May 10, 2006

May 10, 2006

Ottawa, Ontario through Quebec to Sarampus Falls Rest Area on Maine Hwy. 27

YEAR 2 DAY 327

 

Today started out sunny and warm, and stayed that way throughout most of the day. It rained briefly just after we stopped for the night.

Our day did not go according to plan. To stay on the Canadian side of the border across Quebec to New Brunswick would take us much further north than we wanted to go. We planned to turn south at Sherbrooke, Quebec, cross into the United States, and cut across Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, to southern New Brunswick. We were going to spend one night camping in Quebec, and one night camping in Maine.

This morning I did regular chores and preventive maintenance, then took Bo for an obedience walk. We prepared for departure, drained the waste holding tanks, refilled the fresh water holding tank, and hitched up. I'm having difficulty lining up Lanoire with Harvey, for hitching. I don't yet have a good reference point figured out.

We departed Camp Hither Hills heading south on Bank Street / Hwy. 31 for about a mile, then east on Hwy. 8 through Edwards to Hwy. 41, then north on Hwy. 41 onto Hwy. 417 heading east for Montreal. At the Quebec border we stopped at the Information Centre to pick up a road map and campground guide. The clerk suggested an alternative route to the one we had planned. We took her advice. Just as we were entering Montreal we stopped at a mall with a Bureau En Gros ( Staples ) and a Canadian Tire. Joanne went into Bureau En Gros to make some photocopies of documents we need to send to Guide Dogs Of The Desert in Palm Springs, California. I went into Canadian Tire and bought some auto supplies I need. We had lunch in the parking lot. I took my first photo of Lanoire, hitched to Harvey.

This morning Joanne was feeling some anxiety about driving across Montreal. After lunch, we drove across Montreal, entering from the west, and exiting to the south. It took about 2 hours. Montreal is the most difficult city in Canada to drive across, worse than Toronto. And the rudeness and self-centredness of Montreal's drivers rival that of Los Angeles. It was made worse today because one of the two bridges that crosses the St. Lawrence River to South Montreal was closed. Some moron had climbed up on the bridge to protest something, and the police had the bridge closed. All the traffic that would normally flow across 2 bridges was forced to flow across one. We managed to get across the Champlain Bridge by about 3:00 P.M.. Listening to a Montreal radio station later, they were reporting terrible gridlock approaching the bridge during rush hour traffic.

We continued east, from the south side of Montreal, on Hwy. 10. Our plan was to stop for the night at a Passport America campground near Granby. We exited Hwy. 10, the freeway, and drove about 15 km. to where the campground was supposed to be. It wasn't there. We phoned. We knew we were close, perhaps within a half mile. The person on the phone was unable to provide understandable directions from where we were, to where we wanted to go. Forget it ! I learned my lesson, in that regard, in Harlingen, Texas. If a campground can't provide an understandable map and directions in a campground guide, and can't provide verbal directions from half a mile away ... Bonsoir ! ! ! Somebody else wants my money ! We returned to the freeway and continued eastbound. Just before Sherbrooke, we turned south for a short distance to bypass Sherbrooke, then turned east again on Hwy. 108. The road was in terrible condition. We stopped at another campground Joanne found in one of our campground directories. There was no one in the office. There were no instructions for late arrivals. Bonsoir ! We had forgotten how camper unfriendly Quebec is. Their "campgrounds" are all geared to seasonal campers. Overnighters just don't seem to fit into their plans, and don't really seem welcome. We stopped for diesel at Cookshire, Quebec. YIKES ... a hundred and thirty six bucks ! She's a thirsty truck, isn't she ?

We turned onto Hwy. 212 heading east. Another road in terrible condition. We're not very impressed with travelling across Quebec, and will avoid doing so on the return trip. We ploughed through all the way to the United States border. At the border crossing, we had to discard a package of roast beef luncheon meat. Darn ! Finally, about half an hour after we crossed into Maine, just as it was getting dark, we found a road side rest area, and stopped for the night.

It's awfully quiet here, with an occasional lumber truck roaring by. We're in the middle of nowhere. It's a small picnic / rest area, on a lovely little river with rapids. We had supper. I did today's accounting and journal entry.

DSK