Sep 5, 2012 - The Gaspesie

WOW! What a scenic drive today. We were wanting to visit the maritime area and today was definitely that. We traveled highway 132 along the northern edge of Quebec's Gaspesie. This route brought us right up against the seaway for the uniqueness of it's natural landscapes and it's small seaside villages. It was over 200 miles of rough and narrow roads, steep climbs and hardly any traffic. At times, the grade was so steep that I did know if 350 horsepower would be enough horsepower to climb to the top and coming back down it was just as...

Aug 24, 2012 - Gaspe Peninsula

Thursday we followed the Acadian Coastal Drive north in New Brunswick. The area is VERY French, which surprised us in one way because we thought NB to be more English. Anyway, the coastal towns were not the little fishing villages we saw on Nova Scotia and PEI. We saw few Protestant Churches - mostly huge Roman Catholic Cathedrals. Another thing we noticed was there were no mailboxes at each house, and no Post Offices in the smaller towns. The mailboxes are clustered, maybe twelve or more, at given locations where the residents go to get...

Jul 9, 2011 - Gaspesie - Gaspe Peninsula

Our first stop after Levis was Rimouski. The RV site we had was quite high up a hill and had a beautiful view of the St. Lawrence River. The sun was actually out too so we were treated to beautiful sunsets the two nights we were there. There were a lot of bugs here. We were able to sit outside for a short while each night to watch the sun go down but our bug "tasers" were very busy when we came inside. On the 5th we stopped at the Info Centre in town and met a nice lady who was very helpful (in English). She told us she has a sister that...

Jul 8, 2011 - Gaspè Halbinsel - Quebec

Die halbinsel bildet den oestlichen auslaeufer der riesigen provinz quebec und besticht, wie viele US-Neuenglandstastaen auch mit einer reizvollen Atlantikkueste, gespickt mit Leuchttuermen und wilden kuestenformen. Wir kamen in eine grossflaechige regenfront und sparten uns daher am 2. Tag ein paar hundert kilometer der inselumrundung und fuhren einen tag lang suedwaerts durch die provinz new brunswick nach moncton, wo wir bei einem alten mann in einem sehr liebenswert restaurierten B & B uebernachteten und uns morgens bei einem genialen...

Jul 28, 2010 - Forillon National Park

After the jump-start offered by our normal Tim Horton's we headed over to Forillon National Park were we would spend the day checking out the sights, and believe it or not learning something! Our first stop after picking up a map and brochure at the Visitors Centre, was Fort Peninsule, a gun emplacement built during the Second World War to protect the harbor at Gaspe, along with submarine nets and other emplacements, from attack by the Germans! The number of Allied ships, both naval and merchant marine that had been sunk in the Gulf of St....

Jul 27, 2010 - Gaspe' Land's End

Beat the bewitching hour this morning!; 9:30 and one the road! This whole trip along Hway 132 has been grand, and would make one heck of a motorcycle trip to boot. And yes, motorcycles have been very abundant on the way. The only difference in today's drive is we finally have hit some major hills, the first since we have left BC! Because of stops for gas and at scenic lookouts we had to pass one very slow motor-home 3 times, and on a winding 2 lane highway similar to our highway to Squamish that can be a chore. One of the viewpoints gave us...

Jul 24, 2010 - Saturday, Gaspe QC

Today we are visiting Forillon National Park of Canada. There are 2 separate parts to the park and admission to one allows you to visit both. We were almost into the park, when we realized that we needed gas. So we drove back to the last village (about 7 miles) and pulled into the gas station. Bob jumped out of the car before I could tell him that the sign read Avec Service – this was not self-serve and the attendant did not speak English, but Bob managed to get his gas without any French! We started at the north section and paid our $7.80...

Jul 23, 2010 - Friday Gaspe, QC

The road today was very rough – all day. We’re still on AuT 132 and the entire coast line along today’s travel was rough as well. In many places the small villages are not on the main highway but on a road that would run parallel and below (closer to the water) than the road that we were driving on. I can’t imagine how jarring the ride on those roads must be! We had to stop 3 times and wait due to construction on AuT 132. Unfortunately, we never got a picture of the sign of the day. So all I can do is describe it. It was a warning sign on...

Jul 8, 2010 - Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec

We spent several days driving around the Gaspe Peninsula in upper Quebec. We have followed the St. Lawrence Seaway, and it was a magnificent drive. They have lots of parks and rest areas along the water where you can stop and eat or just sit and look at the water. I loved the scenery but wasn't crazy about the 17% grades. It is part of the Appalachian Mountains, and the hiking trail continues from Maine into Canada. Sometimes it was pretty tough driving for Don, but we think we are through most of that. The motor home in front of us is...

Jun 19, 2010 - Driving the Gaspe Penninsula

GASPESIE: Jim has done the research and determined that the Gaspésie Peninsula is worth a long drive. We note that the National Geographic Society designated the region as the third most beautiful destination in the world after the Norwegian fjords and the Kootenay and Yoho national parks in British Columbia, based on environmental quality, social-cultural integrity, tourism management, building and archeological site condition, aesthetics and future potential. The land mass is on the south side of the St. Lawrence Gulf and is the...

Sep 14, 2009 - Gaspe, QC - Beautiful Perce, Quebec

(Ron Writing) It was very cloudy this morning as we left Chandler continuing northeast on Highway 132 counter-clockwise around the Gaspe Peninsula. It was only a short way to Perce and we then spent most of the afternoon enjoying this very beautiful area. This area is very mountainous and the unique Rocher-Perce Island just off shore adds so much to the beauty. Bonaventure Island is slightly further off shore and is a national park protecting the more than 110,000 Northern Gannets and other rare species of birds nesting there. We hiked up...

Aug 30, 2009 - Gaspe area

Dale invited 2 young gals for hot coffee and breakfast on Sunday morning before we left Levis, Quebec. They were very appreciative and their stories were most interesting. One of the girls, Tara, was a cyclist from Taber, Alberta, who was cycling across Canada to raise funds and awareness for a small village in Uganda. She had a support car along with her with a new driver who came in every few weeks. Tara had been to Uganda once before and was heading back later this year to assist in the building of a clinic. Tara said that doing this was...