Québec 2024-3: Saquenay Fjord & Friends

    It was mid-July. Doug had been on the road for 2 months and Marilyn for 6 weeks. Returning from Havre St Pierre, almost as far east as you can go on the north coast of the St Lawrence River, we'd boondocked on the beach at the Pointe-aux-Anglais Halte Municipale (rest stop). Our next destination was the Fjord du Saguenay, another 200 miles along the Côte du Nord, and our friends in Shipshaw, at the northern end of the fjord. 

The road from Pointe-aux-Anglais left the coast at Baie Trinité and scrolled out inland through forested hillsides... 

...& amazing geology.

Havre St Pierre-Pointe aux Anglais-Les Escoumins-Tadoussac-Lac St Jean-St Urbain: 670 mi/13 hr, plus a lot of meandering. 

Nearing Baie Commeau, where we'd landed on the ferry from the Gaspé Peninsula 4 days before, the road returned to the coast.

The numerous lakes felt so like being at an alpine lake in the Sierra Nevadas at home.

In Forestville, traffic stopped for large hydro generators.

    We camped in Les Escoumins Municipal Park (donations requested), where we met Julie, traveling in a Promaster the size of ours but with a 21-foot sea kayak on top. She's the first person we've met traveling with a cat! After speaking with her, it was obvious that she was a very talented ocean kayaker.  Like numerous others along our way, she generously offered us her home should we need a place to stay.

Julie & her Promaster, same size as ours. 21' sea kayak on top & a cat traveling with her. 

We shared our large site with 3 of the many campers who arrived throughout the ate afternoon & evening.

   In the morning, it was a mere 40 minutes to Tadoussac, where we thought we'd have breakfast. Parking being very limited and menu prices trop cher ($$$), we followed a bicycle parking policeman's suggestion and backtracked to Restaurant Chantmartin. 

    After a delicious meal, we were off to explore the Fjord du Saguenay.

Saguenay Fjord:

• 210 miles long

• average depth ≈800 feet, deepest ≈900 feet, shallowest, at     Tadoussac, ≈75 feet

• Cliffs ≈500-700 feet high (sources vary), maximum ≈1,500 feet. 

• 1.2 to 2.5 miles wide, so in theory Marilyn could swim across the fjord, but it might be a bit chilly. 

• Water is fresh from source at Lac St Jean, salt from St Lawrence River tides, ≈93% salt

    Our first stop was Baie-Ste Marguerite (Saint Margaret Bay), part of the Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay (a provincial park elsewhere in Canada, not included in our Parks Canada Annual Pass for national parks and historic sites).    

St Margaret Bay, part of Saguenay Fjord National Park.

We walked from the Visitors Center to the Beluga Overlook, 5 miles roundtrip. 

    The last ice age separated the Saguenay Fjord and its belugas from their normal arctic environment. The fjord's semi-arctic climate has allowed the belugas to survive there.

Tide's out at Beluga Point on Saguenay Fjord.

We didn't see any belugas, but a sailboat offered a peaceful vista.

Les toilettes chics! Very solid toilet paper appartus.

    From Baie-Ste-Marguerite we headed back south. Again we were amazed by the agriculture we encountered in Québec, as we had been throughout our time in Canada. Québec is Canada's largest province and is known for maple syrup, dairy, blueberries, cranberries, and pork—hence the choice of 1, 2, or 3 pork meats on breakfast menus!

Berries, for which Saguenay Region is known.

Farm buildings.

Fields.

Doug was enamored of this farm with its Dutch barn home.

We saw this machine wrapping hay in plastic numerous times throughout our trip.

  Au Sommet du Fjord, where we'd camp the next couple of nights,  is definitely not on the beaten path. First was finding the turnoff from the main road to Chemin de L'Anse de Roche. The barely 1-lane road with deep ditches didn't look promising until we came to a small parking area for the Belvédère (overlook) Anse-de-Roche. As the road curved, becoming Chemin de l'Anse-à-Pierrot, we passed a home with woodpiles on both sides of the yard.

Huge woodpiles abound. There was one on each side of this house near the campground. It definitely gives you the impression that it gets rather crisp in the winter.

The road looked even less promising, and we drove past the campground before deciding that it was our destination. Au Sommet du Fjord's staff is very relaxed. We settled into a site on the grass, across from an outdoor living room/kitchen, reminscent of Robert Service Campground in Whitehorse, Yukon. It was serendipitous, as that's where we met the Québecois friends we'd visit in a couple of days. 

Au Sommet du Fjord living room/kitchen.

    We learned that we couldn't do our laundry. Well, WE couldn't, as only chalet, not campground, guests had access, but the staff would do it for us for $10 Canadian ($7.50 US)! Must say, it was rather nice to return from our excursion the next afternoon and find everything not only washed and dried but folded!
    We set out to explore a little more. A short, steep, twisty road took us to nearby L'Anse-de-Roche (Rocky Cove) marina. 

Looking up Saguenay Fjord from L'Anse-de-Roche.

Doug suggested dinner at the marina restaurant, Casta Fjord, investigated, & made a reservation for the next night.

    Exploring the south side of Saguenay Fjord was on the agenda the next day, starting with the ferry.

   

We watched with interest as the driver of a truck & long travel trailer ahead of us ended up with his left trailer wheels in the next lane—and guess where we were headed? Our mistake for following orders....

Space between us & the van was a bit slim. View to front—he's on the yellow line; we're to the left. View to back—see any yellow line? He's over it with us squeezed to right.

