Day 20 Tues June 25 McGregor Lake, Quebec to North Bay, Ont.....finally back in Ontario

We got of to a very early start and rode through beautiful Quebec farmland along the Ottawa River with early morning fog and mist in the air. After crossing the Ottawa River into Ontario at Renfrew by mid morning, we had a hot ride  along Highway 60 through Algonquin Park.  

Crossing the Ottawa River

An interesting canoe at a stop in Algonquin Park

Evan and a bear in Algonquin Park

We met one young couple from Holland who were anxious to see a moose.  I thought to myself "be careful what you ask for".  There had been recent sightings of moose in the area.  I did see a young deer in the ditch.

We arrived at our cottage in the late afternoon....so good to be there. It's time to rest our bums for several days before heading back to Toronto.

7,450 cum kms,

Regards,

Anne

Day 19 Mon Jun 24 Trois Rivière to McGregor Lake, Que...visiting with family

We followed scenic Highway 138 along the northern shore of the St Lawrence with more beautiful scenery including good looking farms right along the river. 

We then took a number of roads that were extremely hilly and curvy and there were many other bikers enjoying the thrill of these roads. It was an extremely hot day. 

We made it to our destination just as the sky opened up with rain and the thunder boomed close by. It was great to spend time with Doug and Gil. After a fabulous meal, we were treated to an evening pontoon boat ride on McGregor Lake. The lake glimmered under the moonlight. 

6,951 cum kms

Regards to all

Anne

Day 18 Sun June 23. Rimouski to Trois Rivière, Que....Getting ready for St. Jean Baptiste Day

We started our day by taking the high speed ferry across the St. Lawrence at Rimouski.  It was. a fast and comfortable ride, and  during the trip, we saw a number of  beluga whales. We later learned that whale viewing is one of the major tourist attractions. 

This picture of our ferry was on display in the lounge of the ferry

Securing  the Venture in the belly of the ferry and talking with staff

We drove on Hwy 138 west along the north shore of the St Lawrence.  The ride was very scenic. I was amazed to see dairy farms located in the middle of the smaller villages.

Riding right  along the river

Stopping for a picnic lunch 

A surprise view along the river. 

We stop for a brief time in Quebec City, which was alive with preparations for St Jean Baptiste Day which is officially celebrated on June 24th. We walked through parts of the old city and to the site along the historic Plains of Abraham where we saw them setting up the largest outdoor stage we have ever seem for the party. They were rehearsing their performances and the music absorbed the city. 

In the heart of the historic old town

Setting up the St John Baptiste performance stage, viewed from the Plains of Abraham 

Taking a rest, with the rehearsal music in the air

Behind the historic Chateay Frontenac, overlooking the St Lawrence River where some battles of the Wars of 1812 took place 

Tonight, we dined on take out from Ultramar. It sure tasted great with a beer after a long day of riding.  We had been on the road for 12 hours since 7:30 am. Also, we had the chance to use laundry facilities at the hotel....finally.

6550 Cum kms ...and the body is getting more tired.

Regards,

Anne

Day 17 Sat Jun 22 Riviere-au-Renard to Rimouski, Que...Riding along the St Lawrence

We had a sunny but quite windy ride along the northern coast of the Gaspe Peninsula. The ride included some switchbacks through a mountainous area and twisties right along the edge of the St Lawrence River through coastal fishing village after village.  

--- a beautiful shoreline ride

--- but very windy at times

Once again, we saw picnic areas in each community that we passed through.  

--- and stopped at one for lunch

--- this is our view from another picnic area

--- so we rode through it. 

We also saw very large piles of wood on the beaches of many communities. Since St Jean Baptist day is coming up, we suspect these are for community  bonfires that will be part of those of celebrations which are a major Québécois event.

--- just one example of wood stacked for a community bonfire

At one stop, we spent time talking with the caretaker of the only wooden and manually operated lighthouse that he thought existed. We also had an interesting discussion about Evan's ancestors from the historic Grand Grieve village at Gaspe. 

