Parc Gaspesien (8/31/04) was to be one of two overnight stops on our way to Quebec City. However, when we began the departure activities, we did not see a steel fire rim that was in front of our truck. Walter started to drive the truck to hitch to the RV when he ran over the steel rim. The steel rim is fine, but our truck's radiator was punctured and twisted.
This is a somewhat remote location in the Gaspe with a small (very small) town, Pointe La Croix, 3 miles from camp. One good thing is that Campbellton, New Brunswick is just across the bridge from Pointe La Croix. They have a Dodge dealer there for our truck to be repaired.
This is what being remote means: We need a new radiator and it will take a week to get one from Toronto; then they said it would be delivered on Friday, September 3, which it wasn't, but if it was delivered on Friday, they don't work Saturday or Sunday and Monday is Labor Day (didn't know this day was a holiday here); and in remote locations, there is a more philosophical approach to getting things done--there is always tomorrow.
We are in a campground where only two or three RVs come in for overnight stays because the tourist camping season is over. There are about 5 seasonal RVs here. Seasonal means they are folks from nearby who stay here for the warmer weather (50 is considered warm weather). So we are in a good size area of the campground by ourselves.
There is good to all this. This is beautiful country--salmon country. There are mountains with beech, birch, and fir trees surrounding three sides of the campground, and then flat terrain that goes to the Bay of Chaleur; the dividing waterway between Gaspe and New Brunswick. There are several mountain streams at and near the campgrounds.
The owner Andre Desrochers owns the campground and a bed and breakfast adjacent to the campground. Andre has been wonderful. Andre's family owns quite a bit of property here. His dad owns and operates a ski resort which is a few miles into the mountains from here and the sons seem to have businesses in the area. Andre is in his 30s and has been running the campground and bed and breakfast for 7 years. He told us to stay as long as we needed and without charge which is extraordinary, but he says it is what those who live here do for visitors. He has agreed to accept 50% payment from us, but he says it is not necessary or expected. I know this seems amazing, but it does seem to be the way of these folks. You cannot exist in such a wild and remote place without helping one another.
Andre has offered to drive us to town for supplies or whatever, and we did need him to help get our propane tank filled--the nights are dipping into the low 40s now. We have our bikes and have cycled to town for groceries and to ride through a bird watching preserve with bike paths which Andre told us about. We had a hard time finding the right path, but then Andre came along with his truck to help us as he said it is hard to find the first time. It was very serene as the path was lined with birch trees with their very white barks and light green leaves. We could hear birds alerting the animal kingdom that we where there--how nice!
We stopped at the local Quebec Information Center and went into a log cabin from the early 1800s. It was a post office and home at that time. When we entered a young lady dressed in the Acadian French settler garb of the time was there and started to talk to us in the French Acadian dialect of the time, then in English - asking our last name because there might be a letter for us there, and surprisingly there was. A newsy letter from one of the families of that time--she quickly wrote our name on a letter and stamped it. Quite a clever idea.
We spent some time with her asking about the area. She told us that in winter, school is not closed because of snow but because it gets too cold. When it is minus 30 degrees, schools close. It was so cold last year - with temperatures as low as -57 degrees... I think conditions like those build character, but I'll let it build someone else's character. We're going South for the winter! tg
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