West Virginia to Georgia

24 Sept – Our first stop of the day at the Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia was at the “Lodge” where we had some internet so we published the last blog. On thru the great valleys and hills of the Allegheny Mountains (part of the Appalachians) thru beautiful forests and towns to Cass where we will take a scenic train ride tomorrow. Our friends, Sue and Don from Connecticut, had wised us up to a private little camp near Cass which we found easily. The train goes right passed the camp so we watched it go by.

25 Sept – Back down to the town to pick up our tickets for the Cass Scenic Train trip. Before the train left we looked into the General Store. Cass was a logging town where there was a large sawmill and where the train brought the logs down from the mountains. Our trip was up to Bald Knob, 11 miles away but all uphill. The engines here are all steam and specially designed to tackle the up to 9% gradient of the trip. The engines are a “Shay” design meaning that the pistons (3) are vertical and drive a horizontal drive shaft which transfers the power thru cogs to six sets of wheels. This means that they had lots of towing power without losing traction.

The carriages are converted logging wagons and open sided giving great views. The fall colours of the trees were beautiful ranging from brown, gold and red to even almost magenta. The noise, smell and smoke from a steam engine working hard was fantastic. It took 2 ¼ hours to get to the top. On the way we stopped to pick up our packed lunch from another train and to top up with water. The engine uses 4 ½ tons of coal for the trip. At the top it was very cold as we were at 4700ft. The day was overcast but the view over West Virginia was still great. On our return trip downhill, there were brakemen on every carriage applying the brakes and leaning out to check that the wheels were not locking up.

We stopped at an abandoned logging camp where the living quarters of the men and their equipment were on display. The trip lasted 4 ½ hours and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Back at the little camp the rain has started.

26 Sept – It rained all night and but it had stopped as we left and drove 10 miles to the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory. After a look around the interesting exhibitions we went on a tour of the radio telescopes. This was quite a contrast to the 1900s technology just 10 miles away. These are a series of huge dishes listening to the faint radio signals radiating from the stars. The site of this facility was selected because the area is very sparsely populated and therefore there is little interference for the sensitive receivers. The most spectacular is the huge Green Bank Telescope built in 2000 and the biggest trackable radio telescope in the world.

It is also the biggest moving object on land in the world. It is 14 stories high and the dish is 120m x 100m easily fitting a football pitch. The tour guide was a scientist and was very good with lots of facts that may have gone over the head of some of the old ladies. Unfortunately we could not take photos (interference) from right under the telescope but it was an awesome sight. Back on the road thru the hillbilly valleys of West Virginia. We are at a small state park in the Watoga Forest where it is raining again.

27 Sept – A little more “Deliverance country” before it turned into rich farming land, mostly dairying. We stopped at the visitors centre for the New River Gorge National River where we talked to a ranger and watched a video. No idea why it is called the New River as it is ancient. We followed down the gorge and camped at the Pipestem State Park. It drizzled off and on all day. We took inside photos for sale purposes at the end of next year.

28 Sept – We drove to the lodge which is on the rim of the gorge but the mist is down and the views were not as great as they should have been. We used the internet and the mist lifted a bit so we took the gondola ride down into the gorge. Back on the road and over the West Virginia/Virginia border. Then it all turned a bit pear-shaped as the road we were following suddenly was closed for repairs. We followed a 16 mile detour along a very narrow windy country road. The farm country was very nice however! After a lunch break at an intersection (with many funny looks from the locals), we continued on up and down and up and down another very windy hilly road until we eventually found our planned overnight stop at Hungry Mother State Park. No idea why it has this name. The camp host was amazed that we had come on that route. “Nobody comes here via ‘The Dragons Back’” she said. Well named we thought.

29 Sept - We drove thru the very populated area around Bristol (where we did our last grocery shop for this year) and Johnson City on the I – 81. It was a bit hair raising drive as it was teaming and the trucks passing at 70 mph kick up a huge spray. At Bristol we also crossed the Virginia/Tennessee border. We stopped at the Davy Crockett State Park. This is where he was born and in a break in the weather we went to a museum and his log cabin, probably a replica! There was some internet so we upgraded our seats from L.A to Auckland and booked two state parks in Florida down in the “Keys” for next year.  Got some of the last sites.

