May 2024 Quebec Trip (Day 3 of 3)

 

While everyone was enjoying their brat summer, I wound up exploring and went to quite a few different places in the process. Over Memorial Day Weekend in 2024, the destination for the long weekend was Quebec, which isn't a long haul from my home base in the Albany, New York area, but it's a place I haven't explored enough. On this second day of the trip, I started and ended in the suburbs of Quebec City, made my way south to the mountains near the border with the United States, then towards Quebec's Eastern Townships and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont before heading back to home to Upstate New York. Plus there were some surprises along the way, which is typical for the types of multi-day road trips I take.

Here is a collection of photo highlights from the third day of that three-day adventure. 

After checking out of my hotel, I decided to take some convoluted way to a viewpoint of the Quebec Bridge. Seeing that it was Memorial Day in the U.S, it was just a regular Monday in Canada and the traffic definitely reflected a morning rush hour.

There's a bit of a traffic tangle near the southern foot of the Quebec Bridge with QC 132 and QC 175 converging. Looking at satellite images, it looks like half of a traffic circle with ramps all over the place, so I thought tangle was a good descriptor here.

After sharing a brief concurrency and crossing the Chaudière River, QC 132 and QC 175 go their separate ways. Meanwhile, I went in a different direction to find a viewpoint of the Quebec Bridge.

The 1,801-foot-long (or 549 meters long) Quebec Bridge as it crosses the St. Lawrence River. At one time, this was the longest cantilever bridge in the world. It took three attempts to successfully build the Quebec Bridge, as disaster struck during construction in 1907 and 1916 before the bridge was completed in 1917.

Before really hitting the road, I also stopped by the nearby 115-foot-tall Chaudière Falls. There is a hydroelectric facility that controls some of the flow of this waterfall.

Signs for A-20, A-73 and the Route des Navigateurs scenic route at Chaudière Falls Park. There is also a small park and ride facility at the park.

Heading eastbound on A-20 for a bit, although not all the way to Rivière-du-Loup like I did the day before.

It would be a long haul to Rivière-du-Loup as it is. Ultimately, I'll be heading in the opposite direction.

After meandering through some local routes, I reached a roundabout in Saint-Henri. Instead of taking QC 173 or QC 218, I took QC 277 for some distance going southbound. QC 277 follows the Rivière Etchemin for some distance and at one point brushes right next to the border with the United States.

A classic Quebec caution sign throwing caution to the wind. The sign translates to "limited visibility".

QC 218 and QC 277 do enjoy a short concurrency between Saint-Henri and D'Artagnan.

QC 277 has a few factories and processing plants along its route.

Along with Chutes Rouillard (or Rouillard Falls). This waterfall on the Etchemin River is reached by a short trail from a park alongside QC 277 in Saint-Anselme. Yes, the prospect of seeing a waterfall factored into my decision to drive part of QC 277.

Plenty of farmland to see along QC 277 as well.

Looking for Peter Frampton? Just head 11 kilometers west.

Pont Taschereau, or Taschereau Bridge, over the Etchemin River on QC 216. This one lane steel truss bridge was a short detour off of QC 277 and I caught a glimpse of it from my eye, so I felt it deserved a greater examination.

As I travel southeast on QC 277 towards Lac-Etchemin, the farms are replaced by forests and scenery becomes more mountainous. We're entering the Quebec part of the Appalachians.

Which also lends to some great scenery and rolling hills along QC 277.

Passing through Lac-Etchemin, which is a bit of a recreational hotspot. There is a ski area nearby, Mont Orignal.

Fighting off a few raindrops here, it is time to start heading towards the west and following QC 204 for a spell. QC 204 runs mostly in an northeastern or southwestern direction fairly close to the border with Maine for quite a distance.

There seems to be a tendency for many roads in Quebec to be relatively straight as opposed to hug the contours of the landscape, which lead to many scenic straightaways.

QC 204 crosses through a region called the Beauce, named for a region in France.

QC 204 and QC 275 meet in a little place called Quarte-Chemins, or Four Roads.

More of those hilly straightaways. There will be plenty more of these to see before the day is done.

The current southern end of A-73 is at QC 204 in Saint-Georges. There is a proposal to extend A-73 south to QC 173 and form a bypass around Saint-Georges, as traffic currently would have to go through the town if they want to 

From this spot, it is roughly 100 kilometers to downtown Quebec City.

Entering the Ville de Saint-Georges on QC 204.

As Saint-Georges is located in a valley of the Chaudière River, downhill we go.

Now on QC 173 southbound, we're actually not far from the border with Maine, just 47 kilometers. At later points of the trip, we'll be much closer to the international border.

QC 271 begins its journey towards the St. Lawrence River at Saint-Croix here.

But I'll be taking QC 173 south for a ways. Not all the way past the border, but certainly past Saint-Côme-Linière.

The official name of this part of QC 173 is the Route du Président-Kennedy, named in honor of former United States President John F. Kennedy.

Much of QC 173 south of Saint-Georges looks like this. Trees and wide open views.

On QC 269 for a bit.

