Highway 132 along the Gaspe Peninsula to Forillon National Park, Quebec

Legendary highway 132 along the Gaspe Peninsula

Another lengthy travel day to get to Forillon National Park, so we are up at 5:45 am to get some miles in before the strong head winds forecast for later today. We are taking the legendary highway 132 with sweeping coastal views and towering sea cliffs amongst quaint seaside villages. 

The first order of business is fuel at a lofty $2.17 per litre. We hope to see some relief in these prices as the trip goes on but for now it's all part of a bigger picture. 

Cheap compare to down the road

Foggy breakfast break

After a couple hours driving we pull into a municipal rest stop for breakfast and a quick stretch of the legs. A thick fog has set in so we only catch glimpses of the water here and there. 

Sun breaks out of fog

Thankfully the sun breaks out and the views of the coast are very nice as we make miles along the Gaspe Peninsula. 

Nice to see the Canadian flag flying by the Quebec flag

Repairing a washed out section of highway 132

Road construction and windy roads off the coast through the mountains slow the progress in our already long day. 

These are serious ups and down...ugh

Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse-tallest in Canada

Eventually we finally make it to Cap-des-Rosiers where Canada's tallest lighthouse sits. Built in 1858 it is 112 ft / 34.1 meters tall. The stone tower has walls over 7 feet thick at the base tapering to 3 feet at the top. 

Views of the Atlantic ocean from Cap-des-Rosiers

It takes about 7 hours of windy coast and serious ups and downs for inland stretches but we finally arrive at Forillon National Park. 

100's of dead lobster carcusses

Once set up inside the National Park, we head down to the water and are shocked at the amount of dead lobsters scattering the beach. There are literally 100's of dead carcasses. Apparently severe drops in water temperature after a major storm can cause mass mortality plus the fact that the lobsters get body slammed by huge waves onto the beach.  Whatever the cause of their death, it wasn't fun nor expected for them. 

Massive dead lobsters

Feeling very far east :)

It was almost a 7 hour drive today and we are feeling like we are very far east!! Chris is exhausted as he does the driving on these narrow, up and down roads so we spend the night in the trailer watching FIFA team Canada beat Qatar 6-0...WOW. Great for Canada :)

Pic Champlain hike and a trip into the quaint city of Rimouski, QC

View from Pic Champlain

If we only do one hike in the park, it is recommended to do Pic Champlain. It's a good climb up through the woods to a panoramic view point of the St. Lawrence River. 

Northern Parula on our window sill

Back at the trailer for lunch there is a little bird who can see its reflection in our mirrored windows and it is happily hanging out looking at its reflection. 

Rimouski, QC waterfront - tons of bikes and runners

Late afternoon we head to Rimouski, a quaint city about 20 km east of us. We do some laundry and get groceries plus do a walk in the sun along the waterfront promenade. 

Poutine and flight of beer - YUM

Chris had previously scouted out Brasserie La Baraque,  a pub that got good reviews for its beers and poutine. It's our first poutine in Quebec and it's great  with lots of gravy and tons of cheese curds. The beers in the flight are all so smooth and tasty we share another one. 

Back to the trailer where we pack everything away and even hook up in preparation for a 6 am depart tomorrow morning. 

Bic National Park , Quebec - bike ride to a low tide water hike and a kayak

Isle aux Amours (Islands of Love)

Low tide is at 11 am and there is a hike around the island 'Isle aux Amours' that becomes accessible when the sand spit to the island appears at low tide. The hike is a 15 minute bike ride from our trailer along the green bike route through Bic National Park. 

Rock hopping around the island

It's fun rock hopping and checking out the tide pools. Our location on the St. Lawrence River has us still in 'Brackish" water meaning it is a mix of salt water from the Atlantic ocean and fresh water from the great lakes.Since the water is not 100% marine, the classic tide pool life like star fish are non-existent. Our next stop farther around the Gaspe Peninsula will likely have the little creatures we are missing here. 

Picture of a picture :)

We bike to the next bay called Anse aux Bouleaux as it is apparently good for seal viewing at low tide. The area is restricted as pups have recently been born and the moma seals leave their babies hidden in the rocks as they head out in search of food. We can see the odd seal  moving about way out in the water but too far for a photo so we take pictures of the seals from the information stand on shore. 

Seals of Anse aux Bouleaux bay

First kayak of the season

We bike home for lunch, tea and a quick rest before high tide at 4 pm when the Havre-du-Bic Sector is prime for kayaking. 

There is a series of islands we paddle through and it is absolutely beautiful. The St. Lawrence River is calm with no fetch so we end up heading out on a long circuit for around 2.5 hours. 

Huge rock walls

Wooden bird house with numbers to monitor population

One of the islands has wooden bird houses on it each with individual numbers. They house Black Guillemot birds, which are jet black birds with large striking red feet. They skitter about so fast it is hard to get a photo. Apparently park ecologists do regular inventory of the bird population and monitor the nesting success. 

Black Guillemot with bright red feet

Nice evening light

As we get back close to the boat launch it is almost 6:30 pm and the sun is getting low. 

Back to our site for a late dinner and a relaxing evening. We earned it :)

Site 56 in Tombolo Campground

Ferry across the St. Lawrence River to Bic National Park, Quebec

We depart the Saguenay Fjord at 11 am in hopes to catch the 2 pm ferry from Saint Simeon across the St. Lawrence River to Riviere-du-Loup. The drive is crazy with steep 13% up and down grades, which takes us about 1.25 hours. What a test of the truck! So happy to be off that road.

