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50℉ and raining at 4:00

Friday, October 21, 2016

With the campground closing, we packed up and headed out to Naples in the southwest corner of Maine. Our Airstream neighbor said he always checks the wheel lugs before starting out, a great suggestion. I checked the trailer wheels last night and they were fine, but the truck’s were a bit loose. Then I checked all the tires for pressure, adding a bit of air here and there. From Maryland, our Airstream neighbor bought his 2004 27’ for $17,000, an incredible price. They said they were driving and passed it. The owner had just put it in the yard with a for sale sign. In perfect condition, he wrote a check on the spot. They have had a little hard luck lately. He forgot to put the hitch jack up and broke it. Ordering a new one, he had to cut out the old one. Then a tree fell on his classic sports car during the recent hurricane. Yikes!

Driving through Poland, we looked at one campground that was terrible and another that was probably a horse camp, so we made 98 turns on little streets winding around these two giant lakes. It looks like Smith Mountain Lake. You can tell thousands of people come here in the summer. With all the water along the coast and all the lakes in Maine, you would think you could find a quiet place to yourself. I find it very depressing when I think of an overpopulated world using up all Earth’s resources. When we arrived at the campground, We went in to check in, finding a very nice office and nice lady, Debbie, at the desk. She told us to go and look at several sites, choose what we liked, and come back and tell her. Perfect! 

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In the middle of the night I thought I was back in Banff for the 2013 flooding. It rained hard all night and continued all day with the winds picking up in the middle of the day to 45 km/hr. We took the opportunity to relax a bit, do some laundry and go to the Visitor’s Center for some computer work, and we signed up for two more nights.  By mid-day Martha was getting a bit grumpy, so we went into Alma where she had a pint of beer, soup and a sandwich.  There is one gas station in Alma and it has one pump, but it was empty. We have a quarter tank of gas, which should hold us for a couple of days, and then we have been carrying a 5-gallon can in the toolbox. 

We drove down to Point Wolfe, stopping several times to get a quick picture in the rain. There was a beautiful covered bridge over a great-looking trout stream, and we walked just far enough to get an overlook of a bay with the tide out. Other cars were driving around like us, but a few were parked with no one in them, so they were obviously hiking in the rain and wind. 

We headed back to camp and looked at pictures of the trip, trying to remember all the places we have been. I noticed a lot of the pictures came up a bit dark on the slide show. Do you find them that way on the blog?? I know a lot depends on individual computer screens.

For the fifth time, I fixed the cabinet door under the sink that keeps getting jiggled loose. We have travelled some rough highways though. On Ed’s suggestion, we have been taping these doors, but it still bounced loose. Oh well, I am getting pretty quick with it. One of the screws on Martha’s kayak handle even came undone, so I put that back in. 

The rains stopped by about 7:00 pm, but the winds decided to get even stronger. I worried about a tree coming down in the night, but thankfully nothing happened. The weather forecast for the next five days is good, clear, in the 50’s with very little wind:} We have been so lucky with the weather the whole trip!

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39℉ at 6:00, a rainy morning, 

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

It rained hard all morning, so we read our books and made cranberry muffins from the Trappist Monks. By 11:00 we were stir-crazy and the rain was letting up, so we drove east to Rimouski so Martha could get a haircut. The ladies at the Accquiel suggested the best place to go. Fortunately they were able to take her in after a short wait. I went to a nearby oeufs place hoping for WIFI and an expresso. I got a nice expresso, but no WIFI. When Martha was done, her nice stylist, Suzie, recommended Maison du Spaghetti for lunch, so we went. I ordered pasta with meatballs and mushrooms and Martha ordered Lasagna with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Both were outstanding, and they had WIFI. 

I had seen a waterfall writeup in the Gaspèsie travel book, so we decided to go there. We found the accquiel and a nice girl gave us the description and a map. There was a fee of $13 each, and as they are privately run, they don’t take a park pass. We were surprised by the amount of work and expense someone went to. With walkways all along the Rimouski River, it is quite beautiful. Then you get to the highest suspension foot-bridge in Quebec at 63 meters. This thing is so well-made, I could probably drive my truck across it. 

