Blog #15 - Oh Canada!

So today April 25th 2025 marks a special day for us. Today is the first day of our second year on the road. On this same day in 2024 we left our home in Calgary for this wild and crazy adventure. Sometimes its hard to believe where this road trip has taken us, all the things we have seen, learned, and done, all the amazing people we have crossed paths with along the way.

We returned to Canada a few days ago after travelling 5 months in the USA. We crossed the border at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls without a hitch. We had been a bit concerned about crossing the border with all the tariffs and the political stuff happening these days. But, no issues at all. It took about 20 minutes to get all checked out and to get the “free to go” signal. It is nice to be back in Canada. Being the good Canadians that we are, we were barely back in Canada for 2 hours and already we drove to a polling station to do our Canadian duties and voted in the upcoming Federal Election. We must say though, that being back in Canada after 5 months away requires a bit of readjustment. One thing we find a bit confusing is changing from the American imperial measuring system to our metric,

shifting from 60 mph road signs to 100 km/h, is at times a bit confusing for Guy. We also need to adjust to the shock of the cost of things here in Canada, even with the Canadian dollar exchange rate things still seemed considerably less expensive in the USA.

Our onward direction from Niagara Falls will be to slowly make our way towards Montréal, the Maritimes, and then the Gaspé Peninsula. We will spend about one month in eastern Canada before turning around and heading back toward the west. And of course, with many stops along the way. Our first stop after Niagara Falls was Colborne Ontario. We find this place impossible not to stop at. At Colborne is a large (touristic) country store named The Big Apple, which we discovered last time we were in this area. They have the most delicious apple and cinnamon bread - this bread toasted is amazingly good. They also now have a delicious cheese and apple bread which we decided to try - and wow, delicious. So we are now well stocked up on yummy bread for a while.

Traveling in the interior of Québec is beautiful with rolling hills and farmlands galore. It is very pretty and scenic. But, on the less fortunate side, this is the time of year when an overwhelming stench of cow manure in the air. Farmers are now spraying their fields with a manure mixture for fertilizing. The aroma is somewhat overwhelming and not in a pleasant way. But still, nonetheless, Québec has very beautiful countryside.

Québec Countryside

We did a few fun and odd stops along the way as we travelled the St-Lawrence coastline to Sainte-Flavie. First we stopped in St-Georges-de-Windsor to check out the Big Cow Lookout. This cow was created by a local artist named Josée Perreault in the early 2000s. The cow was made by piling up a bunch of large boulders in the shape of a cow lying down which Perreault then painted black and white. He added a wood and metal framed head to the body. We walked a small pathway up to the top of the cow and from there had a panoramic view of the farmers’ fields and hills in the distance. It was a fun little stop which is also advertised as a rest stop so there were a few other people around.

Big Cow Lookout

Our next stop along the way was to visit a shop in Sainte-Eulalie that sells a little of everything. There were sheepskin products, soaps, mitts made from beaver fur, toys, statues galore, and lots of taxidermy. The outside displayed many plexiglass statues of animals like: moose, monkeys, cartoon characters, lobsters, french fries, and even sheep on the roof. Our main reason for stopping here was that there were suppose to be three goats that would greet visitors upon entering the shop. But after talking with the owner we discovered that he had just given his goats to a neighbour. The reason was that he had just spent 6 days in the hospital with lung issues after shovelling heavy snow in his driveway. His doctor recommended he got rid of the goats as they could potentially give him a bacterial infection of sorts. At 78 years old he says he cannot take that chance. Still a fun stop.

Quirky shop in Sainte-Eulalie Quebec

Further down the road we missed a turn off the highway - which is not a completely unusual occurrence for us - and luckily ended up at the Park de Chutes (Park of the Waterfalls) and the views were well worth the unexpected stop. We went for a hike along the river which consisted of 400 steps down and 400 steps up, I counted. There was a swaying suspension bridge to cross as well. This wobbly bridge which is 113 meters long and 22.86 meters above the rushing water below was a bit unnerving.

Park de Chutes

Next was Rimouski. This place was cold with torrential downpour of rain that seemed non ending. We boondocked in the Walmart parking lot for the night and were surrounded by twelve feet high snow banks and puddles of rain. And, of course, as luck would have it, our furnace in the Roadtrek decided to stop working. Guy was on the internet for a while trying to figure things out but with no success. It was a cold night with an even colder morning to wake up to, but after thawing ourselves out - just kidding - we headed a little further north to Sainte-Flavie to see the Le Grand Rassemblement (The Great Gathering).

Snow fields on the way to Rimouski. Walmart Boondocking with a huge snowbank

Le Grand Rassemblement is an art project created by Québec artist, Marcel Gagnon who is famously known for his large-scale art installations. He started this project in 1986 and there are approximately 100 humanlike wood and stone statues on the beach along the Saint-Lawrence River. The faces of each statue is individual and the expressions vary. When we arrived here it was wet, windy, cold, and heavily overcast. This forecast though added a more dramatic mood to this art piece. We felt that these sculptures belong here - this was their place. We could feel their movement and got a eerie sense that something was brewing up and about to happen from over the water. It almost felt as if they were trying to give us a message, whatever that may be (maybe our brains were still frozen from the night before). It was well worth the long cold detour to see this. On the way out of town we discovered another of Gagnon’s art installations of a shepherd and his flock of sheep on a hillside. Not quite as dramatic though.

Images from the Le Grand Rassemblement (The Great Gathering)

Gagnon’s art installations of a shepherd and his flock of sheep

We woke up the next day in Edmunston New Brunswick to the warmth and brightness of sunshine - seems like it had been forever since we felt the sun. But really it had only been a few days. I know this sounds a bit dramatic but when traveling as we are in a small RV, and being outside all the time the weather surrounds us 24/7. When at home in Calgary, we can be distracted with other things but when travelling in this “tin can”, as Guy calls it, there are not those distractions so the weather becomes much more real, more potent for us, especially when its cold and/or raining and surrounded with snow.

