This is the evening of Day 11, July 23, of out Atlantic Maritime RV Caravan Trip, and we find ourselves in Caraquet, New Brunswick or at least that is what the schedule says. We’ll take it on good faith that we are in the right place. We traveled from Perce on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec; the log says it was a trip of 258.5 miles for all those who follow closely the travel log. Some of us have trouble following instructions and sometimes deviate from the route accompanied with great angst from Shannon. But we got here and not the last to arrive.

What symbolizes Quebec better than a hearty meal of poutine? Ah, poutine, a most perfect meal: French fries covered in gravy and topped with cheese curds. Get out of here! It’s unbelievable the things I have missed all my life. And, I added shrimp to my poutine. I also had my nitro along in case arteries started shutting down. All is well, and poutine makes a very good reason to return to Quebec.

The Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec was very beautiful. We traveled along the St. Lawrence River on the north side of the peninsula, and then along the Gulf of St. Lawrence as we rounded the end of the peninsula and headed westward. It was rugged, in places remote, provided awesome views of the water and shoreline, and the brightly painted colors of many homes never ceased entertaining us.

A number of folks commented to us that when we get on the peninsula driving will involve lots of ups and downs. We encountered many hills both up and down with slopes of 9% to 13%. When we encountered a 7% slope it was mere child’s play. Coming into Gaspe, we were warned that the hill both going up and coming down would be 17%. Above photo is part of the road coming down into Gaspe. Shannon was driving, but I had the work out holding on. Breaks held, transmission kicked in and slowed us down, and more importantly the pressure I exerted on the floorboards got us safely down. Fortunately the hills were short, but unfortunately there was always a curve at the bottom of the hill. The Gaspe Peninsula marked the end of the Appalachian Mountains, and the word that became “Gaspe” was from a Micmac Indian name for “Lands End.” (BTW: the correct pronunciation in Micmac for Micmac is what Sheldon Cooper calls his grandmother…)

While on the Gaspe Peninsula we spent a day visiting the Reford Gardens at Metis-sur-Mer. The garden stretched over an area of 90 hectares, and it was started in the 1920’s by a wealthy woman who was advised by her doctor after an attack of appendicitis to give up salmon fishing for something less strenuous. Gardening? Salmon in the old photographs were very large; so, maybe gardening was less strenuous.

There were lots of different gardens with different themes scattered along many trails through the natural wooded areas of the property. She grew plants that are not normally found in Quebec but because of the microclimate of the site, she was able to grow and propagate many  rhododendrons, azaleas, and a blue poppy.

There is also an area of the grounds that artists have taken over and produced works of art which defy understanding even with the artists’ explanations. Anyway this is an example, don’t ask me of what, but this photo is for Bobbi and Ken.

We also visited two National Parks. One was named Forillon National Park and was situated on the tip of the peninsula. We had one day for exploring. We took Tuzi along on our short hike which, of course, we had not paid any attention as to how long it was. Four hours later, and we made it back to the car after periodically carrying the dog.

The trail took us along the cliff edges out to the end of a long land spit that jutted out into the ocean. We saw whales, seals, and Shannon saw a black bear cub while I was hiking another part of the trail that she chose not to go on. It was a very enjoyable day, but much more than we had bargained for.

We also visited Bonaventura Island off the coast of Gaspe. It had been used by cod fishermen in the 19^th century to prepare their catches to be sent back to England, and had some of the original homes of the families that worked there.

It was also a sanctuary for the northern gannet. To get to the island, a boat took us around the island and we could view the thousands of gannets nesting on the rock ledges. They are diving birds, and it was fascinating to see them flying fairly high in the sky all of a sudden lean over, fold their wings, and plunge into the water.

There were hiking trails on the island. We hiked one over to the far side of the island and came back on a different trail. We had lots of fun identifying plants that we were familiar with from Minnesota, and then seeing up close hundreds, thousands of gannets raising chicks and hanging out when we reached the far side of the island.

We also did an optional wind farm tour on one leg of our travels. Its claim to fame was the largest vertical axis windmill. Alas, it was a prototype for research and at the end of the day did not work out well enough to be adopted by the wind industry.

Tomorrow we visit an Acadian village. Communicating and adding things to the blog are difficult. Internet connection is either really bad or non-existent. So, you may not get this blog post or hear about the Acadian village until September.