Summary

We spent 31 days and 6500 km./4000 miles on the road without any mechanical problems or serious mishaps.

Two years ago we did a B&B tour of Newfoundland. For the most part the weather was beautiful. This year we saw more typical weather - a lot of cold wet windy weather. But we had several days of clear weather and found the province stunning and even lousy weather has its charm.

The weather in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec was more benign.

The biggest issue was the wind. During our first night at the northern tip of the western peninsula we carelessly got caught in the open and parked broadside to the wind. The trailer shook and creaked a lot and we did a middle of the night brace and tie down. The wind lasted for a couple of days.

After the wind weakened we met a couple with a large fifth wheel who had felt they had been at risk of blowing over. So in perspective the little Chalet did well. Surprisingly we didn't loose our pilot lights.

We learned to listen to the weather forecasts, use a compass to align ourselves facing into any expected high winds and to select spots offering shelter. Our wind kit consisted of an extendable fibreglass pole to brace the sidewalls internally - it fits nicely over the rubber pads on each wall near the peak and we carried a length of nylon rope to toss over the top. Last year during a lunch break we saw the roof sections open up a couple of inches during some gusts. We used our kit several times during this trip.

As we did not have any schedule to follow we stayed put several times rather than risk folding up in the wind and rain. Except when we got caught the first time, we probably could have folded up with one person keeping the rope over the top tight. We had many hours of entertainment on our laptop.

We had to repair the caulking around the cassette toilet access door, regrease the hitch and tighten up a few loose screws. Now that we are home it looks like a couple of other seams on the trailer should be recaulked. Given the rough roads this is not at surprising. At one point I hit a bump too fast and saw the trailer airborn in the side view mirrors. No drawers or cupboards opened.

We started our trip at the peak of the post Rita/Katrina gas spike and paid dearly. The highest gas price was C$1.399/l =US$4.54 gal. It dropped to C$1.05/l by the end of our trip.

We dry-camped about a third of the time and used less that than a tank of propane. We used a 1500 watt electric heater when we could and just used the furnace to warm up quickly when necessary.

The Norcold fridge with it's new wiring harness gave us no problems running on propane.

We spent several consecutive nights on batteries we never came close to depleting them but we are very stingy with 12 volt power.

Another issue that we encountered was that because of poor weather many campgrounds and attractions were closing earlier than advertised in our tourism books. The closed campgrounds actually had their telephones disconnected. The lesson learned is to call ahead. We always found a spot to camp but the choices were few towards the end.

All in all it was a successful trip. We are going to add somekind of shoe rack to the inside of the door to get them off the floor and a dry erase board for a shopping list. Maybe also a decent radio with a marine antenna . The existing 12 volt outlet is only rated at 90 watts and won't power the inverter for our laptop so I'd like to add a 130 watt outlet like we have in the Highlander. We'd like to get better information on campgrounds but aren't sure its available.

All our photos are here.

Day 31 - Home

The day started out cold and windy. We crossed the St. Lawrence via Hwy 73 at Quebec City and followed the river's north shore on Hwy 40. Although this route is not a picturesque as Hwy 20 on the south shore, it has the distinct advantage of providing a multilane bypass around most of Montreal.

By the time we reached Montreal the weather had completely changed. The sun was starting to shine and the temperature was well above 20°C, closer to 27°C according to the radio. We picked up Hwy 20 at the west end of Montreal, which changes to the 401 in Ontario, and drove home.

Day 30 - Quebec City

We started out the day only a few km from the Quebec border and the first order of business was to get information on camping options in Quebec. The information we ordered online did not arrive in time for our trip.

We were fortunate to find the Information Office open and very helpful. They had a copy of the Camping Quebec booklet that we had ordered.

Today's drive took us through the Appalachians and beautiful fall colour. The weather was hazy and dark so we didn't get any good pictures.

We arrived in the Quebec City area early in the afternoon so decided to stop at Camping Transit in Levis. We set up the trailer and went for a quick tour of Old Quebec City. We parked in Levis, on the south shore, and took a ferry across the St. Lawrence to the city.

We had planned to do a walking tour suggested by a booklet we'd picked up at the border but ended up just walking around to see what we could see. We saw the Plains of Abraham, the Citadel, the Governor's Promenade, the Archbishop's Palace, a seminary, Montmorency Park, Notre Dame Basilica, the fortress walls, many cannons and mortars, several statues, restaurants, shops, etc., etc.

We were able to get a feeling for the city and will return to see it properly another time. Despite being late in the season there were still a lot of tourists in the city - mostly tour buses. It must be very crowded in the summer.

Day 29 - Across New Brunswick

We left Kouchibouguac and drove to Miramichi. This area is as beautiful as its reputation. We turned inland and followed a secondary road, #108 to the Trans Canada Highway on other side of the province. Highway 108 is not a tourist highway. It is very rough in areas. But except for a few logging trucks there isn't much traffic. There are no communities or homes for most of its length.

Although we caught glimpses of mountains and fall colours through gaps in the forest for the most part we drove through a tunnel of trees.

The campground where we expected to stay was unexpectedly closed as where several others in the area. After several phone calls we found an open one near Edmundston. We eventually arrived at Camping Panoramic. It's further than we intended to go but it puts us within 10 or 11 hours of home. Many of the camp sites are seasonal with trailers apparently on them year round. We were the only transients. We self registered and never saw anyone.

Day 28 – Summer Returns

This has been the best weather day we have seen in weeks. We booked another night in Kouchibouguac, made a few telephone calls and roughed out our travel plans for the rest of the week. After lunch we changed into shorts and tees and went to the beach. We watched the local lobster fleet return and that’s about it.

Day 27 - Marshes, Rivers and Bogs, Oh my!

Another bright warm day in Kouchibouguac. We explored the dunes, salt water marshes and a raised bog. Finally we hiked some of the river trail. There are a few campers in the serviced section but we have the rest of the park to ourselves.

Day 26 - Kouchibouguac

We left the Minas Basin and drove to Springhill where we had hoped to visit the coal mining museum. It is supposed to be open but a sign on the door reads “Closed for Season”.

After a ‘phone call to confirm that it was open we drove to Kouchibouguac National Park. We tried to visit a winery on the way but after a lengthy side trip found it was closed for the season. Same with the information centre in Bouctouche. This is becoming a pattern.

Today we have enjoyed some of the best weather of the trip. It is sunny and almost warm. The forecast is for even better weather.

The campgrounds are beautiful. There are about 400 well groomed sites in a lightly wooded setting. Each has a paved drive. Less than 20 are occupied. We have taken an unserviced site with trees on all sides.

Oct. 01