30 Sept – We are headed to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park today. Before entering the park we drove thru Pigeon Forge. This is a 7 mile long stretch of theme parks, souvenir shops, restaurants and discount malls. It was a mercifully quick shop for gifts for the grand kids at one of these malls. The whole area was very tacky and we were happy to reach the National Park which was very busy.

At the visitor’s centre the ranger told us that the camp we had hoped to stay in was fully booked. This seemed strange as the weather was miserable with a bad forecast for the weekend. It’s all to do with a hurricane between the Bahamas and Florida. We decided to ignore the ranger and headed to the camp which was less than a third full. The sun came out briefly and we sat overlooking the river and read.

1 Oct – We drove the road that goes thru the Great Smoky Mountain N.P. stopping to walk a 2 ½ mile trail to the Laurel Falls. The falls were pretty but the views over the mountains were obscured by mist. Half way along the 33 mile drive we reached the top at Newfound Gap (5000ft) and crossed the Tennessee/North Carolina border. The mist cleared and we eventually got some views of the Smoky Mountains. Down in the valley we camped at Smokemont, still in the N.P. Our plan is to stay two nights here and do a lengthy hike tomorrow. Mid afternoon it clouded over and soon we had torrential rain, thunder and lightning. The nearby creek rose and became a torrent.

2 Oct – It rained all night but not as heavily and the creek went down again. We checked with the camp host who reassured us that the creek would not flood but that there was still heavy rain due for a few days. North Carolina has been declared in a state of civil emergency. It either rained or drizzled the whole day. So much for our planned hike! It is a shame that we have not seen the Great Smoky Mountain N.P. at its best.

3 Oct – We are sick of the rain so decided to head south towards Atlanta where we fly home from on Thursday. It rained all the way to where we are stopped for the night at a little state park just over the North Carolina/Georgia border. There was a lot of surface water on the road but no flooding. Hopefully the tail end of the hurricane will clear out tomorrow.

4 Oct – Overcast but not raining at last! We continued on for 90 miles towards Atlanta and stopped at another Georgian state park only 30 miles from an RV park in Atlanta which we have booked for Monday and Tuesday nights. We took the opportunity to open all the windows and vents so that “Ernie” can dry out the accumulated condensation. Hopefully the next two days will be fine and we can complete the process. We have a nice view of a lake and sat outside for a couple of hours watching a couple of turtle sitting on a floating log.

5 Oct – For the first time in ages it did not rain overnight and we walked around the camp before driving to our pre-booked RV Park in the outskirts of Atlanta.

6 Oct – Today is a pack up day and we spent all day cleaning, washing and closing “Ernie” down for the year. It was a nice sunny day so we could air all the bedding.

7 Oct – This is our last full day in the USA for this year. We will post this last blog, pack our bags, drain the tanks and drive to the storage place about 12 miles away. After completing the paper work and putting the bikes inside, we will catch a taxi to an airport hotel for the night. Our long, long flight starts on Thursday at 6:00am with a flight to Denver, then to L.A. and home a total of about 38 hours with the layovers.

We have really enjoyed this year’s trip. We have covered 12,000 odd miles and with totally different country. From the steamy south to the cooler Great Lakes and Canada. We will spend one more year exploring the east coast states and hopefully Nova Scotia. Where we finish our trip next year will depend on where we sell “Ernie”. He will be up for sale around the end of September 2016. Anyone interested??? 

Pennsylvania & Ohio

12 Sept – It rained heavily in the night and continued raining this morning as we headed thru the multi laned roads leading thru Buffalo south. This makes driving these roads harder as it is hard to see the lane markings. Eventually we left the busy main roads and entered a hilly wooded area and the Allegany State Park. Eventually we found the camping area and sat tight as it rained or drizzled all day.

13 Sept – It was really cold last night and we had the heater on. It is hard to imagine that only 4 days ago it was over 33C and we had the aircon on. That’s what it’s like at this time of the year however. It had stopped raining so we biked a 3 ½ mile sealed cycleway around a small lake over a covered bridge and passed “Red House”, an old Tudor style building in this park. We drove on thru the Allegany State Park and at some stage, not obvious, crossed the New York/Pennsylvania border.

We went thru some pretty poor towns in Pennsylvania before driving back into the Alleghany forest and eventually found a forest park for the night. The rain had cleared and we sat outside under grey skies for a couple of hours. Cold again in the night!

