The Gaspé Peninsula on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec is famous for the Percé Rock.
During the late summer, we travelled along the 885 km coastline of the Gaspé Peninsula. We started from Saint-Flavie and headed south to the south shore. So we travelled counter-clockwise around the peninsula. We travelled for 6 days and stayed overnight in an assortment of locations...
Let's talk about boondocking. When we began our travels in 2016, we mostly used established campgrounds. This was to help us get used to our trailer which did not have an inside toilet and being close to one was important. By 2018, we bought a larger trailer with toilet facilities so we were good to boondock.
Boondocking or "dry camping" is basically camping outside of a traditional campground. This means that you may not have the conveniences available to you that you would get at a campground. You may have no water, electricity or sewage. Many people have different ideas on what boondocking is but whether it is in the wilderness such as parks or an urban setting such as parking lots, rest or truck stops or someone's driveway you are still boondocking.
We first learned about boondocking through a Canadian-based website called Boondockers Welcome that helps match campers with hosts who have a space to park overnight. Some may offer an electrical or water connection and even share their wifi. Over the years, we have boondocked in private driveways, farm land, properties along a waterway, Walmart (I call it "Camp Wally". Others call it "Wallydocking") and other commercial parking lots, provincial park lots, a zoo parking lot, municipal picnic areas and even hotel parking lots. Of course, where appropriate, we ask for permission to stay overnight. We have never had any problems while boondocking. We still go to a campground about every 4th or 5th night just so we can empty our black water (sewage) tank but we have found that many municipalities have dump stations in their town, particularly in Quebec.
We have since discovered several other websites that facilitate boondocking and over the years we have tried to boondock more. Whether it is through Boondockers Welcome or not, we have certainly experienced many different overnight stays.
We are also a host on Boondockers Welcome and we have had many people stay in our driveway or property. People from all over the world. It is a nice way to meet new people and many have shared their travel stories with us.
Travelling around the Gaspé Peninsula, we boondocked most nights. Here are some examples of locations.
Many hosts will extend to you their facilities to use for relaxation.
We stayed on this property that had a seating area across the road and
along the river. "Relax any time you wish"
Al returning to our trailer which is parked behind this house.
To get to the back of the house we had to drive over their lawn
and pass a lovely quaint workshop
This eclectic workshop was one of many eclectic items in their
garden. See photos below
In their garden, the hosts grew many vegetables, fruit, and flowers.
Here are midnight tomatoes. I have never seen black tomatoes before.
Watering cans on an old cart. Notice our trailer in the background.
An owl watching over the garden.
Sink stand beside the shed. I spotted the rooster. If you have been
following our blogs you will know that right now I love roosters.
A collection of garden gnomes
Flying high over the bushes. Apparently the host's
father made this plane.
When boondocking away from urban parking lots, we have been to some beautiful locations. Here is one such location. We drove and drove on dirt roads to get to this parking lot in a forest park as seen below
After walking down a trail and passing a playground
we came out to a beach and had a nice view of the countryside.
A cloudy sunset. A nice reflection in the water
The next morning before starting our travels we went for a hike on a nearby trail.
We climbed and climbed to a higher elevation.
The view from the top of the lookout
Another view. Beautiful.
The patchwork of farm fields
Along the coast we saw a nice statue honouring the ever-present seagulls.
Of course, a real seagull tops the statue to show how arrogant they are.
One of the main reasons for this trip was to see in person the famous Percé Rock off the south shore at the Town of Percé. Percé Rock is one of the world's largest natural arches located in water. The arch is about 15 metres (49 feet) high and was named by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1607. It is linked to the mainland by a sandbar at low tide and that occurred while we were there. People were walking out to it during that time, but we opted for a boat tour which allowed us to view the rock from several vantage points.
Our first view of Percé Rock from just outside the Town of Percé.
History: In 1534, when Jacques Cartier, the first colonist, arrived he described
the massive rock formation as having three arches . They erosive action of
wind, waves and tides over the years has caused the other arches to collapse.
Maybe the separate rock was once part of the massive rock with
an arch connecting it to the main rock formation
Close to Percé Rock is Bonaventure Island and both locations are deemed to be a national park. The boat tours all stop there, allowing tourists to return on a later ship. The main attraction of Bonaventure Island is that it is a migratory bird sanctuary, mainly for the northern gannet as well as for over 200 other bird species, so, as you might expect, it is a birder's paradise.
Research is always happening in this area. Here is one such boat
Seals are abundant and sunbathe on various rocks around the island
There were gannets everywhere; in the crags, cliffs, trees, air, and on the water.
Art work I found and purchased in town.
Soaring on a wind current
More gannets.
The look of the landscape on the island.
Tourists on an outlook watching the birds.
Note the sedimentary rock formation of the island.
Here we are social distancing on the tour boat.
People are dropped off on Bonaventure Island in order to explore it.
We continued with the boat tour because we had to continue
to our next stop before night fall.
Driving along the Gaspé peninsula reminded me of driving around the windy roads of Cape Breton Island without all the high hills.
Very close to the water, the road winds around the coastline
A lighthouse up on a hill on the other side of the highway.
Another night was spent in a parking lot of a municipal park.
This is the view from our trailer. Just beautiful and serene!
No one was there to bother us as we were the only ones there.
Our last night was spent in a campground that was located across the road from the
St. Lawrence River. At sunset, we went to the beach to capture a lovely photo. Although
the sunset was very subdued, we enjoyed our time at the beach. Other people were there
waiting for the sunset as well. Over time, many had left their mark by piling small
rocks into makeshift inukshuks.
Here are a few photos showing the rocks.
Al taking photos.
Peaceful and relaxing! How wonderful!
Bev and Al smiling for the camera.
More photos being taken.
Bev standing in front of the cloudy sunset. No outstanding colours from this one.
Standing at the gate way to the "Great Gathering" in the St. Lawrence River.
As the tide goes out, these characters slowly appear on the river bed until fully exposed.
"Le Grand Rassemblement" or "Great Gathering" is a work of art-nature unique in the world in continual transformation. Designer Marcel Gagnon, started painting his characters then decided to give them shape by sculpting them although I found them very uniquely simple. Inspired by the movement of the sea and its tides, Gagnon integrated his work into the waters of the St. Lawrence River.
According to the Art Centre's website, "In 1986, the artist created more than 80 life-size sculptures, in reinforced concrete and weighing more than 685 kg each. In 2003, he increased the number of statues to over a hundred. These characters coming out of the sea seem to meet very close to a central character, on the banks of the river, enthroned on a terrestrial hemisphere and who takes place at the end of the parking lot... If these people of the sea seem to come alive, it is because they are playing with the tides and the vagaries of nature, such as the rising sun, the setting sun, the mist, the moonlight, the wind, etc. "
The Great Gathering installation on the River bed of the St Lawrence River
Odd characters for sure.
At low tide you can walk among the sculptures.
Looking out over the rafts, it looks eerie with the fog in the background like they are lost at sea.
The row of rafts sitting on the river bed waiting for the tide to come in.
It is like life is still under the action of the water which comes to bring it alive.
It was a good trip but I am sure we missed many things. We will have to work more on researching the area we are visiting. Of course, coming across an unknown location, activity or event is always a pleasant surprise.
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