Travelogue

The "Entering Colorado" sign made me feel like we'd finally hit the West, but the scenery was still very much that of the Great Plains. It pretty much stays that way until you hit the Rockies. Taking the advice of a local, we decided to avoid Denver by getting off I76 and taking Route 71 south. This was quite a road--straight, narrow, and deserted. Well, at least we weren't driving through rush hour in Denver, but I'm not so sure that wouldn't have been preferable. You definitely didn't want to have car problems out here. The towns--and I use that term quite loosely--were at least 25 miles apart and had inviting names, such as Last Chance. I must admit I was a bit relieved when we hit civilization again.

Garden of the GodsHerb, however, is never that thrilled about hitting civilization. He would be perfectly content with nothing but nature--and I hope us--as his company and entertainment. That's why, as we inched our way along Saturday afternoon traffic in Colorado Springs, he was quite skeptical about our visit to Garden of the Gods. His feelings were not much improved when our motorhome practically got wedged in a tight turn within 2 minutes of entering the park. As dozens of tourists clambered happily atop Balance Rock, we edged our way ever so slowly around it trying not to bring some of it along with us. At this point, Herb was getting a bit cranky and mumbling something about just getting out of here. We pulled over as soon as we could, which happened to be in the parking lot for the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, Colorado's largest. Now, Herb is not particularly fond of gift shops and what he views as people's unnecessary need to consume crap, so he stayed in the RV to regroup while the kids and I quite happily went inside to shop. While in there, I was able to get information on how best to visit the park. If we could get a campsite at Garden of the Gods campground, just a block away, we could leave our motorhome there and bike through the park. Perfect. Bikes have always been our favorite form of transport.

Touring Garden of the GodsFortunately, despite it being a Saturday night, we were able to get a campsite in the very nice, but quite crowded, Garden of the Gods Campground. Since it was a hot afternoon, we decided to hang out by the pool for awhile and then bike into the Garden of the Gods when it cooled off and the lighting got better for photography. Hanging by the pool also gave me the opportunity to get some laundry done, which was good because we had accumulated about 3 days of some pretty stinky running clothes. As I started to pour my powdered Tide onto my wash, I was surprised to see a sign above the washers that said Liquid Detergent Only. I surreptitiously wrapped my beach towel around the box and had Herb, my accomplice, carry it out with him to the pool where he discretely placed it behind my beach chair. I'm not sure why I didn't just bring it back to the RV. After coming out of the pool from a refreshing dip, I bumped into the towel-covered Tide box, knocking some powder onto the pavement. I immediately began to panic. In my clumsy attempts to right the situation, I spilled some more. Meanwhile, my dripping body was causing it to suds up quite nicely. I wanted to die. Everything I did only made the situation worse. Finally, we decided to just leave and hope for the best. As we got back to the RV, a thunderstorm came through. I could only imagine what was happening to my suds at the pool.

Garden of the Gods CampgroundAfter the storm ended, we hopped on our bikes and headed up Ridge Road into the Garden of the Gods. It's hard to believe that this is a city park. When I think of city parks, I think of playgrounds and duck ponds, but this park had acres of magnificent red sandstone rock formations that were on par with the scenery of the national parks. We locked our bikes at the Central Garden Trailhead and walked the 1 ½ miles along the paved trail that went along the base of the formations. The lighting was perfect for photography--a great place for Andrew to shoot some pictures for his photography assignment. Too bad it was a black and white assignment--the colors were amazing. We tried to take one of the off-road mountain biking trails back, but got a bit lost and went back on the road. I was huffing and puffing a bit more than I thought I should--the change in altitude really does make a difference.

Back at the campground, I was relieved to see that the pool area looked pretty normal--no suds oozing through the fence. The next morning before leaving, the boys partook in the campground's Sunday morning $4 all-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast. They definitely ate their money's worth.

Description

Garden of the GodsGarden of the Gods is a free city park located in Colorado Springs. Its 1,340 acres contain magnificent red sandstone rock formations, miles of hiking trails, a living history museum, the largest trading post in Colorado, and spectacular views of Pikes Peak. The park has been recognized as "a nationally significant natural area" by the Department of the Interior and designated as a National Natural Landmark.

This land was originally purchased in 1879 by Charles Perkins, a railroad magnate. After his death in 1909, his children gave the land to the City of Colorado Springs under the conditions that it be kept forever open to the public and free. Today it receives more than 1 million visitors a year.

Activities in the park include hiking, guided nature walks, mountain biking, horseback ride, photography, and rock climbing.

