Jean-Francois took me into Montreal to see the city. We crossed the Saint Lawrence on Jacque Cartier Bridge, visited the Montreal Olympic area, the old part of Montreal, ate tapas at a restaurant called Confusion, and then went to the Montreal Jazz Festival.
All the pictures were taken while moving on the motorcycle, so they aren’t the best quality (but you get the idea).
For the record — traffic was very heavy, streets were very steep, the cobblestone was very rough, and I was very glad I wasn’t driving…
Days on the road: 7
Day mileage: 250
JF total mileage: 3917
Gale total mileage: 2385
States/Provinces: Vermont, New Hampshire, Quebec
We took Vermont 9 across into New Hampshire and found state highways to drive north along the Connecticut River. Beautiful old homes (1700’s) and great scenery along the way.
We got on interstate 91 to go to the border crossing and crossed with no problems.
Stopped in Sherbrooke, Quebec and then arrived in Bolton, Quebec around 11:00 where we will be spending a few days.
Days on the road: 6
Day mileage: 313
JF total mileage: 3667
Gale total mileage: 2135
States/Provinces: Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont
We wanted to take 209 to drive through the Delaware Gap National Recreation Area and ran into 2 several mile long traffic stoppages – no accidents, just a lot of traffic trying to get into the area.
We drove through Albany and took 7 into Vermont, drove through Bennington, VT which is a very quaint New England town, to stay at the Greenwood Lodge and Campground on Vermont 9 — beautiful campground with large private sites and only $24 a night.
Days on the road: 5
Day mileage: 363
JF total mileage: 3354
Gale total mileage: 1822
States/Provinces: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania
Skyline was definitely more crowded with both people and wildlife. I saw a buck walking toward the road, a doe eating right at the edge of the road, and I had 2 different black bears run across the road in front of me (no pictures since both were on curves and disappeared into the brush right away).
The speed limit for the entire 105 miles of Skyline drive is 35 MPH. Considering I came around curves 2 times to find a vehicle parked in the road in front of me, it’s a good thing I wasn’t going any faster.
We head into Pennsylvania after leaving the park to stay at Jonestown KOA and have dinner at “The Buck” complete with Karaoke entertainment in the bar next door.
Days on the road: 4
Day mileage: 338
JF total mileage: 2991
Gale total mileage: 1459
States/Provinces: North Carolina, Virginia
This part of the parkway isn’t as mountainous and has sweeping curves running along the top of the ridge. The entire parkway has well marked scenic overlooks often so there’s plenty of opportunity to stop and see the view. Yes, the speed limits are 35 and 45 miles an hour, but it’s worth slowing down to see the beautiful scenery here. The week before the 4th of July and we felt like we had the 460 mile Parkway to ourselves most of the time since there was so little traffic.
I had a half dozen deer spill out of the underbrush on the left of the road, run across in front of me to disappear into the brush on the right.
JF was too far behind so see this but a short time later had a doe run along side his motorcycle. He wasn’t sure what the best course of action was – slow down and the deer might choose to veer in front of him, go faster and it could hit him. He opted to gas it and left the deer safely behind.
We make it to Sherando Lake State Park to find the sign “Sorry campground full”. We were directed to a primitive area 4 miles down a gravel road and camp next to a running stream. Sounds idyllic, but there are many serious ATV riders in the area who ride until about 2 AM. And these ATV riders don’t believe in mufflers… the 4th of July holiday has officially begun.
