"...and on the seventh day....

"Quand le soleil dit bonjour aux montagnes....."
 (my favourite French song, "when the sun says good morning to the mountains").

Ah, waking up to sun and blue sky made my heart sing! Finally, on my 7th day in Perce, I could continue my journey.
I grabbed my tablet to get a photo but by the time I got outside, thick fog rolled in again!
On no, no,no! After  a brief pity party, I reminded myself of my belief that within each "curve ball" thrown to me by life, is a hidden treasure.
So, get out my chocolate and a movie and later on, go treasure hunting!
There is no reason my heart couldn't sing in fog as well as in sunshine.

And then....

the fog cleared and the sun came back out!  

Put everything away, secure the cupboards, get some fresh water, unhook the RV, dump my tanks, and finally leave!
On, how good it felt to get back on the road, now travelling west again around the south shore of the Gaspe!

And then......

Dark clouds appeared!
Thunder, lightning,rain.
The rain got so heavy, I
had trouble seeing the road, and thankfully, a McDonalds appeared just in time!
How wonderful to have free WiFi!

The rain has now stopped so I'll finish my coffee and get back on the road. I'll put on one of my favourite singers, Harry Martin of Labrador, turn up the volume and sing my heart out!

And then.............?

All is well!

Stuck in thick fog

Here I am in thick fog at Perce at the western tip of the Gaspe.
I left Cap Chat after 2 days, on June 8 and followed #132 east along the St Lawrence River. The scenery became progressively more rugged and the weather colder and rainy at times. The road was rough in places as I travelled inland for a while.

#132 along north shore of Gaspe

By the time I got to Perce and the "Camping du Phage" campground, I was tired of driving even though it was only 230km. 
Perce is a tourist town, famous for its "Rocher Perce " (pierced rock) a huge rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
It has an opening in it like an arch that is one of the world's largest natural arches located in water.

Perce Rock in the drizzle ,view from campground

Because of the cold, wet weather, there were very few tourists.
I noticed several campgrounds which were almost empty. I was told that in summer it is sometimes difficult to find a site.


The campground I went to was about 2km west of town overlooking the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and is much larger than  I expected, with 144 sites. The owners were pleasant and spoke a bit of English so we managed.            

near the campground...a foggy day

Dandelions everywhere!!

The weather got worse and I became fogged in for 5 days!
It was cold (11-13C), rainy and very thick fog in the mornings, easing up by afternoon and one evening the sun even broke through! 
The fog made it too dangerous to drive anywhere and I found it difficult to be stuck, particularly since there was only 1 other camper parked at the other end of the campground and they kept to themselves. I figure I could either get into a slump or else make the most of it. I decided this is a golden opportunity to do my blog, watch films, and clean out my cupboards, oh, and treat myself to some chocolate which I brought in case of emergency!

Empty campsites beside me

Is this experience any more isolating than living in an apartment in a city highrise would be? In those situations people often don't even know who lives next door. How connected are we in our busy lives?


Hopefully the fog will lift tomorrow and I'll be able to drive to Campbellton NB, otherwise I might start growing some roots!

a few hours of sun before another storm appeared

Some trivia:
Did you know that Lake Superior contains 10% of the world's fresh surface water?
All of the 4 other great lakes plus 3 more the size of Lake Erie would fit inside of Lake Superior!
        ---info sent to me by my friend Barry

"Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak.
Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go."
                                           ---unknown

"The only real security in life lies in relishing life's insecurity.                                 ---M.Scott Peck , "The Road Less Travelled"

Following the dandelions

Spring keeps on blossoming as I head east.

After 3 weeks in Ottawa and a farewell dinner fit for a queen, I prepared to continue my journey, only to discover I had a flat tire! To make things more difficult, it was the inner of my 2 left rear tires and it took a long time to find "Frisby Tire Co" that services RV tires. The problem was a small screw that had punctured my tubeless tire!

