Drive around Gaspe Peninsula

Today was a long day!  I drove around the entire peninsula in just over 12 hours, getting back to camp long after dark.

There was lots of traffic today; steady, so it wasn’t just “rush hour”.  Plenty of bicycles and motorcycles as well.

My Jeep never lets me down, but this time it sent me on a dead-end road to get to Murdochville (Murdochville is famous for their copper mine).  Apparently I’m not the only one, because there was a farmer at the end who spoke English and was very talkative.  He said GPSs send people up that road all the time.  We talked about the area and PEI.  My Oregon license plates are quite the conversation starter.  Again, he had no idea what DEF was; never heard of it. I’m still on my mission to find some.

In Gaspe I stopped at a Petro-Canadian gas station and inquired about DEF.  She didn’t know what I needed, but suggested Canadian Tire, which I thought was a tire store.  Not.  It is more like a Menards.  They had 2-one gallon bottles of DEF, which I bought.

Next door was a bank, so I exchanged some money. Good thing because I bought a purse in La Martre, and they only accepted cash.  I love my new purse, but it tends to get hot when I’m carrying it …. Half of each side is wool.

In La Martre I saw a unique wooden lighthouse in operation since 1906.  The rotation of the lighting module is still operated by the original clockwork system.

Lunch was in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in a restaurant right on the pier.  The shrimp salad was wonderful.

There are 3 or 4 beautiful golf courses along the coast, right on the water.

Taking Route 299 south across the peninsula, I, of course, had to cross some of the Chic-Choc Mountain range, which includes the International Appalachian Trail.

Every village along Hwy 132 has a distinctive church right on the highway, facing the water.  I wonder if they are so different from one another so as to identify the village.  I would have loved to take a picture of each of them, but it is sunset and I have a long drive back to the campground.

The gas prices must be set by the government.  Every gas station charges exactly the same price for gas, regardless of where it is.  It is $1.05/liter in Quebec.

The rest stops are full of cars.  I thought maybe there had gathered for the sunset, but they were still there, lined up, after dark, and the road is deserted except for me.  Apparently I missed the memo not to drive after dark.