RV camping in Quebec

Quebec has some very nice parks and we spent two days at the Mt Tremblant Park which had very good walks and bicycle trails.  The Mt Tremblant area is a very popular four-season playground drawing skiers in winter and other outdoor enthusiasts the rest of the year.  We were however just about the only campers at the park.

A panorama view of beautiful Lake Monroe in the Diable Sector of the park.

Camping in Quebec is more expensive than anywhere else we have been.  Entry to provincial parks is per person not per vehicle as elsewhere and the entry fee is PER day no matter how long you stay.  We think that the Quebec parks price themselves out of the general market and perhaps that is the reason we have seen no licence plates anywhere other than the Quebec ones.  The charges are very off-putting and camping here seems an expensive recreation.  And the little black flies of June, plus all the other flying insects known to man are a distinct disadvantage.

That said, the parks offer a great deal with some spectacular river views and waterfalls and countless lakes throughout.  No matter where you go, yet another beautiful lake appears, tempting you to get the camera out yet again.   These aspects, plus the fact that we had such excellent company in this province, will be features we will always remember.

Another, more conventional shot of Lake Monroe.

Early morning reflection at the lake.

The little beach at the campground.

We cycled around the park which has great bike trails.  Wherever you turn there is yet another lake large or small around the corner.  This shot captured such lovely reflections, I had to load it on the blog.

And this incredible sight of a tree growing over a rock.

One last photo of Lake Monroe from the window of the Visitors' Centre.

Another lake that Andrew saw on his 10 km hike he did on the morning we left the park.

Montreal - full of colour and flair

We went into Montreal by bus from St Alphonse-Rodriguez for the day.  It was a beautiful bus ride and took 1 hour 15 mins.  It is difficult to capture the colour and the vibrancy of this city in photographs.  It has been described as Amsterdam rolled into Paris and you can see this as somehow an apt description.  There is lovely architecture which always grabs me.

Notre-Dame Cathedral.  They were filming a movie just to the side of it - a common occurrence in Montreal.

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de Bonsecours.

St Lawrence River beach with artificial sand and sun umbrellas.

Two of the many colourful murals throughout the city.

Hiking around St-Alphonse-Rodriguez

We Australians think we need to guard against little bitey creatures.  Well get an eyeful of this - Andrew and Suzanne netted up to go hiking.  The little black flies and the mozzies are dreadful around here in June.

They went hiking in the Parc Regional des Chutes Monte-a-Peine-et-des-Dalles -  a bit of a mouthful.  It is the heart of three municipalities set among 750 acres.

They saw this mighty waterfall.









After the hike, Andrew could not resist doing some household reparations.  The gutters needed cleaning as did the roof and Suzanne's newly purchased swing set needed the bolts tightened.  Nikki did some cooking.

Suzanne is prepared to give us references as useful house guests :-) :-) :-)  This photo is much posed, Suzanne was not reclining while Andrew was toiling.  She is a very active and independent woman who is always fixing things around her lovely house.

After much attention and effort, Suzanne's swing was ready for action and here we are in it.

Enjoying ourselves at St-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec

We met Suzanne at Big Bend NP in Texas and she invited us to visit in Quebec.  She lives in a wonderful house overlooking a lake and bush setting at this village about an hour and a bit north of Montreal.

No single photograph can fully capture the view from her house.  This is the best I can do.

The terrace at the side where we sit and eat gazing at the panorama around us.  Another little cozy sitting place is along further on.

I just can't get enough of the view.

Our hostess with Andrew.  Suzanne has spent time teaching both French and English to Inuits, later taught in Thailand and then also in China. She has also bicycled for three weeks around in Laos.  And she has been to Australia, and no less, in Canberra which she liked very much - a woman of taste obviously.  She is a very well travelled lady with a truly adventurous spirit.  She owns an RV a little bigger than ours and plans to go to New Mexico next winter.

Inside the airy spacious house.  Suzanne has only been here over a year and she has completely  redesigned the inside.

In the pool - which was freezing.

And a dip in the lake which was quite a bit warmer than the pool.  This in spite of the fact that Suzanne told us the ice only melted in May this year.  The lake freezes over here as it does in Maine.