Our intent after Rimouski was to visit a few odd places along the way as we travel down country roads into the interior of New Brunswick making our way towards Fredericton. First on our list was Plaster Rock which has the World’s Largest Fiddleheads, a 24 feet tall wood sculpture. Fiddleheads are a springtime delicacy that taste a bit like asparagus. They are eaten when they first start to come out of the ground and look a little like the top of a Fiddle. They are also pre-cooked, frozen, and shipped all over the world as a “Delicacy”. Fiddleheads, as we found out, cannot be eaten raw as they contain toxins that can cause food poisoning. So best to leave the preparation and cooking of these to the experts.

World’s largest Fiddleheads & a real life fiddlehead

In Florenceville we stopped to visit Noah’s Ark building. Back in the 1980’s Pastor Paul Smith received a vision from God in which he saw an Ark sitting in a field. He was given the location and the purpose of why this Ark should be. So in 1993 he began construction of the Ark. The building is over 300 feet long, 30 feet wide, and stands 2 story tall. It is said that the dimensions of the Ark are approximately two-thirds the size of the Biblical Ark. The original purpose of the Ark was to be a place to train people for the ministry, a retreat, and a place for people to heal. Today it is used as a low income housing with apartments and a non-profit café called Noahs Ark Café. While looking around the building we met one of the residents who lives there. He introduced himself as John Wayne - funny thing he said, is that his mother was not a Western movie fan. John Wayne toured us around. He was very friendly and fun to chat with.

Noah’s Ark & the Noah’s Ark Cafe

After the Ark we drove to Hartland to what we hoped would be a drive across the World’s Longest Covered Bridge. But unfortunately the bridge was closed to traffic for renovations. We did have a look around and discovered a few interesting facts. Construction on the bridge began in 1899 and the bridge opened in 1901. This bridge is 1,282 feet long - ¼ mile long - and crosses the width of the Saint John River. It was once a toll bridge until 1906, and the toll charged was 3 cents per person. The total cost to build the bridge at that time was $33,000 cad. In 1922 the bridge was covered and in 1945 a walkway was added to one side. Another interesting fact about this bridge is that the 1988 Winter Olympic Torch was carried through it.

Hartland - World’s Largest Covered Bridge

In Nackawic, we stopped to see the World’s Largest Axe which was built to honour the Forestry Capital of Canada. And our last stop of the day was in Harvey New Brunswick where there is a beautiful intricately constructed Fiddle dedicated to their hometown fiddling hero Don Messer, who died in 1973. Guy says when he was a kid in New-Brunswick, his parents would listen to a country music show on television called the Don Messer Jubilee Show.

World’s Largest Axe & Fiddle

All these discoveries we just saw were new to us. Even after living here in New-Brunswick for two years, and having travelled through the province a few times before, we were not at all aware of this beautiful part of the province. Even Guy who was born here did not know about these areas. He said these new discovered sceneries gave him a totally new view of his home province. All these discoveries made for a few good days of driving.

Beautiful New Brunswick

Another beautiful and well known part of New-Brunswick is the Fundy National Park on the Bay of Fundy. We spent three wonderful days camping here surrounded by the natural beauty and quietness. We did a few walks around the area and our campground had beautiful views looking down on the Bay below with it’s 35 feet tides. We were able to watch as the high and low tides flowed and receded from shore. The Bay of Fundy are the highest tides in the world with a record height of 53.6 feet in 1975. What confused us for a while, is why there are two high and two low tides every day since the moon only orbits the earth once a day. We asked staff at the campground and at the visitors center but the answer eluded them as much as us. We finally looked on the internet and got an explanation. The phenomena is caused, in a nutshell, by a combination of the earth rotating on itself and the Moon’s gravity pull as it rotates around the earth. These rotations create two gravitational bulges of water on the opposite sides of our planet. So as the Earth spins, the coastal areas experience two high tides and two low tides roughly every 24 hours and 50 minutes. While we were there the high tides were averaging 35 to 37 feet and the low tides between 1.5 to 3 feet. We walked down a path to the water when the tide was low and walked out as far as we dared. It really is an inspiring experience, especially when we walked back up to our campground and watched as the high tides came in, realizing where we had just been only a short time ago. Mother nature is full of amazing mysteries.

Bay of Fundy Campground and National Park

On our way towards Moncton we stopped in Alma to buy some famous Sticky Buns at Kelly’s Bake Shop - beautiful hot cinnamon buns straight out of the oven. We chatted with the lady there and she told us about their record breaking “weekend” of August 1st to August 3rd in 2020 when they had baked and sold 10,872 sticky buns. Wow, in three days! Even more of a record on August 5th 2019, they sold 4,392 buns in one day. “The people lined up around the corner for hours”, she said. It’s hard to imagine this, but these sticky buns are well known and delicious especially when still warm out of the oven. When we lived in Moncton about 15 years ago we made a special trip to Alma just to buy these famous buns. So there you go, the drive from Moncton is about 2 hours each way - these sticky buns are well worth the drive.

Town of Alama NB & the World Famous Sticky Buns

We again stayed in Moncton a few days to visit Adélia and Tony (Guy’s sister and brother-in-law). We are sure they must be getting tired of us by now - we’ve stayed with them three times in the last year - but they still seem to enjoy our company, we certainly enjoy theirs.  We had many laughs, good conversations, and Adélia is a fabulous cook so lots of delicious food to eat. Treme is quite relaxed here and both Adélia and Tony treat her a bit like a princess which we all know she is. We also just find the luxury of space and daily showers such a treat, and the company is wonderful.

More scenic New Brunswick

Ahhh! On the road again! As wonderful as beautiful company and hot showers are, we still love the road. Our first night back on the road from Moncton and we are heading to Nova Scotia. For our first stop we boondocked in the Costco parking lot in Halifax. Our bed was comfortable and as strange as it may seems, for us it always feels like being home, in our very own “tin can”. Unfortunately we again woke up to a torrential downpour. But that’s what living on the road is all about - roll with the punches.

