. Built in 1832, this engineered waterway is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. With bike and walking trails and ample parks now delightfully hosts boaters and skaters – and us bicyclers. From the canal we pedaled eastward to explore more, seeing embassies and landmarks along the river before turning around to wrap up a 50 mile ride. We were in an Ottawa state of mind.
“What is it with Canadian hotels that look like castles?” The Hotel Fairmont Château Laurier, next to the Rideau CanalThere were bike paths along these camels, crazy and beautifulEven bridges for walkers and bikers separate from the cars, with these beautiful viewsSnack place before we end our ride for the day, we tried to imagine what this beach looked like during summer Our 50 miles bike route. Wesley Clover Park Campground was in a good area to gain access to Ottawa, the hwy traffic noise was intense. The campground was really nice but can’t determine if the close proximity to Ottawa and nice campground out weigh the traffic noise, hmmmmmm…
The next day, a bit butt-weary, we drove in and checked out the Byward Market, Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, and then we walked over the Alexandria Bridge to explore the Canadian Museum of History. We soon realized that an afternoon was simply not enough time to take it all in. Oh Canada!
WOW! BeautifulThere was so much at the Canadian Museum of History, we did not give this enough time at 3 hours, need 5-6 hours at least if you take in one of their films which we did and it was terrific, Great Bear Rain Forest. I also took lots of pictures for carving ideas when and if I get back into carving.
And now it’s turning to Fall. The trees in the lowlands still stand in mostly green solidarity, but as we approached Algonquin Provincial Park, just a couple hours west of Ottawa and a little higher, a few renegade trees were starting to flame. We hiked the best trail in the park, Centennial Ridges, for a sneak preview of what the full display of fall color would be like. Once again, these are old mountains, foothills where we come from, and this trail rated as “difficult” was itself like walking in a county park. But the views from the cliff sides onto the spreading forests were a thing to themselves. And the pockets of erupting color accented the day.
Couldn’t help myself, this was a beautiful mushroom colony growing at the base of a parking curb
I had always thought that Quebec was a quintessentially French word. The Algonquin tribes that settled here named the place “where the river narrows” and French dudes like Samuel de Champlain adopted it when they settled there in 1608. It’s got a perfect strategic spot on the St Lawrence River, and it has the only remaining fully walled city ramparts remaining in North America.
History reeks out this city’s pores like garlic. The architecture, the cannons, the battlefield, the Chateau Frontenac’s soaring rooflines, the cobbled streets and the old waterfront, all have hundreds of years of stories to tell. We hired a guide, an engaging but somewhat stoic twenty-something with a deep tempered love of this place. With Quebec-accented English, he helped us understand the pride his fellow Quebec-ers had in their city, province, and esteem approaching arrogance over the rest of Canada. The early settlers had a good thing going, got along with the Natives, and overcame years of adversity to build a place here, which they considered the heart of the New World.
A residential back alley in the oldest part of townThis mural captures many of historically famous folksWe were told to take the ferry across the St. Lawerance to Levis to get a full view of what Old Quebec City looked like. The ride took 12 minutes, the ferry during this time ran every 1/2 hour. We found this water park and Ferris wheel on the Levis side, we were graced with a bride and groom taken pictures among us touristsA stroll along the Citadelle’s wallsThe first French settlers endured a lot. Our guide said that these are common last names today.Picture taken from La Citadelle de Quebec. Our guide was part of the military so he took us into the Citadelle for a private tour of the grounds.
Then the British came and messed it all up with their pompous attitudes and cruel disdain. Fed up 200 years later, the Québécois separatists almost pulled it off. And now here we were a fifth of the way into the 21st century, and here is the city with all the charm and character of many of its European counterparts.
Just seeing the city from the ferry the evening before was like only looking at pictures of a museum. Walking through the city with this young man who had traced his French roots back to the Middle Ages and seeing his pride and passion about his home town helped us both understand that bit of unique and palpable separation we’d encountered in this part of Canada.
