Campbellton NB to near Gaspe PQ

Perce rock

 

Today we broke camp from Sugarloaf fairly late for us, about 10 am. We slept in til 8, also unusual (okay, I was up for an hour or two earlier). In bed by 9, catching up on some sleep. 

We just followed Hwy 132 along the coast almost to Gaspe. We were heading to stay in Forillon park overnight but didn't quite make it. Anyway, today we had more coastal views. Baie des Chaleurs is large by itself,and when backed by the Gulf of St Lawrence can seem like a real ocean.

A line of RV's camped on a sand-spit caught our eye, so we went in to see what it was all about. 

Several campers towards the middle of the spit

 

 

Another lighthouse at the end, but not interested after yesterday's tour

Beach area near the lighthouse with a few brave souls enjoying the day

 

Further along, another unique camping option:

It looked rustic all right.

We crossed over many inlets today:

 

 

We didn't stop too much. For some reason we both felt pretty tired today. A bit stiff too, from the walking and steps we did yesterday. Those activities are getting harder for us to do. 

Here's a couple of the many churches we saw today. Some recurring architectural themes for the RC's:

 

Perce Rock was nicely visible today, and we got several pictures with varying light. It can really look different in different lighting:

A tour boat getting real close. Safer than a glacier!

 

The afternoon light can make it glow

A note for anyone driving to Perce - be aware there are several  hills on Hwy 132 with significant grades uphill and downhill, and curves. Not really a place for learning to drive your big rig.

We're not sure where we were when Cathie spotted a couple of freighters coming to port somewhere nearby:

Tonight we are camped at a small campground called Camping Gaspe, near the town of Gaspe. We got a nice waterview site, with electric and water. We've been getting sites with electric since the overnight temps are usually single digit C, and running the electric heater overnight is safer than our little propane heater. 

In the distance we can see buildings on a sand-spit again, and a bridge. So maybe the sand-spit is part causeway? We'll be going by it tomorrow. 

 Tonight we cooked up our sea bass, in a real nice setting:

 

I wish I could say the sea bass matched the setting. We both found it rather blah, and likely wouldn't do it again ourselves. I expect it would be better if cooked differently. We simply salted and peppered, then cooked the skin side first then flipped it once. All according to some instructions we found online. They sure looked and smelled nice though. 

 

 

Shippagan NB to Campbellton NB, Sugerloaf campground

Large bridge near Petit-Shippagan

A bit of a soggy morning again, but brighter. 

Near our campground we stopped in town (Shippagan) to check for cell signal (still not good enough) and found that a section of the Trans-Canada trail runs through here. Leading up to it is a long boardwalk around the bay: 

We decided to head up to a lighthouse near Miscou, at the northern tip of Miscou Island. Lots of harbours and sea views along the way.

 

Marina at Petit-Shippagan

Then we reached the lighthouse:

Miscou Lighthouse

 

Built in 1886 entirely of wood, the structure was initially about 76 feet tall. It has been moved inland twice due to shoreline erosion, and at one point the height was increased to about 82 feet to extend the range of the lighthouse light. It's still in amazingly original condition.

For more info: <Miscou Lighthouse link>

 

We don't usually tour the inside of lighthouses, but did this time, about 95 steps to the top. Likely luckily, the stair steps are not original. It's about 30 feet across at the bottom:

Each flight of steps lead to a landing with exhibits, a good rest stop

Local roads can be a challenge in the winter

The final stage to the top

Some outbuildings from the top

... and from the ground

 

Miscou Island still has large tracts of peat, which have helped stabilize the island over the years. Apparently the island would have washed away years ago if the peat was not there, so the Island peat bogs are all protected from being dug out and exported.

The large brown areas are the peat bogs

More peat bogs, and our van way down there.

 

The main road ends at the lighthouse so we retraced our steps for a while after leaving. After learning about the peat we likely got more out of a tour of a peat bog than we might have before: 

A really solid boardwalk circled in and around the bog

Different boardwalk construction

 

Very well constructed boardwalk

Pokeshaw Rock was an interesting stop. 

Lots of seabirds in nesting season, not now though

A future Perce rock?

 

Also an accessible beach area

After covering about 75 km on our leisurely morning tour, in the afternoon we took more inland roads (mostly hwy 11) to get to the Campbellton area to stay overnight somewhere there, ending up in the Sugarloaf Provincial park campground at a nice woodsy campsite. They even gave us free Tshirts! Along the way here we were hit by a torrential rainfall, and had to pull off the road for a few minutes. Luckily the squall passed quickly:

While at the lighthouse we asked one of the tour guides if there was a place to buy seafood nearby. She pointed us at an outlet at the wharf area in Lameque. Once we found the place we bought a pound or so of striped sea bass, the same kind that fisherman caught yesterday near our campground:

This made the entrance obvious once we got close