Making our way along the Gaspe Peninsula

July 10 – Levis, Quebec to Bic Provincial Park, Bas Saint-Laurent, Quebec

This morning we headed out along the familiar 132 Hwy. Our destination that day was Bic Provincial Park with stops along the way. This intriguing landscape along the south shore of the St. Lawrence scattered with simple weather worn houses was starting to foreshadow the Maritimes.

En route, we picked up some local cheese and then had a windy picnic on the shores of the St. Lawrence. We stayed the night at Bic Provincial Park. I had a wonderful walk along one of the parks many trails and Guy worked on a painting .

July 11, Bic Provincial Park, Bas Saint Laurent, Quebec to Perce, Gaspésie, Quebec

We started this day off with a walk on the beach near the campsite at Bic. It was a great way to start the day.

Then we made a trip to the Metis Gardens in the Quebec Region of Gaspésie. The gardens were beautiful and the horticultural therapy was welcome since I personally have been missing my garden this year. The Gardens were created in the early 1900’s by a lady named Elsie Redford. She was a Montreal woman who inherited her uncles fishing lodge and at the age of 54 began turning the acres of property into gorgeous gardens. The property was inherited by one of Elsie son’s while she was still alive but he could not take care of it properly. After many transitions in stewardship, the gardens are now taken care of by the Quebec Government and are designated a National Historic Site.

We topped our little visit to the gardens with a picnic in a meadow on the garden property. It was lovely and included Quebec brie, crackers, pickles, salami, baguette, olives, avocado, cucumber and homous. Wonderful!! Then Guy had a wee nap while I just rested under the trees.

We had a long but most picturesque drive along the Gaspésie that afternoon and early evening. Every turn uncovered the most breathtaking landscape along the shores of the St. Lawrence. We kept to the ocean road instead of the highway. We didn’t want to miss this coast and it didn’t disappoint.

July 12 – Perce, Gaspésie, Quebec

This sunny day was one of the highlights of the trip. We got a boat out to Bonaventure Island to the migratory bird sanctuary and spent the day walking the trails and viewing over 200,000 gannuts, the largest sea birds in the North Atlantic. We also got a chance to view Perce Rock up close too. The pictures really do say more than I could describe.