Our destination in Halifax was the Art Galley of Nova Scotia to visit the original house of Everett & Maud Lewis which has been meticulously restored and brought here to the museum to be preserved. Some of her paintings were also on display and also a few pieces of Everett’s artwork. The story of Maud Lewis is really quite intriguing and is one of the things that has drawn us back here to Nova Scotia. A few years back we had watched a documentary movie of her life with Everett.

Maud & Everett Lewis

Maud Lewis was born in Nova Scotia in 1903. She suffered from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis which caused her to have physical disabilities, mostly in her arms and hands, throughout her life. Maud attended school to grade 5. She was very shy and withdrawn but she loved to paint. Her mother first taught her how to paint Christmas cards and they would sell them door to door. Her father passed away in 1935 and shortly after in 1937 so did her mother. Her only sibling, her brother Charles who was 6 years older, sent her to Digby to live with an Aunt.

Maud Lewis Paintings - brilliant

Not long after arriving in Digby Maud met Everett Lewis a farm labourer and fish peddler.  Everett was born in 1893 and raised in the Alms House; locals refer to this as the “Poor Farm”. Back before social welfare programs, the Alms House was an institution where people without any means were sent to by the authorities. They were expected to work on the farm or at outside jobs to subsidize their stay. Everett’s father had abandoned Everett and his mother so they were sent to the Alms House as a charity. His mother eventually left the Poor Farm to become the housekeeper to a local farmer, but Everett stayed and worked as a labourer throughout his childhood. He only completed the first grade and he never did learn how to read or write. In the 1920s he purchased a small plot of land adjacent to the Poor Farm and in 1926 he bought a small house and moved it by ox team to his plot.

Painting by Everrett Lewis

Everett posted an ad looking for a housekeeper. He received no responses to his ad with the exception of one. One morning in 1937 Maud knocked on Everett’s door, she was the one exception to his ad. She had walked from her Aunt Ida’s house in Digby to Everetts’ house approximately 6 miles away. At first the two did not hit it off and Everett sent her away. A few days later Maud came back to the house, and they made a bargain: she would move in with Everett, but on one condition, she was not to be a housekeeper but his wife. And as the story goes they married in 1938 and she lived in the little house for the rest of her life.

The original house and after it was moved and restored to the museum

Inside the original house before restorations

Inside the original house after restoration

Original painted door from the house

Everett would bring Maud leftover paints from houses and boats for her to paint with. She painted on just about anything from tin cans, bread boxes, her own stove, cardboard, wallpaper, walls, doors, and her home. Because of Mauds' rheumatoid arthritis she was unable to do the housework so Everett took care of the house and Maud brought in money from her paintings. Maud’s painting are her imagination and creativity of the countryside of Nova Scotia she saw either from the tiny window in her home or when she went with Everett as he peddled both his fish and her art work.

Restored tin cans, bread boxes, and stove Maud painted

In 1939 Everett took a job as a night watchman at the Poor Farm so this meant that he and Maud could no longer travel to sell her artwork. So Everett painted a colourful sign to go on their house and Maud began selling her cards directly from her home. She also started making paintings, which sold for more than the cards.

Maud Lewis Paintings

As Maud got older her physical condition deteriorated and her hands got worse, but demand for her artwork grew. In order to help, Everett got her to draw oxen on cardboard and he cut out templates for her to use in her paintings. Their tiny home was very small it was one room that measured 13.5 x 12.5 feet with no insulation, no running water, or heat. They slept upstairs in the attic. In 1968 Maud fell down the stairs and broke her hip after which her health quickly declined. She was admitted to the hospital where she even made cards for her nurses. Sadly in 1970 Maud Lewis died in the hospital and in 1979 Everett was killed by a burglar during an attempted robbery at the house.

We did manage to see a few other exhibits while at the museum. Blacklight which is a collection exploring Black Canadian identity through both figurative and abstract art. There were many amazing pieces but the one the stood out for us was a piece by an artist named Till Freiwald called “Untitled”. It’s a portrait done in watercolour on graphite paper. It measures 232.4 x 153.6 cm and is quite stunning really. Even from close up, it’s hard to believe it’s actually a watercolor piece.

Untitled by Till Freiwald

The other exhibit we saw was called OH BABY by Seamus Gallagher which combines  photography, video, drag, sculpture, and costuming. There were a few outlandish and fun pieces to see.

OH BABY by Seamus Gallagher & other exhibit

We are a bit ahead of the tourist season here in the Maritimes. Many places, museums and campsites are not quite opened yet. But even after a chilly visit in Halifax we still decided to travel the coastline of Nova Scotia before heading on to PEI. Today the fog is thick and dense as it rolls around us but it does not take away from the scenic views as we embrace a little bit more of this maritime beauty. We made a stop at Peggy’s Cove to see the iconic lighthouse and surrounding beauty of the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean onto the rocks. We had been here a few times before but the magic and beauty of this place never gets old.

Peggy’s Cove Nova Scotia

From Peggy’s Cove we drove on to Lunenburg and spent the night at a brewery parking lot, a Harvest Host site. In the morning we had a visit with an old family friend Issa. It really was a treat to see him and spend some quality time with him. We had some laughs, and reminisced about the past. We also walked the harbour front to catch a glimpse of the famous Blue Nose which is getting ready for the season. We walked down streets well known for their many beautiful bright coloured buildings and homes. Down the road, just outside Lunenberg is Blue Rocks, another one of those picturesque villages with fishing shacks.

