Maintenance & Restoration

DeniseinMaine · 07-31-2011, 11:59 AM

We just returned home from a week long stay with friends on the Gaspé coast. What a beautiful place to see. Fortunately, my friend lives there through Summer/Fall and took us to some beaches and areas that the general public might not find.
We also traveled to Percé a few times, Percé has become quite the tourist attraction because of the huge monolithic Roche Percé and Bonaventure Island, which has one of the largest summertime populations of the Northern Gannet. Bonaventure Island has four trails that can be hiked to see the birds nesting at the top, 250,000 birds is quite the sound and sight. It was well worth the steady walk up hill to see it.
We stayed the first night at Carleton sur-Mer, which is a camping area on a peninsula that is surrounded by water. It is a beautiful spot, but I'd say that during the summer months a reservation is highly recommended. They also are fairly bilingual, so no problems making reservations.
We saw a tan Burro (I think) pulling into the camping area as we were pulling out..wish I'd taken a pic.
We also saw several "Eggs" making their way down Rt 132. And one for sale! I know..should have taken a pic of it too. Sorry..my bad.

honda03842 · 07-31-2011, 04:23 PM

Any other campground suggestions for the Gaspe?

Thank you

Norm

DeniseinMaine · 07-31-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda03842

Any other campground suggestions for the Gaspe?

Thank you

Norm

Hi Norm, There are tons of campgrounds all over the Gaspé, they go from looking like small backyard campgrounds to places like Fort Prével, Camping Auberge Fort Prével - Sépaq - Gaspésie | Campingquebec.com, which has a very nice golf course.

There are many around the Percé area that have an outstanding view of the Rock and also Bonaventure Island. Many of the camping areas I saw tended to pack the campers in fairly tight rows. One of the things I liked about Carleton and also Fort Prével was that the lots were a little larger and they still had beautiful views.

If you know of specific areas you might want to stay let me know and I'll ask my friend that lives there. She would be happy to help out.

Denise

honda03842 · 08-01-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeniseinMaine

Hi Norm, There are tons of campgrounds all over the Gaspé, they go from looking like small backyard campgrounds to places like Fort Prével, Camping Auberge Fort Prével - Sépaq - Gaspésie | Campingquebec.com, which has a very nice golf course.

There are many around the Percé area that have an outstanding view of the Rock and also Bonaventure Island. Many of the camping areas I saw tended to pack the campers in fairly tight rows. One of the things I liked about Carleton and also Fort Prével was that the lots were a little larger and they still had beautiful views.

If you know of specific areas you might want to stay let me know and I'll ask my friend that lives there. She would be happy to help out.

Denise

I'm planning another trip to Labrador in 2013 and was thinking of including the Gaspe. We've only done a small part of it and want to do the loop. I will contact you for details as we get closer to the date. Thank you.

Norm

SherryNPaul · 08-01-2011, 06:58 PM

Of the campgrounds we visited last year on the Gaspe, I would highly recommend Camping Griffon, near the national park Forillon. The hosts were wonderful (and spoke beautiful English), nice site, we watched whales play from our seats around the firepit. Showerhouse was clean and pleasant. We really enjoyed our stay. We were there in September.
We spent one night only in Perce. The town was cute, but very, very touristy. Though we had beautiful views of the rock from our campground, it was quite expensive compared to our other campsites in Quebec.
Sherry

honda03842 · 08-01-2011, 07:26 PM

Sherry and Paul,

Thanks for the campground info. A good haul from Tampa.

We're generally off season travelers so camping fees are usually less and crowds also less. I see you're from Tampa. We like the area and usually spend some time in the area and will stop there to see friends on our way west this year.

Thanks again,

Norm

SherryNPaul · 08-01-2011, 08:13 PM

Send us a pm if you do stop in Tampa on your way west!
I see that Camping Griffon has a website, which you can translate in google translation. It truly was a favorite of ours in all of Quebec, though we found it quite by accident. They also stay open past Labor Day, which is nice, but as I recall, accepted only cash in late season. September is late season there, not shoulder season, and many campgrounds had already closed, or were closing. It was quite cold at night...
We did the loop from the north side, which means you hug the inside (not the water side) of the road on the way around (which most folks recommend), beginning our trip in New York via Quebec City, etc. The scenery was breath-taking in the drive around the peninsula. We enjoyed some great road-side cafes and rest stops, and wonderful seafood. Although none of us spoke much French, we managed with a dictionary and smiles and effort on both sides... the further we got from cities, the less English we found, but it wasn't a huge issue.
Forillon Park was beautiful, and some wonderful exhibits.
Sherry

honda03842 · 08-01-2011, 08:26 PM

Sherry, the first time I went to the Gaspe I was 10, that was 1952 and you could not find a person that spoke English and virtually no tourists. Fortunately my Dad was fluent in French. I remember fish drying on nets, little bread baking stove ovens in most yards and beautiful churches.

Norm

BOBSMITH · 08-09-2011, 10:21 AM

The last long trip that my late aunt and uncle took in their travel trailer was there. My uncle Rob knew that he only had one more such trip in him, physically, and that's the place they chose to see before selling their trailer. He talked about the beauty of that area. I think it was a nice choice for them to close out their caravan days.

DeniseinMaine · 08-09-2011, 06:53 PM

So glad to hear that your Aunt and Uncle made the trip, it is an area of the world that is well worth seeing at least once. I just love it there.

I will say that things have changed greatly in that area, and most people will find that they will be able to communicate quite well at camping areas, restaurants, etc. I found the Quebecois truly went out of their way to understand us and communicate in English. And always appreciated a "Bonjour" or "merci" for their efforts. We don't know a lot of French language, but did quite well. And there are pockets of English speaking people in the Gaspé area..some of the settlers there have Scottish or English ancestry..and themselves know only enough French to get by.

While Percé does seem fairly commercial..touristy gift shops, etc. There are some truly breathtaking and natural places to see around that area. We took a boat ride from Percé, around the large rock (Roche Percé, which means Percé Rock) and Bonaventure Island where the Northern Gannets make their summer home. Approximately 250,000 of them. It's well worth the trip out, which was around $10.00 and another $5.50 per adult to gain access to the island. But the vistas from Bonaventure were beautiful and the birds were something to see.

For anyone thinking of going..I'd probably plan the trip during July/August timeframe..their season is short..and it's probably one place I'd not want to get caught hauling a camper in a snowstorm. Fairly hilly territory in some areas of the Gaspé. It is where the Appalachian Mountain range ends.

Happy Traveling! Denise

honda03842 · 08-09-2011, 08:02 PM

One of the reasons we go to Newfoundland is the interesting geology. It turns out that the Appalachians make up part of the west coat of Newfoundland and extended into Scotland.

As well the southern end extended into Morocco. This was all during the period when what is now the Atlantic Ocean had closed up with North America, Europe and Africa had drifted together.

Among the many geological things to see in Newfoundland is a valley that extends across the eastern part of Newfoundland that is the place where the European Continent and the North American Continent collided. When the continents split with the reopening of the Atlantic a piece of Europe stayed attached to North America. There are places where you can stand and see the across this valley, the obvious attachment point.

Norm

BOBSMITH · 08-09-2011, 08:30 PM

The older eroded mountains of Europe (UK, Norway, etc.) were part of the same mountain building forces that created the Appalachians. There's a lot in the northern corner of our continent that I want to see and hike before I croak.