Chateau Frontenac
A note to readers: if you’re thinking of going, go soon. The current mayor is trying to open up access for even more cruise ships. Parts of the city closest to the docks were crowded, and the businesses catering to the tacky crowds are metastasizing.
There were about 5 of these tourists boats in the area during our time here. Can’t imagine any more at one time…….
We stayed 2 nights in Parc national du Bic. Great park.We started out for a bike ride (9/12/19), you can see what happened, Park du Bic had some great featuresOur trailer in the background. This is one of the nicest campgrounds we have come across. The facilities have been upgraded and there has been a lot of thought that has gone into making this park special
From the parks website, you can read more – https://www.sepaq.com/pq/bic/decouvrir/portrait.dot?language_id=1
THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE PARK
“In late August, 1535, three small vessels bearing the arms of King Francis I, sailed up the St. Lawrence River at the mercy of the late summer breezes. On Sunday, August 29, seeing a site of great beauty, the captain ordered the anchor to be dropped in a natural harbour surrounded by islands and headlands, a true refuge from the river’s winds and currents. A keen observer, the Malouin captain and navigator thoroughly described the place in his journal, and on Wednesday, September 1, the small fleet raised anchor and hoisted the mainsail. Jacques Cartier and his crew left Bic.” (M.L.C.P., Lemieux, Paul. C’est arrivé par chez nous, 1986, p. 249).
But well before the arrival of European explorers, Amerindians frequented the area. There is no longer any doubt of their presence in Bic. Archeological research has uncovered many relics that attest to Aboriginal camps, some of which go back some 8,000 years.
The Seigneurie Era
In 1675, the Seigneurie du Bic was granted to Charles Denys de Vitré, mainly for fishing herring and other species, and for the fur trade. It then passed into the hands of many seigneurs, who saw different advantages in the area (speculation, fishing, fur trading), rather than the establishment of settlements and land clearing.
In 1822, Archiball Cambell, notary, acquired the Seigneurie du Bic and became the first resident Seigneur.
Fishing and the fur trade motivated the first colonists to settle in Bic (around 1680) and later in Cap à l’Orignal (around 1769). It was only after the extension of Chemin Royal to Sainte-Luce, in 1792, and especially after the logging industry was launched in the area, around 1820, that the first colonists settled in the Seigneurie of Baie du Ha ! Ha !
We had to go to the Gaspé Peninsula. It was a must and not because of the history, scenery, bakeries and parks.
The urgency had started four days earlier. We were on our planned route to St John’s, Newfoundland when it made sense. Milissa had been saying for a few days that that big storm in the Bahamas was headed our way and I had casually and callously ignored the warnings, only to later apologize for my disregard of Dorian. The storm track maps kept showing that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were directly in its path, and my wife’s cautionary concerns were validated with every update.
Here comes Dorian!
By Labor Day, we had made it as far east in Newfoundland as Terra Nova National Park and had planned to take the ferry from St John’s back to Nova Scotia on the next Monday. That would have allowed us to see the SE part of Newfoundland in the next week. But something about the Halifax weather forecast for 40 mph winds with gusts to 80, and the graphics in this Boston Globe story changed our minds.
So we rearranged our ferry crossing to Thursday (Wednesday was booked) from the SW of Newfoundland. In two days driving back across “The Rock” as they call it, several locals scoffed and said that they’ve seen plenty of bad weather. Yes, it might have been fun to see just how much wind it takes to tip the trailer over (I often sleep on my side anyway) or rip off the roof vents, but the thought of waiting in a windy multi-day downpour for the right combination of RV repair and trying to get a spot on a re-scheduled 16 hour ferry crossing just didn’t appeal.
Kings Point RV Park, Newfoundland, what a surprise to find this gem of a camping spot. Great Camping spot!Even though we had to turn around and head back there was some beautiful scenery along the route back, Kings Point camping spot.
