Day 1: It was a rainy morning, but we had the Yakima Skybox all ready packed the night before. Over the years we found the Skybox to be extremely useful as it allowed for storage of all non-essential items away from the trunk and so not have too many items blocking my rear-view mirror. We said goodbye to the kids, gave them one final hug, and we were on our way on this epic 3200 KM journey.

We passed by this solar farm and thought to ourselves wouldn’t it be nice if we could see the whole thing. Little did we realized the scale of this particular one. Once I got my drone in the air, the image was powerful indeed, even when I only flew on a side road near the solar farm entrance as there were “No Trespassing” signs everywhere. This turned out to be the The Barlow Solar Energy Centre. There are four similar farms in the area. The one I took pictures is located on Railway Street, just south of the 401. Comprised of photovoltaic panels with a contract capacity of 10 MWac, the solar installation occupies a parcel of land spanning with a total area of approximately 100 acres. Notice highway 401 near the top of the picture and the railway tracks at the bottom. This will give you a sense of scale and how massive this farm really is.

Day 2: We had a very early breakfast at the hotel and were on our way soon after.

Marais (marsh) de Gros-Cacouna is on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River along route 132, about 10 km east of Rivière-du-Loup, Québec. The site encompasses a 10 km stretch of shoreline, that includes mudflats that are up to 1 km wide, and a 2 km wide strip of open water. It is home to southern Quebec’s largest sprawl of Spartina marshes. This site is considered one of the three most important shorebird sites on the river's south shore, between La Pocatière and Matane. This picture was taken at the north end of Rte du Quai in La Pocatière. The red building is the information centre. I flew my drone over the marsh as it was not possible to walk through it. This was my first encounter of a marsh and I loved the sceneries my drone captured. Check out the video clips above.

Day 2: About 40 minute west of Rominski, we came to this bagel shop and saw many cars pulling into the parking lot, so we naturally followed them in. There was a line up about 5 people in front of us so we took the opportunity to snap a few pictures around the parking lot. By the time we got back in line, a man came out from the shop and told us he just lost $10 trying to buy bagels. We were wondering how could that be? Once we walked in we were surprised to find no real people working, no sales counter, and only a food dispensing machine. Now after hearing the man already lost $10 we decided to keep our money but took a few pictures from inside the kiosk. Very interesting establishment. I found out after that this was a legitimate business and this was how this company sell bagels. But I probably would not have enjoyed it unless they can offer double toasted and double butter just like Tim’s.

Day 2: This 3rd Pointe-Au-Père Lighthouse was built in 1909 in the city of Pointe-au-Père, near Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. The lighthouse is 108 feet (33 m) tall, which makes it the second tallest in eastern Canada. It is built in a characteristic shape, employing eight concrete buttresses to support a slender central cylinder. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974.

The submarine in the last picture is the HMCS Onondaga (S73), it is an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. Built in the mid-1960s, Onondaga operated primarily with the Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 2000 as the last Canadian Oberon. The historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père in Rimouski purchased the boat for preservation as a museum vessel. The submarine was moved into location during 2008, and is open to the public.

Day 2: So by now you probably figured out why we ended up driving the last stretch of mountain road after dark. And this time it was my wife who asked me to make a u-turn on the highway to come back to this site. And I did. But it was all worth the effort.

Not even 30 minutes out of Rimouski we saw these life-size statues emerging from the sea. Its called "Le Grand Rassemblement". There is no other way to describe these except to say that they are a very unique work of art-nature. Made in several parts by its designer Marcel Gagnon, he wanted to find his own style. It is by starting by painting his characters that he decided to give them shape by sculpting them. Inspired by the movement of the sea and its tides, he literally integrated his work right into the waters of the St. Lawrence River. In 1986, the artist created more than 80 life-size sculptures, in reinforced concrete, each weighing more than 685 kg. In 2003, he increased the number of statues to more than a hundred. He made these characters as if they were emerging from the sea. They are constantly changing under the eyes of visitors due to the water levels. At low tide you can walk to the foot of the last sculpture in the river and at high tide this one and several others end up completely covered in water. We were very fortunate to have visited during low tide and were able to take pictures up close with a few.

