Day 19: French Canada

Bienvenue! I saw many signs with this message today (meaning welcome in French) while in western Quebec. I began my day, though, by briefly exploring my home for the prior night, the small town of Mattawa (pop. 2,000). It is located at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers, and its name means "meeting of the waters" in Ojibwa. Le Voyaguer Inn, where I stayed, is actually the oldest building in town, built in 1881 -- which explains why, despite the refurbishing of the interior, the upper floors of the building are definitely not level! Despite only drinking ginger ale, I found myself walking with a distinct list to one side. Mattawa is surrounded by beautiful scenery, but is losing population, as are many small towns. Just across the Ottawa River from Quebec, one-third of the people are Francophones (French-speaking), and the rest Anglophones (English-speaking). The gas station attendant who filled my tank (the first time I haven't pumped my own gas since I left Oregon) spoke with a thick French-Canadian accent. (By the way, the gas was only $1.29 -- per liter.)

I continued journeying east on Highway 17 to Pembroke. I then crossed the Ottawa River and entered Quebec, the only predominantly French-speaking province in officially bilingual Canada. I drove a short loop on Highway 148, passing through farmland and small settlements nestled in the rolling hills near the river. The day was sunny, but remained quite cool (the temperature in Mattawa this morning was -1 degree Celsius).

I returned to Ontario near the town of Renfrew and continued toward Ottawa, Canada's capital, on Highway 17. With flawless timing, I entered the outskirts of Ottawa at about 5 p.m,, just in time for rush hour on a Friday. Fortunately, the only gridlock was in the other direction (Hwy 417 westbound was backed up for miles). Unfortunately, that meant the drivers going my way never had to slow a bit. I'm convinced that speed limits in Ontario are merely suggestions. I've driven in many large cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, but the drivers here are certifiably insane. They routinely drive 20 to 30 km/h over the speed limit. Today for example, the speed limit on the freeway was 100 km/h (just over 60 mph). Trying to keep pace with traffic, though, I sped up to 130 km/h (about 80 mph) and still couldn't keep up. I only passed about three cars all day. I finally backed off to "only" 120 kph and just let them scream on by.

At about 6:30 p.m. I crossed the St. Lawrence River and entered New York near Ogdensburg. After an hour and a half of searching (turns out it's Parents' Weekend at nearby universities) I finally found a hotel room (an expensive one) in Canton, NY. At least it has fast internet, which is allowing me to catch up on my blog and back up photos to the cloud. I traveled 296 miles today (most of them at breakneck speed!), bringing my total to 3,557 miles now.

View looking north from the balcony of my hotel this morning. The temperature was just below freezing.

Looking north across the Mattawa River.

Park and marina on the Ottawa River at Mattawa. The hills across the river are in Quebec.

There are many statues such as this throughout Mattawa, honoring various pioneers and explorers. The town is rich in history.

St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Mattawa.

Church near Waltham, Quebec.

More of the Canadian Shield in Quebec.

Covered bridge at Fort Coulogne, Quebec.

Roman Catholic cemetery at Campbell's Bay, Quebec.

ATV and snowmobile crossing signs are common from Minnesota eastward to here in Quebec.

One of many picturesque churches in Portage du Fort, a small town I passed through about 2 km before re-entering Ontario.

This is a private residence in Portage du Fort.

Another church in Portage du Fort.

A more simple church building in Portage du Fort.

Back in the U.S.!