Cap Chat-Gaspe Peninsula

Cap Chat was where we were the past few days. There was no WiFi in that campground hence the silence from this blog site. At Cap Chat we were within walking distance of the St.Lawrence River seashore. Well,it has now become the St.Lawrence Seaway. In the city of St.Anne-des-Monts we toured a wonderful aquarium which gave us a crash course on marine biology. There we could see various kinds of live crabs,lobsters,shrimp,cod,flounder and haddock. We also learned that there are at least two kinds of fish that need both fresh water and salt water for their life cycle,salmon being one of them. We were fortunate that the aquarium had most of their exhibit in English- we have had to pass up some museums because everything is only in French. We were fortunate to have an English speaking young man as our tour guide at a windmill farm, however. On the hills surrounding our campground about 100 windmills dot the landscape. A the windmill farm we were able to tour the first one Canada made,which is now not operable because it was too difficult to repair. On Tuesday we hiked in Gaspesie National Park. In this park the International Appalachian trail crosses through,after first starting at the tip of this peninsula at Forillon National Park. We tackled a "moderate" hike,climbing to the top of Mont Ernest-Laforce. We were fortunate to meet up with a ranger there who let us use her telescope to view a male moose. I never realized how big a creature like that could be! On our way down we were able to see a young female moose and an adult- each at different locations. I will post the younger one here. And excuse my fascination with Quebec homes- I want to post another one here. It is colored dark blue and has some fancy lattice work at the top. The homes here continue to fascinate me,and it does not seem to make a difference where we find them.We find unusual ones by the seashore,in the city,or out on rural roads. Size also does not make any difference. On a small house today we saw arched windows which made the cottage look like a church.