POINTE-AU-PERE QUBEC TO SOMEWHERE ON THE GASPE PENINSULA:: A BETTER WEATHER DAY AND MY SUBMARINE TOUR THIS MORNING

A MUCH NICER LOOKING DAY TODAY

This is Saturday’s post.  We couldn’t find us an internet signal in the wilds of Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula Saturday night.  Update::  Am publishing this Sunday morning from a McDonalds in Campbelltown, New Brunswick.

To say it was a rough night would be putting it mildly.  Winds never did let up and by the sounds of driving rain against the sides of the coach in the night we think it must have been sleet although there was no sign of anything on the ground this morning.   Massive clouds were moving so fast across the sky from South to North late Friday evening it looked like they were racing to reach the North Pole.   Inside the coach overnight it sounded like we were being peppered by a thousand BB guns.   Winds had shifted and were coming in straight off the water by first light.  When I took Pheebs out about 6 those shifting winds were still wanting to pick us up and knock us upside down.  However, patches of strained sunlight through a few holes in the gray cloud cover were encouraging.

IT WAS A WINDY COLD SATURDAY MORNING WE WOKE UP TO

WINDSWEPT SHORES

Walked over shortly before 9 am. and purchased my ticked to board the submarine, Onondaga.  Wanted to make sure I was the first person onboard and had my fingers crossed I’d be the only person.  Close but not quite.  Luckily I had a good head start on a couple people behind me. 

TO REACH THE LARGE BUS AND RV PARKING AREA HEAD OUT THAT ROAD IMMEDIATELY TO THE RIGHT OF THE SUBMARINE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING…..YOU CAN OUR RIG OUT THERE

Here’s the way it works.  I was given an audio device and as I went through the Sub there were numbers posted.  I simply pressed the numbers and a recorded voice came on telling me about the area I was in.  For me it was an interesting and well spent 50 minutes I had in that submarine looking at everything and taking lots of pictures.  Had there been a bunch of other people in there I would have had to get out because the noise in that small cramped submarine space from a gaggle of chattering people or hollering school kids would have been cataclysmic to my relaxed quiet world.  I’m not claustrophobic but being surrounded in a small space by a bunch of people gives me the heebee jeebees.

I HEAD OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN THE WOODEN WALKWAY TO THE SUB,,,,I’M GOING FAST BECAUSE I WANT TO PUT AS MUCH DISTANCE BETWEEN ME AND WHOVER AND WHATEVER NOISE IS COMING BEHIND ME

THIS IS MY AUDIO GUIDE

AT THE END OF THAT GANGPLANK IS THE REAR ENTRANCE TO THE SUB….THE TOUR STARTS IN THE STERN AND MOVES TO THE BOW

ONE OF TWO PROPELLOR BLADES, REAR TORPEDO TUBE AND TRIM FINS

TWO REAR TORPEDO TUBES WHICH ARE CAPPED OFF

REAR TORPEDO ROOM CREW QUARTERS

 

TORPEDOS ARE LOADED INTO THE SUB THROUGH ROUND UPPER DECK HATCH ABOVE RIGHT PHOTO

I’M MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THAT ROUND WATERTIGHT BULKHEAD DOOR

A LOOK BACK AT THE REAR TORPEDO ROOM

IN AN EXTREME EMERGENCY CREW GATHERS HERE AND PUTS ON ORANGE LIFE SAVING SUITS, COMPARTMENT IS FLOODED AND THEY ESCAPE THE SUB THROUGH AN UPPER HATCH

LOOKING STRAIGHT UP THROUGH THE EMERGENCY ESCAPE HATCH AND PHOTO BELOW SHOWS THAT HATCH AT THE TOP OF THE LEFT PHOTO

 