This is a beautiful river and a beautiful canyon that is well-managed. You can come at night to see lights on the waterfall. All of the walkways are lit. It is called Le Canyon des Portes de L’Enfer, Canyon to the gates of Hell, which it surely would be if you decided to take your kayak down it. There may be more waterfalls than cities named after saints in Quebec, but this is a great one.

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34℉ at 6:00 with a high of 60

Monday, September 26th

We rode the bike trails across the valley of Parc National du Bic. It’s not a big park, so the ride was about 12.5 miles through beautiful forrest and along fields lined with rail fences. The park is along a series of bays defined by old mountains of the Appalachian Range. At the south end of the park we came out on a beach where two ladies discussed the day’s news. It was a chilly 50℉ with the ever-present wind off the St. Lawrence, but that didn’t stop one of the ladies from taking off her shoes and walking in the water. The temperature was perfect for biking or hiking, but a heavy cotton shirt does you no good when stoping and that wind cools you down. 

We walked down to La Coulèe for lunch, using a big rock as a wind break. We were on Baie du Ha! Ha!, which is beautiful. As we sat, we watched hundreds of little crayfish, or something like it, swimming around in the shallow pools of low tide. So this is what the seagulls come to feed on at low tide! 

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We drove north to Parc National du Bic on the St. Lawrence River. The mountains are very old, worn down to steep hills, but still very pretty. The bays are home to seals, called phoques in French. The pronunciation of this word makes interesting conversation in English. Driving around the park to get the big picture, we saw the seals resting on rocks in the bays. The tide was out, exposing rocks and sand in the bays. We toured a second campground that was very busy. Our campground is next to the only highway going north, but the traffic isn’t a bother in the Airstream, and the view of the bay is nice. Actually, it is interesting watching the cars and trucks traveling the only road going around the Gaspè Peninsula. Population of the Peninsula is 133,000, so I would ’t think there would be so many on the road, but it is busy with tractor trailers, cars and campers. A railroad track parallels the road here. I love the sound of the train whistle, and the cars rumbling past. But if you like your campground more quiet, Camping Rioux is for you.

A very special thank you to these two amazing ladies. Friends of Gayle Wooten’s, they have taken such wonderful care of her in her time of need. Gayle’s incredible group of friends continue to support her in so many ways. A card, a note or a phone call mean so much. We spent a great day together while these ladies moved her to Symphony Manor, where they had selected the apartment to be warm and sunny. They painted it and measured it for Gayle’s furniture, and helped move her in. Meanwhile I had the easy job of taking her to the Baltimore Museum. to lunch and to Rawlings Botanic Gardens. Driving Laura’s Prius, I only got lost once. I Googled Baltimore Gardens and drove there to the south side of Baltimore, through some rough neighborhoods, to the Gayle’s continuous comments of, “Where are we going?” Well, Baltimore Gardens is a neighborhood……without any gardens. 

I am also amazed with Gayle’s positive spirit. While we can’t always understand what she is talking about, she can tell what we are talking about, and her quick, reflex responses are quite good and often humorous. She can still communicate with a look, and her infinite variety of facial expressions. She handled her move with some tears and fears, but then put on her positive face and gracefully toured the new facility, greeting all the new people. With a good sense of humor, a positive spirit and incredible friends, it’s a good life.

Thank you to these wonderful ladies and to all of Gayle’s friends who are so supportive.

59℉ at 5:00, 68 high

Tuesday, September 20,2016

I fly to Baltimore Thursday, so Martha was anxious to move today to get laundry done, get a propane tank filled and get some groceries. She has decided to stay in a campground along the St. Lawrence. It will be her first time alone in the trailer, and that is a totally different feeling. If she doesn’t feel comfortable in the campground, it will give us time to move. She is thinking about biking along the coast or visiting small towns along the river, so we drove to St.Jean-Port-Jolie, about an hour from the bridge to Quebec. We checked into Bonnet Red Campground right in town. A very nice couple is beside us. They come here every year, and it is their favorite place, so they will be here for three days. That is very comforting.

We did a bunch of laundry and cruised around town to get the big picture. It is a big wood carving area with a large museum. There are cute shops and restaurants, and there is a very nice bike trail all along the St. Lawrence.