July 27, 2014 (97th Day)

Up at 6:15. Before we left Walmart, we had a recount, there were 39 RVs.  It looked like we were the first ones out. The morning looked nice and it was 69˚.

While still in Riviere-du-Loup we got on Route 291 to check out one Roadside Attraction (RA) - Piloup seal like mascot.  On the very same street just a couple blocks down from here was a painting mural on the side of a building featuring three archers.

Piloup was the mascot of the first provincial games of
Quebec that was held in Riviere-du-Loup in 1971.
It has a gold medal around its neck

Ready, Set, Action!!!

Erwin reading a book while Edith was busy taking pictures

We got back to Route 132, then turned left on Rue de l'Ancrage to see two more RA attractions: Loupi the Giant Bear and Christmas Castle. Christmas Castle was closed when we arrived there, but looked around for a bit.

15' tall. It was once a mascot of a motel in the city for many
years before it was relocated to this area.

Christmas Castle was built as an attraction park named Dream Castle,
but was repainted and changed to Christmas Castle (open year-round) in 2002.

We swung by Riviere-du-Loup ferry area. While Erwin was peering through the binoculars for lighthouse on the other side of the river a guy came up to him and informed him that there were Beluga whales in the river.  Erwin spotted one.

See the white spot? That is a Beluga whale.  Sadly, they wouldn't come closer when we called them!  :-(

Back to 132, tried to find access to see the lighthouse but we could not find it.  We managed to park somewhere and took pictures of it. We continued trekking toward Rimouski.

We stopped at another ferry area - lie Verte, but the ferry boat was not there.  Next departure was at 14:45 (2:45 pm) and we were there at 9:15 am, so we left.

Where is the water???

After seeing a parking lot packed with lots of cars and people lining up at Frommage Des Basque store we decided to stop there just to check it out.  It is a famous cheese store.  We got to sample strawberry mousse and it was very very good (we did not buy it).  We bought a bag of cheese curds after sampling them.  The cheese curds were delicious! Erwin has a sweet tooth, so he had to buy something sweet and got apple turnovers (crossian aux pommes).

En route we stopped at a tourist center in Trios-Pistoles, QC to pick up a map and to get information on visiting The Coast, part of Gaspesie, QC.

Wind was starting to pick up and it started to feel cool. 

From Route 132 we turned left to go to Bic National Park and the road leading to it was very narrow.  Somewhere along this narrow road we managed to find a spot to pull over, so we can walk to the beach.  The beach was filled with lots of driftwoods and Erwin found one interesting driftwood that is shaped like a deer antler.  It started to drizzle, so we hurriedly walked back to the van and went back to Route 132.

As soon as we left the National Park it started to rain heavily. The temperature dropped to 62˚

Arrived at Rimouski, QC, continued on 132. We arrived at the grounds of Pointe-au-Pere Lighthouse. The rain was still falling, so we fixed our lunch.    

The rain stopped just after we finished lunch. Hurrah!  We walked over to the ticket office, purchased tickets to go on lighthouse tour ($4 Canadian dollars per person). The first lighthouse was destroyed by fire in 1867.  The current lighthouse has eight flying buttresses attached to the tower.  It is 187 feet tall (33 metres) and has 128 steps to the top.  

We had to wait in line for our turn to go on the tour because there was already a group inside the tower.  While waiting the guide was explaining to us about the lighthouse' history, but the problem was she spoke in French!!!  It was 10 minutes before we were called to go up inside the tower.  We got inside the top to get a close-up look at the Fresnel lens. We were allowed to stay up there for 10 minutes to enjoy the view and to take pictures.   After we got back down we walked around the property checking out some buildings.   

The guide, speaking in French, lead the tour at the lighthouse

See our camper van?

The Foghorn Station

There were four divers in wet suits getting ready to dive and go spearfishing. We tell you it was really COLD and WINDY. Brave souls they were!

Erwin informed me that there was a woodchuck under the ramp leading to the ticket office, so Edith hurriedly went over and got pictures.

This woodchuck looked healthy and fat!

After we were done with touring the lighthouse and other structures we left around 2 p.m..

We went back to 132 going toward Sainte-Flavie. Edith wanted to check out one more attraction: Vieux Moulin, but did not see it. When we arrived in Mont-Joli, QC we asked for directions. It turned out that we drove past it and missed it.  We turned around and went back, found Vieux Moulin. It is a brewery and has a small museum.  

Bees inside the cabinet in the store. There is a tube outside
that they can go out and in

Stopped to check out Centre d'Art Marcel Gagnon to check out concrete sculptures that emerged from the river. Very beautiful art gallery and interesting sculptures throughout the property. It has a restaurant and a boutique.

It started to get very cold and windy. Temperature dropped to 55˚ and it was 69˚ when we got up this morning. It started to get very very foggy out on the river.  Erwin was starting to get tired, so Edith took over while we were in Matane, QC.

We were looking for Matane Lighthouse, but was disappointed to find that it is now converted to a tourist center and is open only on Tuesdays-Saturdays.  By the time we were there the wind started to pick up more and it became colder.  Erwin swore he saw sleet, but Edith claimed she did not see any.

The rain became heavy and we felt it was time to stop driving. There was Walmart, so we pulled over there.  Forty two more miles to another lighthouse (Cap Chat), but we felt it best to wait til tomorrow because of the foul weather.  Later on in the evening more RVs  joined in, some of the same ones from the previous night at another Walmart.

Edith prepared pan fried pork chops and petite potatoes with garlic Parmesan seasonings.

Erwin read a book while Edith worked on the travel blog.  It started to feel chilly inside the van, so Erwin pulled out sleeping bag just in case it gets colder while we slept.  

We discussed about tomorrow's trip.  There are more lighthouses to see in Gaspesie, but if the weather is foul we may skip the rest of the route and go straight to New Brunswick.