A Second Visit to Quebec

2013 August 23

A Second Visit to Quebec

On Friday, August 23, I ventured off for a second trip to Canada, specifically to the Province of Quebec. Instead of making my way past the city of Montreal to a western suburb, this time, I headed off to the east. I was so much more relaxed, since my trip involved no interstate highways, simply two lane roads, and even then, really only 3 different ones. I would begin my journey on US 11, cross the border, at which time I would be on QC 223, then make a turn on QC 202, which would take me all the way to my destination, and to my friend, Anick.

I think it might be wise in the future to remember if something seems too easy, it may indeed become complex.

My Google Maps turn by turn app, in this case failed me. To be fair, though, it was less the failure of the app, and more my complacency, in assuming all would be well. I was traveling along at a reasonable pace, less anxious about my lack of French than on my previous foray into Quebec. Some of that was because on my previous trip, I learned the French for east, west, north, and south. Some of my calm was because of traveling back roads where there was little traffic. I was feeling pretty secure, as I came to various crossroads and always saw signs pointing to Cowansville, which was my destination. And my comfort was only increased, as the distance to my destination decreased. I remember a sign that said, "Cowansville 29 km", and thinking, "Wow! I am on track to arrive just about when Anick expects me." Which, if you know me, is an amazing feat! I am almost always late when traveling in unfamiliar places.

As I cruised along, on a beautiful, sunny day, I was feeling pretty content and pleased with myself. Well, until I came to a huge orange sign, across QC 202, in both the est (east) bound lanes, that read, "BARRE" (closed, I guess), with no explanation as to where exactly I was supposed to go, as a detour. I pulled off to the side of the road. I watched another vehicle pull up to the sign, reverse, and go down the cross road, to the right. OK. Maybe, he's headed to Cowansville - I'll try that way, too. I drove just a short way on that road and decided, it looked too rural, too small, and just wrong. So, I reversed myself, went back to the crossroads and the "BARRE" sign, and decided to follow several large construction type vehicles, instead.

As we (we, being me and the aforementioned construction vehicles) approached a couple of small towns, I tried to jog my memory to see if I remembered them from my brief exploration of my Quebec map [which I left in the RV ]. Of course, none of them really seemed familiar. So, I simply continued along, following the dump trucks. My vistas, while following the big trucks, were limited, as the road was hemmed in by farms and I had no glimpse of anything off in the distance. Then, I came to a T, where a decision was required to go either left or right. I looked off and I saw the mountains. I knew to turn right, because those mountains had been in front of me since I started on 202, heading east. 

As I drove, I began to pray, "Please, Lord, I know I asked you to keep me safe, but now I need more than just safety. I need to know that this is the way back to 202. Please, Lord, help me to find the road that will bring me back to 202, beyond the closed part of the road." I continued to drive along a pleasant two lane road, praying that God would rescue me, somehow.

As I came around a bend in the road, there was my sign from God, and the province of Quebec, an orange detour sign, with "202" written on it, as well as "Cowansville".

Thank you, Lord! I repeated that thank you, many, many times! And, I was approximately 25 km from my destination. Thank you, Lord!

The rest of the drive was uneventful. My written directions, as well as my turn by turn app, functioned very well from that point on. I arrived only slightly later than I was expected.

God is good.