Camping du Phare a Perce, Perce, Quebec, Canada
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. ~ Proverbs 11:4
Once upon a time, an adventurous young man convinced a young girl with an adventurous streak of her own to marry him. Today, he tried his best to do her in.
But she prevailed. He did, however, make dinner and let her shower first, so I guess that makes up for it. Plus, it’s predicted to rain all day tomorrow, so there should be time to rest up.
First, he tried to capsize our kayak in the St. Lawrence Bay, and then he tried to beach us in said kayak in deep water in the middle of nowhere, and lastly, he tried to wear me out so he could leave me behind in the middle of the woods on a mountain. Can you believe that? After all the years I’ve given him as a devoted, loving wife! And the pot roast I spent all day on yesterday!
Alright. I’ll give you the (probably) more accurate version of today’s events. I’m just tired and adding a little drama helps keep me awake and at least moving my fingers, even though nothing else moves right now.
It was a beautiful morning! Clear skies and calm waters! Time to paddle to Perce Rock!
I certainly don’t need to pay to see the tops of trees. : )
We went to one of the places where Danielle (Visitor Center) told us to put in.
The yard was filled with gorgeous flowers!
It was a great spot! Easy to set up, free parking, and fairly close to the giant rock. The waves hitting the beach were a bit of a concern, but we waited them out like surfers and once there was some flat water, we jumped in the boat lickity-split and paddled hard.
Dun-da, dun-da . . .
Dun-da, dun-da, dun-da, dun-da . . . .
That’s one giant shark!!!
Must be frozen with fear.
Once we got out into the sea, we discovered that the sea wasn’t quite as calm as we’d thought. There were some good sized swells out there! So we went to the rock, took way too many pictures of rock, and headed back to shore. The boat (and us) faired very well out there. Except at the end. Blaine had told me more than once, “When we get to shore, get out as quick as possible!” And I was expecting to. I really, really was! But the ride in on the wave was so much fun, I kinda forgot about the ‘quick’ part. Water came in over the back, Blaine got wet, the floor got wet, or seats got wet, and I got a little wet. But I’d do it again. It’s only water after all. 😊
and equally as impossible to explain or show you how impressive and stunning it is!
We really didn’t have the time we wanted to sit and enjoy the Rock.
We needed to get back right away before they got any bigger. : )
And then, the most amazing thing happened! As we hauled the boat to safety, a woman came up to us from down the beach, and said, “Remember me?” It was Danielle from the Visitor Center! How in the world she managed to remember us was quite impressive! When I asked her how, she said, “Well, your husband is very tall.” That made us all laugh. Personally, I think she spotted the Ohio tag on our Jeep and remembered. They probably don’t get many Ohioans around here. Anyway, she was quick to offer additional information and tell us a few things about the area. Working, even off the clock. How wonderful is that?? She’s a great ambassador for her community! I’m going to have to leave a “Thank You” note at her office.
We left to go check out another potential kayaking spot she’d mentioned to us, but we didn’t care for it at low tide, so we moved on to the third and final spot.
We just packed the kayak securely into the Jeep and drove down the road a bit.
This one, while not particularly exciting, posed it’s own set of challenges.
This picture isn’t just about the Jeep.
Check out the clothes on the line.
Many people hang their clothes outside around here,
and they run their clothes line through a pulley so they can send them out and haul them back in.
First, we had to find it (since the parking area was down a hill, we didn’t realize it was even there at first), then we had to put in (lots of rocks and splintered wood made up the shore, with a steep drop-off into the water almost right away), and then, once in the water, we discovered it was also not a great place at low tide, because initially, it was pretty shallow.
We made it to deeper waters and paddled along the opposite shoreline, all the while hearing what sounded like huge crashing waves.
We came to a dip in the shoreline, parked the kayak on the beach and went exploring, and we found them! Not terribly huge in height, but the waves were powerful nonetheless when they hit the beach. And the scenery heading back was really nice.
They look small, but trust me, they made a lot of noise!
But believe me, the view is astounding!
Definitely a Wow, an all caps WOW in fact!
When we returned to the Jeep, we discovered that it was only 10:30am. And considering we’ve already kayaked two places and drove all around, that’s pretty shocking. So we went home.
After eating an early lunch, we set out to do some hiking. We had lots of energy left and it was still early.
There’s a Park here called “GeoPark” that seems to be an area where they emphasize the geology in this area. It’s official name is Perce UNESCO Global Geopark (or at least that’s how it translates into English 😊) and it “showcases the geological heritage with 23 geosites of rare beauty.” Now, here’s a test. Do you remember what UNESCO stands for? We covered it two years ago.
That’s okay. We didn’t remember either. I remembered “United Nations”, but couldn’t remember the rest. So one more time, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. You really need to remember that, so I don’t have to take the time to look it up again. 😊
Anyway, back to the important stuff.
A portion of this Park includes some hiking trails. We took the advice of Danielle and drove to a higher elevation to begin one of the trails sort of in the middle, instead of climbing up from town. She’d told us there was a closed motel there, but we could park for free.
Looks pretty bad doesn’t it?
It was closed alright. But there were people working on it – tearing it down, or renovating it we weren’t sure because it was in a terrible state of decay. We’re not sure how in the world they could renovate, but who knows? We felt a little strange parking there when we saw the guys working and no one else was parked there, but we ultimately decided to take Danielle at her word and left the Jeep.
Good thing Blaine spotted it!
That’s to compensate for the mounds of snow that will begin before too long.
At the end, past the Crevasse, is a magnificent view!
This time at least. : )
That’s where we were kayaking this morning! Same bridge!
WOW! Just doesn’t seem like enough!
This is where we kayaked from the first time.
We were right down there this morning!
It’s really a small waterfall with a shrine to Mary.
This one that’s sitting up really high . . .
You can see Bonaventure Island, Perce Rock and downtown Perce.
We had no desire to do this because it was short-lived and
we’ve been to the one in Hocking Hills, Ohio, which was awesome!
Even (or maybe especially because?) in a severe storm! : )
It’s too bad it’s marred, but it shows how once upon a time, Perce Rock had two holes.
It would be very scary in the dark, though!
Lots of steps and lots of inclines!
We believe that big red rock is Mont St Anne.
We plan on hiking there sometime this week.
Well, whadayathink? Of course we went to check it out!
We couldn’t see much. . . . : (
Now, if we can just find the beginning of the road . . .
Not today. When we decided to go Jeeping. We’re still hoofin’ it today!
Eventually.
That’s about mushrooms.
I had to tell you the answer, because we sure didn’t know based on that information!
Did you?
And now you know (if you read all this) that
if you’re out in the wild and desperate, you can catch one and
eat it raw! Yum!! (Um. . Gross!)
and gave our legs a much needed break.
Now it’s just immersing ourselves in what God created for us to enjoy!
Fortunately, we could to around it.
Much more than this picture (that looks like an accident) shows.
Never seen that before! It was really pretty sitting amongst the dark green!
Looks like it could be a sinkhole, but there was nothing around to tell us.
But still a ways off since we can’t travel as the crow flies.
I think the same picture from this morning looked much better.
What do you think?
Four-and-a-half hours later, we returned, worn and bone weary with nothing but determination and hunger to keep us moving at the end. But as you saw, we had some spectacular views, learned some cool stuff, and saw some magical things along the way!
Once we returned, I took a long hot shower and Blaine made dinner. Well, I’m not sure if ‘made’ is the right word. More like he got dinner on the table. We had leftovers. But I certainly appreciated his efforts tonight! 😊
And then there was a big bowl of box-made brownies with mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert! We earned it several times over today!