Peggy's Cove

Our first day trip in Nova Scotia was to Peggy’s Cove, a place of great rugged beauty, carved by nature’s forces. Dominated by the lighthouse, this tiny fishing village sets nestled to land’s edge of St. Margaret’s Bay. Crashing waves batter the rocky shoreline and make for treacherous, rogue waves. Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is an enduring, iconic white-and-red beacon that must be the most photographed site in Canada. We wonder who Peggy was – perhaps the  survivor of a schooner that sank off the shore of St. Margaret’s Bay or Peggy, the diminutive form of Margaret. What’s your guess?

    

           Preservation Area and Memorial to Swiss Air 111 victims

Rugged beauty

               Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

Iconic figures

     

Treacherous waves?

        

 Quaint fishing village

   

            

The village’s most famous resident was William deGarthe, a Finnish artist who carved a memorial to the courage of the local fishermen. The sculpture depicts St. Michael (guardian angel of fishermen), several fishermen, their wives and children. It took a while to locate it, but Darlene spotted it as we were leaving the village.

On to Shaw’s Seaford Restaurant for mid-afternoon lunch before heading back to COE – guess what Bettye had. That’s correct – lobster.

A relaxing, enjoyable day at Peggy’s Cove – Happy Trails!

Travel from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia

After traveling from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, we arrived at our NS center of operations (COE) – Wayside RV Park and Campground in Glen Margaret NS, a coastal community on St. Margaret’s Bay. After registering for seven days, Bettye – with help from the office lady – got an appointment to get her nails redone. This made her day. Earl grilled pork chops and chicken fingers on the Barbie to complement Bettye’s broccoli casserole while Darlene baked sweet potatoes and Michael was busy Walking The Dog. Delicious dinner for a campground setting! Then a good night’s rest.

Happy Trails!

Day Trip to Hopewell Cape and Moncton NB

Some of us are not museum buffs, but the Hillsborough Railroad Museum provided a good hour of entertainment for Darlene, Earl and Bettye – well maybe a half hour for Bettye - on our way to Moncton, NB. You guessed it – Michael took the car to get it washed.

Canadian National Railroad

All sorts of railroad equipment on display

This snow plow could clear three side-by-side tracks in one pass

On to Moncton: a progressive town on the Petitcodiac River. Here Magnetic Hill continues to baffle drivers – even Michael. Drive your car to the bottom, put the transmission in neutral, take your foot off the brake pedal, and coast uphill backwards. It works for cars, trucks and even tour buses. This stunt amazed Michael so much, he repeated it three times. It also works going forward.

Bore Park where tidal bore occurs twice daily. The higher waters in the Bay of Fundy cause the placid Petitcodiac River to roll back upstream in one wave.

Riverfront Park is one of the most relaxing areas in town, and is a great place to take a stroll along the Petitcodiac River as you watch the tides roll in and out to sea again. This park has extensive landscaping and finished trails. Locals call the river the Chocolate River.

Then to Hopewell Cape to see Hopewell Rocks at low tide. Hopewell Rocks provide a remarkable story around time, tide and nature. During low tide a walk along more than a mile of beach reveals several coves filled with the distinctive sandstone formations topped with trees. These are called flowerpot rocks, a truly remarkable display of nature!

Return trip to Hopewell Cape to see Hopewell Rocks at high tide gives visitors the full effect of tidal movement from low to high tide. 

On the day of our visit, the high tide was about 38 feet.

So much to see and do and experience in New Brunswick, but now it's off to Nova Scotia. Perhaps we can experience more of NB on returning to Maine after visiting Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Happy trails!

Day trip to Fundy Coastal Drive and Fundy National Park

The Bay of Fundy is truly one of the marine wonders of the world. Here one can experience the highest tides in the world – as high as 50 feet - that give you an opportunity to walk on the ocean floor twice daily. The tides of Fundy are truly amazing; to get the full effect one should visit one of the many beaches at both high and low tides. You don’t want to get stranded by the tide!

Beach at low tide

The same beach at high tide

Fundy Coastal Trail - you can see it, walk it, bike it, or drive it… we chose to drive it. Whichever mode you choose, the Trail is spectacular from every perspective. The first section was mostly a horse-riding trail used by the Broadleaf Guest Ranch. But Michael maneuvered the Honda quite adeptly in this section while Darlene manned the camera and Bettye and Earl watched for moose. The moose come out of the woods to feast on the marsh grasses. Would you believe it, someone forgot the binoculars!

Off the horse trail onto the paved trail, the spectacular continues. Mary’s Point is a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Preserve, temporary home to many migratory birds. Cape Enrage blows you away by the wild, rugged beauty of this place. 

