Day 98- A tombstone for a tree

Day 98 Saturday, August 14, 2010 Distance 69.29 km. Time 3 hr. 53 min. Total so far 6978.69 km. We woke up at 20 to 6 but stayed resting until 6am for a change in our little place behind the truck. We headed out on the road and the wind wasn’t too bad to start with which is why we get up early. I continue to take pictures of all the church steeples or churches because they are the dominant feature in every town. In Louiseville, it is the St. Antoine. After Maskinonge, the La Route Verte 2 went on a country road past many farms and we stopped at a very old but well kept general store to use the outside facilities. There were many silver roofed houses again. In Saint -Barthelemy, we had our snack in the church park and Dave helped an elderly lady empty the overfull garbage pail.. There was tombstone there for a tree that lived from 1827-2002. I found that strange- a tombstone for a tree. We are following the cycle circle of the route of Iles de Berthier. My brother, Frank, or my friend, Mary, would like this type of country tour. There was no traffic at all. We passed through St. Culbert. I photographed lots of mailboxes -some with tractors, one of sweet corn. Maybe I will publish a book of them when I can’t bicycle any more. In Berthierville, we went to the visitor center and after talking to the young man and a local man, we have decided to change our route from Hwy. 158 because they say a big section is dangerous for cyclists. The boy typed out an email to Diane in Chelsea for me to let her know our location. We continued on to Lanoraie where we had lunch at a corner store or depanneur. It was hot and I changed into cooler clothes. I photographed some bird houses for sale on the way to St. Sulpice where we were told there was a campground. Campground Le Marquis was very reasonable and is mostly all season trailers. We were led right to the shore of the St. Lawrence which has many reeds here but is very pretty. It was much cooler by the river than by the road.where the wind had been in our face the last hour. We set up and I had a shower and started some laundry while Dave went back to a vegetable stand and bought some onions, radishes, a tomato and some fruit. I typed 2 blogs in the office and chatted with the owner, Jocelyn, who practised her English with me. During our supper, two tourers were led to the site next to ours. Alexander and Josie started in Ottawa and are headed to Quebec City at a leisurely pace that I would certainly enjoy. They are on Norco touring bicycles and this is their second trip. After supper, I did one more blog and then Dave and I did a walk around this park where everyone drives around in little golf carts. And back to the tent to bed.