Several places to visit on this trip: Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and all along the south side of the St. Lawrence River all the way to the mouth at the Atlantic Ocean. Madeleine-Centre will be my northernmost point of this trip.

I was hoping that at least a late fall foliage would still be seen when visiting here in early October. However, the trees were only about half way to peak colors. Sunny day my first day in Quebec. However, I was still dealing with a slowly-leaking front tire that two Mazda dealerships and one Boston tire repair place all missed. I decided to find a place in Quebec to look at it. Went to Canada Tires (had to go to the one in Sherbrooke after the one in Magog said they were too busy to work me in that day). After a two-hour wait there, they fixed it via a patch -- a small nail was in the tire.

The next day I left early for Quebec city (after scraping ice off my car windows). About 40 miles west-southwest of Quebec City is where I finally saw peak fall foliage colors. The trees looked like they would be spectacular -- if only the sun would shine. The sun barely got to shine at sunrise, then the 98% cloud coverage blocked it. That was just one of several disappointments of my day in Quebec city.

When I first got to Quebec city, I took some photos of the St. Lawrence River (such a great name!). I would return later in the day to photograph the river from a bluff.

I headed to the furthest-distance place first, the Canyon Sainte Anne. I got there after a round-a-bout detour that the GPS took me on. It had me go to a place where the street just ended north of the Canyon. I had to backtrack and come in from the south side. Although it was quite chilly at the Canyon, there was a bit of sunshine. The falls and the leaves were magnificent. Got many greate photos. There was a one-minute zipline over the falls but I thought it was a bit too chilly to take my first-ever zipline ride.

Next, I wanted to see the Montmorency Falls (aka. Parc de la Chute-Montmorency). However, the entrances to the area were gated off. Reason unknown. Big disappointment.

The next destination was the walled portion of the city known as The Citadel. I had heard so much about this and was really looking forward to it. However, once I arrived (after going through the quite confusing zizag parking area, I learned that the only way to see the Citadel is with the one-hour guided tour. No thank you! I left, disappointed to miss this place.

Last, I wanted to drive north to the Jacques-Cartier national park, expecting some gorgeous fall foliage despite the cloudy day. As I would learn later in the day, I somehow got the wrong exit, about ten miles short of where I was expecting to be. I asked directions at the gas station. However, the staff (young men) only spoke French. Fortunately, a customer was bi-lingual and acted as our "translator". Basically, I got that it was just a bit up the road. I drove several miles and no park in sight although I did see some more great fall foliage and took photos. While "international", my phone is inactive for data including looking at a map or using the Internet. Yet another disappointment although I did managed to see some beautiful fall color.

It was fascinating at my very nice hotel (Best Western Premier) watching the television. Most every channel -- except for the major US networks -- is in French including old US shows that have dubbed in French speakers for the American actors. I watched a few minutes each of football, baseball, hockey and soccer, all with French-speaking announcers. Of course, all commercials and the weather and news are in French.

Thanks to the highway signs, I figured out several French words. Nord, sud, est, ouest. Travaux. Rue. Demi-tour. I was stumped with A Louer but was guessing Rent or Sale. I looked it up later: For Rent. I wrote a little "cheat sheet" that converts KPH values to MPH values since my odometer is hard to see the little markings for kilometers. I also listed the conversions for various temperatures from celsius to fahrenheit.

Something interesting I heard when checking into the hotel is that this hotel often gets guests from Kansas. They did not really know the reason why but said that river cruises are popular. The thought later occurred to me that a river cruise might be a good way to test a cruise to see if I would like to ever take a cruise on an ocean. A good test might be from either Quebec city or Montreal to Newfoundland (since I want to see Newfoundland and Labrador someday anyway).

I was mostly packed and ready to go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast then leave right after that. However, just as I was ready to leave my room, the electricity went out for the entire area. Since I of course did not know how long it would be out, and, knew it would certainly interrupt breakfast food preparation, and, maybe the card-entry room doors would not open, I grabbed my flashlight, finished packing, then got in my car and left after turning in the room keys (and pry open the automatic door to the lobby). It was raining too. Some Atlantic Ocean tropical storm I believe was the cause of it raining most of the day. Had that happen to me a few times in the past. Note to self: quit coming to the Atlantic coast states and provinces during hurricane season which runs from June through November. Visit Atlantic coast only March through May!!!

The rain lasted for about two hours while I drive east northeast towards Rimouski. Just before I got to the park by the river in Rimouski, the rain stopped (or, I drove out of the rain). Got a few photos along the river section, got gasoline, then got back on the road for a four hour drive to Gaspe, the stop for the day. Today was the first time in Quebec that I had to deal with big trucks. I also was surprised to see the steady stream of vehicles going the opposite way of me along the entire stretch of highway.

In 2004 I drove on highway 550 in western Colorado from Ouray to Silverton. Ever since, that was the most spectacular drive I have been on (although the Moki Dugway in southeastern Utah came close!). However, for two hours between the towns of Matane and Grand Vallee, it was breath-taking, Wow, and jaw-dropping scenery. Mountains, curvy two lane roads, colorful trees, the St. Lawrence River so wide that it disappeared over the horizon like the oceans do, and, the quaint little towns at every indention in the coastline. INCREDIBLE!!! For my last hour of driving, the rain caught up with me which continued in Gaspe until about dusk. That cancelled my planned visit to the nearby Forillon National Park.

For my last day in French-speaking French-signed Quebec, I drove along the east coast from Gaspe to Campbellton in New Brunswick. I actually gained an hour on my way to Maine since the three provines of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are all in the Atlantic Time Zone. However, I did not bother to count it since Maine, like Quebec, is in the Eastern Time Zone.

I was surprised to see so many IGA grocery stores. That store was popular in Kansas City metro during the 1980's and 1990's but then went out of business in the area. Esso gas stations was another surprise. I knew that gasoline company well while growing up in Tennessee. In fact, a neighbor (twice!) and long-time family friend owned one of the Esso stations in my youth home town.

The towns along the St. Lawrence River (south side) are all two blocks deep (back from the river) and a mile or three long (along the highway and river). They all seem to be built as a point where the coastline indents inward.

My last part through Quebec was along the southeastern coast of the province. The route took me mostly along the coast to just across the water from Campbellton in New Brunswick. Four hour drive. Much road construction, quite a bit of traffic, and, mostly just one long town with Chandler being the most congested. There was some fall colors but most of it was just a sea of yellow. Without the contrast with reds and oranges and browns and greens, the yellow was unimpressive after a while. Between all the French signs and French speakers to the hours of congestion and construction, I was glad to get out of Quebec. Also, I began to wonder if it is worth spending another eight days in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. I would consider cutting that in half to just the "Must See" places.