Day 2: This was a planned stop. I can’t believe we are still only in Day 2. Located between sea and mountains, Cap-Chat is home to the world’s largest vertical-axis wind turbine, the Eole, which dominates the landscape along with 76 others horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). We arrived about 30 minutes before closing so we decided to not hike up the Eole. You can, for a $15 fee and a short drive up the road from the kiosk. Instead we asked the attendant to let us in to snap a few quick pictures.

Day 2: The sunset was beautiful when we passed Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis. But before that we found this perfect picnic table built under a Gazebo with the best mountain/ocean view we have ever seen. So we took out our hot-pot stove, cooked our dinner and ate it right there. After that we were very much behind schedule so we braced ourselves for a lot of driving through the mountains in the dark. We had to keep going as we had a reservation at the Petit-Gaspé Campground.

Day 3: This water droplet shaped accommodation was our house for the night. Its equipped with a convertible table/bed on the main level and a suspended hammock loft above. Located in the Des-Rosiers Campground, this was a top-notch camping experience. Unfortunately we were only able to book this for one night, the next evening we stayed in our tent.

Useful links to the campground:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/qc/forillon/activ/camping/avant-front

Day 3: Forillon National Park, one of 42 national parks and park reserves across Canada, is located at the outer tip of the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec and covers 244 km2 (94 sq mi). Forillon National Park is known for the diversity of its natural riches. The park's main attractions are its remarkable geological features, notably the rugged coastline forged by thousands of years of marine erosion. Three camping areas are available: one in the southern sector and two in the northern sector. We stayed in two camping areas during our visit. The southern sectors are excellent for families, but the northern camp ground is closest to the best hiking trails and view of the shore and for swimming. You can see the parking lot in the photo above (where all hiking trails start) and the beach in the next photo. You can see we are already pretty high up the mountain. But this was only the beginning.

Useful Links:

Park website: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/qc/forillon

Hiking trails: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/qc/forillon/activ/randonnee-hiking

Day 4: Notice the sandbar that is partially under the water. During low tide it is possible to walk over to Perce Rock. However, getting to this spot from the shore is a huge challenge already as the beach is full of uneven rocks that is very difficult to walk on. Moreover, the town had disallowed walking around the Perce Rock in the last few years due to danger of falling rock.

This was taken on the pier at near midnight. It was cold and windy, with the wind being the most challenging from keeping my tripod steady. This shot was exposed for 30 minutes. The area of the rock was in total darkness so it took a few test shots to get it to level. I wanted to maximize the stars trails so I used a 14mm lens at F4.

Pictures of the Town of Perce from above.

Notice the Northern Gannets sitting on top of the cliffs. Bonaventure island is designated as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Access to the island is via ferry from the main dock in Percé. The cost is $42 per person that includes a boat tour around both the Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island itself. There is also a $9 per person park entrance fee to the island (you don’t have to pay if you stay on the boat and go back to Perce). It is possible to buy the park pass once you disembark but it is easier to just purchase it online the day prior. The park rangers didn’t scan anything, they only did a visual check of my receipt. We also saw seals during the boat ride.

Useful links to boat excursions to the island:

https://perce.info/en/directory/boat-excursions-around-bonaventure-island-and-perce-rock-national-park/

Day 5: Le Mousses is a narrow, unobtrusive trail that winds through moss and lichen-covered slopes before reaching the cliffs, offering magnificent views of the sea and the edge of the continent stretching in the distance. Round trip totals 7 KM in about 2.5 hours. Its rated level of difficulty is intermediate.

The northern gannet (Morus bassanus) is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. There are six breeding colonies along the coast of Canada. The Gulf of Saint Lawrence hosts three colonies—Bonaventure Island, Bird Rocks and Anticosti Island—and there are three off the eastern and southeastern coast of Newfoundland. Bonaventure Island is the largest colony with 60,000 nests as of 2009.

The community of Routhierville is accessible from Route 132 with a covered bridge over the Matapédia River, built in 1931 to replace a ferry. This 78.5-metre-long (258 ft) and 6.3-metre-wide (21 ft) bridge was classified as a historic monument on October 1, 2009, and rebuilt in 2011.