Canada Archives - Page 18 of 24 - Our View From The Road

Into the Gaspé

A crisp 6C start to the day. The winds have dropped quite a lot but it’s still breezy coming off of the water. We packed up and prepared to leave, no shorts and tee shirts today.

We were about to pull out of our sight when I looked across the road and spotted a colleague from my work days. They too are traveling towards the East and so we may cross paths again over the next few days. Quite a surprise to bump into someone you know so far from home.

On the road we decide to take the quieter backroads as opposed to the autoroute. This has us meandering along the shoreline through small quaint villages each with their own character and charm.

We drive through Rimouski and then stop in Pointe-au-Père to look at the exhibits set up for the lighthouse, the Empress of Ireland and the submarine ‘Onondaga’. First, it’s still 8C with a stiff wind off the water making it feel much cooler than this. We decide for a simple walk about and did not go into the museum that commemorates the collision and subsequent sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914 with the loss of over 1,000 immigrant lives. This remains today, the worst maritime disaster in Canadian waters.

Arriving in Matane we stop for fuel. This turns out to be important as the smaller towns past this point do not all have gas stations. We also stop at the Poissonnerie Bertrand Desbois where Barb picked up lunch (Lobster roll & chips and fish & chips) as well as a seafood pizza for later. Mmm.

Poissonnerie Bertrand Desbois, Matane, QC

Barb takes over the driving for the afternoon and the roads become much hillier as we drive further East with at least one hill being posted at a 14% grade down with sharp curves at the bottom (of course).

Our day concludes at the town of Grande-Vallée where we stop at the campground ‘Camping au Soleil Couchant’. The campground is quiet, the lots are grassy and level and each has a wonderful view across the St Lawrence.

We enjoy our pizza and watch some online videos before enjoying the sunset. Good night one and all.

Notre vue depuis la route

Bonjour! As you might be able to guess today we set-off on our East coast trip to the Maritimes & we are starting in ‘la belle province de Québec’. (Oh, the title of this post is ‘Our view from the road’ for those of our readers that do not read French.)

Restless night, so am tired this morning but managed to go for a 6km walk before completing prep to leave. We drive out of the laneway at 9:30am and head into town to top off with fuel and then onto Winchester where we stop at Tim Horton’s for a breakfast sandwich and coffee. Hwy31 takes us to Hwy401 where we turn East towards Cornwall, ON. We cross into Québec and cross the St Lawrence river at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield before joining the Autoroute30 that takes us across the southern side of Montreal. At Boucherville we join Autoroute20 which we will follow to our destination in Rivière-du-Loup.

In all the drive takes about 7.5hrs including a stop for lunch and another for fuel. The day started overcast; however, by the time we got past Montreal the skies had cleared and were a beautiful blue. The only thing that detracted from a relaxed driving experience was the wind. Coming from the East it was blowing across the highway at times gusting above 60kmh. It made for a very tiring day of driving and I was really glad to pull into the “Camping municipal de la pointe” campground.

We have a site overlooking the St Lawrence and will get to watch the sunset from the van. The temperature is only 10C and so sitting outside in the wind would require a braver constitution than I have.

Tomorrow we continue along the south shore of the St Lawrence as we begin our exploration of the Gaspé region. Bon nuit.

Nothing to declare

Awake at 6:30am following a nice night in the park. I head off to the shower hoping that I find hot water. I am mostly satisfied as the water is warm and pleasant enough to enjoy. Barb reports from her slightly later shower that the system was now up-to-speed and supplying plenty of very hot water. Just my luck to have been the first of the day. Showers get a 8/10 loosing points on general cleaniness and age. Security and privacy were very good as each shower is in its own room. Water supply was also very good, not a dribble as can be found in some campgrounds.

We depart our site at 8:45am and head to the dump-station. It is clean and well equipped with rinse hose. Heading out of the park we head East long US-5 and I turn to head toward Fredonia, NY only to find a railroad underpass with a signed 10’-1” headroom clearance. STOP! At a supposed 10’-0” height for the van I was not about to test either the factory spec or accuracy of the sign so I turned about and headed into Dunkirk, NY where I crossed over the railroad tracks in order to return to the I-90 East.

The drive into Buffalo and through the city is uneventful and before long we are heading East through Western New York farmland. As the long weekend is over the highways are busier with truck traffic than we have seen for the past day or so but in general everyone behaves themselves and before we know it we leave the I-90 and join the I-81 North towards Watertown, NY where we stop for fuel and a sandwich in the van. Barb drops into Walmart and picks up a set of new melamine bowls that she has not been able to find in Canada since returning from the US Southwest a few weeks ago.

We decide to not cross back into Canada using the Ivy-Lea crossing, but instead turn onto US-37 and head towards Ogdensburg, NY and use the quieter crossing. This allows us to slow down and enjoy the day more and avoid having to drive on Hwy-401. At the bridge I learned that having dually rear wheels costs $9.00CAD instead of $4.25CAD to cross the bridge. I’d not noticed this in previous crossings over the past year or so, but had read online that others had experienced an up charge for the same reason on other toll roads and bridges.

