Monday July 14th - Moving day. We packed up early with a long drive ahead into Canada. We were headed to St. John in New Brunswick. We stopped at Walmart for supplies before crossing the border without difficulties. It was interesting to be greeted in both English and in French. All the signage was in English and in French and we noticed at least as many French speaking Canadians as English speaking. We just hadn’t considered this fact about the region we were visiting and learned New Brunswick is the only bilingual province in Canada. It was also interesting for us to switch to the metric system. We were moving along smoothly until we arrived at the peninsula on which our campground was located. Our GPS didn’t know whether to go around the peninsula or to go over the water on the ferry. After an extra 90 miles of running in circles and lots of frustration we found out we had to take the ferry to get to our campground. That was an adventure getting Yogi and Boo-boo still attached to one another on a ferry! It sounded like they were going to be ripped apart because the angle was so severe getting on and off. Thankfully nothing was damaged but it sure got everyone’s attention including the ferry driver’s. We were so happy to finally get to Crystal beach, at the end of a winding, bumpy road, and set up camp. We were tired and frustrated we had spent the entire day just driving. We couldn’t even stop at the Chocolate Museum as planned…POOR DEPRIVED TASTEBUDS!
Tuesday July 15th - We were a much happier pair when we awoke to a new day with sunshine and a sparkling lake at our campground. We decided to go to nearby city St. Martin to tour around the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy experiences to greatest tidal changes of anywhere in the world. On the day we visited they expected a 22 foot change but the greatest can be up to 52 feet. The Bay of Fundy has exceptionally high tides due to a combination of it’s funnel shape and it’s shallower waters towards it’s head forcing the water higher as the tide comes in. Also, there is a resonating effect of the bay’s natural tide against the sea tide that amplifies the overall tidal range like stacking wave upon wave. Our first stop was at the Sea Caves where we walked over rocks and onto the sea floor into the caves during low tide. They were amazing. We drove by later and could visualize only one cave during high tide. It was amusing to see the boats tethered nearby that had previously been on blocks, now floating in the water and readied for sea excursion. Next we went to the Fundy Trail Provincial Park. We took the scenic road around the park making many stops at overlooks and trails. Initially we could see beautiful views of Fundy Bay but as the day progressed a fog rolled in obstructing the views. At one of stops we took a short hike to see the “Flower Pot”. It was a flower pot resembling rock formation with vegetation growing atop that becomes most exposed during low tide. We hiked to the beautiful Fuller Water Fall and to Walton Glenn Gorge. We had to take an alternate route to the gorge due to an injured moose rangers were attending to on the primary route but the end result was the same; spectacular views on a platform extending into the gorge. Our final stop in the park was at Long Beach where in 3 minutes time the waves came 10 feet closer to us. We stopped later to compare low tide water level with high tide water level and found it amazing. We drove into the town of St. John to see the old waterfront, the main old city marketplace and the gorgeous old Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in the process of restoration. We stopped for dinner then returned to Yogi for the evening.
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| SEA CAVES AT HIGH TIDE |
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| SEA CAVES BEACH AT HIGH TIDE |
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| LOW TIDE |
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| HIGH TIDE |
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| LOW TIDE |
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| HIGH TIDE |
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| LONG BEACH AT LOWER TIDE |
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| LONG BEACH AT LOWER TIDE |
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| LONG BEACH AT ALMOST HIGH TIDE |
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| LONG BEACH AT ALMOST HIGH TIDE |
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| LONG BEACH AT ALMOST HIGH TIDE |
Wednesday July 16th - Moving day. We left Yogi and Boo-boo disconnected to take the ferry off the peninsula to avoid the hitch scraping problem we experienced on the trip over. We were drove 265 miles into Nova Scotia to Caribou/Munroes Island Provincial Park. The drive was long but went smoothly with thankfully no ferry rides. However, we were nervous during the drive due to low overpasses and the possibility of ferries so prevalent in this region. We entered the Province of Nova Scotia so the signage was no longer bilingual with everything primarily in English. The landscape was rolling lush green with periodic rocky ledges cut into mountainsides along the way. Our campground was nice but we did not have electric so we were more primitive than what we are typically accustomed. We could use our generator during designated daytime hours until 7pm. After setting up camp we went to the nearby town of Pictou touted as the New Scotland in Canada. We found the seaside town to be charming and a good place for ice cream but saw nothing about it Scottish. We stopped at the library for a bit to work on the blog before going back to Yogi and turning in for the night.
Thursday July 17th - We awoke to a warm beautiful morning and appreciative of the peacefulness no electric options can bring. We could have used a bit more breeze but reminded ourselves we were both kids who grew up with no air conditioning and screens in the windows! We decided our first stop of the day would be in the town of Tatamagouche since it was representative of a quintessential town in Nova Scotia. The drive there was just as enjoyable as the town itself. It was a very surprising juxtaposition for us to see working farms of lavender, corn, wheat, beans, etc. along the ocean front. The town was quite charming and we enjoyed a nice breakfast in a great diner along the main street. We then went to the Tatamagouche Creamery and Regional Museum. It was very interesting with exhibits about fossils found in the area, prominent people from the region, artifacts, and focus on the major industry of the Creamery opened in 1925. Next we decided to take the Ferry to Prince Edward Island. We entered the auto cue around 2:30 with the departure time at 3:15. We could see the island from the mainland as we waited in the station figuring we had enough time to explore the island and return to Yogi by 6pm for a 1 hour generator run to recharge the battery for our refrigerator. We made our plans for ice cream, light house visits, Anne of Green Gables House, and a hike near rocky cliffs. We were excited when the whistle blew to enter the cars and drive onto the ferry. We did as instructed, got out of our jeep, went above deck to watch the beautiful scenery, watched the ferry approach the island….then watched as we went on past :( We had made a hasty error. What we visualized and assumed was Prince Edward Island WAS NOT! Instead we were on a ferry trip that lasted 75 minutes 1-way to an island much further than we had anticipated. We had to exit that ferry, immediately, re-enter and return to the auto cue, reload, then immediately sail back (75 minutes) in order to get to Yogi in time to turn on the generator and recharge the battery. We got to see the dock, and 2 light houses from the dock on Prince Edward Island. Oh well! Lesson learned. We went for ice cream in the town of Pictou nearby later in the evening after we charged the battery. We turned in with another warm night but a better breeze coming through the screens. We slept well.