14 Sept – We have revisited our route this morning so that we can take in the largest Amish settlement in the USA in a few days in Ohio. We zigzagged our way thru northern Pennsylvania in lovely sunshine and camped at a State park at Pymatuning Lake right on the lake shore. We enjoyed sitting in the sun and the view. The sun set right over the lake.

15 Sept – It was only a short drive to the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. We were in Ohio, in early June, for one night down the south when we went to the Serpent Mound.  I have decided to have the exhaust pipe professional fixed after the tyre incident outside Montreal and so we headed to a garage about 30 miles away. We waited for 1 ½ hour for them to start the job which took about 30 minutes. They charged us only $36US! We stopped at a State Park with the unfortunate name of Mosquito Lake. A nice place despite the name! 

16 Sept – We are on a detour west into Ohio to visit a National Park in the Cuyahoga Valley which follows the Erie Canal between Akron and Cleveland. Tomorrow we will cycle the tow path that follows the canal for 22 miles. We are staying close to the Park in a community camping area which is beautiful. We will stay 2 nights here. We got petrol today for $1.96/gallon. First time ever for us under $2.00.

17 Sept – We drove 10 miles to the train station at the south end of the Erie Canal Tow Path bike trail. There is a scenic train that runs the length of the Cuyahoga Valley which we flagged down and loaded our bikes onto. It was $3 each for a 1 hour ride to the north end of the trail. Our plan is to bike back. The train trip was thru forest and beside the Cuyahoga River but not particularly scenic. At the north end we set off on the Tow Path Trail. The Erie Canal was built in the 1820s and connected Lake Erie and the cities to the south.

It had many locks as the canal climbs going south. The Canal lasted until the railway was built in the 1860s. The tow path was for the horses that pulled the barges along the canal. We stopped at various points where the locks were and where there was a museum. It was a great ride in the sun and shade and quite hot around 30C. The 34km ride took us 2 ¾ hours. Back at the community camp we had a chat with a lovely couple from Florida.

18 Sept – Thru the major roads of Akron and S.E into Amish country.

We stopped at the Yoder’s Amish Farm. We took the deluxe tour for $11 each which included a guided tour of the two houses, the barn, the school house and a gig ride. The guide was very good and was related to the owners of the farm. She explained the different branches of the Amish faith and the first house belonged to the strictest branch. There is no electricity or running water. The second house was a little more “normal” but still did not have electricity. Their clothing was fascinating. Amish ladies do not even have buttons on their clothes as it is thought to be too fancy! There are very strict rules as to the style and colour of the clothes for men, women and

children for various occasions. Amish do not like having their photo taken as it is seen to be being too proud. The children’s dolls do not even have faces as it is thought to be a “graven image”. There are no Amish churches as Sunday services (lasting 3 ½ hrs) are held in a family home. The ride on the horse drawn gig (it was actually a surrey) was great. This is the normal means of transport for the Amish as they do not drive cars.

We are camped at Amish Country Campsite at Winesburg for the night. Free firewood so we will have a camp fire tonight.

 

19 Sept – We drove on thru the beautiful Amish countryside to the next town of Berlin.

On the way we passed many horse and gigs going to shop in this town. There are some strange sites. A team of horses towing a modern round hay baler would be up there however. After finding a park we looked thru several of the shops including an Amish quilting shop where Val was in seventh heaven. We are now heading S.E. towards the Ohio River. Our overnight camp was a surprise. We saw a sign on a country road and expected to find a small camp in the woods but instead it was a huge camp with many permanent trailers and 5^th wheelers. Most of them were packed up for the winter.  It rained later in the afternoon and is now much cooler. Our detour thru Ohio to ride the Guyahoga Valley Tow Path and experience the Amish lifestyle has been well worth it.

20 Sept – Only a short drive of 65 miles but we did it in three states. We set off S.E thru Ohio, crossed the Ohio River into West Virginia thru some very poor hillbilly towns and into Pennsylvania where we have camped for the night in a very small State park. After lunch we walked a great 2 mile trail thru the woods. The true “fall” colours are still not at their best yet.

21 Sept – We drove east thru Pennsylvania’s small towns and coal mining area under cloudy skies and cool temperatures. We have bypassed Pittsburgh which is north of here. Our overnight stop was at Ohiopyle State Park. In the afternoon we followed a steep track down to the town of Ohiopyle and got some great information from the tourist centre. There is a cycleway here and one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s (famous architect) houses close by so we have decided to stay another night. We trudged back up the track just before it started to drizzle.