Snapshots of Lunenburg

Our wonderful Harvest Host stop in Lunenberg

Scenic Nova Scotia

Fishing Shack of Blue Rocks

And now for a bit of quirkiness in Shag Harbour. Here is the Incident Society UFO Interpretive Centre which unfortunately wasn’t opened but we were able to peek in the windows to catch a glimpse of the displays inside. So back on October 4th 1967 it was reported that an unknown large object crashed into the waters near Shag Harbour. The crash was investigated by the RCMP, Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Navy, and Air Force. First Officer Robert Ralph of an Air Canada plane flying to Toronto from Halifax at 12,001 feet pointed out to the Captain Pierre Charbonneau that there was something strange out the left side of the aircraft at 7:15 pm. In his report, the captain reported an object tracking along on a parallel course a few miles away. He describes it as a brilliantly lit, rectangular object with a string of smaller lights trailing it. At 7:19 pm, the pilots noticed a sizeable silent explosion near the large object. Two minutes later, a second explosion occurred which faded to a blue cloud around the object. At least eleven other people saw a low-flying lit object head towards the harbour, many witnesses reported hearing a whistling sound "like a bomb" then a "whoosh," and finally a loud bang. The object was never officially identified, and was therefore referred to as an “unidentified flying object” (UFO). Another of the worlds unsolved mysteries.

UFO Centre Shag Harbour all we could do was peek inside

In Yarmouth we did a beautiful drive to the Cape Forchu Lighthouse and did a small hike along the Leif Erickson trail to catch a few more of these Nova Scotia moments. Along the way we stopped for photos at the Buoy Wall which are colourful old buoys that have been rescued from the ocean and displayed on a wall as a homage to Nova Scotia’s fishing heritage.

Cape Forchu Lighthouse & The Leif Erickson trail

Buoy Wall

Row, row, row your boat……….

In Guy’s family their last name is spelt two different ways Sonier and Saulnier. So when we saw this Acadian fishing community named Saulnierville on the map of course we had to stop and pose for a picture. Guy was thinking we could move here and he could become the mayor, not sure how feasible of an idea that would be. This area was a bit of a nostalgic moment for Guy to reminisce about his Acadian heritage and a photo op with the town’s sign.

Guy for Mayor

We decided to stop for a few days in Digby Nova Scotia at a very quiet and clean campsite. Digby is known as the “scallop capital” of the world so a feasts of scallops was a must. The sea food was fresh, delicious, and a bit expensive but very enjoyable. This small meal left us craving for more though. But no worry, one of the many benefits of the maritimes is the abundance of fresh sea food.

Digby Nova Scotia

Backtracking back to Maud Lewis, just outside of Digby is the Maud Lewis Memorial Park which has a beautiful garden with of course Mauds favourite flowers, the tulips. This is the location of Everett and Maud’s original house where they lived from 1938 to 1970. There is a beautifully done steel replica of the house at the park that Brian McKay Lyons designed and built in 1997. This replica is a full size memorial to Maud and Everrett's home. Lyons described the abstract replica as a line drawing of the original home. He explains his work as a ghost of the original dwelling. After seeing his work, I can see why he calls it that. It is very well done.

Original location of Maud & Everett’s home

Not far from here is another replica of Everrett and Maud Lewis’ house. Murray Ross’ family was close to Maud and Everrett. He first met them when he was 10 years old and had visited their home. Ross welcomed us in to visit. He told us how he decided to build this replica house. It took him about a year to research the original house as he wanted his replica to be as authentic as he could possibly make it. After it was built, people started to come to see the house and telling Ross their personal stories about Maud. Ross also built a replica of the shop used by Everett. Everett apparently used his shop to store firewood and to keep scallop shells and stones for Maud to paint. We wandered freely inside the house and really got the sense of how very small their home really was. Ross also makes wooden painted tulips that he sells - the tulip was Maud’s favorite flower.

Replica Maud & Everrett Lewis house outside Digby NS

We drove down the Digby Neck towards Tiverton and a hike down to the Balancing Rock. The drive is beautiful of course with rural countryside and the water views. Interestingly, we took a 10 minute ferry ride from East Ferry to Tiverton - at the same time the tide was coming in and the water was so powerful that the ferry drove sideways against the current and salty water splashed all over the van’s windshield. Once on the other side we had to make a stop and wash the windshield. The walk to the Balancing Rock was wonderful. As we made our way down to the water’s edge, we hiked through forest and bogs filled with fiddleheads, and skunk cabbage. I must say that the Skunk Cabbage really intrigues me - the beautiful way it twirls and swerves almost dancing on the ground around the trees. It smells like skunk when touched, or it smells  like pot, or else a skunk smoking pot, either way I find it quite fascinating. At the end of the trail there are 235 steps down to the viewing platform which is along the cliff sides. At the last corner in the stairs, we were greeted with the views of the amazing Balancing Rock. The rock stands approximately 30 feet tall and is about 4 feet wide. It seems as if at any moment the wind or a wave might topple it over but miraculously it has stood through times. We were told that many have tried to attached a rope to it and tried to pull it down but to no avail. People have even tried to pull it with boats. Still the rock stands.

Balancing Rock

Skunk cabbage, mushrooms & fiddleheads on the hike to Balancing Rock

Down the road we boondocked at Sandy Cove, a beautiful secluded beach area at the end of a small country road. These little out of the way places are jewels in our travels. At this spot, not only did we have beautiful views of the beach but we discovered the most interesting of stories about a man named Jerome. The story begins on  September 8, 1863 when a man was discovered on the beach at Sandy Cove. Both his legs had been amputated and “expertly” wrapped in bandages. He was dressed well but all the buttons and insignia from his clothing was missing. He had a jug of water and a few biscuits, suggesting he had been on a ship. When asked what his name was he was mumbling something that sounded like Jerome so that became his name. He ended up living in the area with two different families over a 47 year span. He either was unable or refused to speak any language, and remained silent throughout his time in the community. He was polite and well mannered but could become temperamental with fits of anger and despair. As he could not partake in any manual labour Jerome spent his days reading books in many different languages. The books though, were always upside down - indicating perhaps that he really did not know how to read - only pretended. Jerome became a local legend but his origins and the reasons for his condition were never fully known. He died on April 15, 1912, and his death was overshadowed by the sinking of the Titanic, which happened on the same day. To this day Jerome still remains a mystery.