As Dorian closed in on us and Donald kept defending his Sharpie drawing, we took a third day to cross on the ferry and drive two hours down Nova Scotia under pleasant skies. Day 4 was a long drive across New Brunswick. Clouds started shaping, and fleets of utility trucks were heading east as we bore west to the relative safety of Gaspé.
We took a break at a visitor center just inside Quebec, and we noticed one older couple pointing at us and snapping pictures. Never missing an opportunity to pose for stardom, I walked up and asked what they were marveling at. Speaking almost no English, the couple had just arrived from France, and they had never seen an RV so big. We explained that ours was small to medium compared to most 5th wheels. I think I even heard an ooh-la-la as we invited them inside, opened up the slides, and had them pose for pictures behind the wheel of the big brown truck. Much fun.
Our route to get out of Dorian’s way!River County Campground, NB, another nice park with nice people. A lot of the campgrounds that we have been coming across the sites seem to be reserved for the entire summer by people getting away on weekends coming to the same spot.Wildlife! What, a ground hog! River County Campground
We camped at Carleton-sur-Mer just at the outer reaches of the storm’s path and listened to pounding rain and 25 mph winds most of the night. Recovering from our four day exodus, the following day we strolled the beach for beach glass, and watched two kite surfers playing in the windy residues of Dorian. Then on the third day we set out on an expedition to test our bikes on a steep long climb into the mountains where we found a big wind farm (you could get really close to those turbines) and a muddy, rocky road to the back side of the Oratoire Notre-Dame-Du-Mont-St-Joseph, a chapel built in 1935 with a great view of the bay and village below. https://montsaintjoseph.com/.
The little blue dot is where we got to after 4 days of driving trying to get out of Dorians path. We still had 25mph winds with gusts to 40mph and rain the 1st night. It sounded like a freight train, so glad we moved away as far as we could.Carleton-sur-MerI see youKite surfing looked good this dayOur lunch spot, the little peninsula is where we are campingOur bike route, 2,600’ elevation gain, not bad
Time to move on, so we headed to Gaspésie National Park. It’s a well known fact that the prevalence of moose and the availability of bandwidth are inversely proportional. But in these many weeks in the Maritimes, despite the frequent warning signs and locals’ tales, we hadn’t seen a single moose. I was beginning to think it was all a big marketing scam, like “I ❤️ NY” or the Loch Ness Monster, simply trying to lure gullible tourists. Finally, as Milissa was driving after dark back to the campground, there it was! Right on the side of the road, a big moose butt stilted over outrageously tall legs, daring and scaring us, unpredictably poised to dart either way. Damn that thing was BIG! And antlers the size of Long Island gave a flashing glance just as Bullwinkle’s brother ran off into the dark woods.
Only at the top of the hike the next day did we have a tiny window of bandwidth. How gauche to text photos and make phone calls from the mountaintop. But there was no one else around, and it felt delightfully sinful after having been through our own bandwidth Lent these past weeks.
Our elevation gain 2,052, round trip 7.75 miles, we took trails off the top to lookouts Mont Xalibu
And that, my friends, explains why our blog posts have been so slow and out of date. We hope to catch up and get on schedule once we depart from these moose infested regions.
This satellite view says it, lots of hilly, craggy coastline dotted with houses and cute towns. We chose a commercial campground and we lucked out with Space #1, the only one with a view of the water. Later we saw that others just boondocked at a pull-off on some local back road next to the water; that’s allowed in Newfoundland. Maybe next time, we said.
At 2200 people, Twillingate was the hub of this area. Other villages dotted the landscape with a few houses, someone selling quilts and crafts (“It gets kind of boring up here in winter, so we find things to do,” said one of the locals), and maybe a chip truck. That’s not a tree clearing machine; that’s a trailer selling french fries.
There is supposed to be 110,000 moose on the Island of Newfoundland, we saw these scary signs but not a moose in sightOur trailer is behind the white truck. Peyton Woods RV Park, SunsetLooking for beach glass, shells and anything else that looks interesting, this beach was 1 block from our trailer at Peyton Woods RV.