We smiled bravely & Doug unceremoniously pointed out the situation to the workers. 

Thanks to their team effort they got the driver to slowly keep his line & get his rig off without running into us. 

    The road climbed steeply from the ferry terminal and continued largely inland. We drove perhaps an hour before deciding to retrace our steps to L'Anse-St-Jean (St. John Cove).

Aspen sawmill—wood isn't used for just heating.

Citroên Deux Chevaux, village of L'Anse-St-Jean.

Another narrow, steep, curvy road through woods lead from L'Anse-St-Jean to the fjord.

    Retracing our route, as we neared the Baie-Ste-Catherine ferry terminal, we noticed a line of vehicles stretching up the hill.  So we joined others in pulling over to enjoy the view.

One of the smaller set-ups we've ever seen. The couple got out their chairs & were sitting on banks of the St Lawrence River .

    That evening was dinner at Casta Fjord in L'Anse-de-Roche.

 

It was hot that evening (picture is borrowed) but the view, meal with a Greek slant, & white wine were splendid.

Cruise ship & barge on Saguenay Fjord.

    The next day we'd go to Shipshaw, from the First Peoples Innu language meaning "enclosed river." The town is near the confluence of the Shipshaw and Saguenay Rivers, about 70 miles up the Saguenay Fjord from Au Sommet du Fjord. 

      But first a few stops, distractions, and just joy. 

The hills on the north side of Saguenay Fjord. 

"Le Rapide de la Montagne" (the Mountain Rapids).

There was the usual road construction.

    Another narrow road with very sharp turns took us down to the village of Ste-Rose-du-Nord (Saint Rose of the North) on the fjord. The drive was beautiful and the town appealing, but tour buses were parked at the wharf, making it too crowded for comfort.

Heading back to the main road, a calf insisted on leading us, until a cowgirl who happened to be driving the other direction encouraged the calf back to its pasture.

Approaching north end of Saguenay Fjord.

Bridge over Saguenay River. Shipshaw hydro-electric power station on left. Chutes à Caron (Caron waterfalls) power plant is a bit upstream.

    We made it to Denis and Cristiâne's home in Shipshaw! We'd met at Robert Service Campground in Whitehorse, Yukon, in 2017. When we ran into each other a few days later in Haines, Alaska, we were like long lost friends!

Denis, Cristiâne, Marilyn, Doug.

    We'd plan to travel Eastern Canada with Denis and Cristiâne in 2020, but...covid. We tried each succeeding summer, and finally in 2024, it happened! Denis had planned an excursion through the Saguenay-Lac St Jean region in our Dodge Ram Promasters. Unfortunately, the day before our arrival, he took a nasty fall from his bike and Cristiâne had oral surgery. It didn't matter—we camped in their driveway and had an unforgettable few days together.

When we met in 2017, we had a Ford Traverse Poptop, while Denis & Cristiâne had a General Motors van converted by Safari Condo, also with a poptop. Now we both have Dodge Ram Promasters, 17-1/2 feet long, but theirs has a poptop, so they can sleep people both up & down.

    As Québec natives, Denis and Christiâne speak French. Marilyn enjoyed immersing herself in French, even beginning to think in French, while Denis and Cristiâne practiced their English. 

  

Latte served to us with love. Master Chef Denis flipping crêpes he'd made from scratch, despite not having the use of his left arm.

 

Doug & Cristiâne were soon acting like siblings.

    Doug and Christiâne squabbled while Denis worked). When they paused briefly Marilyn asked Doug a question. He paused, stared at her, then said, "I speak English." Oh. She'd asked him in French.

We loved spending time with one of their three daughters, her husband, & their 3 children, who live next door. Ludvig, 8, & Marilyn quickly became fast friends, while Rudy, 3, of course attached himself to Doug.

Christiâne & Henri's granddaughter, wearing a Los Angeles hoodie.

 

Like everyone in this part of the world, Denis & Christiâne maintain a huge supply of firewood.

    The highlight of the trip for  Doug was mowing their large lawn. Marilyn got a video this time (she'd failed to do so when Doug mowed her niece/husband Clare and Michael's lawn in New York). 

As Doug says, you can't take the farm boy off the farm without him wanting to play with a tractor or...

    We left our Québécois friends reluctantly, hoping to see them next year out West.

Saguenay landscape.

    We camped one night on Lac St Jean at Val Jalbert. It was summer! Unlike the first weeks of our trip, in Nova Scotia, schools in Québec were out for the summer, and an annual lake swim was taking place.
    Our drive toward Québec City took us through Charlevoix, a region our friend, Natalie, with whom we'd stay near Montréal, said we must visit.

Charlevoix is steep hills & curves. Sign indicates the grade goes from 13% to 18%, which wasn't unusual in the region.

Yikes--where's the road???

    We decided to check out the St Urbain Halte Municipale (rest stop) we found on iOverlander for the night. 

Approaching St Urbain.

St Urbain is charming & feels so European. 

Pictures don't do St Urbain justice.

    

    After checking out the municipal rest stop, which requests you support local merchants, we went back to town to the grocery store, then placed the receipt on the dash.

View from St Urbain Halte Municipale.

    Unfortunately, when we returned to the rest stop we rejected what turned out to be the best spot. But we were still comfortable. As the evening wore on, more travelers arrived.

Doug relaxing at St Urbain Halte Municipale.

    The next day we'd make our way to Québec City, where we'd reserved a hotel for two nights. Imagine—sleeping indoors and having running hot water!