Baie-Saint-Paul

As we moved up the river a distance of 70 miles, we arrived at our 2 night stopover, Camping Le Genevrier in Baie-Saint-Paul. Arriving in the late afternoon gave us time to get caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, and relaxing.

What a really, really difficult site to get into

However, early the next morning we were off and exploring again. This time it’s the Parc National des Grand-Jardins which is north of the campground. Not only were we looking for birds but taking a closer look at the fauna and wildlife. Unfortunately a forest fire many, many years ago created the barren landscape.

A long ago forest fire created this barren land

As we walked along the trails there is evidence of wildlife even though we have not seen any.

Moose poo

Caribou Moss

Cool lichen looks like golf tees

After lunch Susan and I ventured out on our own to see some sites. Establish in 1678 by Noel Simard Dit Lombrette, Baie-Saint-Paul is one of the oldest towns in Quebec. We quickly found that this little town is an artist’s paradise. With countless art galleries and fascinating craft boutiques Susan did lots of window shopping while I strolled along eating my ice cream cone.

A very quaint town

Great mural

Donkey Milk Products

An artisans shop

Walking the streets we came across a really cool I don’t know ?motorcycle ?car. We were unsure what it was. You can decide for yourself. If you know let me know because we were stumped.

Is it a car or is it a motorcycle

No town in Quebec is complete unless it has a grand catholic church.

Beautiful Catholic Church

One last place we stopped was the Laiterie Charlevoix Cheese Factory. What is unique about this factory is it has gone “green” by using a process called methanization. Whey constitutes the liquid residue of the transformation from milk to cheese and is characterized by a high organic content. Methanization is the transformation of this organic content into methane gas. This gas is burned to produce a reserve of hot water which in turn is used for the whole of the cheese making operation.

A Great Cheese Factory

This cheese factory uses the same breed of cows used on the Magdellan Islands, Canadienne Cows. This breed is unique to Canada and owes its origin to animals imported from France between 1608 and 1660. As we were sampling the cheese products we could taste the similarities in the cheese. After we bought our fair share of cheese we headed home for a snooze and later “happy hour”. Life is good.