At the front of the campground was a small trailer with an attached deck, another kind of a food truck concept. You would have to be a little crazy if you spent your days in that trailer, especially with what seemed to be almost no business. We declined to dine when we saw the menu board; everything came through the deep fryer. I asked the proprietor how she managed to stay open, here it was the end of August and places were closing down for the winter. She half groaned and half smiled, responding that hers was the only place open till 11PM, and the kids liked their late night poutine.
The hike to Spillars Cove was wonderful. Like places we’d seen in Scotland this trail took us right to the edge of cliffs over bays with gentle waves and seabirds. Since early July we’d been attracted to these places, the Fundy Trail, Meat Cove, and others, yet we wondered how this place on the North Coast of Newfoundland could be much different. Magically, it was.
Where we parked for the Spillers Cove HikeHundreds of Jelly Fish coming ashore, not sure why, one of the locals we talked to said he has never seen so many like this. Changing weather?Birds were nesting at the top of the rock in the center, not sure what kind but they were bigUnderground root cellarEnd of the hike
As we ventured off the ferry at Port aux Basque and drove up the western sloped land, rocky and sparsely treed with occasional signs of habitation, Newfoundland struck us like Iceland. There were vast spaces of rocks and scrub and trees, homes sites out by themselves and designed for winter, and occasional combo gas/restaurant/stores. I guess Newfoundland can’t help being this different, being stuck this far east and north, an island on the way to Labrador. As we pushed further north, the trees began showing their success in invading the slopes, pouring down from the mountains that grew increasingly higher behind them. We were headed to Gros Morne National Park, the place where the earth revealed its mountains thrust up at the coast to yield proof of plate tectonic movement.
Entering the ferry, 6 hour rideEnjoying the sun from the top deckGreat view off the helicopter pad! Calm day in the Atlantic for traveling.
This was ground zero for a few geologists who found rocks that were way too old and out of place. In the late 60s radical geologists posed the theory of plate tectonics, but it was a British grad student, Robert Stevens, who found rock that was 480 million years old. And then dig more digging to find that not only was his find a piece of the earth’s mantle thrust up by big collisions of crust, but he also went on to show how Newfoundland had stuff from all over that could only have been there if the crust was wildly moving around like little kids shuffle cards.
The TableLands is where a big exposed chunk of the earth’s mantle was choked off by one of those tectonic shuffles. The result is a Mars-like surface with rock chemistry that prevents any plants from growing. It’s safe to say that at the mantle’s usual depth 670 km beneath us there probably aren’t many plants growing there either. Still, the scrub bushes and plants are slowly pushing their boundaries trying to conquer this piece of subterranea. We walked through the battle zone’s DMZ and on into a great valley surrounded by barren peaks of half billion year old rock.
2K hike to a view point of the Table Lands
A second day hike was to Green Gardens, and a beautiful day it was. After descending through a patchy, low coastal forest we arrived at high grassy plateaus overlooking sea stacks and rocky beaches. Suddenly as we turned out of the trees, there they were! – the iconic red Adirondack chairs that we’d seen placed at the edge of great views all over Newfoundland. We sat for a long lunch, soaked in the scenery and relaxed with the breeze and the sound of the waves below. Then we scrambled down to walk along the beach and explored the tide pools and waterfall.
Lunch Time, what a beautiful and relaxing spotAnother view of our lunch spot from the beach lookin up
The biggest hike of our stay was Western Brook Pond. Per Park rules, the only way to do this hike was with a guide. In my opinion, only some of the reason for this was that, because the terrain is rugged and the mountain beasts are fierce, the park doesn’t like to send search crews for lost hikers. (Understandable, but aren’t there rough terrain and hungry animals at most national parks?). I think the other more fundamental reason is local economic stability. The $200 per person guide fee surely helps keep a few people employed in this remote area. Yikes. The trail was steep, muddy and rocky, but we have hiked trails just as tricky in other places without the guide. Yet this was one of those epic hikes, and it would have cost way more than the guide fee to come back again in the future if we decided not to. Add the fact that the boat ride along Western Brook Pond was thrown in, the tour guides were knowledgeable and talkative, and the views were fantastic – and all in all. It was a good day.