Canadian customs was not busy and the staff efficient and much more pleasant than their US counterparts that we engaged with just a few days ago. Yay!

Driving home along Hwy-416 we both agreed that it was once again nice to be home in Canada and that, at least for now, we were both USA’d out for a while. We are looking forward to the Maritime leg of this trip which we plan on starting in just a few days, so check back soon for more updates from the road.

Arriving in Indy

After enjoying a beverage and slice of pizza at our hosts last evening, we enjoyed a long and silent night.

The views across the farmland this morning were serene. Windmills on the horizon quietly turning about their business whilst a few early farming types were up and running about getting a jump on the days chores.

We get going at about 8:45am and head back towards highway 401. The border crossing at Windsor is only about 45 min away and so we are hoping to beat the Saturday rush. Not quite.

US Customs is busy with many lanes open for traffic each having between 6 and 9 vehicles waiting. We join a line of 6 cars and 1 minibus. Mistake #1. The minibus takes a while for all passengers to be processed and then the lane is closed temporarily while there is a shift change of agents.

Our turn comes and it isn’t long before we realize that we have inherited the badass agent out to prove something to someone. We’re grilled. We’re boarded. We’re released. Phew. 25 minutes in all to clear US Customs. Argh.

Detroit driving is actually very good and the I-75 South towards Toledo flows smoothly. Potholes, lots. Construction, also lots but as it’s Saturday we pass right through without any delays.

Before we know it we’re driving around Toledo and onto US-24 towards Fort Wayne, IN. This is a beautiful road. Quiet, smooth, relatively flat.

When we arrive in Fort Wayne we head towards town and stop for fuel and groceries at a WalMart. Whilst stopped we made ourselves lunch in the van.

Back on the road we head now towards Indianapolis. Traffic builds as we get into the city as there are lots of construction zones we need to slow down for. We head around the city on I-465 and then take I-65 towards the Speedway. A few more turns and we’re driving down Georgetown Road towards IMS Lot 1-A where we are camping whilst in town.

A friendly campground host sets us up in a really nice spot at the edge of the camping field away from the rowdiest of campers. Excellent!

We’re meeting friends while here and they pick us up in their truck shortly after we arrive. We go back to their hotel which is next to the Indianapolis Colts football stadium and enjoy a couple of drinks while catching up on everyone’s travels from Ottawa to Indy.

We take an Uber downtown to Fogo de Chāo a Brazilian Steakhouse where all enjoyed a wonderful meal while telling tales and laughing at ourselves and the escapades enjoyed throughout our long term friendships.

Barb and I took an Uber back to the campsite to end the day and fell asleep to the thrum of generators, music and fireworks.

Tomorrow, the Indy 500. That’s it, that’s all, a motor race. Sleep tight everyone! Vroom, vroom.

Heading West to go East?

Welcome to the first in a series of posts in which we will share with you a trip to the Canadian Maritime provinces. We’re traveling in our 2022 PleasureWay OnTour 2.2 camper-van again and plan on staying at a variety of campgrounds along the way. It’s late May 2023 and our plan is to complete this trip over the next four weeks arriving home ahead of Canada Day (July 1st). We hope you enjoy reading about our travels and will check back often as we add to Our View From The Road.

It’s Friday. It’s early. It’s day one of a new adventure. We’re excited. We’re off…. But wait, why are we heading West? I thought this was a series of posts about going to the East coast? Remember I said, it’s late May? That can only mean that it’s time again to head to Indianapolis for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 !!!!! That’s right, we’re heading back for a 2nd year.

7:00am and I’m out for my 5km walk, a beautiful morning. 8:40am and we’re out of the laneway. Towards Prescott and Hwy-401. Our first stop was the Mallorytown OnRoute service center for fuel and breakfast. Not a huge Tim’s fan but it does fine for this morning. The driving is good for a Friday, the usual compliment of trucks setting the pace whilst impatient drivers try to carve around them.

Toronto comes and goes. Early Friday afternoon traffic slows us a little but soon we’re cruising past the airport and on our way out of town.

Our next stop is the Cambridge OnRoute this time only for gas. $1.709 / litre for regular, ouch. We’re getting hungry but decide to push on.

Woodstock OnRoute and we stop to take a break in the picnic area. This is a wonderfully quiet, shady spot to take a break and enjoy a sandwich in our van. Not much further today so we finish up and get back on the road.

Past London, West Lorne and finally we pull off of the highway at Blenheim. Our stop for tonight is the Red Barn Brewing Company. As a Harvest Hosts location, we stay for the cost of trying some of their goods. They are fairly new based upon the nice barn structure in which they are situated. They have a nice outdoor patio and some activities to enjoy such as the game of cornhole. The beer selection is quite good and we buy a few to enjoy whilst traveling about.

Tomorrow we cross into the US of A. Sleep well everyone.

Sorry but there are no pictures from today, we were just to focused on our destination and forgot to pickup the camera.