Sandy Cove

Jerome

On our way to PEI, we drove over the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick to PEI. This bridge really is a marvel. It was built between 1993 and 1997 using construction crews of more than five thousand local workers. The bridge is 12.9 kilometres long and is the longest bridge in the world to cross over ice-covered water. Interestedly enough many of the locals of PEI were concerned how year-round access to the mainland would affect their way of life and livelihood and not everyone wanted the bridge built. Eventually, the debate was settled at the polls with the final decision in a plebiscite of 59.4% of Islanders voted “Yes” to the bridge. The Confederation Bridge opened to traffic on May 31, 1997. It cost nothing to cross the bridge from New Brunswick to PEI but it does cost $50.25 cad to leave PEI over the bridge.

Confederation Bridge

As we drove the roads of PEI, we enjoyed this islands rural scene of green grass, potato fields, farm houses, shorelines, cliffs, and the iron rich red earth of the island. The scenery is a patchwork of many colours from deep browns to reds to greens and yellows.

Coloured scenery of PEI

Interestingly there are two different Bottle Villages on this small island and they are located at opposite ends of the island. The first one we visited was the Edouard Arsenault Bottle Houses and the second one is called Hannah’s Bottle Village. Edouard was a fisherman by trade and worked on the offseason as a carpenter. He started his bottle house village back in the spring of 1980 at the age of 66. He spent the winter in the basement of his home cleaning and removing the labels of the bottles he had collected from a local restaurants and local dance halls. From 1980 until 1984 he constructed three buildings using over 25,000 bottles. The six-gabled house is the first building Edouard built using over 12,000 bottles.There is also a second building and a tavern. Edouard got the idea to build his bottle village from a postcard his daughter Réjeanne had sent him of a tourist attraction of buildings made of bottles in British Columbia. There is now a garden here as well and a gold fish pond, a little a piece of serenity. Edouard passed away in his sleep on May 31, 1984 just 2 weeks before his 70th birthday.

Edouard Arsenault Bottle Houses

The second glass construction we visited was Hannah’s Bottle Village which also has its own interesting story. The village is located in the backyard of its creator Gar Gillis. Instead of charging an admission to see the village he collects donations for the IWK Children’s Hospital and the money raised has helped to purchase equipment and funded lifesaving research. Throughout the buildings there are newspaper articles about the money that has been donated and letters of thank you and personal journeys from the many different recipients. This glass village has a church, a general store, a lighthouse, and a sports centre which is decked out in Montréal Canadiens memorabilia from Jerseys, skates, posters, and signed pictures of both Guy Lafleur and Maurice Richard. There is a ranch, a forest of blue and green glass bottle trees and an array of bottle birdhouses throughout the property. There is even a Fred Flintstone car parked at the entry. This was a fun stop to visit and it made us feel good knowing that our donations contributed to a good cause.

Hannah’s Bottle Village

PEI is the smallest province in Canada, approximately 140 miles long with 1,100 miles of coastline and its land surface is 2,184 square miles. There are a total of 63 lighthouse and rangelight buildings here and of those 35 are still active. There is an average of one lighthouse every 34 square miles making PEI the highest concentration of lighthouses of any other province or state in North America. We had travelled to PEI many years ago, so this time we decided to visit and boondock at some of the many lighthouses along the way.

The West Point Lighthouse is 67 feet and is the tallest lighthouse on PEI. It was built in 1875 and is the first of the second generation lighthouses here and it was our first nights stop. What an amazing spot, we could hear the waves along the shoreline and enjoy the views of an amazing sunset. We met a couple from Alberta who were traveling and visiting “all” of the lighthouses here similar to us with one exception they would swim in the water at each lighthouse they visited - much too cold for us. And besides, they were not camping or boondocking like we were, they had a lovely warm hotel room with a hot shower to return to.

Boondocking at The West Point Lighthouse

East Point Lighthouse is at the eastern tip of PEI. This lighthouse was built in 1867 and stands 64 feet tall. Interestingly, at the eastern tip of PEI is where the St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait meet. This area attracts many local fishermen; we saw many fishing boats not far from shore there. Just below the lighthouse we walked out onto a rocky point of land where we watched numerous flocks of seagulls doing what seagulls normally do - squawk and p**p. We also sighted seals at a short distance from shore, apparently they like to eat the fishermen’s catch, damaging their traps. When we woke the next morning after a frigid night at the water’s edge, the tide was up and the projecting piece of rocky land had disappeared and the seagulls were gone. All we could see was the water and fishing boats. But also that morning, we had a visitor, a beautiful mama red fox running back and forth from her den.

Boondocking at the East Point Lighthouse

Cape Bear Lighthouse stands 40 feet tall and was built in 1881 to help assist the fishery and transportation in the Northumberland Straight. The Marconi Wireless Station was built beside the lighthouse in 1905 to assist the icebreakers with the link between the island to the mainland. On April 14, 1912 Marconi operator Thomas Bartlett received the distress call from the Titanic after it had hit an iceberg. We ended up doondocking here. The site was another beautiful lighthouse scene with crashing waves, seagulls squawking, and the wind swept coastline and red cliffs. Here also, in the morning there were lobster fishing boats just off shore. There were two other campers here. We like the idea of other people boondocking beside us as we feel safety in group.

Boondocking at the Cape Bear Lighthouse

Shipwreck Point Lighthouse known as Naufrage Lighthouse is one of only two concrete lighthouses on the Island. This lighthouse is 44 feet tall and got its name from the French word "naufrage" which means shipwreck. The area, including Naufrage Harbour, has been known for numerous shipwrecks, particularly after the arrival of European settlers in 1719. Driving to this lighthouse led us down a few very small, winding country roads through fishing villages. And most interesting was one of the smallest wooden bridges we have ever had to drive over.

Small wood bridge & the Shipwreck Point Lighthouse

The Covehead Harbour Lighthouse is one of the smallest on the island and the most photographed of the lighthouses on PEI. It is a  three-sided lighthouse which was initially built in 1967. It is 26.9 feet tall and is a square, tapered wooden tower with a square lantern on top. It is in located among the sand dunes.

Covehead Harbour Lighthouse. It’s cold…

Point Prim Lighthouse was built in 1845, stands 64 feet tall, and is PEI’s oldest lighthouse and one of only three round brick lighthouses in Canada.