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| GETTING READY TO LOAD ONTO THE FERRY |
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| GOING TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND |
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| LIGHT HOUSE ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND |
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| BOARDED FOR RETURN TRIP TO PICTOU |
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| HEADING BACK TO PICTOU |
Friday July 18th - Moving day. Cloudy and drizzly. We got ready and went to McDonald’s for breakfast before packing up and moving out. We had a long drive ahead of us 235 miles to Hideaway Campground and Oyster Market in Dingwall, Nova Scotia. The drive was beautiful but challenging. The road was narrow and winding along the ocean and through small towns for a portion, then through rolling farm ground with scattered homes. Next we reached a gorgeous mountainous region partially through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park where Yogi had to work harder climbing than even during our Western trip. It was quite breath-taking to see the majestic mountains rising from bordering ocean waves. We’ve seen pictures of Ireland, and Nova Scotia’s green rolling hills, scattered homes with stone walls, and rocky cliffs dropping to the ocean all reminded us of those images. All the signage in the national park was in English and in French and in some parts of Nova Scotia. As usual Michael did an excellent job navigating the tricky driving conditions and he exercised good caution stopping to let our brakes cool when going down the mountains. We arrived at our campground to find a problem with our electric at the site. We couldn’t run our air conditioners but could run everything else. The other campers around us were so nice with another couple also having the same problem. The owners were not very nice or accommodating about the problem but we just ignored their bad attitudes. We went to bed happy for the tense day of driving to be over and looking forward to a new day of adventures.
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| OUR CAMP SPOT |
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| OUR VIEW |
Saturday July 19th - We awoke to a beautiful, sunny day. The first place we stopped was the Bay of St. Lawrence, a quaint little working fishing village. One fishing boat had just returned to the bay and the crew was pouring ice over their fresh catch. Throughout the region we’ve noticed how properties will have large boats stored in their yards like we will have RV’s stored in our driveways back home. We then drove to Meat Cove, a remote mountain cove that is now primarily a camping and fishing village. It got it’s name because it’s where hunters/fisherman used to dress their animal carcasses. Next we hiked to Lake Benjie. There was a moose warning sign before entering the trail be we decided it was false advertising because we saw no signs of moose during our hike! Our next hike was on the Skyline Trail. The trail lead to vantage points of cliffs and the ocean. It was beautiful!! Moose were so prevalent around that trail the tree growth was significantly thinned. As a result the conservationists fenced off a region of the trail for forest regrowth. However, we did not see any moose in the non-fenced areas during our hike. Next we went to the town of Pleasant Bay to go to mass but the website was not accurate and there was no service. We stopped for yummy pizza in that town then took a stroll on a pretty beach and headed back to Yogi for a good night of sleep.
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| BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE |
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| BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE |
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| BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE |
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| VIEW OF A BEACH BEACH AT MEAT COVE |
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VIEW FROM MEAT COVE CAMPGROUND
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Sunday July 20th - The morning was cloudy with prediction of rain. We started the day trying to stream mass but couldn’t due to poor connection so had our own service. Our first stop of the day was at the St. Paul Island Museum and Heritage Lighthouse. We then stopped at the beautiful old St. Peter’s Church. You could see it’s 2 white steeples on the hill above the foliage from across the bay as we approached. Next we went to hike the Middle Trail on the Cape Breton Highlands. It was our favorite trail we’d hiked since we arrived in the Cape Breton Highlands 2 days prior. The views were spectacular, interspersed throughout the hike of rocky formations and the crashing waves of the sparkling ocean. After the hike we hustled to get to our scheduled boat for a whale watch leaving from the Bay of St. Lawrence. When we checked in the gentlemen said the recent storm had discouraged the whales from swimming in the area so sightings had been poor. However, we were not disappointed when we were immediately rewarded with a Mink Whale sighting as soon as we set sail. It was so exciting. There were several schools of mackerel around the whale churning up the surface of the water. We watched it breach and splash for quite a while before it swam away. Captain Fraser then took our boat further out to sea looking for other whales but didn’t find any more. During our time in Nova Scotia we found WAY MORE Fraser’s than we found whales!! ….. Our Captain. Multiple Frasers on mail boxes. Restaurants. Fraser building suppliers, Fraser Builders, Fraser RV Sales. Hospital. Cousins Rob and Kelly would fit right in :) Anyway, before returning to shore our Captain Fraser took us on a scenic route to see the beautiful colorful rocky caves and coves along the shore teaming with wildlife. We saw multiple gulls, 3 adult eagles, 1 baby eagle, many other birds we couldn’t identify, and 8 seals. We returned to shore then onto Yogi happy, tired and hungry. Another great day.
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