The Travelling Cryptographer

With the road trip now on a winter hiatus, I thought I’d put up a few comments on the last leg.

Rounding the Gaspésie peninsula, I stopped at The René Bureau Cliff to learn about the Age of Fishes. The park (Miguasha national park) became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007, in recognition of the number and well-preserved nature of the fossils found there dating from the Devonian period.

 

The rest of the 132 loop follows a valley dotted with covered bridges. Plenty of places to pull over for the night, if you weren’t in a hurry to stop driving on Québec roads.

Stay in Mont-Louis for a few days. The camping is convenient with the Gulf of St. Lawrence on one side and the Appalachians on the other, and the restaurants are good. You can also buy delicious smoked fish at Atkins et Frères.

 

Gaspé is a bit dull, but it does boast a museum with public archives, as well as the Jacques Cartier monument, which documents the arrival of the Europeans and their interaction with the locals.

 

Percé is also worth more than one day. This little town has survived more than one storm that devastated the seashore. There are informational signs along the temporary boardwalk discussing the effects of climate change on the coastline. You can see remains of the former boardwalk.

As well as damage to neighboring property.

It is probably worth the overpriced boat tour to Rocher Percé and Îsle Bonaventure. The latter is where the gannets nest. Just the corner of the island is visible here.

The Parc National du Bic is a nice place to stop, but all the provincial parks in Quebec are expensive, so be forewarned.

 

The Rioux family farm was established in the early 1900s, and the family lived here until the land was expropriated in the 1970s. The Rioux were apparently allowed to return each summer until 1981, which was the the date of their final expulsion, and probably when the park decided to turn their barn into a welcome center. I’m not sure other residents were extended the same courtesy.

 

Check the tides first, but walk along the beach if you can.

Some trails are only accessible at low tide.

 

 

We took the ferry into Quebec.

The view and traffic are superior to driving.

 

Welcome to Vinland,

where you can buy chocolate sausages.

 

The streets are colorful,

and lively,

and invite exploration.

 

Make sure to visit the citadel;

it seems the apples are tasty.

 

And we even found a beer fest in a pool!

 

Parliament was surrounded by a construction fence that prominently displays a promise—one perhaps applicable in the context of natural disasters, but otherwise impossible to fulfill.

 

A pedestrian bridge hidden underneath the highway, overlooking a waterfall formed from an old dam. 

It is now pay only, fenced off as a part of a park.

But the trails on either side are still well-demarcated. Perhaps the change was recent; perhaps people climb the fence.

Above the old dam is a nice place for skipping stones, if you ignore the signs portending doom and go there.

And a good meal after hiking, in a cafe of long necks, rusty farm equipment, and growler lights.

Racism and poor taste in Quebec. Incidentally those miniature lion statues are everywhere.

And a nice walk along the quay after dinner,

to enjoy the sunset, the river, and good company.

 

Just south of Ottawa, Manotick has an operational grist mill with tour guides in period costume. They sometimes even host a scotch night.

You are free to explore the entire mill. Even entry and tours are by donation.

But the equipment only runs every second Sunday of the non-winter months.

The Dickinson house next door also boasts exhibits with tour guides in period costume.

For women, Dr. Warner’s Health Corset — an all-in-one believable corset with skirt supporter and self-adjusting pads, approved by physicians, would keep women safe from men who used Dr. Gray’s Specific Medicine.

 

Thanks to volunteers, I may have solar now. 

It started raining immediately after they’d finished. East coast problems.