Point Prim Lighthouse

And last but not least was the Souris East Lighthouse which was built in 1880 and stands almost 47 feet tall. We were able to go inside the museum which has a unique collection of seaglass and sands from around the world from Lake Winnipeg to Gaspé to Kenya and Dubai. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view of the water.

Souris East Lighthouse

A visit to the Canadian Potato Museum of PEI had been many years in the making. We had travelled to PEI over 23 years ago on a trip to the maritimes. I desperately wanted to visit this museum then but it was closed. So now, excitingly, it had opened for the season on May 12th and here we were. This museum is filled to the brim with interesting stories, facts, and information about potatoes including it’s origin. Instead of giving all the details here because lets face it that would entail a book because if they can create an entire museum about potatoes you can just imagine the amount of information. So here are a few of the fun facts and information that we found most interesting.

Finally we have arrived!

At first the potato was thought of with suspicion and animosity by the “common” people who grew them for pig and cattle feed. In 1619 the potato was banned in Burgundy for causing leprosy. Because of the appearance of the potato with its rough, scabby surface, this led people to believe it caused leprosy and this belief lasted well into the 1700s.

Thomas Jefferson brought the French Fry to America. When he was serving as an Ambassador to France in the 1780s he was served potatoes the “French Way” which we now call the French Fry. While he was president he served the “French Way” of potatoes at the official dinners in the White House. 

The name “spud” was originally the name of the spade or digging stick in England and Scotland

Potato Museum

Potatoes are native to South America. The Aymara Indians who live near Lake Titicaca have been growing potatoes for over 5000 years. The Quechua Indians in Peru have over 1000 words for potatoes including “Scab Face” and “Black Ostrich Mother” to name a few.

Chuno are dehydrated potatoes that the South American Indian produced in ancient times.

The Spanish Conquistadors were the first to bring the potato to Europe from Peru in approximately 1550 and the Spaniards discovered that potatoes were great to feed the ships crew for long sea voyages as two potatoes a day provided enough Vitamin C to prevent the sailors from getting scurvy and also because potatoes were easy to store and could be kept for a long time.

Chuno , potato fields and harvest South America

The museum also has information regarding the different types of potatoes, how to grow potatoes, ways of harvesting potatoes with a collection of different machinery used for harvesting over the years and different diseases that the crops can have. An amusing part was for the disease section they had potatoes in little coffins with a description of the different disease that inflict the potatoes.

Coffins with with potatoes showing the many diseases they can acquire

If you put a potato in a bowl of salted water and it sinks, it is higher in starch so they will become fluffy when cooked and are good for baking, mashing and french fries. If the potatoe floats it is low in starch and are best used in stews and soups as they will stay firm when boiled.

Potatoes, potatoes potatoes….

Connected to the Potato Museum is a restaurant which offers, you guessed it, potatoes cooked up in all kinds of different choices. We of course chose poutine in a few variations and it was delicious. Eating poutine at the museum was a great way to end our long awaited visit to the famous Potato Museum of PEI.   

Poutine at the Potatoe Museum

Giant Eggs - Lobster Roll - Canada’s Smallest Library - Lobster Trap Pyramid - P.E.I.

From PEI, we decided to revisit the Gaspé Peninsula. We were here last June and managed to take in the sites, hikes, and national parks Gaspé offered. This time we decided to drive around the Gaspé enjoying the world around us, letting the road take us wherever it goes. Guy has mentioned this type of travel numerous times in the past, but I never understood how this could be possible, as I am a planner always searching for those unique and meaningful stops along the way, not wanting to miss anything but now, I think I get it. So we decided, no set stops to see or destinations to be at, just lobster dinners, almond croissants, and warm bread straight out of the oven from the local boulangeries-bakeries. For me, the french bread aroma is reminiscent of a time travelling in France with the aromas and unique and delicious items for sale with foreign labels that I am unable to read. But luckily this time Guy is here and able to translate for me. Romanticizing the French ambience with the Pinot Grigio wine and beautiful scenery all mixed with a splash of rain, fog, very cold weather, and brisk wind is beautiful.

Percé Rock again

Beautiful Gaspé Peninsula.

We are slowly making our way towards Montréal to have a get-together with Guy’s family. On the way there we decided to stop at a couple Harvest Host stops to add a bit of fun and intrigue. First stop is at Les Canardises in Saint-Férreol-les-Neiges, a small free-range duck farm that produces canned duck products like Terrine and Foie Gras among many other products which we had the opportunity to taste and were delicious. They purchase about 5000 ducks per season (April to December) when they are about 1 day old. They raise them for about 4 months and then butcher them and make all kind of delicious duck products. There were cans of Duck Spaghetti Sauce and varieties of different meats. Interestingly, they only use male ducks as they are stronger and more resilient then the females. Sadly we were not allowed to see the ducks as they are kept in a secured area to protect them from the Avian Bird Flu, understandably. Our night was spent in a field filled with blooming dandelions overlooking the mountains with the sounds of cows mooing from a distant farm. Birds were chirping all around us and bees were buzzing. What a beautiful place to stop. Another peaceful night with Harvest Host. Driving here was a wonderful journey through small Québec villages and country side. In a small village we came across the most unique and beautiful painted church - unlike any church we’ve ever seen.

Les Canardises in Saint-Férreol-les-Neiges

Unique painted Church - rural Québec

Ferme Marie Mutons in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade in Québec our second Harvest Host stop. Unfortunately, although beautiful, it included camping in an animal pasture full of Llama poop. This is a bit reminiscent of our China trip we took years back. That trip included 3 days of camping and horseback riding on ancient Chinese style wooden saddles in the Tibetan Plateau near Songpan. We camped one night in a horse and cow pasture with you guessed it, horse and cow poop all around! This Québec farm breeds Dorper Sheep (a South African breed, crossbred with a Dorset Horn and a Blackhead Persian sheep) and they also run a breeding program for Border Collie dogs. Interestingly enough the owners started the farm, purchasing the sheep in order to train the dogs and it eventually expanded to where it is today. There are sheep, ducks, chickens, dogs, and of course llamas everywhere. In the morning we were invited to watch as they were sheering two Llamas. The owner told us they need to do this every spring as it becomes too hot for them in the summer and they could potentially die from overheating. These animals are native to Peru and Bolivia and live in the Andes Mountains. The first llama they sheered was the momma so her one week old baby stayed close by worried as to what was happening.

