Quebec City

It's about time we finish posting stuff from our summer adventure.  Our final stop before returning to Vermont..  beautiful Quebec City..

Where Canada's old world meets the new world, Quebec City is as beautiful as everyone says it is.  We arrived with plenty of time to find a hotel in the old city and do some evening site seeing. 

Our hotel located inside the old city walls

Our first stop was located across the street from our hotel.  The tour began with the standard stuff within the church itself.

Difficult to capture the true beautiful of this church

Dan noticed a small 6 x 6 inch sign which advised tours of the crypts were available for $5.00 per person.  Well, it didn't take long and we were on a private tour exploring the foundation and other old stuff under the cathedral.  Both Dan and our young guide were enthusiasts so it didn't take long for them to "jump the rail" and head into the various small rooms...  $10.00 well spent dollars.

Dan and our tour guide

Cut away provides a view of the content

Two guys on an adventure

Low ceiling, watch your head..

 The old city of Quebec is like many other citys with lots of traffic and people.  But, at 6:00 pm, the busy streets close to cars leaving an open air restaurant and shopping region where you can stroll and enjoy the charm of the city without the danger of being run over by an auto..  Nice touch.

Near our hotel

 Following dinner, we found numerous street entertainers.  The weather was perfect...

Enjoying a street musician

 Being on an adventure hasn't changed our basic habits, we still rise rather early.  As such, we were able to explore the city in the early morning hours while most people were still sleeping.  From the Plains of Abraham, we located a set of stairs which take you from the upper city to the lower city (near the river).  I'm not sure the exact number of steps but it's really a lot... 

Stairs between the lover and upper city.  They go on forever..

Much of the old city has seen many renovations.  We found this little street which was very "artsie" and full of little shops.  Remember, it's early in the day so the only people moving about are service/delivery people..

Randum murial on the side of a building

Love this store front

Street view

 Bishop Francois de Laval was the Roman Catholic bishop of Canada.  As such, Quebec City continues to honor his legacy.

Francois de Laval was a friend to Native Americans

My own little Native American

 Flowers, flowers, everywhere flowers..

Art in the streets

The Citadel

Wall of the old city

Since Lake Champlain seperates Vermont and New York, many Vermonters believe we own all rights to the legacy of Samual de Champlain.  As a student of history, you will quickly learn that Sam was a great explorer and also explored lots of eastern Canada. 

Samual de Champlain

Hope you've all enjoyed the postings from our summer trip.  Stay connected as they're always more to come..  Wishing all of you happiness and good health..

Kouchibaque, New Brunswick & Gaspe, Quebec

We challenge everyone to say "Kouchibaque"...  Believe you can sign up for a private lesson to learn how to say it cause even having someone repeat it multiple times, it's still a challenge. 

We're back on the eastern coast of New Brunswick and our good fortune, the weather, has turned and we're now practicing the art of "tarpology".  The first thing you should do when you go to set up a tarp is to be sure you have Chris with you...  Oh well, next time.

Wait, was Chris actually there??

Don't let the sun/shade fool you..

We enjoyed wonderful lobster and seafood while in Canada but the best was when we purchased directly from the lobster man at the pier..  $4.00 per pound and worth every penny.

Purchasing lobsters from the boat

From New Brunswick, we crossed into Quebec and headed for Gaspe.  Upon arriving in Quebec, we stopped for breakfast and were very pleased to find tourtiere (meat pie) on the menu.  Not sure about all you people from the south but tourtiere is a traditional french food.  Even though we'd been in Canada for nearly a month, we only came upon tourtier when we entered 'french' Canada.  And yes, the language of Quebec is French...  Some people got a real chuckle from my 'not so good' french but appreciated my efforts often giving me an encouraging smile which was frequently followed with a little laughter.

Little known fact, one of the best fossil sites/museum in the world is located on the south coast of Gaspe.  Amazing fossils and an excellent presentation for even the less than enthusiastic anthropologist (me).  As for Dan (and I know Lauren), loved the museum.

The best fossil museum in North America

Many of you know, both Dan and I are morning people and enjoy the quiet moments an early morning has to offer.  The Gaspe coast did not disappoint us as we enjoyed morning walks near the campground.

Early morning walk near the campground

The following series of pictures were taken from an observation tower from which you could see New Brunswick, the Gaspe peninsula, way out into the Bay of St Lawrence and on a clear day, all the way to Newfoundland.

