Piopolis, Quebec

After a morning bird walk, the caravan pulled out one-by-one to get to the next destination which was Piopolis, Quebec. We departed only to stop and wait a few miles down the road at the Canadian border crossing. Well, that was easy enough, the border guard was quite funny. 

The trip took us on highways, country roads, and some gravel roads. The drive was up and down huge hills anywhere from 6% to 16% grades. Precious, (for those reading for the first time is my truck) had no problems. Following the directions to the word, Susan and I were maybe 1 of 3 vehicles that did not get lost. Eventually all arrived safe and sound. Setting up was easy but cleaning up was a little more time consuming. The rough roads were not so nice to the garage area in our rig. That’s okay now we know what we have to do to get ready for the 500 kms of dirt and gravel roads in Labrador.

Piopolis is a small village in eastern Quebec with a population of approximately 350 people. The municipality was founded in 1871 by Papal Zouaves which was an infantry force formed in defense of the papal states.

Our campsites overlooked the beautiful shores of Lac Megantic where we could see common loons swimming.

Our group facing the water

Lac Megantic...this is where we saw the loons

The next morning we were up at 2:30 am driving to a place in search of the evasive Bicknell's Thrush. We of course arrived in the dark but soon were delighted with a gorgeous sunrise.

Sunrise coming up over the mountains

Hearing several Bicknell's Thrushes was fantastic but seeing one proved to be a little more difficult. After a few hours of no visuals we moved to a different location and within minutes one appeared on top of a tree. Not having my big lens with me I was not able to get a good shot, so no pic sorry. However, as we were driving down the hill to explore another trail I spotted a porcupine eating away in the top of a tree.

Porcupine eating breakfast

Joey, Chris, & Mike looking for birds

Yes, that white stuff is snow

A white trillium

Fiddleheads

Shelf Fungus

? who made these holes

As we were finishing up our morning walk we came across the above tree with lots of holes in it. The holes were about 2- 3 feet of the ground. Bert our bird expert indicated it was the result of a Pileated Woodpecker. How cool is that.

Even though we got up early and most of us are tired it was a wonderfully successful day for birding and nature in general.

Derby, Vermont

Spending a couple of nights at UCBSC was wonderful but we had to move on to our next destination for an overnight stay before heading into the States. We arrived at Lac Frontiere Campground in Stanstead, Quebec which is 2 kms from the border. The only reason for staying here was to limit the number days we are in the United States. We parked and I wanted to leave right away. From beautiful serenity to being packed in like sardines with screaming kids everywhere. Susan reminds me it's only for the night. That being said we were out of there so fast in the morning I didn't even take a picture. Maybe I didn't want any memories of the place.

The border crossing was a little different than at Fort Erie. For the first time they asked about our dogs and took our peppers and tomatoes. Go figure. The guy was pretty thoral. He went into the rig and came back 5 minutes later only to say how nice it was. Finishing up there we arrived at Char-bo Campground a few minutes later, the rendezvous point for our caravan. What a beautiful place, sure wish we had stayed here last night. Oh well!

Our site

The organizers of the caravan met us after we were settled to bring us up-to-date. A meeting was held then we all went out for supper at The Cow Palace. Now, this place is famous for it's elk burgers so I'm not passing up that chance.

Home of the elk burger

Supper...sorry guys

Elk antler entrance

The place was packed with locals so you know it has to be good. A bus carrying a university female sports team pulled in just before us. We all ordered our food, this gave me a chance to take pictures of the group.

Russell & Stephen     Kay & Mike

Our crazy tail gunner Larry and his wife Marlene

Woody & Joey         Doug & Kay

Kathryn & Robert   Ted & Bev     Bert & Sherri(our Wagonmasters)

Chris & Curt     Susan & I'm taking the pictures

The staff at the restaurant were fantastic and helped make the meal that more enjoyable. Many of us ordered the elk burger even after seeing the live ones outside. They recommend eating it medium rare, I had mine medium. Tastes much like beef but much milder and juicier. I loved it as you can tell I took a bite before remembering to snap a picture.

From hoof to mouth

The next morning before departing anyone that wanted to partake in a bird walk with Bert met at the camp store at 7 am. We saw and heard many birds, I was able to get pictures of a few.

