Ottawa and Out Of Ontario

Needless to say, we were pretty tired coming into Ottawa.  We drove through the city and located a Starbucks.  I ran in for a few coffees while Tom watched the car.  We were in the middle of urban looking like a few mountain men.  We hadn't shaved for a while and our clothes were crumpled as if we slept in them, which we did.

There were lots of buildings and historic views to see, but we watched them pass from our windows.  The Royal Canadian Mint was in this town, but I decided that it would have to wait for another time.  We drove through the city and watched the urban parade of business professionals.  The morning was more like a blur and what seemed like a moment, we were back on the Trans-Canada Highway.

We found a reserve in Odanak, Quebec.  We filled the car up with some petro and our bellies with some food from the Au Calumet,  a Waban-Aki restaurant outside of the Reserve.  We drove through the Reserve, which was quite beautiful. It is located along a river and had many farms growing fresh veggies.  I wish we had stopped for some of them.

Menu on Hide at the Au Calumet

We had been traveling, for what seemed to be days.  We were finally out of Ontario and we were tired.  We skipped past Montreal and Quebec.  We found a beautiful campground along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, Cap a la Roche.

It was filled with RVs,  but the clerk gave us a tent site with the best views.  I tried my best to communicate to the clerk, as we had entered into Quebec and the language of the land was French.

We set up camp, finding out that the folded tent was not a bad idea after all.  Everything was dry, and nicely all set up from the last time we used it.  It was one of the first times that we arrived at a campsite with lots of day hours still at hand.

We tossed the ball for a bit with the dogs.  They were appreciative for all the grass and open field without leashes.  

Drying out some items that got wet 36 hours prior

We proceeded to each take a shower.  The bathrooms were located on the other side of the campground so the boys had to be tethered as we were coming and going.  They enjoyed being out of the car and in the open air.  We enjoyed the warm showers and clean facilities.  Our destination tomorrow would be Restigouche and meeting my family, so I wanted to look decent.  I shaved my weeks growth except for my chin.  Let's see how long it can get during this holiday.

I scoped out the campground, trying my best to get answers to my english questions.  We decided not to get any wood that night and also that we would go out to eat that night.  There was a small eatery nearby.  We drove not knowing that it was literally across the street and had my first order of Poutine.  Les Bricailles prepared my poutine with fresh cut fries, warm gravy and cheese curds.  Very traditional and tasty.

We headed back to camp and had an amazing sunset.  The clouds that were with us throughout the day had managed to clear up and offer a magical sky.  Right after sunset, we were in the tent.  Asleep!

Sunset over fleuve Saint-Laurent