The start of our journeyOn our way with our guidesWe are heading for the mist! Looking much like we should see Dinosaurs, only a moose that was well known and hiked this trail, no luck in seeing him this day.Could not help myself, the foliage was beautifulWe climbed to the right side of this water fall, steep and hairyWe made it, reminds us of a little bit of NorwayOn our way out, A really good day!
Our Route from Nova Scotia, ferry crossing and to the 1st nights campground JT Cheeseman then onto Waters Edge RV Campground where we made this our base for a few days
Arriving at Port aux BasquesSetting up for one night at JT Cheeseman. Newfoundland has painted rocks everywhere.We walked about 2 miles from the campground to the beach and we were greeted by this lovely beach and sunsetSunrise, this photo was taken from inside the trailer at the Water Edge RV Campground. Great little campground and the owners are great!Continuation of the sunrise. Later in the morning a school of porpoises came up this channel to feed and returned later in the afternoon. There was about 15+ what a sight it was to watch.The campground’s sight seeing boatsEnjoying an evening on the dock with fellow campers
Still looking for a Moose, we continued our drive around the Island heading for Sydney, ferry ride to Newfoundland the next day. Sorry to say, we say little to none in the wildlife department. I shouldn’t really say that, we saw plenty of crows and some other birds.
A stop for a walk on the beach End of a days drive, snuggled away at our campground for the night
Six months ago, at a great campground southwest of Tucson, fellow travelers in the next campsite, Pat and Lewis, told us about this magical place called Meat Cove. Their smiles were wide and eyebrows high as they recounted their time there in a tiny campground perched perched on a cliff overlooking the St Lawrence Seaway at the northern tip of Nova Scotia. We marked it on our map as a saved place, and for the last half year told anyone who asked where we were headed, “Meat Cove!”
Yet they said it was a rough road leading out from the Cabot Trail on the northern end of Cape Breton Island. I called ahead to the campground staff. I googled. I watched motorcyclists’ GoPro videos. And when we got close, I asked the locals. Could we take the fifth wheel out there? The consensus was that the road was just a bit too rough, and the cliff top sites a bit too narrow to maneuver.
So from our safe base at the Hideaway Campground near Aspy Bay, we set out on our bikes for the 20 mile ride. It had been three weeks since we had ridden or gotten much of any exercise at all, so a 40 mile round trip with hills seemed just within do-able.
Bike route
What a good ride it was. This end of the island has mounded old peaks covered with trees of all kinds, roadways that weave through farmland, working forests, and small harbors setting up for lobster. As we pushed further north, the terrain got more rugged and the hills steeper. That provided the kinds of views like Big Sur, Chuckanut Drive, and the fjords of Norway all mixed into one.
Descending the last big hill into Meat Cove, named for the hunters’ processing place a hundred plus years ago, we wondered what this place would be like, since it was our claimed and purposeful destination for these many months. There it was, a tiny campground with sites on the open grass perched atop the cliffs. This was the domain of truck campers, vans and tents, and while one could imagine a thoroughly careful placement of a 32 foot fifth wheel so as to not slide off the cliff, there was practically only one spot we might have fit. But the smiles on the faces of the other campers was a give-away…this was a fantastic spot.
Their little restaurant had a nice big deck, so we ordered soup and fries to go with our packed lunch and we took in the view. After lunch we left the bikes and took a short hike to a high perch on the point nearby to watch the waves and the diving birds and hoped in vain to spot whales. What a day!
Heading back to our campsite, another great ride!Fred couldn’t resist, never miss an opportunity to take a weird picture, at the end of our ride