While there are no campgrounds in the park, the Garden of the Gods Campground lies just at its edge. This 5 star campground has many amenities, including a heated pool, indoor whirlpool, game room, basketball court, playground, etc.

Travelogue

As of yet, I wasn't very original in my planning. Day 1 to the Flying J in Toledo, Day 2 to Lake Anita State Park in southwestern Iowa, and now here we were again at Lake McConaughy on Day 3. Kind of a deja vu of our 2003 trip, but sometimes you gotta stick with something that works.

Lake McConaughy camping on the beachLake McConaughy was a great find for us on our 2001 trip. It's hardly off route when traveling west on Route 80, and it's really a very lovely stop. The lake is great--warm, aquamarine waters--and you can actually camp your RV right on the beach at the water's edge. We're always a little hesitant to drive in sand that is too soft and risk needing to be towed out, so we looked for a campsite further from the water on harder sand. Unfortunately, it was Friday afternoon, and being the popular vacation spot with Nebraskans that it was, we were unable to find anything good that we felt comfortable driving on. Not wanting to waste any more of the little time we had left that day hunting for a spot, we decided to camp at Little Thunder, one of the developed campgrounds on the asphalt. Also, it was very hot out, so this way we could have electricity and run the AC.

Tractor tracks for beachfront campingAfter settling in, which consisted of plugging in the electric cord, we quickly headed down to the beach for a late afternoon dip. Andrew brought along his old 35mm camera since he had to shoot 5 rolls of black and white film as a summer assignment for his Photography class. I was really glad he had this assignment and that it timed with our trip. It really forced him to look at things that he probably wouldn't have really noticed before--like the patterns that tire tracks make in the sand or the texture of the sand along the water's edge.

In the meanwhile, Tommy was running along the beach and jumping happily into a pile of sand. Unfortunately, the pile covered some fish that people had filleted, and one of the bones pierced Tommy's big toe. There was blood everywhere. He quickly hopped the fairly long distance back to the motorhome where we were able to bandage it up and stop the bleeding. So much for his running that night. I just hoped that this wouldn't put him out of commission for too long.

As always, Lake McConaughy had been a great stop, but I was getting antsy to see something new.

Description

Lake McConaughy camping on the beachLake McConaughy, nicknamed "Big Mac," is the largest reservoir in Nebraska. It is located just a few miles off Interstate 80 near the Colorado border. The reservoir, which is over 20 miles long and 4 miles wide when at full capacity, was formed on the Platte River by the Kingsley Dam. The lake has over 100 mile of white-sand beaches along its shore line.

To Nebraskans, the main attraction of Lake McConaughy is water activities--swimming, boating, windsurfing, skiing, and world-class fishing. Trophy size catfish, walleye, stripers, bass, and trout have been caught in "Big Mac."

The park has 200 tent and RV sites. However, most people choose to primitive camp right on the beach at the water's edge. Camping is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Travelogue

A long 10-hour day of driving brought us to another one of our favorite trans-continental stops--Lake Anita State Park in southwestern Iowa, a very pretty park with campsites right on a lake.

Tom's photo of swansIt was already almost 6:00 when we pulled in, so the sensible thing would have been to make dinner and relax. However, that being said, we decided to go for a run around the lake instead. The boys were so slow getting ready that Herb and I set out ahead of them, fully thinking that they and their young legs would catch up to us in no time. About 3 miles into the run, we couldn't understand why they hadn't caught up to us yet. Finally, we saw them coming towards us. They hadn't listened to our directions on finding the trail and took a wrong turn that brought them in the opposite direction around the lake. Oh well, I don't think they really wanted us to run with them anyway.

Back at the RV--it was now close to 7:00. We probably should have just showered and made dinner, but we were hot from our run and wanted to take a swim. Unfortunately, the only place you were allowed to swim was at the designated beach on the opposite side of the lake. So, we hopped on our bikes (this was getting to be a biathlon) and rode the couple of miles back around the lake to the beach. There must have been a drought since the last time we were here in 2003, because the lake levels were really down and the beach was pretty grassy. We never did wind up going in for a swim, but we did watch a very nice sunset over the lake. Tommy stalked some swans near the lake with his camera, who let him get surprisingly close to them.

That night we had dinner about 9:30--a little too late, but that's okay. This was really the first stop of our trip and having fun together was much more important than being sensible.

Description

Lake Anita lakeside campsiteLake Anita State Park is located in southwest Iowa about 5 miles south of Interstate 80. The park, which contains a beautiful 171-acre artificial lake, is very popular for swimming, fishing and boating.
There is a campground with 144 sites, all within easy access of the lake.