A nice Song Sparrow 

Were Off Again

Last weekend we were up north in Hanover moving into our new rig, getting the feel of it, and signing the paperwork. Today we are starting our 2-1/2 month trip though Quebec, Labrador, and Newfoundland. Packing up the rig is usually not a big deal. This time Susan could not help because of a big job she had to finish for the park. I don’t know where to put things because it’s brand new. Oh well we will find it eventually. As we pulled out of the park it was nice to see our friends Dave & Marilyn, Bill & Cheryl, and Rob & Fran all wishing us a safe trip. Thanks guys. 

Getting through Toronto is always an ordeal at the best of times. We left a little later just so we would miss rush hour. Not so lucky, I should have taken the 407. The traffic was backed up starting from Guelph Line right into Toronto. Oh well, I’m not in a hurry. It took almost 3 hours to get to Port Perry (Dave & Marilyn can relate to this one). With all the crashes and just plain traffic volume we kept going and are still smiling.

We arrive at our destination Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary and Campground (UCMBS) which is just east of Morrisburg. Deciding to stay a couple of days was my idea in order to check out the birds and see some sights.

We arrived

Our site

The UCMBS covers 9,000 hectares and was established in 1961. The land was acquired by the St Lawrence Parks Commission after construction of the St Lawrence Seaway. The campground sits amongst a variety of wildlife habitat including a mature upland forest, wetlands, and open water.

Lots of space between sites

New washrooms

Beautiful beach on St Lawrence Seaway

The park boosts an 8 km self-guided trail which Susan and I walked. As far as seeing birds, NOT. The trail was so wet from the resent rains we sunk to our ankles. We were still smiling until Susan got her hikers caught up in the muck and almost did a face plant. I caught her before she went down for the count but I was laughing so hard..... Did I mention yet the mosquitoes were as large as my fist.

Fungus growing on tree stump

Very mucky trail

Lots of obstacles

Nature, we were told a Fisher
got the deer

When we checked into the campground we were given day passes for Upper Canada Village. Not realizing how big this place is we went later in the afternoon and only got to see half of it.

Upper Canada Village

The original Bellamy Grist Mill was built in 1821, unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1863. Shortly there after it was rebuilt with two additional millstones and a new steam engine. Relocated to Upper Canada Village (UCV) in 1980 it represents a working mill where wheat is ground into flour through the use of both steam and water power.

Picking up flour from the mill to make bread

Grinding the wheat

End product: flour

Beach's sawmill was built in 1846 and represents a typical water-powered mill that uses a vertical saw to produce cut lumber. I could have hung out here the whole day. The smell of fresh cut timber was amazing.

The wood mill

Before

Cutting wood planks

The broom maker used material that was brought to the America's during slavery days.

The broom maker's house

Making brooms

  

The finished product

The McDiarmid House was built in 1864 using logs from the area. The front door and upstairs window show the skill of a competent carpenter.

McDiarmid House

Typical kitchen back in the day

Lumpy bed

Making rugs

A contrast between old and new on the St Lawrence River. Back in the day barges were used to transport product and people up and down the river. Today large lakers pass through many locks transporting product not only up and down the river but to several town/cities on the great lakes. 

A barge used to take people and product up and down the river

Now large ships due the tasks

UCV is filled with wonderful experiences and enlightening information. For those living in the city who don't have a chance to see farm animals to just learning about the history of this area, UCV has it all.

Mare & filly... the filly is 2 days old

Horse drawn carriages transporting people around the village

Workers dressed in period costume

What a wonderful afternoon however, we needed more time to see it all. There's always next time. Got to move on.

A Cyclone Has Hit Us

Yes that’s right a cyclone has hit us. You see we have done it again, traded our Bighorn 5^th wheel in for a 2015 Cyclone Toy Hauler. How can this be, I often wonder about that myself. Well the story goes like this. We were in Arizona on the Colorado River wishing we had canoes to paddle the river. Then we talked about how we couldn’t bring our golf clubs because we had no room. Then the ladder at the back of the rig broke due to the weight of the bikes. Now I have to take the bikes apart, put one in the under storage compartment of the rig and the other in the back of the truck. What a pain. One night sitting and discussing these issues and many more Susan says “wouldn’t it be nice if we had a toyhauler”. Well the damage was done and now we are proud owners of a 2015 Cyclone Toyhauler and she is pretty. The picture below was taken courtesy of my friends at Morry's Trailers in Hanover the day she arrived.

Front View

Rest assured I will be taking more pictures when we are on our travels so stay tuned. We are off to Labrador and Newfoundland on 29 May so watch for some exciting adventures.