Day 34: October 6, 2026. Quebec, Merveilleux

A 3:30 AM excursion wasn't going to hold Tad over until sunrise. By 6:30 AM, he was doing his impatient little dance, and by 7:00, there was no denying it—he’d likely caught the sound of Susie and Sage heading off to work. It was just as well, though: we had endless miles ahead of us, and Jonathan had a schedule full of frame-making.

​After Kasey and I both indulged in our monthly showers, we were packed and ready to load the bikes. Reattaching the rack required pulling the motorhome out onto the street. Parking it under a hornet's nest in 39-degree cold seemed like a safe risk. Jonathan made quick work of the rack, carrying it over as if it weighed no more than a box of marshmallows and sliding it smoothly into the receiver. Kasey and I made quick work of loading the bikes, and by 9:00 AM, we were ready to hit the road, leaving Jonathan to his frame-making.

Our trip north took us up toward Montreal and then on toward Quebec City.

​As we drove, the route quickly funneled us straight toward the border. When we arrived at the small crossing point just north of Malone, it felt abandoned. We pulled up slowly, half-expecting someone to step out, but the building stayed silent and completely still as we waited.

Kasey proceeded slowly, but a yelling voice caught our attention to stop our progress and insisted that we back up as the crossing gate descended in our path with lights flashing. I guess we woke up the Canadian border guard. Not a good way to begin our international trip. He had a french accent but spoke perfect English asking us basic questions which I think is standard practice. If you can't answer basic questions, maybe you aren't who you say you are. The question of where are you coming from elicited a response from us that we just came from Malone, NY. He asked if we were visiting there and as soon as we answered in the affirmative he must have realized his dumb question and he said, and I quote "Well of coarse you are visiting, no one goes to Malone unless they are visiting someone." Then he quickly added, "unless you were born there." After checking our passports, and noticing the dog, he asked for the records for Tad. "Give me a second" I said, and he said "Take your time, I have all the time in the world." No one was behind us but within 30 seconds I had Tad's records visible on my phone. He quickly checked the dates on the document and was satisfied. He went to the office a few steps away with our passports and quickly returned handing them through the window with a hearty "Have a nice trip." On our way we went. 

Kasey was keen to see Montreal and I was game if he wanted to stop so we headed for a coffee shop. The sun felt warm and we were grateful.

The scenery was filled with murals and sculptures along the way. We were enjoying our travels and thinking of what to do in Montreal but after hitting beaucoup traffic, we were not impressed and we kept moving. 

I got to practice more French by reading the signs and interpreting them. Some successful, some not. Universal signs are not always evident. We passed a mural along the freeway.

 «Que s'affirme un peuple libre

qui puisse exprimer en français,

avec son accent à lui,

toutes les dimensions du monde d’aujourd’hui» which translates to:

"Let a free people assert itself who can express in French, with his own accent, all the dimensions of today's world" 

– René Lévesque, (1922-1987).

He was premier of Quebec and the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, through a referendum, a mandate to negotiate the political independence of Quebec. 

Next stop, Costco in Quebec City. We read about the history and what to see. A very interesting history for the town. We might stay 2 days. Travelling along the highway was filled with beautiful scenery and I did my best to capture some of it. I don't know how the sun streaks were captured on the photos but it reminded me of an alien beam. We are aliens in this country.

Costco gas stations are not always the easiest to navigate for motorhomes and the locals are not very gracious. We ended up needing to get over to the right side pump so we could be sure the hose reached, but a steady stream of agressive drivers were not inclined to be courteous to these foreigners. I got out to go talk to the attendant. I got to use my french. "Parlez vous Englais?" "Yes", he said. I explained the situation and said I needed traffic to let us in but he said most drivers are aggressive and it would be difficult. I did not want to wait any longer and walked over and stood in front of a white car next to the motorhome in the right lane over and said "Excusez-moi, mais il faut qu'on passe ici." Pretty close to accurate. He got the point and Kasey maneuvered into place. What an experience. Stressful.

Our Harvest Host was a winery on the east side of Quebec City. Domaine L'Ange Gardien - Winery & Cidery. We got there within the time for tasting and purchasing items. A nice gentleman named Bruno served us and gave us a rundown on the choices taking pride in the products available. He spoke English with a heavy French accent. 

After our tasting, we owed Tad a walk and I told Kasey that I wanted to ask where we could walk Tad. We brought our glasses in and purchased some wine and wine glasses. Kasey started to ask about walking the dog, but I interrupted him to say that I wanted to practice my French. Two years of Duolingo French and this is the first time to use it. "Où peut-on promener notre chien?" I said. " Bien sûr, vous pouvez le promener ici dans le vignoble." I think he said. Then he changed to English and showed us the road up the hill through the vineyard where we could get a great view if the St. Charles River.

Away we went.

The views did not disappoint and Tad had a great time to exercise.

We finished our evening off eating leftover Chicken Marsala, adding quinoa and a feta spinach wrap for dinner. 

We caught up on some Umpqua Watersheds stuff, talked to Julie back in Roseburg and played a few games of cribbage before calling the day and heading to bed. One chapter of our book was all that was needed to send me to sleep.

About 1030pm when I was deep asleep my phone rang and it was Mike's daughter, Amy calling from Portland. She monitors Mike through his phone. Seems Mike went hiking with Deb Gray and had not checked in. His phone still showed that he was up in the mountains. It was 730pm their time. I gave her Deb's phone number. I tried to go back to sleep and worried that maybe Mike had fallen or worse. Realizing that it was all up to Amy now, I fell back asleep and woke at midnight to check messages. Amy said that Ron, Deb's husband called and said Mike and Deb were out of the woods and headed home. I texted that there is likely a blog coming from Mike and she said that you can count on it. 

Adventure is Mike's middle name.