Motorcycle Journeys Trip Logs

Tag: canada maritimes

  • Magog, QC

    My pictures from Magog: http://motorcycle-journeys.com/current/photos/magog/index.html

    I was really taken with the Eastern Township area of Quebec last summer and since I wasn’t ready to return to the Texas heat I decided to go north and explore the town of Magog and the area around it.

    Bleu Lavande

    Magog is on the northern tip of the long narrow lake Memphremagog that extends from Vermont up into Quebec. The majority of the lake is in Quebec. It’s surrounded by green rolling hills and mountains. What I didn’t know until I stopped at the information center after crossing the border was that I would be arriving on the last day of the La Traversee Internationale du Lac Memphremagog — a 32 kilometer swimming event held annually in Magog. The people working at the information center thought there were no rooms available in the entire town of Magog. I called the motel I wished to stay out (a short walk from downtown and the lake) and could not believe my good luck that they had just had a room cancellation.

    When I arrived in town the traffic was backed up, the sidewalks were packed with people and in a town of 24,000 it took me 30 minutes to get to my motel. After I unpacked the motorcycle and got cleaned up I walked to a nearby restaurant and found it also packed with people since it was across the street from the park where the event was being hosted.

    The next day I left Magog to ride south along the edge of the lake and visit Bleu Lavande a lavendar farm in Fitch Bay. The lavendar was no longer in bloom since it had peaked around July 10 — a day the farm had a record breaking 9,125 visitors. After visiting the lavender farm I continued my ride along the Chemin des Cantons to see small villages around the area.

    The next morning I was out exploring the town at sunrise and saw the Aquilo 36 that offered tours of Memphremagog on the catamaran. I went out on the 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM tour and had a great time. The captain of the boat and the man helping crew both spoke excellent English and filled me in on area history.

    I got back to the motel and shortly after ran outside to help pull down umbrellas and secure lawn chairs as a storm with very high winds hit the area. Want to guess how happy I was that I hadn’t done the afternoon tour on the catamaran?

    I spent three days in Magog and figured it was time to get the ride back to Texas over with. I rode out of Magog on August 11 at first light with a temperature of 59 degrees and very heavy fog.

  • Maine and Home

    8/29 Another rain day due to hurricane Danny so we worked on replacing some lost items and went into Bar Harbor for lunch. Do you believe it? Two hurricanes on a trip to Canada — who would have thought.

    8/30 Rain and wind were gone but it was cool – 53 degrees.

    First stop is the Bar Harbor lighthouse and then we ride through Acadia park on an overcast day- the park is beautiful but fairly crowded. We do the ride up to Cadillac Mountain to see the view.

    We head out of Acadia and stop for lunch in Ellsworth, stop at the Cellardoor winery and camp at Camden Hill State Park that night. Go into Camden and have dinner at the Bayside on the recommendation of the park ranger we registered with. We had a great dinner and then walked around Camden.

    Pictures from Maine:
    http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/route_home/index.html

    8/31 Sunny and beautiful. Last official day of the trip since we’ve decided we’ve probably seen enough beautiful ocean vistas for one trip.

    We went into Camden and had breakfast on a deck overlooking the harbor. Awesome raspberry pancakes.

    We did a loop down 32 to Pemaquid stopping at Peapod Jewelry outside Round Pond to look peapod jewelry. Lovely stuff but not things I could afford on this trip. I would love to get her lighthouse when I have the money. I highly recommend 32 — it was an incredibly beautiful road.

    We caught 130 north to get back to Maine 1 to go to the Cold River Vodka Distillery in Freeport and then had a lobster lunch outdoors on a picnic table at Day’s in Yarmouth. Day’s is a fish market that has a little roadside stand where you order food and eat outside. It was an awesome lunch.

    All in all an absolutely perfect last day.

    Time to get home so we hopped on the highway and made it to Danbury, CT that night.

    9/1 We ride through New York and the  traffic is terrible. I don’t think I have ever seen so many semi tractor trailers in my entire life. We stop for the night in Staunton, Virginia. 461 miles

    9/2 Staunton to Dickson, TN 556 miles

    9/3 Through Tennessee, into Arkansasm and then home around 8:00 PM. 657 miles

  • New Brunswick – Hopewell Rocks

    8/27 Left the B&B for Moncton and on to Hopewell Rocks.

    Hopewell Rocks was a wonderful stop — we walked the entire shore line, climbing rocks, taking pictures. The Rocks are only accessible when the tide is out (for obvious reasons) and in some places leaves a sea of mud. The Rocks are really impressive and we had a beautiful, sunny day to see them.

    We rode through Fundy National Park and stayed that night at New River Provincial Park.

    That day I had my water reservoir blow out of my tank bag in a gust of wind. At camp that night I figured out my Airhawk seat had a leak and was flat — that’s why my butt was killing me after being fine for 2 months. one of my highway pegs had broken off and disappeared. Maybe it was time to go home…

    8/28 Last day in Canada. We went into St. Stephen’s and went to the Ganong Chocolate Museum where we ate so much chocolate we both had upset stomachs.

    We crossed the border back into the US at 3:00 that afternoon and rode to Bar Harbor.