ALL PASSAGEWAYS ARE EXTREMELY NARROW IN THE SUB AND BARELY WIDE ENOUGH FOR ONE PERSON

OLDER SUBMARINES RAN ON EITHER DIESEL OR ELECTRIC AND HERE ARE THE MONITORING PANELS FOR THE ELECTRICAL POWER

DIESEL BATTERIES ARE STORED ON A DECK BELOW THIS DECK

THIS IS THE ENGINE ROOM LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS THE CONTROL ROOM

 

FLOOR HATCH AND LADDER LEAD TO DECK BELOW WHERE ACCESS IS GAINED TO ELECTRICAL BATTERIES AND ENGINES

AL POINTS FORWARD TO WHERE ALL THE ENGINE GAUGES ARE

EACH DIESEL ENGINE HAS IT’S OWN SET OF GAUGES AND CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE HOW HOT, NOISY, AND CRAMPED IT WOULD BE WORKING HERE AROUND THESE ENGINES…..BOTH PHOTOS ARE LOOKING TOWARDS THE STERN

WIRES, DIALS, GAUGES, HANDLES, LIGHTS, AND LEVERS EVERYWHERE

I REMEMBER MY AUDIO DEVICE TELLING ME ABOUT THIS BUT I’VE FORGOTTON

 

ONE OF TWO SHOWERS I SAW…..70 CREWMEN ON THIS SUB AND ONLY 20 SECONDS PER MAN ALLOWED FOR SHOWER TIME……HEAVY STEEL BULKHEAD DOOR

OKAY, MOVING RIGHT ALONG

CONTROL ROOM AHEAD

LOOKING  BACK TOWARDS THE ENGINE ROOM

SINKS FOR WASHING

OFFICER’S WASHROOM I THINK

  

CREWS TOILETS

 

RADIO ROOM AND CAPTAINS CABIN

CONTROL ROOM WHERE THE CAPTAIN HANGS OUT WITH PERISCOPES, RADIO AND SONAR GEAR PLUS ALL KINDS OF ELECTRONIC THINGS

SEVERAL DIFFERENT FUNCTIONING PERISCOPES

CHART TABLE

LOOKS LIKE A VIDEO GAME ARCADE IN HERE

THIS IS THE STAINLESS STEEL GALLEY WHERE THE COOK RESIDES

HARDLY BIG ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE IN HERE

 

NARROW HALLWAYS AND NARROW BUNKS

OFFICER’S MESS ABOVE AND 3 BED SICK BAY BELOW

LOOKING BACK TO THE CONTROL ROOM FROM THE CREW’S QUARTERS

 

CREW BUNKS AND FORWARD EMERGENCY ESCAPE HATCH

CREW’S MESS

FAR BULKHEAD DOOR LEADS TO THE FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM

LOOKING FORWARD INTO THE TORPEDO ROOM

LOOKING BACK TO THE CREW’S QUARTERS FROM THE FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM

THE FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM IS THE LARGEST AREA IN THE BOAT

TORPEDOS ARE SECURED ON THESE RACKS

CHAINS AND PULLEYS FOR MANEUVERING TORPEDOES AROUND

FORWARD EMERGENCY ESCAPE SUITS AND TOP HATCH FOR LOADING TORPEDOS DOWN INTO FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM

FORWARD EMERGENCY ESCAPE HATCH

EACH ONE OF THOSE BAGS CONTAINS AND EMERGENCY ESCAPE SUIT

 

SIX FORWARD FIRING TORPEDO TUBES WITH ONE TUBE OPEN TO THE OUTSIDE

I AM WEARING THE LE TOQUE BECAUSE OF COLD WINDS OUTSIDE BUT IT WAS PLENTY WARM IN THE SUB

LOOKING OUT THE TORPEDO TUBE

LOOKING AFT FROM IN FRONT OF THE TORPEDO TUBES

ONE OF THE HEAVY CLAMPS FOR SECURING THE TORPEDO TUBE DOORS

LOOKING FORWARD BETWEEN THE TORPEDO TUBES AND TORPEDO TUBES AT BOTTOM AND ROUND ESCAPE HATCH AT TOP

I EXIT THE SUB VIA THE FRONT TORPEDO ROOM AFTER 50 WELL SPENT EDUCATIONAL MINUTES

IN THE BUILDING LOBBY ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF CREW MEMBERS IN THE SUB WHEN IT WAS OPERATIONAL

THE CAPTAIN I PRESUME

After my Sub tour I walked back to the Motorhome with gusting cold winds still coming in across the wide mouth of the St. Lawrence River. 