22 Sept – A nice sunny morning so we drove back thru the town and on to the Frank Lloyd Wright house. It is called “Fallingwater” and is thought to be one of his best designs. The brief for the house was that it should feature the waterfall but instead of building it with a view of the falls he sited it at the top with the water flowing under the house. It is unbelievably beautiful, more remarkable that it was designed in 1935 and completed in 1939. Very futuristic. 

Back in the town and we cycled south on the Great Allegheny Passage. This cycleway runs from Pittsburgh in the north to Washington DC a distance of 320 miles. It is on an old railway track following the Youghiogheny River. We only cycled 9 miles ate our lunch watch people launch their canoes and then returned. A nice flat ride thru the forest with great views of the river. Back at our camp we changed sites for more sun.

23 Sept – Another three state day! We started in Pennsylvania, crossed into the “panhandle” of Maryland and ended up in West Virginia. The drive was thru beautiful countryside, a mixture of farming and forest. The “fall” colours are now on full display. We are camped at the Blackwater Falls State Park.

We spent some time researching and booking a scenic steam railway trip which we do in two days time. It was a short walk to the Blackwater Falls which were very pretty. Hopefully we will publish this blog tomorrow.

Quebec City, Vermont & Upstate New York

29 August – We spent some time planning the next couple of weeks before catching the shuttle into Quebec City. It took us thru the old city walls and into the old town. This is one of Canada’s oldest cities established in the 17^th century and the original parts are on a series of terraces leading down via some steep streets to the port on the St Lawrence Seaway. Most of the cobbled stoned streets are pedestrian only with great buildings all around now mainly bars, restaurants, arts galleries and clothing boutiques.

We wandered around really enjoying the atmosphere and the sights. Hunger took us into a French café where we had typical French lunch. We stopped to listen to a group singing French songs at a small square and walked up to the citadel where the last battle between the French and English was fought. After a glass of wine we caught the shuttle back to our camp. With dodgy internet we managed to skype both girls.

30 August – We crossed thru the city and over the St Lawrence Seaway into southern Quebec. This is the furthest east we will be this year and we are now headed S.W. back towards the USA border. The villages are still extremely “French”, each having a huge catholic church with high silver coloured spires. We stopped for the night at a Canadian National Park at Frontenac. We are not very impressed as the camp site was expensive, down a long gravel road, and on a not very impressive lake. This changes our plans and we will stay in a private camp tomorrow night!!

31 August – Back out the gravel road and on thru the towns of Sherbrooke and Magog where we found a nice private camp with power and internet so we booked a State Park camp in New York State for labour weekend. We even managed to skype Linley and Ron. This is our last day in Canada this year.

1 Sept – It was 15 miles to the USA/Canada border and we crossed into the state of Vermont. The agriculture lady at the border searched our fridge and took one spring onion and made me cut our tomatoes in half. (God knows why!) After filling up with petrol (much cheaper than in Canada) we drove south thru deciduous forest into the Groton Forest where we stopped at the Branbury State Park. Back to the US cheap state parks again. The New England tree colours of fall are just starting to show, red and gold.

We are a couple of weeks early for them at their best though. We had a swim in the lake and in the evening Andrew and Sienna ( a couple holidaying from just up the road) invited us to join their camp fire.

2 Sept – We had run our food stocks down so we had a huge shop at a Wal-Mart before heading into the Green Mountains of Vermont. Another great State Park in a botanical gardens-like setting and another great swimming beach. It’s still warm - around 32C.

3 Sept – We drove a short distance to a trail to the Falls of Lana. It was only a 1 ½ mile hike but uphill. It gave my back a bit of a try out. It is still a bit sore! The drive to the Vermont/New York State border was short but we stayed on the Vermont side of the large Champlain Lake. No swimming today as the lake is a bit weedy. Vermont is beautiful and we will visit the southern part next year.

4 Sept – Over the bridge and into New York State where we followed Lake Champlain before turning away from the lake and into the Adirondack Park. This is a huge area with many lakes and low mountains. It is very like the Muskoka area in Canada except that the holiday “cottages” are called “cabins” here. The State Park Camp we had booked for Labour Weekend was at Lake Raquette and we had a beaut site, level with a mixture of sun and shade. We even had a view of the lake. As most people had not arrived yet I gave us both a haircut. The beach was great, and the water was shallow but very warm. There was even a life guard on duty. Hard to imagine how you could drown though.

