nature – Page 5 – OldPlaidCamper

Do what’s right…

…is what it said on the beer, and who were we to argue? We shared the bottle, enjoyed it, and that seemed right.

Enjoying our time in mid coast Maine in the fall certainly felt right. Being awake at 6:30am to catch the sunrise over Penobscot Bay was alright – mostly because we could see it from where we were staying without having to head outside. Could have, but it was close to very chilly at that time of the morning. Doing what’s right, we opted to wander down to the beach a couple of hours later.

Very pleasant and all, but maybe head down there later?!

I’ve never seen a leafy beach in the fall. The beaches back on the west coast were evergreen and raincoast wonderful, but not leafy. The eastern side is different, a good contrast to what we’ve been used to.

Those leaves on the shore took a bit of getting used to! Regular stuff for coastal Maine folk no doubt, and our excitement might have seemed odd, but fortunately there was no one to see our strange behaviour. Just (just?!) a pair of bald eagles – lovely to spot them, the first we’ve seen since leaving the west coast!

We did what’s right all week and spent as much time as possible down on the shore. We had one slightly grey morning, and that was great for mixing up the mood and seeing the sea in a different light. Like most places, we know the east coast isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Life isn’t, but it’s generally pretty good if we do what’s right…

Not sunshine and rainbows, but pretty good!

If you can stand it (or even if you can’t) there’ll be one or two more posts about our Maine trip, but let’s leave it here for this week, grateful for the big and the small things. Like not worrying about a bad hair day at the beach. Huh?! (See below)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Maine thing…

…is that we’re finding mid coast Maine to be delightful in the fall!

Our first visit, and what a state we’re in – loving where we are right now. Back home next week with more to follow. In the meantime, a few images from this week:

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Moon bright rivers and silver-grey lakes

Rivers and lakes have been a large part of our summer as we’ve explored the big outdoors in this little corner of eastern Canada. We’ve even got on the water – only on for me, never in – a couple of times, most recently on Lake Cascapédia in the haut Gaspésie. Such fun!

Up and over the mountains, the lake is reached via a very rough washboard road. It’s worth the effort if your vehicle can take it, with spectacular views when ascending and descending. In the space of a short and bumpy drive, we experienced late summer in the valley, autumn up top, and something in between on the lake.

Dropping into the bowl of the lake, it was very overcast and a good few degrees cooler than earlier. In fact, it almost rained!

A cool grey bowl, but less cold and forbidding than it appears

The paddling was great, with no wind outward bound, and only occasional gusts to paddle into on our return. It was fun to head into the slightly bared teeth of the wInd and put in a little extra effort to cut through some small swells and chop. Enough to feel it was almost a workout!

Moose are a feature of the park, but we didn’t catch a single glimpse all week. Maybe another time… We’d seen eagles climbing and making high turns most afternoons, but didn’t spot any near the lake. We did see one of our favourite bird sights – a few loons near the canoe, busily bobbing and diving, and they didn’t appear bothered by our loony zigzagging presence.

We beached on gravel shores a couple of times to stretch legs and eat snacks. Off the water, the day was a touch warmer, pleasant enough to sit for a short while and then stage our attempt at a Tom Thomson:

Not even close to a Thomson, but we were happy to try!

Back at base, our evenings in the Gaspésie were spent under an almost full moon. From our camping spot in the trees we could see the bright moon on the river just below us. It was so intense we didn’t need flashlights. This image of the moon on the water was the best I could get:

Did the quicksilver moon on water influence our choice of beer the following day? I’m (beer)easily led, so maybe…

A white river, majestic mountains, a quiet lake, loons on the water, two happy paddlers and a good beer back at camp to end the day? That sounds ok, so let’s do it again soon!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Mountains!

We hadn’t realized how much we’d been missing the mountains until we found ourselves back in a high region once again.

The upper reaches of the Parc National de la Gaspésie were absolutely wonderful, and a particular highlight was the lac aux américaines, a small glacial lake and easy destination found at the end of a short trail.

The trail is easy, but be warned, the washboard roads are not kind on vehicles, and I wouldn’t have wanted to use a regular low slung car to get up there. Some did, but goodness, the toll on the paintwork and undercarriage…

The road got far more challenging as it climbed!

Anyway, if you find yourself up there, take the short hike and you’ll be rewarded with the prettiest of mountain scenes. We were fortunate to be there on a quiet and sunny day, not too hot and just right to sit and eat your lunch whilst taking in the lake.

There isn’t a hike around the lake, but there are several longer (day plus) trails crisscrossing the park with routes above the lake. They’d offer some view if you’re willing to take them on!

Long view towards the lake (from much further back!)

We weren’t in full mountain hike mode, and were quite content to tackle shorter and moderate half day at most rambles. We saw long views, pretty river bends, tumbling waterfalls and rushing waters, and all on sunny days where the early fall light gave everything a slightly golden feel.