THIS IS WHERE WE RE-POSITIONED OURSELVES AND RODE OUT THE WIND AND RAIN STORM FRIDAY NIGHT

A WEE DRIVE AROUND POINTE-AU-PERE

SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE ‘EMPRESS OF IRELAND’ MUSEUM

We decided to get ourselves off the shoreline and head up to a place called Mont-Joli then make our way inland across the Gaspe in the direction of New Brunswick. 

SOME NICE COLORFUL PLACES ALONG HIGHWAY 132

Clouds continued to dissipate as we drove along the St Lawrence’s shoreline and with more and more sunshine breaking through we had us a nice scenic drive all the way to Mont-Joli.  Even spotted a dump station along the way and were able to take care of the gray and black tanks.  Quick stop at McDonalds for coffee to go in Mont-Joli then set our sails for New Brunswick.

HEADING EAST OUT OF MONT-JOLI ON HIGHWAY 132

 

Highway 132 from Mont-Joli to Campbelltown New Brunswick is designated a scenic highway and we sure enjoyed the scenery alright,  Rolling green forested hills and all the farms and old buildings along the way were as neat as a pin.  We followed the Metapedia River for quite a ways and I was reminded of places in Colorado where we have been.  Truly the nicest part of Quebec we’ve seen.

By 2 in the afternoon we were both tired from Friday night’s ordeal with the high winds and rain all night.  Still in Quebec we spotted a nice spacious forested rest area alongside a river and wheeled in for a leg stretch and a rest.  Decided to see if we could maybe spend the night.  Being in kind of a canyon it wasn’t until we had the slides out that we realized we didn’t have an internet or phone signal.  Decided we were too tired to go any further and that was that.  Saturday’s post would have to wait until we found an internet signal somewhere Sunday.

WHERE WE SPENT THE NIGHT WAS HERE NEXT TO THIS OLD COVERED BRIDGE

Happy to report our Chevy 8.1 Workhorse engine is running like a fine tuned sewing machine again and the engine light on the dash has disappeared.  No hiccups or misfires like Friday.  In a comment in Friday’s post Clark Rambling said, “Al, if you have the Workhorse 8.1 liter engine in your coach the following was a problem with it sometimes. When we drove in very heavy rain with the pavement full of water the water sometimes entered through the air cleaner and caused the engine to miss”.   I think Clark was right on the money with his diagnosis.  No wet roads or rain today and the engine was just fine.  That’s a good thing to know about water getting into the air cleaner.

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AND WE WERE THE ONLY ONES HERE WITH JUST THE LIGHT OF THE MOON TO KEEP US COMPANY:))

Not really sure where we are tonight except to say we are maybe 40 miles or so West of Campbellton New Brunswick somewhere.  Good roads and great scenery but must say we will be really glad to reach New Brunswick where we can read the road signs again and understand them, go into a Tim Hortons or McDonalds and not have to make wild hand gestures and grunting noises to explain what we want to folks who can’t understand what we are saying.  Or we them.  It will be nice to see signs on buildings and stores again and know what they are and most of all see words we understand and can easily say.  It sure wouldn’t interest either Kelly or I to go to a country where we didn’t understand the language. 

SATURDAY NIGHT’S MOON AS SEEN FROM SOMEWHERE ON THE GASPE PENINSULA

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The man approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked, "You know, I've lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?" "Why?" she asks. "Because every time I talk to a a beautiful woman, my wife appears out of nowhere."

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