Ottawa to Fredericton - Day 8

Friday, September 14 - Rest Day - La Pocataire, QC - 8 km

Today was meant to be a day of rest, but I went for a fabulous hike in the park. The park is not large, but covers an entire mountain with lots of rugged trails, as well as easier ones. The rock formations are interesting and many small caves permeated the surface, some being large enough to enter. I explored for a couple hours and then descended down the backside to the highway, where I started walking back to town. I came across a well put together floral garden, so I explored this for a bit and then found another trail back up the mountain into the park. I followed this and ended up at the trailhead. I then visited the museum of Francois Pilote. I have no idea who this character was because all the exhibits were in French, but the museum housed a most impressive collection of just about everything you can think of. After spending an hour looking at the artifacts, I wandered down to the library, which was closed until 14:00. I went back to my hotel and relaxed finally for a few hours. Later, I was tired of walking so took my bike to the mall outside of town, and searched with no luck for postcards. There are no postcards in this town. The post office sells birthday cards, but not post cards. I guess not a lot of tourists pass through here. I visited the library again to use the computer to check email etc. Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the hotel. Had a mediocre meal in the attached restaurant and now am enjoying a beer in the somewhat characterless bar. My knee was still hurting while riding around today. We shall have to see how it fares over the next 1000 km or so through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The large building in the background is the Francois Pilote museum. Four floors of fun.