Thur 6-25: Our first full day in Quebec. Drove eastward along south side of St. Lawrence River.
Every time we've been in Canada before, the Cdn dollar has been strong- either close to parity, which they cheerfully rounded up to parity, or even a premium, which they carefully converted. This time, the $Cdn is only 81 cts, so we enjoy more reasonable prices. Of interest: gasoline is uniformly C$ 1.27.4 per liter, which converts to about $3.92 per gallon U.S. vs about $2.90 in the U.S. But the price must be regulated, since everyone charges the same.
There are many touring cyclists on the road along the St. Lawrence; more than we've seen anywhere. Not too surprising: we're at the beginning of good weather for them and the road is both scenic and in reasonably good condition.
Quebec is French-speaking, period. In other provinces, government offices require employees to be bilingual. Not here. Most people are monoglots.
As we drive eastward, the "river" gradually widens and becomes a bay of the ocean. Tides are about 15'. The shoreline changes from low to rocky cliffs.
At Ste. Anne des Monts, about at the northernmost point of the Gaspe coast, we turned south toward the Parc National de la Gaspesie. On our one previous trip through this area in 1970, I remember reaching this town coming from the south. The wind was blowing a gale, it was raining sideways, and the temperature was about 50 F. In the midst of that, we saw a little girl sitting on a sidewalk playing jacks. We knew then not to expect much fair weather, and indeed we got none. This time, though, it was sunny and cool- no complaints.
We drove to the visitor center of the national park to register for camping, but were assigned to a campground about 15 miles back the way we came. The last 6 miles of it was a winding mountain ascent on a gravel road. We camped by a high mountain lake, Lac Cascapedia. Very peaceful and beautiful. Habitat is boreal forest: spruce and birch.
An interesting day, but we need to stop driving every day.
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