Cape Enrage lighthouse - still operating, but automated

Cape Enrage zip line

Jutting out into the Bay of Fundy, Cape Enrage is a historic lighthouse, a cliff rappelling and zip lining adventure, a gift shop and restaurant. We will zip line after becoming free spirit travelers – not quite there yet. Betty enjoyed the gift shop and gallery since chilly, foggy weather put a damp of her spirit.

Alma wharf

Bay of Fundy lobster at Tides Restaurant

The Alma wharf and fishing village provided more great scenery, shopping and dining. Tides Restaurant at Parkland Inn provided scrumptious lobster and seafood chowder.

Rising abruptly from the bay the “Land of the Salt and Fir” is covered by Acadian forest of spruce, fir, birch and maple. The oldest known red spruce tree in the world lives here – a 450 year old tree. Smells from the spruce and fir reminded us of past years when we used real, live Christmas trees.

Walking trails aplenty!

One of several New Brunswick Bay of Fundy beaches

Dickson Falls

Quite a day, indeed! Happy trails!

Carlisle, PA to Monson, Ma to Eddington, ME to Lower Cape, NB

On Wednesday July 31 we traveled to Monson, MA for a nightly stopover at Sunset View Farm Camping Area – friendly and helpful hosts. Beautiful views traveling I-84 through parts of PA, NH, NY and MA, especially the Hudson River Valley of New York state. However, some poorly maintained toll roads in MA and NY. Darlene prepared chicken alfredo for dinner while Bettye tossed a nice garden salad. Delightful dining for a campground setting!

Thursday, August 1 was spent traveling to Eddington ME. Spent the night in Waltons Campground near Eddington. Dinner at the Eagle’s Nest – popular diner for locals - lobster rolls for B, M and D. All-u-can eat fried haddock for E – delicious meals! Grocery shopped at Walmart in Bangor ME before driving into Canada.

Friday August 2 we traveled from Eddington ME to Lower Cape NB. Before hitting the road, we unhooked utilities and hitched up to driven vehicles in the rain. Rain continued until we neared the Canada border. A refuel and rest stop in Calais ME before reaching the border to take advantage of USA fuel prices. Local delivery driver told us fuel would be more than $5 per gal. We noted the Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge in Baring ME would be a desirable visit as we return to Maine.

Piece of cake getting through customs – friendly and helpful customs agent!

Stopped in St. George NB for sandwich lunch and rest and rain watching

Traveled through Fundy National Park in route to our destination in Lower Cape – Rt. 114 rough pavement including one graveled section

Short stopover in Alma NB for rest, site seeing and snapshooting; will plan to return to this fishing village on the Bay of Fundy

And finally, after driving over 1200 miles, we arrive at our first Canada center of operations - Lower Cape, New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy where we will park the RVs for the next few days.

Happy trails from the Coonheels!

Fort Chiswell, VA to Carlisle, PA

Over the hills and through the valleys we go. Through the New River Valley, through the Roanoke Valley, through the Shenandoah Valley – great countryside views, even for interstate driving. The scenic views, rest stops with sandwich lunches and fuel stops help ease the drudgery of driving and riding, not to mention sore backs and sore bottoms. Remember, the first four days of our trip are all about pounding the pavement - rolling, rolling, rolling – keep them dogeys rolling – head em up, move em out, keep those wheels rolling! So information worth sharing will be limited for a few days.

Beautiful country that we live in!

Five states in one day for Mike and Darlene, four for Bettye and Earl. After a long day on the super slab, we arrive at our overnight destination, Western RV Park in Carlisle, PA, just west of Harrisburg. Grillmeister Earl chars hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner while Mike and Darlene take turns Walking The Dog. Bettye has agreed to help Walking The Dog.

The goal for the next trip section is to reach the Boston, MA area - nearly 370 miles of grinding.

Happy trails!

The Coonheels hook up!

Well, we finally arrived at a location that has decent wi-fi service. So we will work to catch up on the blog during the next few days. The initial leg of our trip to Canada began July 28 when Bettye and Earl traveled to Fort Chiswell, VA to hang out while waiting to hook up with Mike and Darlene. Two nights at Fort Chiswell RV Park provided some R & R for B & E.

Nice campground for overnight stay but probably would not make this a destination campground.

Pull-thru site with plenty of room, full hookups, not much shade for late July.

Meanwhile, Mike and Darlene departed Chattanooga late Monday, July 29, and with an overnighter along the way, met up with Bettye and Earl on Tuesday, July 30 in Fort Chiswell.
Wow! We are off to Canada's Atlantic provinces! Plans are to drive on to New Brunswick with only overnight stops along the way - August in Canada before cold weather comes then back to Maine and other New England areas in September and October. So our targeted first overnighter is for the Carlisle, PA area, about 350 miles along I-81.

More to come, Lord willing. Happy trails!