Day 10: Back on the Road
DAY 10: AT A GLANCE
Starting point: Percé, QC, Canada
Ending point: Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick, Canada
Starting mileage: 11,749
Ending mileage: 12,062
Daily total (miles): 313
Trip total (miles): 1,534
This post might be the least exciting of the past few, mainly because the day was primarily a travel day for us. After nine days and nights traveling throughout Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula, we were headed out and to the Canadian province of New Brunswick, where we’d have one overnight stay at Kouchibouguac National Park before heading to Prince Edward Island to finish out our trip.
Day 10 would take us from Percé, Québec, to Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick.
One of the tougher parts of planning road trips is figuring out the point-to-point travel; once I figure out the points, I’m able to fill in the bones. Our last big road trip was three weeks long, and nearly each day/night was a different location. This time around, the pace was intentionally much slower, with only three "long” driving days: the first day, the last day, and this day, Day 10. Once we decided to include Prince Edward Island as our final destination, I had to figure out whether we should drive straight through (about 7.5 hours) or try to stop partway. We opted on stopping, and I had booked a campsite at Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick, but I was second-guessing and considering rescheduling our plans right up until a day or two before. We both love PEI, and we reasoned that we might want to just drive straight through so we’d have an extra full day. In the end, we kept the original plan, and that was just as well: it was a long drive, and we lost an hour moving into the Atlantic time zone. Unfortunately, while we didn’t really get to experience Kouchibouguac NP, we’d certainly be interested in returning! But first, a stop at a lighthouse on the way—Pointe Bonaventure Lighthouse in Bonaventure, Québec.
The location of the lighthouse wasn’t the most idyllic, especially compared to others we’ve seen on this trip. This one sits in a bit of a confused, though very accessible, spot—a parking lot abuts the light, and then there’s a campground that’s immediately adjacent. In fact, as I was taking a few photographs, I noticed that there were campsites within just a few feet of the light. There’s a wooden dock/wharf that I enjoyed walking down; perhaps the coolest feature was the statue of a sailor fishing from the rocks, with sun-bleached curved branches serving as rods. G and I stretched our legs, and I snapped a few photos, but within a few minutes, we were back on the road.
A few hours later, we crossed into New Brunswick and into Atlantic time (an hour ahead of Eastern time). We stopped at a grocery store for another dinner of salads (so good!) and a veggie tray, and soon, we were pulling into Kouchibouguac National Park. I really wish we could have arrived earlier in the afternoon; it was 5p when we arrived at the visitor’s center; from there, the campground was another 13km away. By the time we pulled into our site, we were tired and hungry and pretty much ready to just crash for the evening. We picked up maps and brochures, however, so perhaps we’ll have the chance to explore the park on a return visit. For now though, we’d be calling it a day. Tomorrow, Prince Edward Island!