I could not resist taking this photo of lakeside relaxation.

We were taken out in Jean-Pierre's, Suzanne's brother's boat.  He and his wife Liane live on the shores of another nearby lake.  The weather was perfect.  In fact, it has been while we have been staying with Suzanne.  I don't know how it is that we are lucky enough to meet people in our travels who live near a lake and own boats?

Quebec City

We went to Quebec City again on a Sunday and parked the RV in the park and hopped on our trusty bicycles to go to the old city.

The gate to the old city.

Part of the Citadelle overlooking the old city.

Inuit art in a wonderful gallery.  Very tempting to buy some of these lovely sculptures carved from different stones.  But we have made so many different small purchases that they all total up to quite a weighty amount of additional luggage.

Chateau Frontenac on the quayside.  Not sure if it is a hotel these days.

The roof of the railway station in the lower part of the old city.  These copper roofs are very Quebecois.

Rue Tresor where the artists display their various wares.  Serigraphies are popular - this is a technique using a stencil method of printing with overlays.  Many other forms of art are also represented by artists displaying their piece.  When the day is over the art is locked up in the wall cabinets along the sides of the narrow street.

And the obligatory photo of our lunch at the Aux Anciens Canadiens restaurant - Quebec pie of wild meats. This restaurant, which is in the Lonely Planet, was particularly recommended to us by a native as serving typically old style Quebec fare.  I have been missing a good meat pie from Australia.  This is much more delicate but delicious.

The photo below is of a Quebec speciality, poutine, which on first hearing sounds ghastly but is in fact a surprisingly tasty dish.  It consists of french fries with a generous dollop of gravy and curd cheese sprinkled on top. People all over Quebec eat it but it is not an ancient dish but was invented ca 1950s.  The above classy restaurant had it on the menu.

Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec

We travelled to the Gaspe Peninsula.  This is considered a relatively neglected bit of paradise. We were told that it is less commercial, less developed, less busy and cheaper and has as spectacular scenery as more famous locations on the coast and were not disappointed (apart from the weather).  The rounded chunk of land that juts out north of New Brunswick into the Gulf of St Lawrence is known locally as "La Gaspesie". 730 kms of coastline.  People from all over Quebec come here for their summer holidays.  Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, we always seems to be ahead of the season opening.  It is already June but the summer season here begins on 26 June and many facilities including tourist information offices etc are generally closed.

It is difficult to capture the scenery with the road winding around tall cliffs and little villages along the coast, but there are many beautiful views.

A foggy morning.

Waterfall in Forillon NP where we did a walk.  The walk had actually a closed sign but we ignored it.  We hadn't come all this way to be put off by the season not being quite open.

Campground at Perce.  

This is the big attraction at Perce.  A huge chunk of multihued limestone with a hole in it.  Unfortunately the hole is on the side of it at the end of the cliff as this photo shows.  But the day was so foggy we could only see the hole when we arrived.  By the time we organised ourselves to settle in and take photos the opportunity vanished and the fog closed in.

We borrowed someone else's photo from the internet and here it is - what it would look like on a sunny day.

Hilltop houses just opposite the rock.  It is a charming village to visit.

A Quebecois breakfast.  The baguette at the rear is for lunch :-)

Our Canadian adventures start

The hiking trail that winds through the Appalachian mountains known as the Appalachian Trail continues on the Canadian side of the border from Maine through New Brunswick over Mt Carleton.  Andrew of course climbed it  while I did hand washing at base camp. It was a 8 km bike ride followed by a steep climb up Mt Sagamook - 400 m up over a 2 km track - and a further 5 km hike to Mt Carleton, and return the same way.

The view from the mountain.

And looking down at the campsite.  We camped at Mt Carleton Park.  We were amazed how this area of New Brunswick seems to be predominantly French speaking.

Fellow campers, fishermen, gave us some fresh trout caught that morning.  Here they are being prepared.

And on the plate.

The Williams waterfall in the park.  A great torrent of water rushing.  Impressive as always.  Love waterfalls.