It's a rather pleasant drive down to Lac-Mégantic from here. Travel will be on QC 204 as QC 269 starts making its way to QC 116 on the outskirts of the Quebec City suburbs.

There it is again, QC 204. Yes, I could've taken QC 204 from Saint-Georges as well.

Passing by the small town of Saint-Ludger. I liked the zoom in on the church steeple here/

QC 269 providing a ribbon of pavement for kilometers and kilometers. This would be between Audet and Frontenac.

Encountering signs for Mont-Mégantic National Park, even before reaching Lac-Mégantic. Mont-Mégantic is the remains of a volcanic pluton, formed by the same ancient geologic hotspot that created Mount Royal in Montreal.

Entering Lac-Mégantic. The town and the lake is at the source of the Chaudière River, which follows north to the St. Lawrence River. Traditionally a town that was known for its place in the lumber and paper pulp industries, Lac-Mégantic will forever be known for a 2013 rail disaster that destroyed its downtown.

Plenty of tourism along Lac-Mégantic too, as I can see by the boats along or in the lake, even on a regular Monday at the end of May.

Église Sainte-Agnès de Lac-Mégantic

Downtown Lac-Mégantic was rebuilt in the years following the 2013 rail disaster that left 47 people dead after a series of explosions and fire.

Back on the road on QC 161 southbound. After crossing the border with Maine, QC 161 becomes ME 27, a scenic drive in its own right.

Lac-Mégantic the lake extends pretty far south from Lac-Mégantic the town. I stopped at an observation tower along QC 161 to get a few more views of the lake.

Mont-Mégantic in the distance, shrouded by clouds.

The aforementioned observation tower.

Starting to see some of the mountains that form the international border between Quebec and Maine, along with the boundary of the St. Lawrence River watershed.

Neat countdown clock whilst waiting during bridge construction. In my humble opinion, this should be the norm, not the exception.

Quebec uses red and white caution chevrons instead of yellow and black.

QC 263 runs along the western shore of Lac-Mégantic on the way to the St. Lawrence River.

Yes, it's a motel named after Benedict Arnold. There is a local connection, as this was roughly along the route that Arnold took from Maine to Quebec City to commence the siege of Quebec in 1775.

Pretty close to Maine here, just five kilometers away. However, I'm ticketed to head over to Cookshire-Eaton. 

To get to Cookshire-Eaton, I'll be taking QC 212 west. It's a fun drive with a lot of mountainous scenery in the background.

A bit overcast, but I'll take it.

The mountains with the tops covered by clouds are Mont Saint-Joseph, and a little further back, Mont Mégantic. Since I was in the area and I wasn't sure when I would return, I decided to go check out Mont Mégantic National Park, despite having doubts that I could see much in the clouds. On the flip side, if this was a sunny day, I'd have some great views around southern Quebec and the neighboring states of Maine and New Hampshire.  Or if it were a clear night, I'd witness some great night skies from the observatory atop Mont Mégantic.

Yellow on brown signage within Mont Mégantic National Park. This is not much different than what I regularly see for signage in the Adirondacks of New York State.

At the summit of Mont Saint-Joseph, this is a very helpful guidepost pointing out area landmarks. I wish more places would have these posts. 

Another mainstay of Quebec, elaborate looking crosses at some landmarks. I've encountered crosses at a few mountain summits I've visited in La Belle Province.

The fog and low clouds make for an eerie looking landscape around the church and cairns at Mont Saint-Joseph.

It is a steep drive along the park roads at Mont Mégantic National Park.

Along the park road at Mont Mégantic National Park, there is a scale model representation of the solar system. I seem to have come back to Earth.

The fog and low clouds make for an interesting looking backdrop of the park road.

Back on QC 212, descending into the town of La Patrie.

La Patrie is at the junction of QC 212 and QC 257. If you were to take QC 257 south, it becomes US 3 upon crossing the international border into New Hampshire.

The McDermott Covered Bridge was built in 1886 across the Eaton River in Cookshire-Eaton. The covered bridge features a multiple Kingpost design. The bridge is located just south of QC 212 and was a worthwhile detour.

A rare stop sign in both English and French in Quebec. But this is in a part of the Eastern Townships that features a sizable English-speaking population.

I hadn't planned on it, but somehow, I drove QC 212 from end to end. At this point, just east of downtown Cookshire-Eaton, I encountered QC 108, which runs between Magog and Sherbrooke from the west to Beauceville (near Saint-Georges) to the east.

Downtown Cookshire-Eaton. Here in the Eastern Townships, the towns feel a little more like what I'd see in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont.

A bit of a sign salad here at the junction of QC 108 and QC 253 in Cookshire-Eaton. While QC 212 is just a few blocks away to the east, A-610 starts about 20 kilometers to the west in the Sherbrooke area.

While no longer in service, the John Cook Covered Bridge was built in 1868 and is named for one of the first settlers of Cookshire-Eaton. It is also the oldest covered bridge in the Eastern Townships.

Taking QC 253 south through a few townships. QC 253 eventually runs to the international border with Beecher Falls, Vermont.

QC 253 enjoys a short concurrency with QC 210, a route that eventually heads east and ends at QC 257 in Chartierville, just north of the border with New Hampshire.

