Month: August 2016

We drove this morning to the Three Rivers (Trois Rivieras) area. We set up camp and then when out to explore the NHS site near the campground. This one was not originally on our list and we are really glad that we added it.

We started with he Xplorer Books and identifying spices, dressing like forge workers and learning the history of the forge.

This site has great archeological significance and they had a cutout of the soil sample layers with objects you may find in them. I liked looking for little things with the magnifying glass.

The forge made all sorts of cast iron products. The train wheels were very large.

We learned about the different rocks that went into making the iron. They referred to them as Shepherds Pie because the colors are like the same ingredients of shepherds pie. We learned how they made cast iron products like kettles and skillets. That was really neat to see the molds and how heavy the cast iron items were.

Everything in red is a reproduction of an original piece that was wooden when the forge operated.

The bellows were an impressive size!

We learned how they would make coal in these mounds and they would have to tend them so the fires didn’t burn too hot. Then the coal was used for the furnace of the forge.

This is all that remains of the lower furnace today.

We had watched a video about the devil coming up through a hole on the beach and how people were scared of this area. It was named Devil’s Hole. Well, we found the hole on the beach along the river by the forge. It was a really bubbly red spring. No wonder legends were made of it.

We were up early and drove along the coast to the lookouts we were at over the last few days. The air was ver chilly after the storm that roller through yesterday. The sun was out so we had high hopes. The winds were so strong that we sought out nitches in the rocks to hide while Mom stood watch above. We stayed several hours and never saw a single larger whale. We did see a pod of harbor porpoise that had two babies with them. I was over the moon excited and kept jumping all around the rocks to get better views of the babies.

The fishtanks at the Marine Center were calling me again. I watched an anemone eat, although I am not sure what it was actually eating. 

We think this is a blenny. This was the only fish in the tank that didn’t have a photo guide.

We explored the visitors center displays again to make sure we didn’t miss anything important.

On the ferry back we were hopefully to see belugas but we were told with the high winds they go up the river further to seek a break from the winds. I refused, again, to even get out of the car because the air was TOO cold for me!

We are leaving tomorrow to head towards the Tree Rivers area for a few nights.

 

The campground we are staying at is located in a fantastic place, the sites are fair sized and they have 3 hook-ups. Well, the power is running high in voltage so most of the time we stay unplugged, especially when sleeping and not here. We have a surge protector built in for the motorhome but Mom doesn’t feel like playing risk. The campground says there is no problem. Whatever. So last night was chilly and rainy and we survived. This morning was much the same so we got a slow start.

We went to back to Tadoussac today to visit the Centre D’Interpretation des Mammiferes Marins (CIMM), or the Marine Mammal Interpretation Center. They had an impressive display of whale skeletons, baleen and teeth.  We were given a book in English to help guide our way though all the French signs.

Learning the differences in baleen.

Minke whale skeleton. We learned about the vestigial bones that the whales have where legs would have been long ago.

We learned that a Minke whale has a four foot long penis! Oh boy, the birds and the bees. We learned a lot about how the whales breed, incubate and then raise their calfs.

We all liked the display on whale sounds and how as we get older our range of hearing decreases. Mom covered the information and we all took the test separately without the others looking. Mom tested about 35 years old, B tested at 10 and E tested a bit better than B but there was no age marking under 10years old.

We watched a rather long movie about the whales of the St. Lawrence. We had to wear headphones to have the track in English.

After the program we headed outside to watch for whales from the rocks. The wind is really strong today so we were told that the belugas likely would head upstream for more protection from the winds. The same would be true of the minke and fin along the coast. They head further out to water during high winds near shore.

We had fun looking in all the tide pools in the rocks.

We grabbed a few groceries at the gas station (SO looking forward to Publix again) and came back to journal and do laundry. The campground has one washed and one dryer and they are by far the most expensive we have seen on our trip at 3$ for each. The washer was good and the dryer started out great and they died halfway through the cycle. Mom grabbed the laundry and is trying to dry it on our towel rack in the cross breeze of the motorhome. We aren’t allowed to put up clothes lines here.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the day whale watching up the coast in Tadoussac again. This will be our last day on the saltwater for our trip. We head inland and then towards Montreal in the next few days. We have really enjoyed the marine life and are sad to say goodbye to it. FOR NOW!

 

Today we went back to the Marine Environment Discovery Center north of Tadoussac. We took the ferry over. There was no fog today and the view was amazing. We could see up the fjord. Off the side of the boat were a pod of beluga whales. We saw them show their tails but couldn’t get down and near the side to get a photo of them. It was amazing to see them show their tails.