Gaspe observation tower

Gaspe observation tower

Gaspe, observation tower

It's difficult to capture but the water is so very clean, you can see the birds as they dive for fish.

Chris, think you can make this shot?

Early morning walk.

Only if desperate..

A curious site, birds all marching into the ocean.  This march went on and on..

Note the birds marching into the ocean

Larger view of the birds marching into the water

Each day was a different hike, some long and some short.  Waterfalls were not as common as you might think but we did get to see a number of beautiful falls.

Another beautiful waterfall

The coast of Gaspe is as beautiful as that of Newfoundland.  While there, we hiked to the very tip of the peninsula on the International Appalachian Trail (IAT).  The IAT begins in Maine where the Appalachian Trail ends and continues through Eastern Canada and the tip of Gaspe.

Hike along the Gaspe coast

Hike along the Gaspe coast

On the IAT return, we knew we were in bear country as there were signs everywhere.  It was good that we were keeping a watchful eye as this little guy came through the fence just ahead of us.  We weren't interested in locating his mother for him so we quickly retraced our steps and found an alternate return path..  Very exciting to actually see a bear cub in the wild..

Bear Cub

From Gaspe, it's off to Quebec City.

Gros Morne Trout River, Newfoundland

After leaving L'Anse Aux Meadow, we worked our way to the southern part of Gros Morne Park National for a few days of additional hiking.

There were so many beautiful coastal views, it was difficult not to stop every 5 minutes to take yet another picture.

Drive along the west coast of Newfoundland

 The following series of pictures are of Western Brook Pond.  The pond can't be reached by car and the hike in is about an hour across bogs and as such, is limited access.  We did not take the pond boat ride but simply hiked in and enjoyed the pond from water's edge.



Hike to Western Brook Pond



Western Brook Pond, boat cruise landing

The camera doesn't begin to capture the true beautiful of this place.


Western Brook Pond



Western Brook Pond



Western Brook Pond



Hike along Western Brook Pond

The following pictures are of Trout River, a small fishing community on the edge of Parks Canada.  Just about everyone lives in the village itself with very few people living in the countryside.  The road to Trout River is often closed in the winter and much of the electrical power comes from generators.  One interesting item, Trout River campground was the only Parks Canada campground that had WiFi.  But, you could only plug in your computer between 9 and 11:00 pm as that's the only time the generator ran..



View of Trout River

Trout River Pond was a very large and beautiful body of fresh water feed by Trout River.  Our campground was right on the edge of this pond and you'll note, there are no boats on the water..  Beautiful and quiet with an occasional kayak skimming across the late.



Trout River Pond, note Tablelands on the left side

On our last Saturday night in camp, we went into town to a seafood restaurant along the boardwalk.  This was a Saturday evening, in the middle of tourist season.  Note the number of people on the boardwalk...



Trout River Boardwalk



Trout River Boardwalk



Trout River Boardwalk

We were very fortunate and happened upon the Trout River Town Festival.  The festival included beer, interesting foods and a "one man band" playing for the crowd on the boardwalk.  Trout River faces west and we had a gorgeous sunset and an evening full of great sounds and lively dancing. 

Again, all the people were so very friendly, even if you had a difficult time conversing (they have a very strong accent and it isn't "Yankee") everyone you came across wanted to chat as they knew you were from "away".  "Away" being the Newfoundland term used for anyone who wasn't from their respective town, even if you were from 30 minutes down the valley.



Trout River Town Festival

Our final hike in Newfoundland was to Green Garden, one of the most popular hikes in Gros Morne.  You start on the higher land and descend to the coast.  The hike could be difficult but was well worth the effort.



Hike to Green Garden

View from the back country camp area of the coast.



Green Garden

Note the pink chairs.   Parks Canada did a beautiful job placing chairs such as these in interesting and beautiful locations so hikers to take a little time to sit and take in all the beauty of the environment.



Green Garden

If you look closely (below), you can see Dan descending the stairs.



Green Garden stairs to sea level

Again, the camera can't begin to capture the true beauty of this area.



Green Garden



Green Garden

The return hike begins with climbing those stairs..



Green Garden, note the chairs on the hillside

Parks Canada offered many interpretive guides so we could have a better appreciation for the people of Canada and their history.  Kevin, a Native American and tribal elder of the Micmac people, chatted about the bounty of the forest and it's medicinal opportunities..



Grandmother's Medicine Bag, Kevin