Once we checked into our overnight motel which is just minutes from the Rimouski hydra-foil  ferry and  overlooks the St Lawrence, we watched several para surfers (about ten at one time) enjoy the winds of the river. It was amazing to watch them fly above the water. 

Tomorrow morning we will take the ferry across the St Lawrence which will take 55 minutes at a top speed of 55 km/hr. 

6088 cum kms and my body is very tired and wind blown today.

Regards,

Anne

Day 16 Fri Jun 21 New Carlisle to Rivière-au-Renard, Que ....Longest day of year

Although we woke up to rain, it stopped while we were having breakfast.  Off we were, riding along the south coast of the Gaspe towards the iconic Perce Rock. 

Before long, we stopped at an historic Inn built in 1825. It now serves as a local museum as well as a library. The tin roof was common in older buildings throughout the Gaspe region. 

Our next stop was at a fishing harbour to look and take pictures of the fishing boats. It also served as a   scenic rest and picnic area. 

An impressive looking lobster boat

In fact, it seems like every town along the way in the Gaspe region competes for the best info centre and rest area, normally with sheltered picnic tables and washrooms. This one in a most gorgeous setting with oyster and mussel sculptures along the walk to the ocean sand beach had a huge fish sculpture protecting the picnic tables from the wind and rain. 

The village at Perce was another tourist gem with dramatic views to the ocean and the famous Perce Rock. Evan was intrigued to be able to capture a picture of  a large ship  through the hole eroded by the waves at Perce Rock. Once we had taken our pictures, rain started shortly afterwards, but we were ready to ride on to Gaspe by that time and remove our rain gear there for the rest of the day. 

We spent time in  Forillon National Park, particularly at the Grande-Grave area. It is this area that E's grandmother's ancestors spent time on their arrival from  Guernsey. We were thrilled to see that their original settlement has been turned into a National Historical Site and the LeMessieur family name recognized in the public site information.  It's location selected for shelter and cod fishing along the  Gaspe coast was breathtaking, and the cemetery stone dedicated to the those who arrived from the Guernsey Island.

The setting for the settlement, preserved as a historical heritage site

We have been monitoring the news about flooding in Calgary as we have family, including grandchildren, there.

Riviere-au-Renard where we  are staying  in the Gaspe area for the 2nd night has one of the largest ocean  fishing ports where we have seen trawlers with nets for the first time. Their operating lighthouse is also one of the largest we have seen.  We are also enjoying our chance to practice our very rusty high school French. 

In a service station, I saw this interesting picture of a moose being prepared for work. 

E says that he would like to charge or change our battery if we can. Should I be worried?

5,716 cum kms and we are heading west from here...

Regards,

Anne

Day 15 Thurs June 20 Victoria, PEI to New Carlisle, Gaspe, Que....Through Acadia

Over the Confederation Bridge and goodbye to PEI (Gaspe, here we come). This bridge that links the island to the mainland is 13km (8 mi) long and rests on 62 piers from 130 to 200 ft above the water.  I thought that I might have felt the wind but the ride was as comfortable as it was scenic.

We changed Venture's oil at Mulligans in NB.  The owner was very generous to allow Evan  to do this himself and provided us with a pan and funnel for the job. He was also a biker and recalled the time years ago when he was refused the same.  

At one of our rest stops along the Acadian Trail, heading north through New Brunswick along the Gulf of St Lawrence, we enjoyed some aboriginal art at a scenic rest area. 

--- the artwork

--- at the scenic rest area. 

Through the day, we rode across two other large bridges. One crossed the Miramichi River and the other which was even larger crossed Chaleur Bay to the Gaspe Penninsula. 

The bridge across the Miramichi River

Miramichi is a very popular fishing area, so Evan thinks this next picture that he took is appropriate. 

The ride along the southern coast of the Gaspe Pinninsula was even more scenic than we expected. Each town along the way seemed like a resort area. The town where we are staying has painted all of its fire hydrants down the main street and each one is different. 

