Friday, July 28, 2006

Day 2...Our Cross Canada Trip...East to West


Written By: Sharon A. Layton-Pollock

Day 2…July 19/06



(Photo: the lake we overlooked at our first campground in Quebec)

We had a good nights sleep and by 9:30 a.m. we’re off again. We went out to the end of the road to the campground. Which way do we go? We’re not out to the main highway and not sure if we go left or right, can’t tell what the signs say, we’re still in Quebec and there are no bilingual signs.

We decide to go left, down the narrow road way we go, just like two know nothings. The road gets more narrow, and lined with sweet little cottages all fixed up and painted up so cute. Every one has a cute little paved drive, yeah, that’s what that sign meant…residential. O.K. we just find the route out, the only problem is the end of the road is the shoreline. The only way out is the same way we came in. We have to pick the biggest cute little driveway to turn around in.

There’s one, Richard puts her in reverse, watches his side view mirrors and backup camera monitor. All seems clear, but all the backing up devised don’t show what’s over head. Crack, I jump out, which I should have done in the first place, Mr. Cottage dwellers lovely big maple tree is now minus one nice size branch. Lucky for us he’s not home. Richard makes about 20 more twists and turns of the wheel, for he cannot go ahead any further that the width of the road. Remember I said we were going down hill, yup, the other side of the narrow road is a side hill, can’t go far that way.

Well, we finally make it leaving one dead branch behind. On our way out, just a few cottages up, two old guys are sitting out on their deck having their morning coffee. My window is still down, I give them a smile and a wave, they return the wave very half heartedly. I bet they heard the crack.

You know how pretty it is driving into Sussex, N.B., well the rolling hills of Quebec look much like them only ten times bigger. The farmland is flat and vast. It looks like there’s not a stone in the fields.

When Mount Royal comes into view it demands your attention and beckons to have it’s picture taken, which I did. The farmlands extend on both shores of the Saint Lawrence River, and the villages along the way, like Levis or Mont Tremblant are so clean and inviting. The immense ski slopes make you dizzy just looking up them. The overall view has a back drop of blue mountains broken by barns, silos, church steeples and the forefront is green pastures, vibrant crops and maple trees making the journey through most pleasing.

As evening was approaching we found ourselves in the Riviere-Rouge area. We see a Visitor Information Centre and go in to ask about a good camp site. The young man behind the desk worked hard at his English and did quite well. He highly recommended a campground near by called Camping Rustique Le Boise Du Fou Du Roi.

It was not hard to find and Richard and I went into the office, made a few gestures and requested hydro, water and septic hook up. No, just hydro and water, so we paid for our site. The girl pointed to a road and said site 4. We headed down again. The road was rough and washed out, oh boy, not good so far. Oh, there was the beach along the river, it looked inviting. There was site 4 close by. We got out to find our hookups. We looked and looked, then came to the conclusion that the green garden hose that was coming from somewhere out of the woods was our water hookup. So I guess that means that the orange extension cord coming from the woods, from another direction, was our hydro hookup. Not good enough, we went back up the washed out hill and got our money back and were on our way. We figured the guy at the VIC had to be part owner of the place.

Just a short way up the road we came upon Camping Sainte-Veribique. It was perfect! The girl at the front desk was pleasant and was charming with her efforts to speak English. We went for a long walk after supper and watched as a deer grazed on the side hill. A few young people were still lingering on the beach of the river. The night cooled off nicely and we slept well. There web site is www.riviere-rouge.ca and we would highly recommend it to all.

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