Snapshot: One last (busy) Quebec summer, part I

There's no denying it - we've put down roots here in Quebec. 

And yet, it's official that we're leaving. In fact, we're moving to Wyoming in early November! Knowing this, we've spent the summer cramming in everything Quebec has to offer and then some. In the next few posts, we'll share lots of photos that offer a glimpse of the various adventures and visitors we've had.

In late June, we headed east, the truck stuffed to the gills with camping gear. 

We spent several days camping along the Saguenay fjord, right where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence River. This estuary has extraordinarily rich biodiversity, thanks to the convergence of two rivers which are both nearly 1,000 feet deep in this area. Furthermore, although we could still see across the St. Lawrence River and the 'ocean' is still ~1,000 km away, the river seems very much like an ocean.  

It smells like an ocean, moves like an ocean, and is full of little critters like urchins, periwinkles (marine snails), and starfish.

The principle highlight of the trip was camping on the edge of the river. We woke up and fell asleep, ate our meals, and simply sat transfixed - all the while watching and listening to the countless whales that feed in the estuary all summer. 

We saw humpback, beluga, minke, and fin whales. We watched them from camp, watched them from boats, and never got our fill. As if that wasn't enough watery wildlife, we also soaked in innumerable seal and porpoise sightings, and filled in the gaps with all sorts of pelagic (sea) birds.

 

I sketched compulsively, Jerod was glued to his binoculars, and our only regret was that we hadn't taken this trip every year.