Perce & Bonadventure Island - July 24 - 25

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Our stay at Cote Surprise in Perce was a surprise when we realized we had picked campsites right next to a very active playground. The further end of the grounds would have been a better choice but the campground was chock a block full. The reason - it is in a beautiful location on a cliff overlooking the town of Perce and across at Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island and very walkable to town. 

The next morning, Steve, Ellen & I left to catch the early ferry to Bonaventure Island. The first part of the trip was a mini pelagic trip that goes part way around Perce Rock and then around Bonaventure Island before landing at the pier. This gave us great looks at all sorts of birds including gannets, razorbills, guillemots, common murres and seals. The island is a national park with hiking trails around and through the island. 

The far side is one huge gannet colony that tops over 70,000 nesting pairs with young. Somehow the colony escaped our knowledge probably because of our lack of understanding french. We soon learned when we crested a hill and were hit with the noise, smell and wonder from all these birds. The observation decks were right in with all the nesting gannets.

Gaspe - Forillon NP to Perce - July 19 - 23

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Here we are at Perce with Perce Rock in the background. Our stay is at Cote Surprise, a commercial CG that has a beautiful view overlooking the water. We have just arrived so more will come about this area in another post. 

We haven't had internet for 5 days so have a bit of catching up to do. Working backwards, we had a wonderful 4 day stay at Forillon National Park at the tip of the Gaspe in Lands End. This is a really well maintained park. We stayed on the North Side at Des-Rosiers CG right near the beach. The CG was immaculate. Our loop was in a loosely wooden area of aspens and evergreens.The weather can be damp and cold so the shower/restroom areas have an extra room with picnic tables and a wood stove for campers to hang out. There are other similar buildings throughout the park so it can be enjoyed in all kinds of weather and temperature. So what's great about Forillon? Dramatic rock cliffs, wildlife, pelagic as well as woodland birds, forests, meadows, wildflowers, fishing history . . . .  lots to do and see. Biking, lighthouses, whales, birds of course, waterfalls, bear cub and lots of porcupines. 

The highlights of the trip along the north coast to Forillon included the Jardins de Metis/Reford Gardens, wonderful smoked fish at Atkins et Feres, mead wine at Vieux Moulin, lighthouses, small villages and a submarine.

Although it is getting late, there are many kids playing on the porch where I sit and the internet is slow so it is time for bed!

Route des Monts Notre-Dame - July 18

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The plan was to cross into Canada at Fort Kent with a destination of du Bic National Parc but apparently dogs are not allowed in any of the provincial parks in Quebec. Slight oversight on my part! Considering the number of folks that travel with dogs, this is a bit short sighted and thankfully not the case in New Brunswick, PEI or Nova Scotia. For now we will to stick to commercial campgrounds until we get to Forillon National Park on the eastern end of Gaspe but if tonight's stop at Hotel Metis is an example, this will not be too much of a hardship. 

We diverted along the St. John River, cleared customs at Madawaska and took a scenic drive through the country along the Route des Monts Nortre-Dame stopping at several spots including the Pointe-au-Pere Lighthouse. Tomorrow the Reford Gardens and further east.

Portage, ME - July 17

Clear skies and quiet Sunday traffic was a good combination for a new journey. We along with Steve & Ellen are traveling north to Quebec, the Gaspe Peninsula and who knows where from there. 

Thunderstorms, rain, mosquitos and double rainbows rounded out the last part of the day but we found a quiet spot on Portage Lake less than 60 miles from the Canadian border at Fort Kent. Phone and internet will be spotty for the next several weeks but will post when we can.

Shake down trip - Western MA - July 6 - 11

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Switching out Alaska for Western MA and Plan B, we headed out with friends Steve & Ellen for a week's shake down trip to try out their new Speedy. With typical NE weather, we had a little bit of everything from very humid warm days to rain, thunder and sun. 