Ferme Marie Mutons in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade

Sheering the Llama, grinding her teeth, and clipping her nails

Amid all this, we met another Roadtrek traveling couple here who are also members of a “Roadtrek” group on Facebook that Guy follows. Unbeknownst to everyone at the start, Guy has had previous online communication with this couple through the group online site. That saying comes up again “it’s a small world”. There was also a nice elderly couple from Québec here as well. They spoke English so the lady kept commenting on the Llama poop in the field. She kept saying “the shit” but with her accent and the extension of the word it sounded more like “the sheeed”. It sounded so amusing.

Puppies, puppies, and more puppies - Ferme Marie Mutons in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade

We finally arrived in Montréal, or should we say Laval which is just over the river to the north of Montréal. We stayed with Guy’s sister Joanne for two days and had a wonderful visit.  Guy’s brother Armand and his wife Sylvie, his brother Ovila, his sister-in-law Solange, and niece Catherine also joined in the party so there was lots of laughs, good food, fun, and reminiscing about childhood memories.

Famille à Montréal

After our short visit in Laval we headed toward Ontario and decided to drive the Long Sault Parkway Scenic Route. This drive is not long but it is very pretty. It’s a 10 kilometres road that connects 11 islands along the St. Lawrence River in Ontario. Of course we did this in the downpour of rain but we were determined to enjoy the scenery anyways.

Long Sault Parkway Scenic Route - Make sure the Geese cross safely

Not far at the end of this road is Upper Canada Village. The Roadtrek couple we had previously met at the Sheep farm had gifted us with two entry tickets to visit the village. Even though it was still pouring rain, we decided to suck it up, put on our raincoats, and explore the village. Well worth it…. The Upper Canada Village is one of the largest living historic sites in Canada. It showcases a realistic rural English Canadian lifestyle during the mid-19th century. There are over 40 historical buildings here and many of these were relocated to this location prior to the flooding of the “Lost Villages” in order to preserve them. The Lost Villages were ten communities in Ontario between Cornwall and Osnabruck which were permanently submerged by the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1958. 

Upper Canada Village

The Upper Canada Village includes the Woollen Factory, the Flour Mill, the Carpentry shop, many homes, and the Bakery where we bought a loaf of the delicious Village Bread baked here daily. I swear the loaf of bread weighed almost 5 lbs. The flour mill still mills the flour with the machinery used from the 1800’s and the wool mill also still spinned using the machinery front the olden days. Both mills operate using water power from the dammed river. We spoke with a carpenter in the carpentry shop and all the tools he uses are the original ones, all hand tools. His work is to repair the old furniture and other things. He told us he can take days to complete one job but he loves it and would not trade his job for anything else.

Woollen Factory

Flour Mill

Carpetener Shop

We walked to the barns and watched as they were sheering a sheep. They were doing this as in the “olden ways” using manual sheers that looked like a large pair of scissors. We were told that it takes a few hours to complete the sheering of one sheep. And that sheep do not fight back once held down to the ground - this is what makes them easy preys. The use of manual sheers is a quite a bit different from the electric sheers used on the Llama we had just saw at the Sheep farm in Québec.

Sheering sheep the old fashioned way

Unfortunately for the short time that we were there, the rain would not cease, we wandered the muddy streets around the village for as long as we could endure but finally we gave in and decided to call it a day.

The Barn & all the animals to enjoy

The Dionne Quints Museum in North Bay Ontario was our next must-stop destination as we headed back west. The original house where the quintuplets were born was located in Corbeil Ontario and has now been moved in North Bay Ontario and turned into a small museum. The house was tiny, approximalty 20 x 25 feet with a first floor bedroom and a second floor attic which had 2 bedrooms. For the move, the house’s second floor was removed and was never replaced. The museum now stands only one storey high. It is hard to imagine so many people living here as the family already had 5 children when the quintuplets were born. Years ago we had both read about their story and then kinda of let it go; but now, to hear the story on such a personal level from our guide Brian, who is the nephew of the Quintuplets, makes this story so much more tragic. It really is a dark spot in our Canadian history. I had contacted the museum directly and they hooked us up with Brian so we set up a time for him to meet us for a free private tour. His grandmother was Elzire Dionne and his Grandfather was Oliva-Edouard Dionne and the Dionne Quintuplets were his aunts. From his story you can feel that to this day he still holds a lot of hurt and sorrow.

The Dionne Quintuplets original home

The Quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934 to a French speaking family 2 months premature and they became the first known quintuplets to survive infancy. They weighed between 1 pound 12 ounces up to 2 pounds 12 ounces. The museum has these small sacks filled with gravel with the name of each Quintuplet to show their weight. The sacs can be picked up to get a feel for how small the babies really were. Also in the museum is crude looking the incubator that was used. This rough and basic looking incubator came from Chicago. In the house is also the original stove where the babies were placed in a basket on the open oven door to keep them warm.