Travelogue

With the usual feeling of excitement and anticipation, we pulled out of our driveway and began our journey west, with the intention of getting to our usual first night's stop at the Toledo, Ohio Flying J (about 10 hours away). However, things do not always go as smoothly as planned. Less than 2 hours into the trip, we were abruptly brought out of our early-journey, contented reverie by the high-pitched squeal of an alarm inside the RV. I immediately jumped up to check the propane and carbon monoxide alarms as that seemed the most likely and dangerous source of the problem. We had had the propane alarm go off in the past after one of us bumped into the stove and accidentally turned one of the knobs. No, that wasn't it. The smoke detector was fine as well. All of a sudden a light bulb seemed to go off in Herb's head. He quickly pulled to the side of the road, ran back to the cabinet under the sink, ripped off the velcroed panel, and yelled "Water!" Apparently, the filter on the water pump had come loose with the highway bouncing, and water was pouring out into the area under the cabinet and out under the rugs in the RV. Three quarters of the family jumped into action--teenage son #1 somehow managed to sleep through the entire crisis. Tommy and I grabbed towels and tried to stop the flow of water out to the rugs. Herb ran outside and started dumping our water tank out onto the highway. Thankfully, no state troopers came by. Then Tommy and Herb got to work on the pump. Fortunately, Herb is quite handy and was able to quickly diagnose the problem and tighten the filter so that the pump could go back to doing what a pump was supposed to do--only supply water when you wanted it. In the process, Herb somehow managed to chip his elbow, which still hurts to this day. Crisis averted, we all sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. Andrew continued to snooze.

Having lost only about ½ hour, we headed back out on the road towards Ohio, stopping at a Flying J in Pennsylvania to refill our water tanks and test to see that was the pump was working. Thankfully, everything seemed to be fine and we could continue our journey as planned--with showers and running water.

The next order of business was finding a place for the boys to run. Both boys are high school cross country runners and needed to build up a lot of mileage over the summer. I had a feeling they would object to running around the Flying J parking lot, so as we drove along Route 80 across Pennsylvania, I scanned the National Geographic's Guide to the Interstates to try and get some ideas. This book has been an invaluable resource for finding interesting places to break up long driving days. I couldn't believe it. I found the absolutely perfect place to stop--Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, just 2 miles off of Route 80, with miles of gravel towpaths along a canal--a runner's paradise.

We arrived at Cuyahoga 10 minutes after the Happy Isles Visitor Center closed, but fortunately were able to pick up a National Park pamphlet that gave us the lay of the land. Immediately Herb got all worked up that this park had been upgraded from a National Recreation Area to a National Park. "This place was nice and all that, but National Parks were places like Yosemite and Yellowstone, not a towpath along a canal! As this was my plan for the evening, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but I'd have to agree. This park was nice and all that, but it definitely wasn't of the same caliber as most National Parks. Still, it was a very pretty place and just what we needed that night--a place to run, so I told him that I didn't really care what they called it.

It was close to 6:00 by the time we parked in a lot near Lock 29 by the Peninsula Depot Visitor Center. We quickly donned our running clothes and left the RV only to discover that the skies had darkened, the wind had picked up, and thunder was rumbling in the distance. Not wanting to let reality get in the way of my plans, I proceeded to stretch and get ready to run. Tommy--always the most sensible one in the family--did not at all like what he saw. "You're not really going to make me do this in a thunderstorm, are you?" After convincing him that we would come right back if the storm moved any closer, we set out on a run together. Well, not really together--the boys were quite a bit ahead of us. Fortunately, the storm did move away and we were able to have a really nice run along the canal. Tommy's new Garmin GPS Watch worked great, except that somehow his big brother convinced him that he should be the one wearing it. It accurately told them their distance and pace and would have guided them back to the RV if they got lost--which is my favorite feature.

After driving for 8 hours, the run felt great. Time for a quick shower and then on to the Flying J in Toledo about 2 hours away.

Description

Located about halfway between Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses 33,000 acres of deep forests, rolling hills, and picturesque farmland along a 22-mile stretch of the Cuyahoga River.

The park is rich in history in that it contains a major section of the Ohio & Erie Canal, which was originally part of the national system of canals built in the 1800s to connect the East Coast and the Midwest. When this canal opened in 1827, it replaced the river as the primary mode of transportation between Cleveland and Akron. Today, bikers and hikers use the gravel Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail that runs alongside the canal to explore the beautiful Cuyahoga River Valley. The Canal Visitor Center at the northern end of the park has exhibits illustrating the history of the canal.