Truck cab under the cars above

Sadly we are told we will be on the 5:30 ferry as the 2 pm sailing is likely full for rigs our size. The ferry didn't take reservations so it is what it is. As the ferry loads the kind elderly gentleman organising the load tells us there may be hope to get on. Thankfully we are the second last vehicle on with a tight squish under the cars above. 

The views from above are nice and we even see a beluga whale in the distance. 

St. Lawrence River

Second last vehicle on

Riviere-du-Loup exiting the ferry

Now travelling on the south side of the St. Lawrence River the roads are much nicer and gentle as we head east towards the Gaspe Peninsula. 

Cute Quebec home

It's just after 5 pm when we arrive at Bic National Park. It looks like a great place to spend 3 nights with lots of hiking, biking and kayaking. 

Ha Ha Bay in the fog

Little raccoon digging for food of some sort

After supper we walk down to Ha Ha Bay and do a walk along the shoreline at low tide. 

Tomorrow will be a great day of exploration. 

Saguenay Fjord National Park, Quebec

Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay hiking trail

Chris looks at the weather and we come to the conclusion we have until about 3 pm to get out and about before the rain sets in. 

We contemplate a kayak but the tide in the bay is out and it would take slogging through serious mud to actually reach the water. We opt for the Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay Statue hike. 

Combination of wooden and stone steps up

It is a pretty challenging hike with a steep climb and numerous wooden and stone steps. 

Rest area on route

This huge rock broke loose from the mountain above and now creates a nice place for people to take a break or take cover from rain. 

Eternity Bay

As we climb higher we get some nice views of the bay we were going to kayak in. 

Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay 

The hike takes us up a huge climb before heading back down the other side to the 1881 historic metal statue perched high on Cape Eternite. Apparently in 1878 a local merchant fell through the ice on the frozen Saguenay river and he survived by praying to the Virgin Mary. He vowed to erect a monument in her honour if he was saved. She is 7.5 meters high and enjoys some wonderful views of the Fjord. 

The views up and down the Fjord. Rain is coming in fast so we don't hang around long before retracing steps. 

Pizza night in the rain :)

It begins to pour rain just as we are finishing the hike. Back to the trailer for hot showers and a snooze before making pizza to warm the trailer for the night. 

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup with a 3 - 0 win over The Vegas Golden Knights. 

Saguenay Fjord, Quebec - our 39th wedding anniversary

Long Sault Parkway

With 750 km to go to be back on track we are up at 6 am and on the road. We drive the Long Sault Parkway, a 10 km scenic route in Eastern Ontario connecting 11 islands on the St. Lawrence River. It was created during the 1950's Seaway project. The islands were once the hilltops of 10 'Lost Villages' intentionally submerged by the river's flooding.

 

Bienvenue Quebec - our 6th province

We fill with fuel in Cornwall, On before crossing the border into Quebec as we know it's much higher than the $1.92 per litre we pay here.

Before we know it the Ontario 401 turns into the Quebec Autoroute 20 and we are into our 6th province. The difference in the highway is night and day. Gone are the beautiful Ontario highways...it's pothole alley and we swear the lanes are even more narrow :(

Suncor Montreal Refinery

We pass through Montreal before 9 am so the roads are relatively quiet. This Suncor Montreal refinery apparently processes crude oil mainly from western Canada. Who knew

Fontaine Sainte-Anne

Highway 175 takes us north of Quebec City and over the Mont du Lac des Cygnes summit. We receive waving hands out the window of a passing car and we assume they noticed our Alberta license plate. A very nice gesture. 
There are some serious ups and downs along the way but we finally arrive in Saguenay (Chicoutimi) where we do a walk along the historic Old Port of Chicoutimi water front.

Saguenay River

The last hour we drive along the Saguenay River and finally arrive at the Saguenay Fjord National Park. 

Happy 39th anniversary - we are back on schedule after a rough start. 
We'll celebrate tomorrow as we are exhausted after a 12 hour day. 

Saga? or Saguenay? Actually Both :)

CrossIron Tuck repair shop

Well it has been an interesting 10 days with a break down on the 401, misdiagnosis of the problem, waiting on incorrect parts and being at the hands of service people we know nothing about. Thankfully we finally landed in the hands of Jordan at CrossIron Truck Repair near the town of Harrowsmith ON. He immediately knew what was up and had our truck running in under 30 minutes...go figure. After talking to him we decide on a last preemptive replacement of our high pressure oil pump.  CrossIron hot shots in parts from Montreal and works overtime on a Friday to get us on the road. Basically Jordan and his staff stood on their heads for us and we are so eternally grateful :) 

Jordan and Chris with Gleniffer (our truck)

Good Luck Team Canada in FIFA World Cup

While waiting Friday afternoon for our truck, we catch team Canada's first game of the FIFA World Cup tournament.It's the first time Canada plays in the tournament on home soil and in the end it's a 1-1 draw between Canada and Bosnia/Herzegovina.

11 Islands along the St. Lawrence River

We are now 950 km behind our schedule so we decide to hit the road at 7pm and try to get to the Long Sault Parkway before the sunsets. Our timing is perfect and we pull into the first campground for the evening at just after 9pm. Tomorrow we'll push 750 km to get to the Saguenay Fjord and be back on track :)

Gin and Tonic - turn the page and move forward

It's been a long stressful ordeal but at least we were stuck in a beautiful part of the world and made the most of it. Thankfully our reservations for Montreal and Quebec City are able to be postponed until the fall so all is good moving forward.