Sainte Leonard-d'Aston, Quebec, Canada: Dinosaurs

The hotel is gone, and there are no signs of monster trucks, but there are 12 huge dinosaurs, nicely mounted with descriptive placards, all tucked into a little park behind the Esso station and McDonald's. Easy parking and easy on and off of Highway 20.

The monster truck Superfoot and dinosaurs are alive and well. The truck has been moved across the road to a residential home; I spotted this when I was at the rest stop. The dinosaurs are still on the original property and surround the rest area. Inside the rest area there are pictures of the motel and the roadside attractions.

The Madrid was demolished in 2011 and is soon to be replaced by a modern gas rest stop complex.

Halfway between Montreal and Quebec, we were getting rather hungry. The roadside signage was very well done, indicating there was a cranberry farm here and a nudist camp there. There was food at Bigfoot and a hotel at Madrid. Bigfoot? Sure. Let's go there.

It turns out that at the Hotel Madrid there is a large collection of concrete dinosaurs and monster trucks parked around a thirty dollar per night hotel, in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

The diner inside is country kitchen-inspired, featuring fake vines on lattice, country bumpkin mannequins, and an endless salad bar.

Stately French chateau visible from the main freeway between Montreal and Quebec City, about 1 hr. east of Montreal ... and surrounded by 2-story tall replica dinosaurs -- and BIGGER monster trucks. There is also a replica dinosaur park for kids in the back. The inside is a diner decorated like a carnival (with coin-op gift grabbers, etc.).

About 1 km east of Hotel Madrid Bigfoot (off the next freeway exit) is a combination gas station and strip club. Priceless.