The Hale Farm and Village at the southern end of the park is a living history museum depicting farm life in the mid-19th century. In this re-creation of a farm village, live interpreters portray blacksmiths, glassblowers, weavers, candlemakers, and potters and demonstrate their crafts.

A great way to explore the valley is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad which runs through the park on tracks dating from the 1880s. There are a variety of route packages to choose from.

Travelogue

The drive home from Quebec City took a little under 9 hours--something I would definitely keep in mind for the future. It's great to know that the feel of being in Europe is just a single day's drive away.

All in all, I would say the trip was a success and that I had shown the family that the Maritimes was not just a cold, damp, and buggy place (although sometimes it was). We didn't expect to find the dramatic beauty of the West or the warm beaches of the South, but we did--and all of it a lot closer to home.

Description

Our home in Upper Saddle River, a suburb of New York City.

Travelogue

The one thing that makes me feel a bit of a fraud in calling myself a seasoned traveler is the fact that I’ve never once stepped foot off the North American continent. Do I regret it? Sure I do, and someday (probably after the kids are gone) I’m going to make sure I see a lot more of the world, even though it means leaving our beloved Lazy Daze behind. In the meantime, Quebec City was the closest thing I was going to get to the spirit and feel of Old World charm.

Boy's on streets of Quebec CitySince visiting cities in a motorhome can often be quite stressful, I made sure ahead of time that we would be able to park the RV somewhere safely. In fact, my research actually began in Newfoundland when I overheard a Gros Morne park ranger say that she lived in Quebec City in the wintertime. She was quite helpful (as everyone in Newfoundland is) and drew me a detailed map of Lower Town, marking the large parking lot next to the Musee de la Civilisation on Dalhousie Street. It really does help to get local knowledge.

Despite my map and preparation, we managed to miss the turn into the parking lot and wound up on a narrow cobblestone side street where we almost became a permanent fixture. This made Herb a little cranky and brought back visions of the time I navigated him into the same situation in Salem, Massachusetts. For some reason I’m able to navigate us across an entire continent, but mess up on the details. Anyway, we did manage to get back to the parking lot without much further ado.

The first place we wanted to explore was Vieux Quebec, the walled portion of the city, which was sat atop the steep cliff rising from Lower Town. Having had so much success with talking to locals in Newfoundland, I decided to use the same approach here in finding the best way to get to Upper Town. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a language barrier—practically everyone spoke only French. I tried to get the boys to practice their French, but all I could get out of them was “No parle Francais.” Big help they were. After a few more unsuccessful attempts with passersby, we resorted to our map to find our own way.

Quebec City Faux BuildingsWe walked up a steep street that led us through a Gate and onto the Terrasse Dufferin, a pedestrian-only promenade along the cliff’s edge. From there we could look out over Lower Town, from which we had just come, and the St. Lawrence River. The boardwalk was full of activity—street performers playing music and vendors selling their wares from booths that ran the whole length of the boardwalk.

The kids and I became quite pouty when we saw happy tourists emerging onto the promenade from the funicular terminal. What the heck was a funicular and why weren’t we one of the happy tourists getting off of it? Perhaps if the boys had spoken French in Lower Town, we would have known about this. Anyway, for whatever reason, we missed out on entering Upper Town via a glass-enclosed gondola-like car along a very steep railway track. I just hate when this happens.

Since we had no particular agenda, we spent the afternoon wandering around the narrow cobblestone streets, taking in the various sights along the way. Right behind the Terrasse Dufferin was my personal favorite—the Chateau Frontenac, a majestic castle that serves as the symbol of Quebec City. It’s actually a hotel and has hosted such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Delanor Roosevelt. I wish it could have hosted me.

A refreshing break at La Lapin Saute CafeAfter seeing the main highlights, like La Citadelle and La Basilica de Notre-Dame, we wandered off the main drag into the residential section of the town. This is what I really enjoy—seeing the real city, not just the part marketed to tourists. We eventually wound up along des Ramparts, where cannons lined the fortified walls above Lower Town.

We followed the cannons back around to a park near the gate where we first entered the walled city. From there we could look down into the Lower Town and onto one of my favorite sights—a 900 square foot mural depicting the history of Old Quebec, painted on the wall of a building on the rue du Petit-Champlain.

