July 23 to 25, 2012 – Saint-Philippe-de-Laprairie, Quebec Our Current Location
Last post we failed to include two places we visited while we waited in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Frank had read about a restaurant called The Antlers and wanted to check it out. Jim & Shelley would love all of the critters and stuff.
We also stumbled upon Studebaker’s and enjoyed their décor.
We have about 1000 miles to go before we reach New Brunswick. This means we need to concentrate on driving as opposed to sight seeing if we’re going to get there while there is any summer left.
We left the Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie, MI and headed towards the US/Canadian border. Our Hot Spot and our cell phones are shut off and put away for the duration of the Canadian portion of this trip. We paid our toll ($11) to cross the bridge over the St. Lawrence Seaway.
We pulled up to the entrance of the Canada Border Crossing where we paused for a few minutes trying to understand the confusing array of signs directing us to different lanes. Finally admitting defeat as we didn’t see signs that seemed to apply to RVs we simply pulled up to the gate behind another RV.
Immediately a Border Guard came out and asked if it was the blind leading the blind. He informed us we were in the wrong lane as was the RV in front of us. He took our passports then instructed us to pull through the gate and stop where we would be out of sight so no other RVs could see us and make the mistake we did.
After our initial encounter, the Guards were very pleasant to deal with. They asked if we had a safe, firearms, or liquor. Nothing about food, pets, or plants. So except for the plants, we had nothing to worry about because we were good citizens and had everything below the limit and documented. But in the back of our minds, we just know that the one time we ignore the rules they’re going to bust us.
Then the next incident was that the route through Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (that we had carefully planned) was closed for construction. We didn’t have a plan B since we didn’t expect any road closures. So we winged it and managed to make it through town and out into the country pointed in the right direction.
Our very first stop was at the Royal Canadian Bank in Bruce Mines, ON where we exchanged US money for colorful paper, loonies and toonies. Did you know that in Canada there is no paper money of lesser value than a five dollar bill? Everything under a $5 is considered pocket change. The exchange rate was much better than last year (.98517 Canadian per $1 US), but we plan on using credit cards when possible so the exchange is in our favor.
Our first overnight stop was at the Walmart in Sudbury, ON where we spent the evening with about 8 other RVs. We made 201 miles today, the most in a day since June 12th! EJ got a haircut the next morning from a hairdresser that was kinda scary (tattoos and spike orange hair). But the haircut turned out OK.
From Sudbury we traveled on to Pembroke, ON (217 miles) where we spent the night at an Irving Truck Stop. Since we were interested in moving along and didn't want anything fancy this suited us just fine.
The next day we wanted to see Ottawa, ON since it is the capital of Canada. But first we thought it would be a good idea to find the visitor center and get some information about the highlights. All we have to go on are big blue signs with a giant question mark and a pointing arrow. We're guessing this means this is the way to get information so we follow it hoping there will be a parking area large enough to hold Big Guy and the Element. So we take the exit and go the direction the arrow is pointing. After a while we find another question mark and we head off in that direction. Well this repeats several times with the streets getting narrower and more crowded until there is not enough room for us and a bicycle on the road at the same time. Can you say white knuckles??? Then all of a sudden we find ourselves next to the Parliament Building, the seat of Canadian Government, and swarms of people. It looked like every school in Canada had scheduled a field trip that day.
EJ managed to snap a few pictures while I concentrated on getting us away from the hoards. We ended up on a boulevard next to the Ottawa River for several miles until we finally reached a point where EJ said we could get back on the highway and continue our journey east. This nerve wracking experience coupled with not being able to find any place to park Big Guy helped us decide to bypass the remainder of Ottawa. We never did find that information center.
We had been told that in Quebec French rules. Yup, all of the signs are French only and we quickly learned the French words for North(Norde), South(Sud), East(Est) and West(Ouest). The challenge begins.
Campgrounds up here are generally very crowded. We think it's a combination of houseless Canadians who winter in the southern US and spend their summers in Canada, plus apparently most Canadians feel the need to dash off to the nearest campground as often as possible and have big parties. And because they are in high demand, campgrounds are pretty pricy. Most commercial campgrounds charge in the neighborhood of $35 to $40 a night with 15% tax on top of that. One KOA we checked out wanted $55 a night.
EJ found a nice little campground south of Montreal, fairly close to our eastward route. It was a Passport America park for $15 + 2.25 tax(cash only) with full hookups. Camping Amerique-Montreal in Saint-Philippe-de Laprairie, Quebec was our first encounter with English not being the language of choice. The lady at the counter quickly called in a man that spoke English and we figured everything out. Nice park, but tight spaces and different site layouts. We’re happy to have landed for the night after a 249 mile day. Oui are now in easy reach of Quebec City tomorrow.
The girls have done great with the longer road days, but a soon as we stop they come out and expect food.
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