Delayed, I rerouted via #417 toward Montreal.
Staying well north of the city, I connected to #40 but still got caught in a major traffic jam. Keeping up with French drivers at Fri evening rush hour was a challenge! As a result of the delays I was far behind schedule and notified the campground. The owner graciously opened the office for me when I finally  arrived close to 10pm.It was fun practicing my very limited French and I was surprised by how much I remembered.

 "Camping Juneau-Chalets" , St Augustin-De-Desmaures, is a lovely campground  situated along the shore of Lac Saint-Augustin just west of Quebec City.
There were several sites available as it was still low season. 
There were also cottages for rent as well as several long-term sites.
Many people there rented chalets along the water or had their trailers parked permanently as summer homes.
 I've noticed that this seems quite a popular trend now with seniors travelling. I spoke to one man who had his trailer established there , has a small garden, and has friends nearby. Robert is a retiree from Montreal. In the winter, he drives to another permanent trailer in a similar campground in Florida.
Seasonal rates for campsites are usually considerably less costly than living in a house or apartment. You also have the benefit of living in a beautiful area, often near the water.
I spent a couple of days there and even rented a paddle boat  (they didn't have any kayaks out yet).
I had forgotten how much work it is to travel anywhere with a paddle boat but it felt good to be on the water. Passing by several large homes , some with float planes, I envied them for a moment but then remembered how enriched my life is and that I wouldn't want to trade it.
When I left there, I drove to get some propane at a station suggested to me but found out they don't fill RV
tanks and told me of a station a few km from there. It turned out to be 15km and after a long wait , they informed me they could not fill the built in propane tanks of RV's!  This was another opportunity to not "sweat the small stuff"! It wasn't until later that I found some propane along the highway.
This is one thing I need to plan ahead for and keep an eye on the tank since I need propane for heat, cooking, and hot water.

From there I continued east on #138 , stopping to see the waterfalls at Montmorency. The falls are 83m high, (30m higher than Niagara Falls ). The park has free admission but I had to pay $12.00 to park there! It was a short walk to the falls and, although impressive, they seemed smaller than I expected as they are much narrower than those at Niagara Falls. 

Montmorency Falls, taken from brochure

Crossing the suspension bridge over the top of the falls was rather frightening even though the bridge was very solid. I then came to a steep set of stairs to the bottom of the falls. I was determined to try it, only to be stopped by a security guard when I was about 1/2  the way down. Evidently that was the one day of the year they have a special competition. What were the odds?!  I was very disappointed  and headed back to the top just as a thunderstorm developed, followed by a deluge of rain. What a relief I felt then that I didn't get caught in the storm at the bottom , having to climb all the way up with lightning flashing around me! It's amazing how disappointment can change to gratitude in just a few moments!

From there I drove east to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, the oldest pilgrimage site in North America, attracting people from all over the world. The basilica is huge and contains fantastic artwork. On entry, I could see dozens of crutches and canes hanging on a pillar, left behind by people who had experienced
healing.

photo of brochure

Whether you are spiritual or not, you can't help but feel a sense of awe. I've always loved the majestic architecture and the stillness of large churches or temples.
Amongst the numerous paintings and sculptures , was an exact replica of the "The Pieta"by Michelangelo. This has always been my favourite sculpture and I was fortunate to see the original in the Vatican many years ago. A museum guide told me that the replica was made when the original Pieta was transported to New York for the World's Fair in 1964, in case something happened to the original. The replica looks like it may be made of wax and, although beautiful, doesn't have the quality of light that marble does.

replica of Michelangelo's  " Pieta"

While there, I happened to see the blessing of the motorcycles, attended by hundreds of bikers. 
Someone told me they also have a blessing of RV's every year.

Unfortunately, the photos I took over 2 weeks somehow disappeared from my computer. Some days I wonder if I should have a computer at all given how technically challenged I am! You can see I've taken some of the photos from the brochures. 

While at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre I was able to stay at a very nice park across the street from the basilica.
"Domain Saint Anne" is not a campground but rather a rest stop for visitors to the shrine.
For $15/night,  people are welcome to stay overnight in tents or RV's. There are no hook-ups but water is available from a tap.