From there we headed down the aptly named “Breakneck Stairs” into the Quartier Petit Champlain, one of the oldest and narrowest streets in North America. It was extremely hot out and we were getting a bit cranky, so we stopped at an outdoor cafe, named La Lapin Saute, for some iced coffee and desserts. It was the perfect thing to cheer us up. Having difficulty deciding which of the delicious desserts to order, we decided to each order something different and then share it. Herb ordered the cheese cake, I ordered the chocolate mousse, Andrew went for the apple pie, and Tommy bravely ordered the creme brulee. Of course, when the desserts arrived and were tasted, all previously established rules went out the window and those that received a dessert they truly enjoyed refused to share it. We were obviously nearing the end of a very long vacation together.

It was getting late in the afternoon and time for us to find a place to spend the night. We had all truly enjoyed our visit to Vieux Quebec, probably even more than we had anticipated. Although not a replacement for visiting Europe, it was the next best thing this side of the Atlantic.

Description

Quebec City, located along the St. Lawrence River about three hours east of Montreal, provides Old World charm without every having to leave the continent. The city is almost entirely French in spirit and language, although you will find a few people, especially those in the tourist trade, that do speak a bit of English.

Approach to Quebec CityThe city became the birthplace of French civilization in North America when Samuel de Champlain built the first permanent French settlement here in 1608. Because of the importance of its history, its unique beauty, and the fact that it is the only walled city north of Mexico, the historic section of the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

The city is divided by steep cliffs into an Upper Town (Haute Ville), which is perched on top of Cape Diamond, and a Lower Town (Basse Ville) at the base of the cliffs. Both areas have old and new sections. The two towns are connected by steep ramp-like streets, steep staircases with names such as "breakneck stairs", and a cliff-side elevator called a funicular.

Some logistics before visiting the city:

• Stop at the large Visitor Center located right off Route 73 to obtain maps and information
• When visiting the city, park at the large lot next to the Musee de la Civilisation on Dalhousie street in Lower Town. The lot can accommodate RVs.

Visiting Upper Town (Haute Ville)

Upper Town, which sits atop Cape Diamond, is home to the most visited part of Quebec City, the charming, walled Old Town of Vieux Quebec. Although very hilly, Vieux Quebec is quite compact and best explored by wandering on foot along its cobblestone streets. Wandering through the old town is like wandering through an old European city. Maps of the old city and recommended walking tours can be obtained at one of the visitor centers or gifts shops in the area.

A good place to start your walk is at the Terrasse Dufferin, a pedestrian-only promenade along the cliff's edge overlooking the river, filled with street vendors and performers. From there, it is a short stroll to many interesting sights, such as:

• Chateau Frontenac - majestic castle atop Cape Diamond, which serves as the symbol of Quebec City. Built in 1893, this restored hotel has hosted such guests as Queen Elizabeth, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Delanor Roosevelt.
• Les Glissades de la Terrasse - a 270 feet high and 630 feet long slide on which you can ride a specially built toboggan, which reaches speeds of up to 60 mph.
• Basilica of Notre-Dame - the oldest Christian parish north of Mexico. Originally built in 1647, it was destroyed twice by fire and rebuilt. The Cathedral contains many impressive works of art.
• La Citadelle - star-shaped fort, which is now home to a military museum and the Royal 22e regiment. There are tours of the grounds and buildings as well as a changing of the guard ceremony.
• Parc des Champs-de-Bataille (Battlefields Park) - 270 acres of gardens, fountains, monuments, and trees where Quebecois come to relax and enjoy the outdoors. The park stretches over the Plains of Abraham, the site of a 1759 British victory over the French.
• Musee de Quebec - art museum that now occupies two buildings, one a former prison, linked together by a soaring glass-roofed "Grand Hall" housing a cafe and gift shop

Visiting Lower Town (Basse Ville)

The Lower Town is located at the base of Cape Diamond. It was here that the first French settlers lived before moving to safer houses atop the steep cliffs in order to avoid British gunfire.

"Breakneck stairs" leads down from Terrasse Dufferin in Upper Town to the restored Quartier du Petit-Champlain in Lower Town. The cobblestone Rue du Petit Champlain that runs through the Quartier is one of the oldest and narrowest streets in North America. It is lined with unique stone houses, churches, lovely squares, and numerous boutiques and outdoor cafes. One of the more interesting sights in the Quartier is a 900 square foot mural depicting the history of the area. It is painted on the side of a building at 102 rue du Petit-Champlain. There is an excellent view of the mural from the cannons in the park in Upper Town.

