Day 1: NH to Parc national du Bic, Québec

DAY ONE: AT A GLANCE
Starting point: Pembroke, NH
Ending point: Parc national du Bic, QC, Canada
Starting mileage: 10,528
Ending mileage: 11,055
Daily total (miles): 527
Trip total (miles): 527

Today’s route would take us from home, through the White Mountains of New Hamsphire, into Vermont, and across the border into Québec, Canada.

And we’re off! By 8am, the van was fully packed and we were rolling out for our first—and one of our longest— driving days of our two-week roadtrip. Today’s journey would take us up through northern New Hampshire, into Vermont, and across the border into the Canadian province of Québec, with Bic National Park as our final destination. But first, a stop at La Station de Compton, an incredible fromagerie (cheese shop) in the Eastern Townships. G and I had traveled to the Eastern Townships region of Québec this past winter and loved the area. We had driven around that weekend to explore, being sure to stop at a few of the local fromageries dotting the landscape; La Station de Compton was an absolute favorite. We tasted several of the varieties and left with a few different cheeses—and, of course, the intent to return!

So, when our route would take us right back through the area, we knew we’d plan for a quick detour. We arrived around 11, and the timing was perfect for us to stretch our legs after a few hours’ of driving and many more to go for the day. We spent a few minutes in the shop, accepted the offer to taste the cheese (um, yes!!), and stocked up on two wedges of our favorites: the Comtomme and the Chemin Hatley.

Stocked up on cheese, we continued our drive toward Sherbrooke and Drummondville and through beautiful agricultural landscapes and onward toward Québec City and on to Bic. We kept our stops to a minimum—bathroom breaks, gas fill-ups, and a grocery store as we got closer. And, as always, we were reminded that we really, really wish we knew French. If you’ve ever been to Québec, you know that everything is in French; while I studied Spanish growing up and can muddle my way through the basics in Spanish and even Italian (and I mean the very basics!!), my French is limited to polite greetings and thank-yous. Having traveled to this area a bunch of times in the last few years, more and more is getting familiar to me, but we’re both a long way from feeling comfortable in our ability to navigate/communicate—luckily, thanks to Google, English options at self-serve checkouts, and some English-speaking employees in every location, we stumble our way through! But still, we really do need to learn French!!

By the time we rolled into Bic National Park (note: national parks in Quebec are not national parks of Canada; rather, they’re similar to what other provinces call provincial parks. And like all the parks (provincial or national) we’ve visited in Canada, they’re awesome!), it was close to 6p. We’d be camping two nights in the Tombolo campground area, and our site was excellent. First order of business: pop the van top and eat!! We had bought salads and crackers at the grocery store, and, along with the cheese we bought, we enjoyed a perfect and simple dinner after a long day on the road.

Day one is a wrap! Tomorrow, we’ll explore the park and nearby Rimouski—stay tuned!