5 Sept – The weather is still perfect. We can not remember when we last saw rain or it was cool. We spent the morning cleaning everything in sight - toilet, shower, floors, cab, dashboard etc. We walked up to the office to buy firewood but were disappointed to find that at this camp there was none for sale. Never mind it only makes everything smell of smoke! The afternoon was spent on the beach swimming and sunbathing and sitting the shade. The camp is still filling up.

6 Sept – In the morning we went for a walk thru the camp, over the highway and up a trail to a waterfall with very little water in it. Another beautiful day but for some strange reason they closed the beach, the life guard disappeared and they even removed the swimming enclosure buoys. No seemed to mind and there were far more people swimming than yesterday, us included.

7 Sept – This is Labour Day here and most people packed up early and drove home. School starts tomorrow. We relaxed and waited for most people to go before heading off. Fortunately there is a dump station at the next camp as I reckon there was 1 ½ hours worth of campers and trailers lined up to dump here. We enjoyed another great drive thru the forests (colours getting better) and lakes of the Adirondacks to our next camp. It had been full but has emptied out. We had a nice site overlooking the lake and a boat ramp which kept us entertained. If anything it is getting hotter! Fortunately there was another swimming beach where we cooled off.

8 Sept – It was a long drive south and west today, out of the Adirondack Park and on thru rolling country and many towns to our camp in the Finger Lakes area at another State Park. It is very hot and humid but the lake here is weedy so we sat in the shade and read. This is the first time we have had power for ages so we have the aircon going in “Ernie”. Later in the day, when it was a little cooler, we found the swimming beach and had a swim much against New York State regulations!

 

9 Sept – A drive of 65 miles south and west to Letchworth State Park There is a gorge here that a camper told us not to miss. As we were checking in the skies opened and we had 20 minutes of torrential rain. We drove to a lookout and had lunch waiting for the rain to clear before walking a trail passed the best views of the gorge and the waterfalls. This gorge is called the ‘Grand Canyon of the east’ and is very pretty but not in comparison with the real Grand Canyon. Still well worth the stop.

10 Sept – It was a short drive, with a stop for supplies, to a camp near the city of Buffalo from where we will visit the Niagara Falls tomorrow. We have seen the falls from the Canadian side and are looking forward to the view from the USA side. We crossed the busy road to a restaurant where we had dinner.

11 Sept – A 10 mile drive to the Niagara Falls but we had trouble finding parking as there were many road works confusing our GPS. Eventually we parked in the Aquarium carpark which had been the suggestion of a couple we spoke to two nights ago. It was a bit of a walk along the gorge edge to the main viewing points on the USA side of the falls. The weather was perfect and there were not too many tourists around. From the observation gallery we had a great view of both the USA Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. A lift took us down to the bottom of the USA Falls where you can really appreciate the power and the roar of the water.

Back up the top we walked the rim for a close up view of the USA Falls. We when walked onto Goat Island and Luna Island for more spectacular views over the edge of both the USA Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. Unfortunately they are working on the viewing point for the Horseshoe Falls so our view was not as good. We then retraced our steps back to the carpark and “Ernie”. We must have walked about 5 miles. Viewing the Niagara Falls (the term given to the three waterfalls) from the USA was quite different from the one we had seen from the Canadian side a few years ago. On the USA side you get closer to the edge at the top but you are viewing the falls from side on where as on the Canadian side you look straight into them. Most people carry their passports with them and go to both areas. Great internet at this camp so we will publish this blog and skype our girls.

Muskoka Lakes - Quebec

14 August – It was a two hour drive following the Burstow’s instructions to get to the cottage. The last part of the drive thru Gravenhurst was very familiar as we have been to David and Chrissie’s Muskoka cottage at Lake Muldrew a couple of times before with Lynne and Paul. The cottage is built on a cliff 40ft above the lake with wooden stairs leading down to the boating/swimming dock. The carpark above the cottage had been enlarged since our last trip and was ideal parking for “Ernie”. David had even ensured we had power. It was a great welcome!! David and Chrissie were looking after their two smaller grandchildren, Matt and Josh. The day was overcast but warm so we went for a tour around some of the lake with Matt water skiing behind. Just after we got back, a heavy rain storm came thru. It only lasted a couple of minutes but flooded around the RV. Kathy and Craig arrived from Uxbridge after work and we had a late dinner.