The only day where the weather threatened was on our half day lake paddle. It got very dark, a touch breezy, and there were actual raindrops. Raindrops, maybe as many as twenty or thirty. Hardly a deluge, I think we dodged one there.

Anyway, this was supposed to be about the mountains. Mountains! More on the paddling next week! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Steps away from our campsite! Perfect sights and sounds…

Shore thing

We drove along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence river last week, heading steadily eastwards and catching the occasional glimpse of the river to our left as the road climbed and fell. It was all very pleasant but nothing we hadn’t seen before in Quebec – small to medium farms, and small to medium villages and towns, with plenty of wooded areas in between.

East of Rimouski however, and it all changed, taking on a decidedly coastal feel. The road hugged the shore far more tightly, and the rises and falls when the route did deviate slightly from the shore were more pronounced, tracing rocky headlands overlooking the water.

Small farms were still a feature, very pretty in wide valleys away from the coast. Houses – sometimes standing alone, and sometimes in a huddle – looked very east coast, with shingled roofs and often brightly painted wooden exteriors.

The river becomes so wide at this point that it is often difficult to make out the north shore. Definitely coastal in feel and we shore liked it. Time wasn’t on our side for making multiple stops as we wanted to arrive and set up camp in the mountains before it was too dark.

We did pull into one easily accessed roadside halt that was right on the shore. Rocky, seaweed-y and with small birds and large gulls at the waterside, it was great to breathe in maritime air and enjoy a brief break at the beach!

But onwards we had to go! More to follow about our Haut Gaspésie adventures. Spoiler alert: what a park the Parc National de la Gaspésie is. A real mountain treasure, and far more alpine than I’d thought it was going to be. Here’s a sneak peek of some peaks:

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Down to the river…

…not to pray, at least not in the conventional sense, but perhaps an unspoken word or two of thanks was offered up, a recognition of a special space and place.

We were very happy to be down by the Etchemin River once again. We were also very happy to enjoy mild temperatures, if not quite as warm as our previous visit. Signs of early fall were all around, from the sharp snap in the air first thing, to the dry leaves shaken loose by sudden brisk breezes and seesaw floating to the ground.

A highlight of the week was the daily flyby of several skeins of geese at dawn and dusk, their honking and wing beats tracing the path of the river. Each time they flew over, sometimes up high, other times almost touching the treetops, I tried and failed to get a clear and closeup photograph. Splendid sights and sounds, and a reminder the current season is moving on and warm weather camping might be almost over for another year.

We have one more longish camping trip to come. By the time this is posted we’ll be somewhere in the Gaspésie, having traced our own journey several hundreds of kilometres east along the southern shore of the mighty St. Lawrence river. We’ll be huddled over a fire beneath the low mountains and amongst the tall pines, hoping the days are warm even if the nights are cool. More on that another time.

I’ll wind up for this week with another religion adjacent observation – we’ve developed quite the fondness for a smoked blue cheese produced at the Saint-Benoit-du-Lac monastery over the river and to the southwest of Quebec City. It’ll be in amongst our picnic items for the coming week. Try it if you can find it – simply delicious! Inspired by a higher power? I don’t know, but the fromage bleu fumé reveals/provokes almost divine levels of devotion…

“No smoked blue for me? Ok, whatever, not sulking…”

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Grains de folie!

Maybe if you spend too long in the woods with nothing but your thoughts, strange things start to occur?

You’re sitting in your chair – finally, you’ve found just the right camping chair, both sturdy and supportive and with a little pocket for your favourite woodsy beverage – and you start to nod off. A day/days of strenuous inactivity can cause pleasant drowsiness, so when you come to with a slight start, you ask, what was that?

Was it the porcupine returning to the scene of his earlier encounter with Mrs. PC and Scout? (A non-spiky encounter – good news on all sides!) Nope, doesn’t seem so.

Maybe the crows have returned, believing they hadn’t done enough previously in their attempts to disturb the peace? Nope, no crows.

Must have been an industrious woodpecker, drilling for something tasty up in the higher reaches? Nope, nothing like that.

So, why am I suddenly on alert? Haven’t seen or heard a raccoon, the chattering squirrels aren’t about, but something has intruded, gotten into my empty head. Good thing Scout would warn us if an unwelcome whatever was approaching. No, scratch that. This is the same Scout that didn’t even blink last time a bear wandered through our backyard. A crow, deer or squirrel, then yeah, she’ll let us know. Scout’s many wonderful things, but being a reliable guard, no, not so much.

There it is, I can hear it now, a distinct rustling in the undergrowth behind me. Did anyone else hear it? No?! I’ll settle down then, must be an overactive imagination. Take another sip of the rather wonderful bottle conditioned saison from the Bercée microbrasserie we visited earlier. Mmm, excellent. Grains de folie!

There! I knew I wasn’t losing it! Look what’s come out of the woods to greet us. No, not him, he’s not real. The second one.

