8/12/14 – This morning, before leaving the area of Quebec City, we went to see two falls. The first is south of the city, near the KOA campground, on the Rivière Chaudière. We parked down on a little neighborhood street, as the park access provided none. There was a path down with boardwalk, many steps, and a pedestrian suspension bridge high over the river. We got pictures as the bridge bounced underfoot.

We then headed north on the 73 past the city to the 40 east, to catch the Montmorency falls as that river meets the St. Lawrence. These falls are a major attraction, and the site was pretty crowded. The falls are impressive, falling from a greater height than Niagara. There is a pedestrian suspension bridge over the lip of the falls here, much more rigid than at the other falls. A trail on the other side led to a good viewing point, and a crowd gathered enroute around a tree where a local porcupine had taken up residence.

We switched directions to direction Montreal on the 40, stopping briefly at Costco in Trois Rivières, then continuing. We had no intention of visiting Montreal, the city being so big and traffic so notoriously bad. We transitioned from the 40 to the 640, bypassing to the north, traffic heavy but ok so far. Then onto the 15, where we hit stop-and-go toward the 50. We came to a new Walmart on the side of the 15, traffic almost a standstill, so we pulled off for the night. We were the only campers here this night, and shortly the rain started, continuing all night.

8/13/14 – Still raining on and off – it appears the storm will be hanging around a few days. Due to a phone conversation the previous night with Nancy’s brother TR, we decided we should give Montreal a whirl. Our location was way too far north of the city for the metro (subway) system, but only a short drive from a commuter train stop, which should interface with the metro. I checked on-line while we had Walmart wifi, and discovered a train would arrive in time for us to make the drive over to the station, where we could get our tickets and metro/train maps and schedules. Well, we hadn’t counted on how technology has automated and de-humanized the process. After parking at the station, the only connection was a puzzling machine to buy tickets for the train. Time clicking off, a nice young lady helped us, but as the train pulled in, we were still muddling through. Ended up all three of us missed the train, our tickets were good only for 2 hrs, and the next train would not come through for 2.5 hrs! Calling the assistance number brought no solution, so we decided Montreal was just not meant to be. Gone are the days when printed information will steer you around this city I guess, and that is hardly tourist friendly.

With this cue, we hit the road west on the 50, following the Ottawa River on the Quebec side. When we reached Gatineau, we crossed the bridge into Ottowa. We had originally thought to visit, but I was beginning to get my fill of cities and traffic. It was a pretty city to drive through, though – maybe creep through would be better. Lots of road repair, lots of traffic, lots of tourists swarming everywhere. Nancy managed to snap a few shots from the co-pilot seat, and even hopped out once when traffic was completely stalled.

It was a relief to escape on the 417/17 and head west up to Fitzroy Provincial Park for the night. It rained on and off all day, and continued that evening.

8/14/14 – Weather was overcast, but dry in the morning, so we hiked several trails through the park before heading to the showers.

Immediately after, the rain started back up, and continued for the day’s drive, further along the river to Driftwood Provincial Park. Here we had a riverfront site with the wind blowing off the river and the rain coming down most of the evening – a wild and wooly sight!

Coldest it has been for quite a while, so Nancy baked a batch of gluten-free chocolate-chip cookies to keep the rig warm. Went to sleep to the sound of the wavelets lapping the shore of our campsite.

8/15/14 – Overcast and rain again in the morning as we left, continuing west on the 17 as the Ottowa River headed northwest, hoping to attend a fiddle contest in Sturgeon Falls in the evening. However, since the program would begin at 8 pm, and I won’t drive any distance after dark, we needed a campsite in town where we could walk to the event. It turns out the event was a really big week-long thing, and on-site parking available for $150 for the event, or for just the one night. When we arrived, we saw the huge field with endless rows of dry-camped fivers and busses, people and traffic everywhere, and it was apparent this was NOT the same thing as musicians rocking a pub in St. Johns. We drove on.

We pulled in for the evening at Chutes Provincial Park, on the River aux Sables, under blue, sunny skies at last. I mistakingly thought the name was the French word for ‘waterfalls’, but it instead refers to logging chutes that were used when there was a camp in this area. However, there were some pretty falls and rapids along two feeders of the river, worth hiking around.

8/16/14 – Woke early to the sound of rain again, and let it lull me back to sleep a bit longer. We hit the road again, goal Saulte Ste. Marie, our last full day in Canada! We made reservations at the KOA there, then turned off south on the 548 to St. Joseph island, weather now pretty much cleared up. At the south end of the island is the site of the former Fort St. Joseph, a British outpost serving the fur trade and protection against threats to the south, which the Americans burned down in 1814. After a crazy drive of 40+ km on a 30 km long island to reach the fort, we found the visitor center to have a very nice interpretive display and an informative short film. We then walked the site of the fort, where the foundations lay along with description boards, with great views of the mainland and islands of Ontario and Michigan on three sides.

Worth the drive, and we did find a shorter way back. Once parked at KOA north of  Saulte Ste. Marie, we dedicated the evening to the blog and consuming whatever would be confiscated tomorrow at customs. First wifi access since Walmart near Montreal.