15 August – A late start and a big cooked breakfast before our first swims in Lake Muldrew. The only way to get into the water is to dive off the dock. The water is luke warm and slightly tea coloured, a bit like a west coast river. Beautiful swimming though. We went for a walk to a cottage that was being raffled and was having an open day. Back at the cottage we had more swims. Around 5:00pm Geoff (Kathy’s brother) and Joanne arrived (Matt and Josh’s parents) with Joanne’s sister, Christina and a little later Dan, Janet and their adult children also arrived making a total of 15. I cooked a huge pork loin rib (which we had picked up very cheaply!) on the barbeque, Val made a salad and Chrissie produce some fried rice and we all sat down at an enlarged table on the deck for wonderful noisy meal.

16 August – We had breakfast in “Ernie” to ease the congestion in the cottage. The day was hot and we spent it swimming, talking and sunbathing. After a late lunch we said a sad farewell to Kathy and Craig as they were returning to Uxbridge for work tomorrow. In the early evening we watched the PGA Championship golf with David and then we all watched a movie with pizza and wine.

17 August – We went down to the cottage for breakfast before say our farewells and thanks to David and Chrissie. We have decided to take a northern route to Ottawa a few days away. The Muskoka lakes area is huge and we are still in this area for our overnight stop at Arrowhead Lake. After lunch we walked down to the sandy beach for a swim and then back to our camp via the Stubbs Falls.

18 August – After heading north today we turned east and into the Algonquin Provincial Park which covers a large area and has many camps. We chose Lake of Two Rivers as it has an Old Scenic Rail Trail. We set off on our bikes just as it started to rain. It was still warm so we carried on around several lakes to the end 12.5kms away. On the way home we stopped at a dam and I slipped during the dismount and landed hard flat on my back It took me a while to get back to my feet and back on the bike for a painful ride back.

19 August – I stiffened up in the night and struggled to get out of bed. Fortunately driving was not too bad and we enjoyed this beautiful park. After a fuel and propane stop we headed to another great Provincial Park at Bonnechere. The camping, boating swimming and canoeing at these parks makes for great family holiday destinations. It was just a short “hobble” down to the beach for a swim. The back is still very sore!

20 August – My back felt a little freer this morning and we drove in gloomy conditions. Our Navigator (Val) decided it would be only slightly longer and useful for future planning to head briefly out of Ontario and thru Quebec to pick up some maps and info on the Quebec Provincial Parks, so we crossed the Ontario River into Quebec. Two problems with this scheme. There were no towns big enough to have a visitors centre and the river crossing back into Ontario turned out to be via a $12 ferry ride! The Provincial Park at Fitzroy was not very inspiring with a beach facing a huge power dam. Soon after we arrived it started to drizzle which got heavier and eventually it teemed for several hours.

21 August – My back is still a bit sore but coming right hopefully. It was only a short 25 mile drive to our camp in Ottawa but we stopped for a shop on the way which all went slightly to custard. Firstly the Wal-Mart we stopped at did not have fresh fruit or meat and we had to find another grocery shop that did, and the LCBO (state run liquor shop) on our GPS had closed. All a bit frustrating. The camp is great though, hopefully a short bike ride to the bus stop to take us into the city tomorrow.

22 August – We decided to take “Ernie” to the park and ride bus station where we caught the bus for a ½ hour ride into the centre of Ottawa. The bus dropped us off near the parliament buildings. These are quite a sight forming a three sided square with lawns in front. Beautiful architecture. Our tour up the “Peace Tower” the centre of the main building did not leave for an hour, so we spent the time walking past the High Court building and a lovely church with the modern city in the background. The security getting into the parliament buildings was very tight after their tragic shootings a few months ago. The foyer is a series of beautiful arches and we took a lift up passed the bells to the top for views of Canada’s capital. The city is quite small with the Ottawa River running thru it. Back down into parliament square and a walk along the river, passed the Fairmont Hotel (built to fit in with it’s beautiful neighbours) and down to By Ward Market. We had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking the street market which we walked thru before passing Ottawa’s version of Notre Dame Cathedral. We followed the Ottawa River to where the Rideau Canal joins it with a series of locks lowering the boats down to river level. The operation of the locks was fascinating, all done by hand. Back on the bus to “Ernie” and the short drive to our camp. What a great day!!  