    Pictures of Hopewell Rocks:
    http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/new_brunswick/index.html

  • Nova Scotia

    8/21 The ferry landed on time and we got on the highway for Lousibourg National Historic Site in beautiful weather — you wouldn’t think a hurricane was due in two days. After leaving Louisbourg we took the Fleur-de-Lis (that is the correct spelling) Trail off of Cape Breton Island. Once on the mainland we took highway to Halifax. Heading out of Halifax we ran into dense fog again getting to Graves Island Provincial Park.

    8/22 I talked to the park ranger and they were evacuating the park at 1:00 that afternoon because of the hurricane.

    We left and backtracked to Peggy’s Cove which is a fun ride out 333. Peggy’s Cove is a very picturesque fishing village with a lighthouse, but it’s gone completely commercial. There is even a parking fee at the lighthouse, so I walked out there.

    The ride out to Mahone Harbor and Lunenburg is very pretty and I really liked Lunenburg.The Bluenose II uses Lunenburg as it’s home port and was in port while we were there. The Bluenose is the schooner on the Canadian dime.

    8/23 We ended up staying there to sit out the hurricane the next day. It got very wind, it rained hard, and the power went out for a while, but it wasn’t that bad. I went out for a little in the afternoon and other than feeling sandblasted by the grit blowing, it wasn’t that bad. Most businesses closed when the power went out and it wasn’t easy to find a place to eat that night.

    8/24 We left Lunenburg in rain and fog, but the wind had subsided. I had wanted to ride along the coast, but the heavy fog, lack of visibility, and my problems with my visor completely fogging made the ride no fun (for me) so we decided to head to the north side to camp at Valleyview Provincial Park near Bridgetown.

    Pictures of Louisbourg and south shore:
    http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/nova_scotia/south_shore/index.html

    When we got to Bridgetown and found the sign for the park the road had been torn up and no gravel this time — after hurricane Bill it was a mud slide. We took a side road and Jean-Francois checked a path to see where it went. He was able to get to pavement with a minimum of mud. He walked back and rode my motorcycle through the mud for me.

    Valleyview was a nice park and no one was there. We went for a walk and found a fire tower — the view from the top was incredible and neither of us had brought our cameras. We decided to get up for sunrise pictures.

    That night we made a fire and serious fog settled in the top of the mountain. I needed to go to the toilet and left with my headlamp — much to my embarrassment (and thank god we had a fire) I had to return to the fire and ask Jean-Francois to help me find the bathroom. The fog was so thick I couldn’t see a thing.

    8/25 Up at sunrise for pictures – we weren’t too optimistic when we saw the conditions. The fire tower ended up being totally fogged in.

    The ride that morning was in and out of fog through farmland along the Bay of Fundy. I don’t know what there was about it, but it was just a beautiful ride. We headed for Wolfville and a winery we wanted to see. That afternoon we wrapped around the bay and stayed at 5 Island Provincial Park. Great view, but a crowded park and a lot of mosquitoes.

    8/26 We started the day with the Cape D’or lighthouse — stunning view of the cliffs around the Bay of Fundy. We stopped at a dock and took pictures of the bay when there was no water to be seen. The boats at the dock were sitting in the mud. It must be strange to be a fisherman and know your boat is only accessible part of the time.

    We headed for the other side of the bay in New Brunswick and once again ran into incredible wind. What is it with New Brunswick? It’s by the far the worst wind I’ve been in on the motorcycle. Jean-Francois and I stopped at a visitor center and neither of us was sure the bikes would stay up in the wind. There were other motorcyclists at the visitor center escaping the wind. One of them had been told it was over 55 miles an hour.

    We bailed on camping and stayed at a B&B that night in Sackville.

    Nova Scotia Bay of Fundy pictures:
    http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/nova_scotia/bay_of_fundy/index.html

  • Hurricane Bill & Change of Plans

    8/20 We had originally planned to go to Iles de la Madeleine on the trip and even had a place to stay while there. We were able to get a ferry onto the island, but not able to get one back off the island for 3 weeks. That wouldn’t work so we had to cancel that plan.

    As an alternative we thought we’d go to Saint Pierre and Miquelon Island.  That would be fun since it’s owned by France.

    Unfortunately hurricane Bill decided to make it’s way north all the way to Newfoundland and we thought since we were nearing the end of our visit there that we should go ahead and get to the mainland before the hurricane arrived.  We called the called Marine Atlantic at 11:00 AM and there was space available on the 4:00 PM boat and we should be there by 2:00 for boarding. The ferry to Port aux Basques was 5.5 hours. The ferry from Argentia would be 14 hours so we’d arrive around 6:00 AM. This time I booked bunks for us so we could get some sleep. Since Argentia was about 90 minutes from Clarenville we would be able to make it.

    It turned out the roads we need to take to get there were the worst pavement of the trip. It was riding trying to find a route through all the large pot holes further complicated by dense fog. This was followed up by a long section where the road had been torn up and replaced by a bed of gravel. I don’t know which was worse — the fog and inability to see or the road.

    We made it even with time to stop for lunch. Jean-Francois ran to a store and grabbed some food to take on the boat for dinner.

    I was less nervous with this boarding (this was my 5th ferry of the trip) and we were able to get 4 tie downs for each motorcycle since we knew the drill this time. I worked on my computer (no wifi) and we read that evening. I went to bed in time to make sure I wasn’t wiped out the next day and woke up before the announcement 30 minutes prior to arrival at port.

    Hurricane Bill was due to hit in two days.