We traveled to Lee and October Mtn. State Forest to visit Naumkeag, a gilded age Trustees of Reservations property and surrounding areas of Stockbridge and Lenox. From there, we visited the Hancock Shaker Village in Pitttsfield and across the border into NY with a stay at Schodack Island State Park on the Hudson River. The final night's stay was in Savoy Mtn. State Forest in Florida, MA just outside of North Adams. This campground was my favorite atop the mountain in an old apple orchard that gave us a chance to visit the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute. The museum has a fabulous collection of Winslow Homer, Renoir, John Singer Sargent and so many other great artists with a special exhibit of the Nudes of Prado.

Taking the slow road home, we traveled along the Mohawk Trail (Rte. 2) through the mountains and hills with a stop at Shelbourne Falls in search of Josh Simpson's glass works.

Hull, MA - Mar. 26

Home! Sleep, unpack, mail, laundry, sleep . . .

3,861 Miles

J. Strom Thurmond Lake, Appling, GA - Mar 24

Petersburg CG is the largest Army Corp. of Engineers CG on J. Strom Thurmond Lake. Like all ACE CG's, it is well set up, beautiful and immaculate. The sites are huge, private and almost all are on the water. We were OK getting a site for the 1 night but they are booked out for the next week. I asked if it was because of Easter weekend and found out no, it's because of the Masters. 'Course I had to ask what the Masters were; golf of course! This is the place that people either book to be here or locals come so they can rent their homes out for $10,000 for the week! For me, it's all about the fireflies that I haven't seen for many, many years and of course the wonderful fish dinner.

St. George SP - Mar. 21 - 23

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Sugar Hill Campground is well named for the sugar sand dunes that surround it. Like St. Joe's, there are miles and miles of white sand beaches with clear water. Unlike St. Joe's, the campground is beautiful with generous well spaced campsites. We happened upon a 43' site that has plenty of room for Speedy and a travel trailer or two along with us. #40 - a great site.

Going back to St. Joe's, we had to move to 3 different sites because I didn't make reservations 11 months back. With the exception of our last site, #5, the Gulf Breeze CG was densely populated with extra tents, vehicles, people and kids overflowing their space. Still it was beautiful and seemed to have more birds than St. George.

We love St. George and is a perfect last stay in FL before we work our way back tomorrow. We have biked from one end of the peninsula to the other, still have one last shot to put fresh fish on the table (Harry!) and Nina has found paradise with sand flats to run on the bay side. Harry has discovered a new popular artificial bait used around the gulf - Fishbites. Lets hope they do soon!

Success! Fishbites work . . . . for me! Pompano for dinner. Looks like a little fish but would have fed 4.

There is a volunteer astronomer here for the month of March with a 5" telescope. Harry opted to look at the sunspots mid day while I braved the bugs looking at Jupiter and the 4 moons before 1 eclipsed behind. Couldn't hold on to wait for the spot to come around!

On our way into St. George, we had another opportunity for fried oysters in Appalachicola. This time we tried Boss Oysters. Both this restaurant and Hole in the Wall were excellent. The Hole has more character and is cheaper. Boss, although a bit more expensive, came with a generous 10+ oysters. Might have to go one more round to declare a winner.

Tomorrow we head out and start the sprint home so posting may be slim.

St. Joe's SP - Mar 17 - 20

Arrived in the rain and managed to swap out sites so that Steve & Ellen were next door for the one night they would be with us. This worked out well to gather for dinner in our little van. It's been a long five months since I have been able to bird with Ellen and catch up with their lives and ours. Short but sweet, it was a good visit graced by wonderful birds like the great horned owl.

We got the better part of the day as we now sit in the rain but Speedy left an assortment of books from their "lending library" so all is good.

Mitchell Lake CP, Appalachicola NF - Mar 16

This campground was beautiful with large, level sites. When we arrived the camp host said that they were having a problem with no see ums.  Very true but this was only an overnight for us before going to St. Joe's to meet up with Steve & Ellen. There is a 4.5 mile hike that looked really interesting going through all different types of habit along the river but it was a bit hot, Nina was having trouble with pollen and we wanted to poke through the town of Appalachicola in search of fried oysters. We found them at a restaurant called Hole in the Wall.