 

23 August – Ottawa and Montreal are quite close together (200kms) so we had a slow start to the day as we will only cover a short distance as we are breaking the journey. We followed the Ottawa River to a Provincial Park at Voyageur. Already the signage is mostly French and a lot of the people in the camp are speaking French. We sat at the beach but did not swim.

24 August – As we only had a short distance again to get to our camp in Montreal, we went for a 10km bike ride around this huge park on the banks of the Ottawa River. On the road and about 10 miles from our destination on a multi laned highway we heard a huge bang followed but a couple of large thumps. It took a bit of manoeuvring to get to the nearest exit and into a side road in a light industrial area before we could eventually stop and investigate. The rear right hand tyre had blown the tread off wrapping itself around the exhaust pipe and bending it up into the wheel well. The wheel well was also damaged. Val got on the phone to the road assist people (this comes free with our 5 year guarantee) and they were helpful sending a local guy around to fix the tyre problem. The young guy that arrived could speak no English and had no jack or compressor. He had to phone his boss and eventually after about 2 ½ hours we were back on the road with our spare tyre fitted. The camp we are in is very like an NZ camp. Much frustration with the internet!

25 August – We started early (comparatively for us) and decided to fix the tyre issue before going into Montreal city. There was a Canadian Tire (a mix of the Warehouse and Bunnings) near the park and ride where we would catch a bus to the subway. Perfect! Except they did not do large vehicles. A guy helped us, in very halted English, to contact a tyre place that would help about 6 miles away. Off to this place where another guy who spoke good English sold us a tyre and fitted it. Back to the park and ride and we just missed the bus so waited for ½ hour. The bus ride took us to the subway and we caught a train right into one end of the old Montreal town. As it was 2:00pm lunch was our first priority. After a great very French filled roll we wandered this beautiful area with its great French style buildings and cafes. The Hotel de Ville (town hall) was great with beautiful gardens. There were many squares with churches and gardens. The place had a very Parisian feel. It took us back! Back on the subway and then the bus to “Ernie” and a 3 mile drive to the camp, a trip of 1 ½ hours. We have decided that there are less people able to speak English here than in France.  It almost seems a point of pride not to speak or understand English in Quebec.

26 August – We set off and drove N/E to what we thought was a Quebec Parc Natural. The roads deteriorated and we realised that there was still 25 miles to go up gravel roads to reach this supposed camp site in the Natural Parc. At the small village of Sainte-Alexis-des-Mont we took the visitors centre lady’s advice and drove to a small camp at Lac Cache. Today is spaghetti special day so we took the locals advice and booked for dinner at the camp restaurant overlooking the lake. On the way back we tried to borrow a crow bar from the handyman to straighten the exhaust pipe. NO NO NO was his reply. Not very helpful! Lorraine. The camp ended up being a great place to stay.

Just as we got back to “Ernie” he arrived with the lady who booked us in for dinner and we suspect the only English speaker in the place. The NO NO NO was that he could not speak English. He raced away and returned with the “grande” crow bar. Val pushed and I pulled and we got the exhaust back into the shape it should be. After taking the crow bar back we went for a great swim in the warm lake. The spaghetti dinner was great and we were served by our friendly English lady,
Lorraine.

27 August – As we have no information for camping in Quebec (not for the want of trying!) we have decided to drive until we want to stop for the night and then see what shows up. We headed back down to the St Laurence Seaway and followed the shoreline looking for a camp. I spied an old building with “camping” written on it and Val made enquires in the not very hopeful looking place. An old man, who spoke only French, showed us to a great spot overlooking the Seaway. As my back was feeling “not bad” we decided to repair the wheel well damaged by the tyre blow out. We had bought some bits and pieces from Canadian Tire and I very am happy with the fix. Every so often a huge freighter sailed passed us on its way to the great lake ports. (Chicago, Milwaukie or Duluth.)

28 August – We followed along the St Laurence Seaway to Quebec City passing thru beautiful French like towns all with huge catholic churches many built in the style of the Notre Dame. On the outskirts of the city we stopped for what will be our last shop in Canada this year. There is a shuttle that goes from this camp into the city which we explore tomorrow. Hopefully we can publish this blog today at the camp.