August 24 & 25 - St. Jean-Port-Joli & Riviere-du-Loup, QC

St. Jean-Port-Joli Is a small pretty town nestled beside the St. Lawrence River. I think that Lyle and I managed to walk around most of it, including the park with the wood sculptures for which the town is known. As planned, we started in front of the library which fronted onto the main square. I was disappointed that we couldn’t go inside the church there, but there was a service going on. Instead, we made our way through the adjacent cemetery. It was a tricky walk through the narrow paths which separated the graves. The cemetery was both old and new. Lyle found one family plot where the oldest burial took place in 1745 and the most recent in 1999.

Then it was on to Riviere du Loup, our last stop in Quebec.  Again we chose to walk around the older section of town, starting at the library. The buildings are well preserved.  The church was especially impressive with its height and tall spire, but for a second time, I was disappointed not to be able to go inside because of a morning funeral. The lengthy tolling of the steeple bell coincided with the beginning of our walk.

Today and yesterday as we drove along the long stretches of highway, I thought many times of Terry Fox. What an amazing young man he was! Lyle and I are only walking within the towns and cities we visit, but Terry walked and ran between those places. He was a definite inspiration to so many people. His memorable run continues to raise funds for cancer research.

This afternoon, Lyle drove us into New Brunswick and tomorrow we will begin the first leg of this new section of walks. In the picture below, I am standing by the St. Lawrence wearing my LOGOS cap. The cap was given to me by Norm and Norma Smith when we walked with them in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It’s a good feeling to have these connections with friends.