Quebec City to Forillon National Park - Gaspe, QC

We concluded our 4 day stay in Quebec City Tueday and headed Northeast

along the St Lawrence River.

We found our RV Park - "Camping Transit" in Levis to be very nice for

our needs.   Full hookup and 50 amps.  It was conviently located just outside

of the populated city area in farmlands.   Near to Autoroute 20  (AUT-20) the noise 

level was a bit higher than we like but other than that it was just fine.

There was a caravan here when we arrived on Friday but they cleared out on Saturday

and the campground was left fairly empty.

The drive Northeast on AUT-20 was pleasant with views 

of the ever widening St Lawrence River.

Later Quebec Route 132 passed thru some small picturesque shoreside communities.

From now on we will be following 2-lane 132 around the perimeter of the Gaspe' Peninsular.

Our 200 mile drive today brought us to "Camping Annie" in Metis Sur Mer.

Its a nice RV Park set among a mixture of trees.  Full hooks with 30 amps.

My only ding on this place is that they laid out the sites 90° to the roadway rather than

angled which makes it harder to back in.   

This is compounded by trees that were planted about 6' from the roadway.

If the site across from me had been occupied it could have been more difficult to

get into our space.

Other than that - you can see the campground is very pretty & quiet.

Weds we had some errands to do...

So for a lunch call we went to Captaine Homards Seafood Resturant.

A local Landmark - they have camping sites right on the STLawrence Seaway.

A friendly bi-lingual staff and english on the menu made ordering a snap.

Kate had a lobster roll and I had fish and chips.

All was fresh and cooked to perfection.

We both left satisfied and happy.

Today - Thursday -  was a 200 mile drive along the St. Lawrence and eventually

the Atlantic.    It was a beautiful drive.

The drive started out with rolling hills and farmland, turned to larger ups and downs with
long stretches directly on the coastline, and ended with a mix of both.
Thru the day we passed thru numerous villages with picturesque views.
The ever present Catholic Church was well represented
with impressive churches in each village.

Here is another drivelapse of the days trip.
I edited out a bunch here and there to keep it shorter.



SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION:
During the last 1 minute of the drivelapse is a short 1 minute song...
Do you know where that song is from?

The roads are a bit rough - but considering how far north we are - its understandable.

There was several construction zones with mud and gravel so my clean bus
is clean no more.

Parts of the drive reminded me of the Oregon coast.

At times we had the windshield wipers on - not to clear rain, but to clear the salt spray as the

waves broke and the spray came over the roadway.
Stretches of the roadway are right along the seawall so the waves really spray the road.
It must be something when the temps are below freezing!

Parts of the drive reminded us of driving in Alaska.

There were several grades of 12%, 14% and even 15% during the day.

They were short in duration - a mile or less - and easily handled.

We are now in Forillon National Park at the tip of the Gaspe' Peninsula in

The Petit Gaspe Campground.

We have 30amp service but...  Gasp - the trees are blocking our Satellite.

Time to break into our 300 DVD's or watch a recording on the DVR.

It's nice to be back in a forest campground.   It is dark and quiet.

The Canadian National Park sites are always nice.

Time to go explore.

Stay tuned.

Quebec City

The first stop on our Canadian Maritimes Odyssey is the City of Quebec.

One of the oldest cities in North America, Quebec was first settled in 1535 by

Jacques Cartier who built a fort there over the winter.  He left the following spring
and returned in 1541 to build a permanent settlement but hostile natives and winter weather
chased him out in the summer of 1542

It was permanently settled by Samuel de Champlain in 1608.

Before I get too far along however, let's step back a day or two.

I made a drivelapse of our trip up the Adirondack Northway (I-87) from

the Bolton Rest Stop, thru Canadian Customs and 20km further to

a fuel stop at Flying J in Napierville, QC

You can watch it below

We are going to be making some beautiful drives this trip so I'm hoping to capture them
and do more drive lapse videos as we progress.

Now back to Quebec....

Saturday morning we drove about 7 miles to the ferry in Levis, QC,
we parked the truck and took the short

and scenic 10 minute ride across the St Lawrence River to the city.

The ferry was on time, modern, and spotless.

The crossing gives you a unique perspective on the city and our approach

heightens the anticipation of the day to come.

Towering over the city is the Château Frontenac.

Built in the late 19th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway, it is one more

in the chain of Great Hotels built by the railway during that period.

You might recall another - the Banff Springs hotel that we've visited

and blogged about previously.

Chateau Frontenac

Walking off the ferry you are transported back in time to another world.

Old City Quebec

Narrow cobblestone street and the period buildings of Old Quebec

Window decorations

Place Royal is a square in the old city and is where it all began.

One of the oldest continually inhabited places in North America.

Place Royal Quebec

 From Place Royal we marched up the hill to the upper city (my name).

Whereever we travel we always love to visits the churches and Quebec was no exception.

Here we visited the Cathedral Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Quebec

A view of the interior and the altar.

The church altar was designed on 3 tiers.

The first tier gives tributes to the saints of the church, the second, Mary,

and the third Jesus.

We visted another church, wandered thru the streets and parks, eventually

arriving at the Chateau Frontenac where we availed ourselves to a comfy chair for a few

and did some people watching in the hotel.

Outside on the promenade.    Below the boardwalk is the original

battlements that protected the city.   It is a Canadian National Park site and

can be visited.

The elevated location - about 200' above the river, and the location at a narrow point in

the river made this site a perfect place to defend Quebec and Montreal further upstream

from Colonial British ambitions.

We eventually worked our way back down the hill where Kate selected and outdoor

Bistro for a late lunch and a bottle of Rose'.

About 330 we caught the ferry back to Levis.

By this time the river was loaded with pleasure boats taking advantage of the

fantastic Saturday weather.

We are going to extend our stay here thru Monday before we head further out

onto the Gaspe' Peninsula.    We have only scratched the surface of Quebec, and 

Sunday I have a lot of work to get caught up on.  We plan a trip to the Costco

in Levis to see what different products might be had in French Quebec.

Oh and yes...   we need to find a Bakery.