Finally on the coast road
With a destination (finally) in view, we were a goal-directed group of voyageurs this morning, leaving our camp (a motel room with continental breakfast) for the portage across northern New Brunswick. The roads are great, but the vast stretches of fence without wire (I know, they’ll fix that part) to keep the moose in custody seemed odd, especially after three weeks on the Island where moose and deer are only found in encyclopediae. Perhaps the animals are so large that they catch their shoulders on the fenceposts and the wire is not needed. The signs with an antlered beast towering over a car would leave you with that impression.
The area around Belledune gives little sign of the environmental changes in view, other than the large chimney. Before long, we were in downtown Campbellton for lunch quests and then off to cross the long bridge to the Gaspé. The mountains are always in sight, on one side of the road. The water keeps the other side, well, flat. Our first welcome to the hospitality of the region came with a visit to a small home where animals are in charge.
We also made our way down to the fossil park at Miguasha; if you ever pass this way, take the tour. We spent close to two hours with the pedagogically minded Philippe, and I now have a reasonable understanding of the timeline of paleobiology, as well as some clue on how a microscope and a porcupine quill aid in extraction of rocks from other rocks.
Given the passing of time (even with our retrieval of the hour due to time zones), we decided to find another motel for the night. Not as easy as yesterday. This is top tourist season on the coast, and even with the help of people who know people (only two degrees of separation), it took time to find a room that was available. Sort of a geoquest, except that the GPS had no clear goal. We left our credit card number with a place that had no name, and then spent time trying to find it – every bit as challenging as any other quest we’ve done. All came to closure, and we had the prized key. Second-last one in the area, to boot.
Supper found us in Bonaventure, where a restaurant I’ve visited several times before had changed owners and menu. For the better. We waited until our reservation time arrived in the museum grounds next door, and then went to the waiting booth. The Restaurant Le Rendez-vous offered a wonderful Greek chicken salad that satisfied me completely. After our tab was settled, we toured town and checked out the train station and airport. A much bigger community than I remembered, with many lovely homes and a view of the river, covered in mist. No salmon jumping, though.
Our motel had a clean no pets policy, so the white devil was given a private room, in the van. I understand the policy; thank goodness no cat has been here before me; but, my dog is different from other dogs (yeah, sure buddy!).
