Day 10 - Back in the USA

A long day of driving to get to Bangor, Maine. Up and checked out early then got a quick, light breakfast at a bakery across the street. Headed south/west on the 132 along the south shore of the Gaspe Peninsula. With the Appalachian Mountains receding on our right and the Chaleur Bay on our left, we drove through the low, flat fertile plains as we passed through towns like Chandler, Port Daniel, and Bonaventure. The mountains, which had been so close on the way to Gaspe, receded further inland until we got close to Campbellton. The bay was at first very wide but drew closer, with New Brunswick across the water. We passed many colorful homes – both on the drive out as well as this one back in. We’d gassed up yesterday but Bruce calculated the price today as US$ 3.53. The town of New Carlisle boasted itself as the birthplace of Rene Levesque, the former premier of Quebec and founder of the separatist Patie Quebecois, that campaigned for independence for Quebec back in the 80s and 90s.

Construction is a constant issue. As far back as the bus ride around Montreal, the narrator told everyone that there are two seasons in Quebec – Winter and construction. We saw that truth everywhere: roads and street dug up and blocked off, patches of highways in gravel, waiting to be repaved, churches and other buildings fenced off and surrounded by scaffolding, homes having repair work done – construction everywhere. It’s probably like this each summer.

The tree colors at first looked to be less bright than on the north side but that soon gave way to vibrant red, oranges and yellows blanketing the hillsides. We stopped at Saint Quentin for a picnic lunch at a town rest stop. Crossed over the Matapedia River at Pointe de la Croix to enter New Brunswick. We angled southwest along the 17. There was little to see. A few small towns but mostly a straight, tree-lined road across a flat countryside.

The area of the south side of the peninsula and the northwest corner of New Brunswick is home to the Acadians. This catholic culture was originally from the south of France and came to “New France” seeking religious freedom. They settled here and grew. During the war between Great Britain and France, the English thought the Acadians were siding with the French and expelled thousands back to France. The Spaniards, needing people for their colony in Louisiana, invited them to settle there. In time, the Acadians grew and mingled with the Creole population to evolve into the culture we now know as Cajun.

We followed the Autoroute 2 sown alongside the US border until Woodstock before crossing into the USA. Followed I-95 into Bangor, passing, in the distance, Mount Katahdin – where, five years ago, Seb and Bruce picked up the Appalachian Trail. Found our hotel for the night and unpacked. Went out for a light dinner and back for the night.Läs mer