The manager of the park was very helpful. I noticed he had an electric bicycle and let me try it. He had a regular bicycle and attached  "Bion X" equipment to it ( a 12V Lithium battery and a special wheel with a built in motor that replaces the regular back wheel). It can go over 100 km on one charge and takes about 4 hrs to charge. It was very easy to drive and the more you petal, the less battery power is needed.
Now I'm thinking this would be the best solution for added transport when my RV is parked and I could have the bike mounted on a bracket on the back.

Back on the road, I continued to drive east along the north shore of the St Lawrence River.
Later on that afternoon, I finally arrived at St Simeon
and the delightful campground of " Falaise-sur-Mer".
I did fairly well speaking French to Nicole, the owner.
She was so impressed by my story, she gave me a very large discount and also a gorgeous site right on the side of the river. It was paradise, helped by some beautiful weather.

The next day was June 1 and I took the ferry across the St Lawrence river , just over an hr to Riviere du Loup where I stayed at a Walmart and got a few supplies. I met a couple of German fellows driving a rented RV from Canadream, the company I had bought my rig from. It was fun practicing speaking German! 
Although it is still early in the season and many unfilled sites at the campgrounds,  I've met a few European tourists driving RV's from various rental companies.So far I've met people from Germany, Holland, and Switzerland.

The next phase of my travels took me east on #132 onto the north shore of the Gaspe peninsula. 
Shortly after passing Rimouski, I stopped to explore "Les Jardins de Metis". Unfortunately, the area I was most interested in, "Festival International de Jardins" was not open for the season yet but the rest of the gardens were quite lovely with numerous beds of spring flowers and trees in blossom. It was peaceful and relaxing to walk through there.

#132 hugged the shore and was quite pleasant driving, thanks to minimal traffic and a mostly flat road. I finally took more photos for my blog.

Along the north shore of the Gaspe were some long stretches interrupted by small villages. 

Dandelions along the road

I drove about 200km/day and was happy to discover several PA campgrounds to stay at, never paying more than $25/night. "Camping aux Pignons Verts" at Les Mechins was close to the beach which I enjoyed walking along.

I'm always amazed to see anything growing in the sand, having worked hard to get things growing in the garden I had before moving into my RV.

No matter what shore I have walked along, I've always loved to hear the sound of crashing waves.

Walking toward Les Marchins

Before I got to the next campground, I stopped to have lunch at a waterfall from a cliff on the side of the road, and a few km 

later, I stopped to check out a large group of wind turbines, one of which was a design I had never seen before.

This is the closest I could get to "The highest vertical axis in the world." (no public entry was allowed to this area off season. In the summer, they give tours). It is in Cap Chat, Gaspe and is a different style of wind turbine. Due to some problems, it stopped working after about a year. 

At the campground in Cap Chat, I was thrilled to get a site right beside the beach.                                                                               

camping at "Au Bord de la Mer", Cap Chat

Sunset over St Lawrence River

Often when I walk in nature, I look for animal images. My friend Richard showed me how to see these images and it has become a fun hobby. The best images are often seen in driftwood but I've seen them on trees, flowers, and even ponds.
At first I couldn't see any but with practice I now see them in many places and I thought I would post a few of these.

seen on beach in Carrabelle, Florida in 2014

The next ones are from a few days ago while walking the beach near Cap Chat.

 

Fascinating, don't you think?




And now for a few more dandelions!

The journey east continues in the next chapter.

Bon soir!

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."
                                               ---William Shakespeare

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart."
                                                  --- Helen Keller

"Don't count the days, make the days count"
                                                  ---Muhammad Ali, boxer
                   

Please note: for some reason people's comments still don't show up. I've made several attempts to fix this problem because it would be fun to get comments. For now, if you do want to comment, please send an e-mail to me at : 

whyknotrvmaria@gmail.com   with the heading  "blog comment".
I will include these comments in my blog. 
Note the k in my address.
Thanks,
 Maria

 



                                                      

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