During our ride, I saw 3 osprey nests perched high on hydro structures.

We will be In Gaspe for next few days. One of Evan's greatgrandparents ( Le Messieurs) spent time in Gaspe area when they emmigrated to Canada from Guersney  Island.  I was in the Gaspe area about 30 years ago so my memory of that trip is a bit rusty. This is E's first time here. 

 5,430 cum km

Regards to all,

Anne

Day 14, Wed June 19 Montague to Victoria, PEI.....Exploring PEI

After a hearty B&B breakfast, we bid farewell to our wonderful hosts and hit the road for a day of exploring.

We continued our ride along the east coast. Our first stop was at Launching Point where we watched fishermen unload their fresh caught lobsters. We were surprised to see a couple of young women working on the fishing vessel. 

Unloading containers of fresh caught lobsters...see the lobster tattoo on the person at the right

--- a big one

At our next stop, Spry Cove, we saw the rugged red coast line of the eastern shore which is uniquely PEI and is due to iron oxide. Then at Basin Head, we saw a very long sandy beach. In the distance, we saw a ferry that appeared to be in the sky due to the  variation of the blue colour of the water.

We rode on to East Point, the most easterly point on the island, where we had more incredible views. The lighthouse added navigation, which was particularly dangerous off this coast.

The East Coast Lighthouse built in 1867. 

We also had our picnic lunch at East Coast in this ship shaped cluster of picnic tables

At Shipwreck Point, we rode over a treacherous wooden bridge to the harbour and watched more lobsters being unloaded. That was just after we rode down a remote dirt trail to see some more panoramic views of the coastline.

Tricky riding down a dirt trail. I walked.

--- and through some bushes. 

By late afternoon, we rode inland to Charlottetown.  Along the way, we saw countless potato farms as well as many diary farms.

PEI potatoes

At Water Prince Corner Shop, we feasted on fresh PEI mussels from Malpeque Bay before we left Charlottetown.  They were the most delicious mussels that we have ever tasted.

We were hoping to try some Island  Cow ice cream ( to compare with Ben & Jerry's in Vermont) but we were full from our meal of mussels. At our last stop for the day in Victoria, we did enjoy ice cream sitting on the local wharf. 

In Victoria, we are spending the night at the "Orient Hotel" which was originally built in 1900 when the oriental decorating style, used in the hotel's interior, was popular. We are minutes away from the 13 km Confederation Bridge which we will cross in the morning.

Our B&B in Victoria, another listed historic gem

Close to our B&B in Victoria is the biggest tree on PEI. I'm standing in front to give some size perspective.

We can thank Jim, the biker we met on the PEI ferry, for his great suggestions for many of these sights that we saw today.

The weather was fabulous for us today.

4,855 cum kms

Regards to all,

Anne

Day 13 Tues June 18, Inverness County, NS to Montague,PEI...to the Island

We started the day riding the rest of the very scenic Cabot trail. After leaving Cape Breton, we rode along the Sunrise Trail on our way to the Canso Causeway and then, the ferry crossing to PEI. The locals call the Sunrise Trail the baby Cabot Trail and after riding it, we understand why. Along the way, we startled a deer who ran in front of us for quite a distance before turning back from the road into the bush. 

We also stopped at a lighthouse at St George in a beautiful setting overlooking the ocean. 

On the ferry, we met  another biker (Jim) who was an extraordinarily interesting person and also a passionate sailor. Because of his advice, we headed east on the PEI Coastal Drive. I was surprised to see a fox on the lawn on a rural property. I later learned that foxes are very common on the Island.

Arriving by ferry on PEI

While stopping for some local beer (Sir John A MacDonald) and talking to some local folks, we learned of a nearby B&B near Montague.

After getting lost trying to find the Knox Dam B&B, we finally arrived to find a real gem, not to mention an historic site. 

Relaxing at our B&B

A fish ladder on the B&B property.

It was a bright sunny day for our day of riding. 

4,450 cum km

Regards,

Anne