East of the Quartier du Petit-Champlain is Place Royale, a picturesque plaza that is the spiritual heart of Lower Town. During the 1600s, this plaza served as the town marketplace for the first permanent settlement in New France. After 1860, the use of the square declined and it became a run-down part of town. Today it has been restored to recapture its 400 years of history. Surrounding the square are 17th century houses that once belonged to wealthy merchants. Dominating the square is the Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Vicoites, the oldest stone church in Quebec. Suspended from the ceiling of this church is a large model boat, which served as an offering to ensure safe sea voyages. The church is open to visitors. The Interpretive Center at the northeast corner of the square conducts free guided tours of the plaza.

Another "must see" in Lower Town is the Musee de la Civilisation, one of Canada's most innovative museums. The dramatic atrium-lobby contains a massive sculpture of icebergs rising out of the floor. In the galleries above are five permanent exhibits and six temporary ones. If you only have time for one exhibit, make it "Memoires," which chronicles the history of Quebec, from its roots as a fur-trading colony to the present.

Travelogue

After Kouchibouguac, we had a decision to make—back home through New Brunswick or north to Quebec. The decision was unanimous—on to Quebec! So we headed north on Route 11 and crossed into the province of Quebec at the town of Metapedia, at the base of the Gaspe Peninsula. I don’t think that this is the route that most people take to Quebec. The road (Route 132) was horribly bumpy and there was practically no one else on it. To its credit, however, it did run along the very pretty Metapedia River, which is known for its great trout and salmon fishing. From Metapedia, it was about a 90 mile drive across the Gaspe Peninsula to get to the St. Lawrence River. Fortunately, the road improved considerably after about 20 miles.

Sunset over the St. LawrenceThe drive was actually quite scenic, passing through rolling farmlands and quaint villages. One of the most interesting things we noticed was that no matter how poor a village looked, it always had an ornate Catholic church with tall pewter spires rising to the heavens. Religion was obviously a top priority with these people.

When we got to the St. Lawrence River, the area seemed a lot more touristy, so we stopped at a Visitor Center for information. I couldn’t believe it—absolutely no one in there spoke a word of English—and this was a Visitor Center! I can’t understand why the rest of Canada has to bend over backwards to put everything in both English and French (even where there isn’t a need to), while Quebec makes absolutely no effort at all to accommodate those that speak only English. Seems like a bit of a double standard to me.

Herb on salmonless riverWe left the Visitor Center, armed with French brochures for Tommy to use as extra credit in his French class, and continued our drive southwest along Route 132. The drive was great. The road ran right alongside the river and the late-day lighting was perfect.

After about 50 miles, we stopped at a campground in the village of Trois-Pistoles, about 150 miles north of Quebec City. After stumbling around with the language barrier for awhile, we were given one of the last available campsites. I couldn’t figure out why this place was so crowded. The aesthetics were pretty awful, with run down facilities and trailers packed in like sardines—but then we discovered the attraction! Just by luck, we went for a walk to stretch our legs and came upon a beautiful beach on the St. Lawrence River. The tide was going out, exposing the rocks and tidal pools, and the sun was starting to set directly over the river. Crowds of people with coolers were heading down to the beach. We might not be able to communicate with them, but we could understand the universal language—sunset and cocktails. We ran back to the motorhome to get camera equipment, a tripod, and a cooler of our own. Nice aesthetics!

Description

Trois Pistoles is located along the St. Lawrence River about 150 miles north of Quebec City. Like most of Quebec (outside the major cities), the only language spoken is French, and it is quite difficult to find someone to communicate even slightly in English.

Pre-Sunset over the St. LawrenceThe drive to Trois Pistoles along Route 132 from the Gaspe Peninsula is very scenic, running parallel to the St. Lawrence River most of the way. The Camping Plage Trois-Pistoles Campground is located right off Route 132. Although the sites are extremely small and you are packed in like sardines, the campground beach right on the River compensates for the otherwise unaesthetic environment. The sunsets over the river are unbelievable.

Travelogue

After leaving Prince Edward Island, we headed north along the Acadian Coastal Drive, which traces the western shore of the Northumberland Strait. This was the French speaking portion of New Brunswick, and the names of the towns, like Bouctouche and Richibucto, reflected that. New Brunswick is really a microcosm of Canada in that its population is split between British and Acadian ancestry. I was surprised to learn though that the New Brunswick French do not share many cultural roots with the Quebecois French and that they actually have very little to do with each other.

Herb with Lazy DazeWe stopped to food shop in the Acadian village of Bouctouche and quickly discovered that we were the only ones in the store speaking English. The kids became quite entertained with trying to make me say stupid things in French. Eventually, we arrived at Kouchibouguac National Park, which the boys tried to convince me was pronounced Koo-chi-butt-crack. I highly doubted it.