QC 253 rolls through the countryside and reaches the junction of QC 206, which heads west to the town of Coaticook.

Digging the rolling hills and farmland heading into Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton.

QC 251 heads north to the Sherbrooke area.

Just a trio of silos hanging out alongside QC 206.

QC 147 shield standing front and center in front of Coaticook's City Hall, or the Hôtel de Ville in French.

A newer covered bridge, the Pont Rouge or Red Bridge was built in 1998.This is also the entrance to Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook, which features an illuminated night hike called Foresta Lumina. The park also features the longest suspended footbridge in North America.

While there is an entry fee to visit the park and walk across the footbridge, you can see the bridge that spans across the Coaticook Gorge from QC 147.

The bridge was built in 1989 and spans 169 meters (or 554 feet) across the gorge.

Downtown Coaticook.

Heading on QC 141 northbound out of Coaticook.

Starting to decide it's time to head back into the United States, so going to Ayer's Cliff, Magog and Sherbrooke will need to wait for another time. I've actually been to those places before, and they are worth visiting overall. Stanstead is at the border and it's only 17 kilometers away.

While I could take A-55 and get to the border a little bit faster, I haven't taken QC 143 south of this junction before, so let's see what it's like.

Another drive through some bucolic landscapes along QC 143.

Most of QC 143 looks like this actually.

A bit of French and English to mark the direction of the United States border. On official documents in the French language, the United States is referred to États-Unis, or É.-U. My understanding is in spoken language in Quebec, the United States is called the US or the States or some variation of that.

I didn't have that long of a wait at Customs, and now I am Vermonting.

VT 191 is a spur highway into downtown Newport, Vermont, where it meets with US 5 and VT 105, two other highways that get you to different parts of the Green Mountain State. As for the milepoint sign, this is Vermont's way of trying to get around mileage-based exit numbering.

VT 191 is just a couple miles long, ending just shy of the eastern shores of Lake Memphremagog.

Lake Memphremagog is an international lake, with its south end at Newport, Vermont and its north end at Magog, Quebec.

Part of Newport, Vermont as seen from Lake Memphremagog.

US 5 and VT 105 snake their way through Newport. The two highways run concurrently between Derby Center to just west of this point.

Another classic Vermont route has its northern beginning in the Town of Newport, VT 100. This highway crisscrosses north-south through the central spine of Vermont's Green Mountains from Newport to the border with Massachusetts, going though Stowe, Waterbury, Killington and Ludlow along the way.

Now going it alone on VT 105 westbound.

The 35-foot-tall Big Falls (of the Missisquoi River) in Troy, Vermont.

A temporary bridge crosses the Missisquoi River in Troy, Vermont at the former site of the River Road Covered Bridge. The bridge was destroyed by fire in February 2021 after a snowmobile caught fire. There is talk of building a replacement covered bridge at this site.

Crossing the Green Mountains on VT 105.

I was not quite done with Quebec during this trip. I drove East Richford Slide Road, which has the distinction of being a road that goes through Quebec for about a tenth of a mile before crossing back into Vermont, with no customs office to stop at, likely because there is no access to anything in Canada, but also to avoid a steep grade along the hill. There is a cemetery at the border itself, to the left of the photo.

Pardon the poor photo quality, as I was dealing with some heavy rain at the time, but here is the border marker along the right hand side of East Richford Slide Road. 

Now firmly back in the United States on VT 139 northbound, a short road between VT 105 and the Canadian border in Richford, Vermont. VT 139 continues into neighboring Quebec as QC 139, going through Cowansville and Granby before ending at QC 143 in Drummondville.

A steel truss bridge with a welcoming archway into downtown Richford on VT 139.

VT 139's southern end at VT 105 in Richford.

The bridge on Boston Post Road across the Missisquoi River in North Enosburg. I'm not sure if this was a road that was part of a postal delivery route to and from Boston, as I haven't come across anything else that would suggest that.

Historical plaque for Larry Gardner, a native son of Enosburg Falls who won three World Series as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 1912, 1916 and 1917, before getting traded to the Philadelphia Athletics.

Bidding farewell to VT 105, while sticking on VT 108 for a time.

Not quite the Bridge of Flowers in Western Massachusetts, but Enosburg Falls has the Bridge of Flowers and Light. The bridge is built next to a hydro power building and seems to be a nice place to relax or fish.

I drove south on VT 108 until I got to Bakersfield, then over on VT 36 towards St. Albans. It was starting to get late, a deluge of rain was heading my way, and I still had a long drive home.

I spotted the East Fairfield Covered Bridge on the way, so I had to detour to take a look.

On the outskirts of St. Albans. I'm ready to head onto the Interstate and head home.

Time to take the ramp to I-89 southbound and eventually make my way to the Capital Region of New York State. It started pouring after this.

Sources and Links:
Quebec - Alpsroads.net
Quebec Trip (Day 3 of 3) / Full Album - Flickr
Quebec Trip (Day 1 of 3) - Gribblenation

Quebec Trip (Day 2 of 3) - Gribblenation