Saint Jean in Coaticook -- day three

Another wonderfully-relaxed wake-up and breakfast this morning. The kind with a big pot of coffee, camp stove toast, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and dill...yeah, that's the way we roll when camping! Later, as the campground buzzes with activity, we slowly empty the tent, do the dishes, pack up the car, all while trying not to break a sweat - it is going to be a hot day. Luckily, our end goal is home, so thankfully nothing too strenuous in this heat, save a couple of easy hikes and then the drive back.

Speaking of drive, our drive through the countryside is a particularly beautiful one, running along the high side of the glacial gorge, overlooking the spread of farmlands in the valley below. We took the backroads into Barnston-West, the site of two short municipal hikes. The first, the Michèle-Dutrisac trail, runs along an old access road into the woods and down to the shore of Balls' Brook, offering some splendid views of the river running through the area. We climb around the rocks in the water, and watch as a couple of Blue Jays flit about in the trees around us. But the trail is short, so not 20 minutes later, we are back at the car again. 

Off to the other side of the village, because it is really that small that I don't think it qualifies as a "town", we stop at the Ones-Cloutier Trail. This trail runs along an old road that used to flood in the spring due to its proximity to the Niger River, and so when the roadway was moved to higher ground, the long narrow piece of land was gifted to the municipality and turned into a hiking and ski trail. It also runs through the middle of a farmer's field, slicing it cleanly in two, and prompting a barrage of chains and "Private Property" signs to be hung everywhere, keeping curious trail-users at bay. There are also official-looking letters from the provincial government, indicating that the off-limits river, while normally considered public land everywhere, is also private property due to a "grandfather clause"... Needless to say, with just a kilometer-long straightaway of grass to walk, and nowhere to explore, this trail is pretty boring. We move on.

Wanting to enjoying that last sweet ice cream treat, but being a little too far from the Laiterie to turn back, we opt for a reasonable substitute: we instead pull in to La Pinte dairy, where they produce the most delicious Jersey cow milk, and we enjoy creamy, rich milkshakes made with the same Coaticook ice cream! La Pinte created their own recipes this summer, so I order the blueberry-honey one with vanilla ice cream, while Mario of course goes for the Moka, made with brewed coffee and La Pinte's chocolate milk. We sit at one of the picnic tables outside and sip the luscious concoctions from Mason jars alongside our ham-and-cheese baguette sandwiches.

The rest of the story is not very interesting, I'm afraid - it involves much driving, though enjoyable enough, as we take all the back roads home instead of trying to navigate the traffic that will inevitably be clogging all the major highways after the long weekend. We stop once at Eastman to gas up and get coffee for the road, and again in Ste-Brigide-d'Iberville, at a familiar charcuterie shop for some cured sausages and snacks for later. One last stop in Brossard, for a gathering with family and a dip in the pool, and then we are home again. 

Until next time ;)