Although the drive from PEI had taken us about 3 ½ hours, we could practically look across the Northumberland Strait and see where we had started from that morning. Kouchibouguac is only about 25 miles away from western PEI as the crow flies, but over 170 miles by road.

We stopped at the Visitor Center, as we always do, to purchase hat pins and gather information about the park. We also stayed to watch the award-winning audio-visual presentation portraying the beauties of the park in all four seasons. I’m glad we did; the photography and music were spectacular.

It was early in the day, so we had no trouble getting a campsite at the park’s main campground—South Kouchibouguac. Half of the 311 sites are kept for campers without reservations, so if you get there early enough in the day, it’s not a problem getting a site. Rather than a site in the woods, we chose one of the electric sites in an open field near the Kouchibouguac River. The view of the river and the boats in the marina across the way was lovely.

Herb and boys on Kelley's BeachAnother nice feature of the campground was that the bike path went right by the campground, and bike riding was actually what brought us to Kouchibouguac in the first place. Since, mountain biking is probably are #1 favorite family activity, I often base our itineraries around great places to bike. I found out about Kouchibouguac in a book entitled Mountain Bike! Atlantic Canada. I feel that if you get one good ride out of a book, it was worth the price. This book gave me two—the Homestead Trail in PEI and the 17-mile loop trail through Kouchibouguac.

Having decided to save the long bike ride for the morning, we hopped on our bikes and headed over to Kelly's Beach, the most popular beach in the park. The ride was an easy 2 or 3 miles over a well-groomed, crushed cinder trail. Since the Beach is actually on a barrier island, we had to leave our bikes in a bike rack, and walk along a 600-foot boardwalk over salt marshes to get to the beach. You can either swim in the lifeguard-protected waters of the Northumberland Strait or the very warm (80+ degrees), shallow waters of the lagoon. We chose to swim in the lagoon. Afterwards, we explored a little further by bike and then headed back to the campground.

We still had some time before dinner, so the boys and I decided to go for a 5-mile run on the bike path in the opposite direction from the beach, along the banks of the Kouchibouguac River. The scenery along the river was lovely. We didn’t stay together too long—I’m afraid that the days where I had to slow down for the boys to keep up with me are long gone. I’m a pretty good runner, but nothing compared to teenagers that run track. By the time I got back to the campground, they had already showered. I must be getting old.

The next morning we set out early to bike the 17-mile loop described in the mountain biking book. However, since we were starting from the campground rather than the visitor center, we were cutting about 4 miles off the loop.

Lolo and boys on bike trailWe left the campground and headed southwest along the Kouchibouguac River where we had run the previous evening. This was easy, flat riding along a gravel trail. After about 2 miles, we came to a picnic area named La Source, and turned inland following the trail for about 2 ½ miles through a forest to the Petit-Large campground. At Petit-Large, there were several choices of trails to take. We wanted to ride the 6-mile single-track section, which is a lot more challenging and technical than the gravel trails. According to the book, we were supposed to look for a sign for the Major Kollock Trail, but we had a bit of trouble finding it. Eventually, we managed to get on the single-track trail, but I don’t remember ever seeing the sign for it.

Now the trail got interesting. It started out through an area of ferns and low-lying vegetation that looked like the bottom of the sea. Over the more boggy sections there were boardwalks that were wide enough to ride on without even me getting too nervous. Of course, the boys, in their constant quest to make things more extreme, spent a lot of time lying in the ferns alongside the boardwalk. In fact, Andrew rode most of the trail with ferns sticking out of his helmet. As we got further into the woods, there were a few more interesting twists and turns in the trail that tested our bike-handling skills. However, we did okay though and before we knew it we were back out on the gravel trail near the Salt Marsh. From there, we turned left and rode along the Northumberland Strait for about 3 miles or so back to the campground.

It was a great ride and we got back just in time to check out and continue on our journey.

Description

Kouchibouguac (pronounced "Koosh-uh-boog-oo-whack") National Park is located along the Acadian Coast of New Brunswick, along the warm waters of the Northumberland Strait. Its acres of salt marshes, lagoons, bogs, rivers, warm-water beaches, and extensive network of bicycle trails make it a popular destination for families.

The park has more than 9 miles of sandy beaches protected by sandy barrier islands. The most popular beach is Kelly's Beach with its warm waters and gentle waves. Access to this beach is over a 600-yard boardwalk that crosses salt marshes and lagoons. You can swim in the lifeguard-protected waters of the Strait or in the shallow, very warm waters of the lagoon. The temperature of the water in the lagoon is well into the 80s, making it some of the warmest water north of the Carolinas.