At the Marine Environment Discovery Center we went rock scrambling while watching for sea life. We saw a few seals and a pod of harbor porpoise swim by near the rocks. Just as we were turning to leave he heard the blow of a whale. We all spun around to see a huge Minke whale surfacing. We watched a few more minutes and saw it come up again about 30 meters from us. Where the rocky shore meets the water there is an immediate drop-off. The whales like to chase their food up against the rocks.

A little rock scrambling after the whales made us all happy.

We attended a class on sharks in the St. Lawrence. We learned that there are 7 main species in the area. They have great white, blue shark, mackerel shark, basking, Greenland and two types of dogfish. We learned about their anatomy and how sharks have three extra senses. It was fun to learn that they have recently dated a deceases Greenland shark at about 400 years of age. This is quite amazing! Also the mackerel shark carried their eggs inside and as they hatch they eat the other eggs or sibling until one is left. Then that one will life in the mom until it is about 1/4 the size of an adult. Sometimes the babies get aggressive and actually kill their Mom from within. Freaky!

Next we drove inland and along the Saguenay River to the Quebec National Park of the Saguenay Fjord and Saint Marguerite. We checked out the visitors center and learned a lot about the Beluga whales in the St. Lawrence.

I mastered the whale puzzle and kept having mom and B mix it up so I could redo it.

Next we drove inland and along the Saguenay River to the Quebec National Park of the Saguenay Fjord and Saint Marguerite. It is supposed to be a spectacular place to view beluga whales. We hiked the 3km trail out to the viewing platforms. We arrived and it was insanely packed with people looking out at the water. We were excited to see the whales but there were NONE! NONE! We stuck around about an hour and watched from the beach below the platform and then the platform as people started to leave. Nothing! Oh well. The walk was beautiful along the river and we took a nice stroll back. Breighton walked ahead when Emmerson needed a break. B left us trail markers drawn in the sand. We followed a path of “I was here. -B”, arrows and times he past points until we caught back up with him sitting on a bench watching some black, fuzzy caterpillars.

The marine park runs along the fjord and to get to the other side it either takes a 4.5 hour drive or a 20 minute ferry. We opted for the ferry, it is free. The system was quick and smooth.

You can see Baymax in the right hand side of the photo. We explored outside the care for a few minutes and then headed back to stay warm.

Frigid freezing foggy ferry.

We arrived at the other side and headed to the next visitors center. We wandered down to the rocky shores and waited for a program to begin.

There were divers down in the water and they would bring up marine life to the pools for us to explore. They had huge chucks of ice in the pools and the sea water was pumped up from below the rocks we were climbing on. The pools had signs designating the language spoke. Three pools were in French and one was in English. There was also one just for kids but we felt the adult program would be more informative. We were correct.

We saw some very unique species to the cold waters. This is a polar sea star.

A spectacular sun star was one of my favorites.

This is a toad crab. Although the guide insisted it was a spider crab and that the rock crab was a toad crab. I tried to correct him but had no luck. I made Mom Google the information on the spot and I was correct. There was also a display we found later in the visitors center that backed my observations.

We waited eagerly as they added new species to the pool.

At the end they guide asked if we would like to help put everything back in the bucket so the divers could take them back out to the water. We gladly agreed to help and set to work.

We explored the interpretation sites inside.

Then took the ferry back to the portion of the park we are staying near. I refused to get out of the car because I was cold!

Mom got out because she said it felt weird to be in a car sitting still and yet moving.

After a quick snack we headed out to a zodiac whale watching trip. We had to dress in these arctic water suits to stay warm and in case we fell in the water. The jackets had built in flotation. B told Mom he felt like the kid from Christmas Story in his snowsuit. I agree totally! My arms had a hard time staying down I was so puffy.

The zodiac held about 50 people. We all had seats and could see as long as people respected sitting down so others could see.

Being cute while explaining to Mom i was HOT. 

Not being cute while explaining to Mom I was COLD! 

We drove out past the cool lighthouse in water and saw a huge group of grey seals.

Then some Minkie whales appeared. We had a blast watching them. They do not surface their tails like humpbacks do. But when you see a longer part of their body they are preparing to dive.

Whale happiness!

Whale silliness!

We saw a few finbacks but they were a bit far away to get a good photo. I had a blast.

After the whales we headed up the fjord. We could see where we took the ferry.

It was so beautiful. The hills were so steep and tree covered. It is amazing that this was all carved by glaciers.