“*Are you calling me an unwelcome whatever*? *Not real?! Sure, have another sip, enjoy it, and maybe I’ll be along later to have a word?”*

“*What ya drinkin’? Looks good! Don’t mind me, don’t be startled, I’m just out on patrol! Watch out for that beardy little fella – come to think of it, he looks a bit like you, doesn’t he?*”

Huh? What’s going on? Maybe I’ll keep the other bottle for when we get home, lock the doors, and drink it inside? I love it up in the Saguenay – wonderful lakes and woods, and a great place to sit and let your thoughts drift – but maybe don’t drift too far? You might end up a touch Kenogamachiche here on Lac Kénogami…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

“*Gotta go – see if I can track down that other strange little beardy fella* – *see ya next time!”*

Would you believe…

…that this is post 501?!

Yup, according to a note that popped up last week, I’ve written (and you have endured) 500 posts here on OldPlaidCamper. Nope, got that wrong, so last week. You’ve now endured 501 posts (assuming you’re still here for this one?)

“You lot are lucky – imagine having to listen to each draft…”

Looks like I’ve gotten away with writing more or less the same thing 500 times. Man goes for walk with dog, then has a beer. Sometimes rants at the unpleasant oddity of so many right wing politicians and populist xenophobes. Asks himself has the world gone quite mad? Has another beer, decides to go camping. And repeat…

*Has the world gone quite mad?* Dunno – let’s go camping!

Thank you for reading and commenting – I enjoy the little online corner we share through our blogs. Friendly people with some degree of coinciding interests and concerns, never dull, always respectful and good natured, and so much fun – that’s you, not me.

I’ll see if I can keep going for another 500? Hmm, that’s a lot of new beers to try and places to camp, but lets’s give it a go.

We’re away this week, returning to the Saguenay area, our first visit since the black fly incident back in June. There’s been a great deal of rain the past day or two, so here’s hoping those pesky black flies are poor swimmers and those that can swim are not too hungry.

I’ll catch up on all matters WordPress when we return. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

A sleepy river and a time out

Or less a time out and more time well spent?

Yeah, the latter! We went down to the Chaudière-Appalaches region, an area just to the south and east of Quebec City to camp at a quiet spot on the Etchemin River. The days were warm and dry but not hot, something of a relief after a particularly stormy and humid spell.

The Etchemin is not a mighty river but it is mighty cool, both to sit alongside and to dip a foot or two into the water. Not so deep in dryish high summer, and navigable by canoe if you don’t mind a bump or two. We chatted to a family of four who successfully paddled stretches of the Etchemin without drama, and that was with two youngsters under ten and a dog. It’s got us thinking about giving it a paddle another time…

We saw a couple head down to fish for an hour or two. I don’t know if they caught anything, but did they ever look happy just to be there! A sleepy river? No, not really, more of a tranquil space, one where plenty was happening.

I’m reading “A River Never Sleeps” by Roderick L. Haig-Brown, and thoroughly enjoying it. An account of his fishing life, I’ve only read the opening chapters so far, and what a dry wit he has. The section on mythic fish is tale telling at its best. I know almost nothing about fishing, having barely any experience, but Haig-Brown’s enthusiasm is catching. His descriptions of rivers he loved on Vancouver Island are wonderful. A new title to me, and highly recommended if it’s a new title to you!

Each day we’d sit by the bubbling and chuckling river, the water sparkling in the bright sun. So much to see! We observed several large eagles climbing in circles, higher and higher to reach a certain height, then swoop down in long and graceful glides. Small birds chattered in the bushes and trees lining the river, with some seeming keen to make a start on the ripening berries. It was a delight to watch a heron across from us, moving with that slow and steady wing beat, an almost lazy, effortless flight upriver and away.

The wider region is a patchwork of wooded hills and pockets of cleared farmland, with many, many small streams and rivers. There’s the bustle and busyness of productive agriculture, and in such pretty surroundings the pace seems bearable. It’s easy to romanticize farming life on gentle summer afternoons if you’re not the one on the tractor or in barns and sheds, tending to crops and livestock…

A visit to Frampton Brasse is never a waste of time, and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to try what is produced so locally! Blue skies, a light breeze, long views, excellent beer and a camping spot down by the river afterwards – nope, it’s not time out, and definitely time well spent! How you spend your days is how you live your life and all that. I think we’re beginning to figure out this retirement lark.

It was hard to drag ourselves away, but the approaching remnants of tropical storm Debby got us packing up and heading home before the worst of the deluge. The Etchemin will be running high as a result, and likely more navigable by canoe than ever? Hmm…

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This way or that?

Drifting and paddling, splishing and splashing. Being by the water on warm summer days – is that about as good as it gets?! We could ask these guys:

*Both ways work – we’re in the right place!*

By the time this is posted we’ll be off camping, down by a different body of water in the Chaudière-Appalaches. I’ll catch up on all things WordPress next week. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

	Bob Stanton on Cabin time
	Maria on Cabin time
	Miriam on Cabin time
	Thistles and Kiwis on Cabin time
	plaidcamper on Cabin time