Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec Part 4
We were now at the end of our lingering stage when it came to the Gaspe Peninsula. We had our fun, but Kenting said it was time to "drive on" and make some progress westward.
Accordingly, we covered about 7 hours (as per Google Maps standards) of driving over the next 2 days through some wildly steep hills and wicked curves that rivaled (and potentially outdid) the worst of the Cabot Trail (tons of gearing down on the declines), especially on the first day. It was hard to make much progress through the hills. Google Maps said it would take 3 hours on the first day, but it was like we were going back in time. The speed limit said 90km/h, but only a madman would drive that speed on those roads with even a small RV like ours. 70km/h was our limit and we rarely made that.
But we also discovered some outstanding coastal scenery along the way that was impressive enough to make us wonder if it shouldn't be rated higher than the Cabot Trail as a "bucket list" driving experience.
On day 1, we found a quality rest site along the drive about an hour after Frollion Park called Grand Etang ("Large Pond"). It would have been perfect for boondocking had we been near the end of the day. It featured the big pond that was its namesake and a rocky beach running parallel.
There were some old dudes crushing beers and fishing here. It looked like the ideal version of myself in 30 years, honestly.
Anyway, after many ups and downs (literally), we came upon what our iOverlander boondocking app suggested was a sweet spot for free overnight camping beside a wharf in a lovely little town called Sainte-Anne-de-Monts. Reviews as late as last week said there were no "No Camping" signs in said parking lot. Yet, we arrived to find multiple signs, presumably brand new. Evidently we were a few days late on the wrong side of a crackdown.
Nice town, but it seemed it was not for us.
We drove on as a result, got some groceries, picked up a coupl'a pints at a local microbrewery called La Malbord (probably the best craft beer I've had in Quebec: its feet were frimly on the ground; not trying to do too much, unlike so many microbreweries)... and backtracked to several municipal rest sites before settling for one with a "no camping" but also a "no 48 hour parking" sign for RV type vehicles. Vague enough, but it seemed we would be safe. There was another large van from Texas staying there. As I said in an earlier post, it's always good to have a companion vehicle or two for these things. We thus hunkered down for the night and left early the next morning.
Even so, it seemed the ups and downs of the past day were over for good as the road ran completely along a flat coast from there on. The scenery here was spectacular, especially when the clouds cleared.
Alas, I only took videos during the drive and cannot upload them here since it's a free blog. Here are some low quality screenshots that don't come close to justice.
We covered a lot of ground on this day though, all along the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River. Nothing beats a coastal drive on flat terrain, honestly. It was a pleasure.
The 4-hour drive saw us through to a municipal campground in a place called Rocher-Panet, located right on the river about 50 minutes from Quebec City.
The campsite was quite nice, especially the spots along the riverbank.
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