Mother and babies after birth - original stove - one of the original incubators

Original baby clothes - sacks to show how much each girl weighed - original birthing bed

The parents were approached by fair exhibitors just days after the quintuplets were born to put them on display at fairs and other exhibits and show them to the world. In those days it was not unusual to do this with “incubator babies”. The parents agreed they would sign a contract with a fair exhibitor on the advice of their family priest and Dr Defoe, who “claimed to have delivered” the babies. As an important aside here, according to Brian, the babies were not delivered by Dr Defoe, they were delivered by two midwives. Defoe had refused to do the delivery since he did not think the babies would survive. But as the babies became popular, Defoe claimed that credit. Oliva, the babies’ father revoked the contract a few days later stating it was invalid because Elzire their mother had not signed the contract. They tried to void the contract but could not, so at 4 months old the babies were taken from their family and custody was signed over to the Red Cross who paid for and oversaw their care. This was supposedly done to protect the quintuplets from the previously presented 2 year contract. Both Oliva and Elzire travelled to Chicago and made some stage appearances as the “Parents of the World Famous Babies”.  Mitchell Hepburn, the Premier of Ontario at the time, used this trip as an excuse to extend the guardianship. He claimed “he must save these babies” from further exploitation and on March 1935 the Dionne Quintuplets Act came to be which made the Quintuplets wards of the Crown and extended their guardianship to the age of 18 years old.

The girls - each girl had an assigned colour to wear.

A Board of Guardians was established for the Quintuplets. There were four guardians on the board, Dr. Dafoe, Joseph Valin a French-Canadian judge from North Bay, the Minister of Welfare David Croll, and Oliva the father also had a seat on the Board of Guardians but he rarely came to the meetings as he felt his vote didn’t matter against the other three. These men had full control over business matters involving the quintuplets and were involved in caring for the girls, managing money, and creating contracts for business opportunities such as appearances in films and commercials. The majority of money made was not directly given to the family. The Ontario government, along with others including Dr Dafoe, profited significantly from the girls fame. The family did receive some compensation from the girls fame and did had a house built but it was by far less than the grand revenue generated by the quintuplets. The profits, according to Brian, in today’s money totalled 5 billion dollars of which the family received little.

Quintuplets Museum

The Quintuplets were exploited, they were paraded around and their faces and family name plastered on numerous products to sell with endorsements for companies like Heinz, Colgate, Campbell’s Quaker Oats, different magazines, and many more. There are many of these products throughout the museum from baby foods, dolls, spoons, books, plates, soaps, and the list goes on and on. In the museum are also some of their original clothing like dresses - each girl was assigned a specific colour, shoes, original prams even the original bed the Quintuplets were born in is also on display.

An array of merchandise the used the Dionne name

The Dafoe Hospital and Nursery where the Dionne quintuplets were cared for was a 20 room mansion built across the road from their original home and became “Quintland” and the family called it the “Big House”. This house was paid for by the quintuplets' acquired funds. The area surrounding the nursery and the observation playground where the girls would play each day is where people would line up from way down the road to observe the girls playing from behind wire fencing where they could not only see them but could hear them also - and of course, the children could see and hear these excited strangers observing them. It is believed that over 3 million people travelled here to see them during the 1930’s to 1940’s. There were souvenir stands all around the area selling everything Quintuplets imaginable. If their father Oliva was out walking, women would run up to touch him believing he had some mystic power that would help them get pregnant.

The mother and father were allowed 20 minutes a day to view them from behind a glass window each day. If they wanted to spend more time, according to Brian, his grandmother Elzire would stand in line with the general public to see her children for a longer time.

Quintland & “The Big House”

When the girls turned 9 years old, after much debate from the parents, they were finally returned to their family. Everyone lived in the “Big House”, as the family called it. Brian told us it was difficult for the girls to blend in with their estranged family as they had been very much catered to with a very rigid schedule and segregated their whole lives up until then. At the age of 18 years old the quintuplets left Ontario and moved to Montréal were they would live out the rest of their lives. Two of the quintuplets are still alive today, Annette and Cecile are 91 years old. This is such a sad story.

Oliva Edouard, Elzire, Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Emilie, & Marie Dionne

We camped for a few days at the Agawa Bay Campground in the Lake Superior National Park. We had stayed here last year and loved it so much we decided to visit again. Even though the smoke from the fires in Ontario and Manitoba had engulfed the area the smoke could not take away from the beauty of this place.

Another beautiful stay at Agawa Bay Campground in the Lake Superior National

Random stops Ontario

Our last Harvest Host stop on our way west was at the Watersong Farms just outside Warren Manitoba. The spot here was serene and beautiful and we were surrounded by beautiful oak trees. This farm is a simulated indoor river with tens of thousands of steelhead trout being farmed for the market. They raise a total of 140 metric tonnes of fish per year. They process the fish here and of course we purchased some and we must say it is some of the best trout we have tasted. It’s almost worth another road trip back there just to buy more trouts.

Delicious Trout dinner from the trout from Watersong Farms

We decided to stop at the Indian Head Campground in Indian Head Saskatchewan on a recommendation from friends Shauna and Aldo and we are sure glad we did. The campsite itself it quite beautiful with large sites and lots of trees for that added privacy which is hard to find in most campsites, but the showers/bathrooms were spectacular. One shower room even has a clawfoot bathtub. We must say we are into our 14 month on the road and these showers/bathrooms are the best, hands down.

Indian Head SK - best bathrooms at any campsite to date!

I know we don’t often include pictures of our Treme. Not because we don’t love her or she’s not important, we do, and she is. Poor girl she is getting on in age. She is now the ripe old age of 14 which is considered pretty old for a Saluki dog. She prefers to spend her time in the background, she doesn’t come on as many of our long walks as she use to. She loves to hang out in the Roadtrek under her blankets when its cold and lounging with fans blowing on her when it’s warm. She is the best traveller, she doesn’t whine or bark and pretty much just goes where the road takes us.

A collage of our beloved Treme

I know it is said traveling through the prairies is long and boring due to its flatness. We have travelled a few times through these prairies now and we always find the scenery quite poetic with its mixture of curves and dips in the fields. The farm land is enhanced by the numerous shades of greens, golds, and yellows to name a few. The farmhouses, the crumbling barns, windmills, herds of cows, and the small towns we pass through make it that there is always something to look at and admire. The prairies, Guy has always said, are beautiful and I tend to agree. The hazy smoke from the numerous forest fires from further up north had dimmed our vision somewhat but we still enjoy the sceneries.

After the prairies, we will spend a few days in Calgary before venturing north to the Northwest Territories and the Yukon - our next leg of the trip. Canada, it feels good to be home.