Quebec - Ontario Canada

 0620-062325

During this trip I try to stay on the country roads and avoid the speedways as much as possible. So it was no different when leaving New Brunswick. At first the GPS did not suggest alternate routes to the Casino parking lot on the border of Quebec but right around Moncton, GPS alerted that she has found another route that would save me 8 minutes! Why ever should I question the GPS, but I did check it against another app and it had the same results, so I took it thinking I would see more of the countryside, which surely did. The route through Northumberland turned out to be one lane logging road, mostly dirt, or in my case mud! Basically I went over the mountain rather than around. When a logging truck came by, I had to pull way over to the side, almost in the ditch, to let him pass. I didn’t time it, but I doubt I saved 8 minutes.

I arrived at the Grey Rock Casino just before 9pm. When in the casino and had a burger for dinner. Coincidentally, the couple I parked next to left Murray Beach this morning as well. Kelvin and Kristy are headed  home in North Ontario, 30 minutes east of Thunder Bay border crossing. I told them I had considered going that way, but I’m not sure I have the time. In the morning, they were already gone and they left a note on my windshield inviting me to there property. I pinned the note to the vizor and thought I can decide when I see how the next couple days go. 

Heading northwest, the drive into the Quebec province was very beautiful. The ridge line road followed a long skinny lake, Lake Témiscouata,  winding through small logging towns with colorful building and vistas showing thick timber and green meadows. 30 miles past the lake the road turned 90° to follow the banks of the St. Lawrence river  I earned the Quebec Souvenir by quickly finding a cache off the hwy witha scrabble up a nice trail. I picked another one near the river with a pier.  When I arrived St-Jean-Port-Joli, the church bell was ringing as I parked right next to the wharf.  I walked around, gathered the information for the cache, jumped back in drivers seat to log the cache. I looked up and there was man standing in front of the van giving me the thumbs up. He came around to the window and Louis and I talked about vans, he called them trucks. We went into the cafe across the parking lot and had he bought lunch and beers.  I followed Louis into town and on to his house/workshop so we could see his his van. We shared numbers and I told him to follow me on this Blog. 

It took the rest of the day to get to the maple farm, Aux Petits Plaisirs (To the Little Pleasures) in Warwick, the owner was waiting for me when I arrived. Part of the deal with Harvest Host you are expect to shop during your stay, so the owner was there to make sure I could shop. I bought maple candy, butter and some sausage made with maple. There was another RV there, a senior couple from Quebec. They were there to watch their Granddaughters soccer match in the morning. Our conversation was short because I do not speak much French and they did not speak much English. Once I got RAMVAN some what level, I took a walk around the farm. The road side geocaches both had Did Not Find (DNF) logs so I let them go. The weather that day was wonderful, sunshine all day. When I left in the morning, it was raining pretty hard. I hoped that it did not ruin the soccer match. 

I set the GPS for directions to a city park Virtual cache in Montreal, the second-largest in Canada. The

Title of the cache is called Moi, mes souliers (Me, my shoes), about Félix Leclerc, Author, composer and performer. he is considered the father of Quebec song, as a literary and poetic genre. His songs celebrate the imagination of childhood, nature, the country, love and the world of ordinary people, still close to their pioneering origins. (GC9P6D4) It also says that with his influence, Félix Leclerc was help Quebec maintain as a French speaking country.  There is a youtube video if him singing Moi, mes souliers  To get credit for the cache you have to locate the information panel nearby and answer 3 questions. Then you need to take a picture of your shoes with the Félix Leclerc bigger than life size statue. I love these interactive virtual caches that have you learn about influential

people and culture. After uploading and logging my find, I took a nice long walk around the park. I sensed a feeling that people were eger to get out in the sunshine. Many joggers, walkers and bike riding. There numerous activities for children, duck ponds and play grounds. Really it was pretty much like any city park. I enjoyed my visit.  I arrived back to RAMVAN and found no ticket, it was Sunday so I assumed like most places there is no fee for parking, but everything was in French so I was not sure. When I got in I had to leave quickly because there were others waiting for me to leave. The route out of Montreal to Bedrock Campground in Ontario took through a really long tunnel under the St. Lawrence River, fascinating!  Soon I was out of the city and back in the countryside. 

I had decided to stay at a provincial campground because I wanted to dump my grey water, refill fresh and

most importantly take a shower, in a shower. On my way, right after crossing the border into Ontario, I pulled off and found a quick cache at the entrance to a truck stop, thus earning the Ontario souvenir!   I arrived Ferris Provincial Park, Bedrock Campground just before 5 pm and got all set up. I checked for geocaches in the area and was please to find some along a over grown trail along the bank of the Trent River. It was about 85° felt like over 75% humidity so I figured geocaching first, then shower. Honestly, the hunt on this trail was a little creepy, lots of bugs and I was sweating like a horse. I found 3 traditional, a letterbox and a Multi all in good shape and well hidden. Evidence the local Cacher's are keeping an eye on things.  When I got back to camp, I was soaked through, muddy and thirsty! I pulled my cold water out of the fridge and got ready to take my shower.  Tomorrow I will be driving past Toronto and out of Canada. Not sure how the traffic will be and I do not plan to go into the city. I decided not to travel to Northern Ontario, I feel I have enough time to slowly make my way home.  Northern Ontario can be it's own adventure in the future.  Here is a link my shared photo album for Quebec and Ontario, thanks for reading my blog.