Cap Chat - Tilting at WindmillsJul 16, 2009
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Foxy's parking place so Joe can rub her belly
Matane Lighthouse
The tallest vertical-axis windmill in the world
We had a spectacular drive today from west Rimouski to Cap-Chat; it was about 110 miles along what’s called La Cote, or The Coast. Most of the time, we had the Seaway in view, very little ship traffic, and lots of shore birds perched on the rocks, a very scenic drive. We passed what seemed like hundreds of wind turbines, some spinning, some not.
We made a lunch / shopping stop in Matane at Wal-Mart. I picked up some staples while Joe walked Foxy. At this stop, we’re just about 2,500 miles into our trip; however, we didn’t need the odometer. You know you’re a long way from Oklahoma and Bentonville, Arkansas when the Greeting Lady at Wal-Mart says “Bonjour Madame”. We had lunch at McDonalds; a Big Mac seems to be the same in English and French. There is a lighthouse in Matane; but, we resisted the urge to climb the 20-meter tower.
Quebec might be a Canadian Province but it is French to the core. Around Montreal and Quebec, we found that most people were bilingual; that’s not so common as we move out to the more remote Gaspe. Fortunately, Joe & I know barely enough French words and phrases to order a bite to eat off a menu, pick up a few things at the grocery store, and find the bathroom……..so we’re getting along fine.
We ran into our first major road construction where we had to follow a pilot car for a couple of km. The traffic is fairly sparse so we weren’t held up very long. Cap-Chat is in the region called La Haute-Gaspesie (translated, I think it means the top or high Gaspe). We are settled in for a couple of nights in a beautiful campsite right on the water.
We took a ride to the NORDAIS Wind Park for a tour. The park is home to the tallest vertical-axis wind generator in the world….110 meters high. We got a private tour (only because we needed an English-speaking guide) and it was very interesting to be able to go inside the massive structure and see the equipment up close and learn about advances in wind generation technology. The conventional horizontal windmills populate the park too; they have 133 of them and sell power to Vermont and Maine. Many of the windmills were stopped and the guide told us it was because they were waiting for repair parts from Denmark, where these were manufactured. The vertical-axis windmill is primarily for research and hasn’t spun since 1993. With the renewed interest in wind power, negotiations are underway to get the giant windmill operating again.
It was late when we finished the tour so we decided to stop in the village and we got a pizza for supper; actually, it was a pizza and a half……..it was loaded with ingredients and we brought over half of it home for consumption at another time.
Weather permitting, we’ll probably go to Gaspe National Park tomorrow.
