September

Northeast '06 September, p.3

Friday, September 15

Driving west this morning, we were disappointed to find out that although we could see the lake here and there, for the most part, we were away from the water. The map further indicated that we would be turning away from the lake for most of the tour around it. Now, this is what's nice about traveling without making any reservations: a change of plans. We drove as far as St. Prime, where we stopped at a local cheddar cheese factory (don't you know by now we stop for food?) for "internationally famous Perron cheddar cheese". We must admit it's pretty good! All we needed were some fresh croissants and some crusty French baguette bread which we got from a local boulangerie, and we were set.

We drove back to the best lookout we remembered passing that morning, some 2 km east of Chambord, to a picnic table and feast! The cheese and bread were so good and so filling, we didn't have room for a piece of St. Donat Bakery Sucre a la Creme pie that we also purchased that morning. This pie, with a great crust, has a filling made from whipping cream and brown sugar (300 calories for 1/8 piece of a 9-inch pie !).

Then we drove. Back to Chambord to Hwy 155 which we took south past LaTuque, well over 150 miles, to, you guessed it, a rest area on the St Maurice river south of St. Roch de Mekinac, where we spent the night. So here we are at least 200 miles from where we thought we would be that evening.

Saturday, September 16

But there was logic in our madness. Across the river from our rest area was the entrance to La Mauricie National Park, a park known for its fall colors, great hikes and over 150 lakes!.

In the park, at the first parking lot, we met a young engineer, Alain, who tells us that he took a guided bike tour of Romania this year, and that there is another planned for Peru next year. His profession has taken him many places around the world, and soon the magnesium plant he is working at will close and lay off 400 people, including him. In this parking lot, he is meeting a young lady from the Lac St. Jean area, whom he met on that bike ride. They will be doing some hiking in the park today.

We took several hikes as well today. The maple trees were at their peak! At Lac Bouchard, Patty slipped and fell (didn't hurt herself) on a brown slime covered slippery rock. At Lac Etienne, we saw a loon and several mergansers. At Lac Edouard, we had lunch in the picnic area. Best of the day was the Lac Etienne loop.

Would you believe that in the late afternoon, we met Alain and his friend again. They had just completed a 15 km hike! We had so much fun in the park that we decided to stay another day. This time we took an official campsite, A11, in the Mistagance campground on Lac Wapizagonke. I am not making these names up!

Sunday, September 17

We tried to take some interesting hikes today. Driving back the way we came about 10 miles, we hiked through the woods to Lac Gabet which was supposed to have a wildlife blind to see various birds, moose, etc. A few hundred yards before the blind, the path was obscured because a beaver had raised the level of the lake through its dam. Not much to see there, but the hike was good.

The second hike was through a bog. The usual pitcher plants (eat insects) and quiet. No fish can survive in the waters of the bog because of lack of oxygen. No birds around either.

The third hike, Les Cascades, was the best. It was a loop around a river cascading over bare rock, with a gentle slope that allowed you to walk on the rocks down the river.

There was so much to see and photograph at La Mauricie that the next page is a collection of pictures. After that page, we have also put up another page with the interesting posters in the Park.

In the afternoon, we made our way out of the park, towards St. Mathieu. We then took a number of small country roads so that we would miss the bigger towns. We drove to St Gabriel, and parked on a side street near a grocery store. In the store, we were looking for a good apple, and Patty asked a gentleman if he spoke English so she could ask if a certain kind was good. Gordon answered yes, and we started a conversation that ended up with us parking in his driveway, and spending a few hours in his living room. Gordon is a 7th day Adventist (believes that the Lord's day is still the Saturday Sabbath, not Sunday), and we had a good time in Christian discussion. He was a medical photographer in Montreal, and was convicted to leave the city with its vices and problems, and work in the country simply as a farm laborer for his wages, and for serious bible study at home. Of course, his home was without a TV, which he believed was without any virtue. (Patty and I are nearly there as well. We haven't turned on the TV in our camper since we left 4 months ago except to see some movies we had on DVD that were copied off the Hallmark channel at home. At home, we have a lifetime subscription to the Sky Angel satellite network with 12 Christian channels, 20 Christian radio stations, HGTV, Fox News, and two Hallmark channels).

He had a wonderful organic garden on his property, and we were invited to take a few vegetables for our journey. We did. He left us some literature the next morning.

Monday, September 18

Today, we drove. Through Rawdon and Lachute in Quebec, towards Gatineau and Ottawa and through a good ways along the Ottawa river to a place called Portage du Fort, just before you cross the river to Ontario. This was the last night in Quebec, alongside a park overlooking the river.

| previous page | home | next page |