The park has more than 30 miles of bike trails that traverse forests and bogs and meander along rivers and lagoons. Most of those miles are along well-groomed, crushed cinder trails that are easy for all levels of cyclists. However, there are also about 6 miles of single-track trails, which are a bit rougher and more technical to handle.

The park contains over 20 miles of hiking trails through a variety of ecosystems: salt marshes, bogs, river banks, lagoons, beaches, tidal pools, and barrier islands. Most of the hikes are fairly short and easy, ranging from a quarter of a mile to more than 8 miles. One popular hike is the 1.2-mile Bog Trail, which leads across a 4,500-year-old bog on a boardwalk to a wooden observation tower with panoramic views of the area. The longest trail in the park is the 8-mile Kouchibouguac River Trail, which traces the south bank of the river.

Other popular activities in the park include sea kayaking or canoeing along the lagoon, marshes, and rivers. Rentals are available near the South Kouchibouguac Campground.

The main campground in the park is the beautifully maintained, 311-site South Kouchibouguac Campground on the Kouchibouguac River. Conveniently, the bike path starts right from the campground, allowing you to get everywhere you need to by bike. This campground is quite popular and fills up early. Although reservations can be made, half of the sites are held for campers without reservations. There are only 46 sites with electricity. These sites are located out in the open near the river.

Travelogue

After leaving Robinson’s Island, we decided to head towards the Cedar Dunes Provincial Park on the very southwestern tip of the island, which the Frommer’s Guide had described as one of the nicest provincial parks on PEI.

Lolo and boys in Bumper BoatsOur drive west along Route 2 took us through miles and miles of rolling farm country, not as striking as the scenery on Cape Breton and Newfoundland, but beautiful in its own way—very peaceful and restful. This end of the island had a much different feel to it than the central part—much more remote and pristine.

Despite the lack of development on this end of the island, I did manage to find the Mill River Fun Park, right on Route 2 West near Mill River Provincial Park. I think I was still trying to make up to Tommy for not finding an amusement park on Newfoundland for his birthday. Although it didn’t quite compare to the water parks we had been to in the states, it was okay and quite reasonably priced. With the coupons I found in the Free PEI Visitor Handbook, it only cost the four of us only $14 Canadian.

Herb and Lolo at West Point LighthouseWe started off with a little competitive family mini golf and then worked our way over to the giant Twister water slide. There was no line—something we don’t find in those fancy water parks in the states. The kids convinced Herb and me to do it too, and I’m glad because it actually was quite fun. We finished up our time in the Fun Park with the bumper boats. Once again, there was no line, so we could stay on as long as we liked. The park might not have been fancy, but there’s definitely something to be said for the lack of crowds.

On the drive to Cedar Dunes, we passed the PEI Potato Museum in the town of O’Leary. As the day was getting late, we managed to resist the lure of the14-foot-high sculptured potato in front of the museum and continued on to Cedar Dunes.

Frommer’s was right—Cedar Dunes was lovely. We got one of the 42 sites out in the open grassy area, just over the dunes from a beautiful red sand beach and a short walk away from the picturesque West Point Lighthouse. Very nice aesthetics! Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I found out that the lighthouse served dinner. This was going to be good.

Lolo and Boys at top of lighthouseWe spent some time down at the beach where the sand was redder than any I have ever seen. The water was nice and warm, but the memory of all the jellyfish we had seen at our last PEI beach kept the boys on dry land playing Frisbee.

That evening we strolled over to the lighthouse and had a very enjoyable dinner (I usually find any dinner that I don’t have to cook in the RV enjoyable). After dinner, we explored the small museum at the base of the lighthouse and then climbed the spiral stairs to the top. The views of the beach and the Northumberland Strait were marvelous.

It had been a very nice day and a good way to end our visit to beautiful Prince Edward Island.

Description

Cedar Dunes Provincial Park is located in the southwestern corner of Prince Edward Island. This part of the island is the most remote and undeveloped--much less crowded than the central part of the island.

Camping in Cedar DunesThe park has a 42-site, open area campground next to a beautiful red sand beach. The warm waters of the Northumberland Strait make swimming here quite pleasant.

Adjacent to the park is the picturesque, black-and-white-striped West Point Lighthouse. Besides being a functioning lighthouse, it is also an inn and restaurant, the first of its kind in Canada. The inn has nine guest rooms and its restaurant serves dinner both in its dining room and on a patio overlooking the beach. A small museum in the tower has photographs and artifacts documenting its history. You can also climb up to the lantern deck at the top.