Sunday, July 26 through Friday, July 31

(from memory: Blogger glitch has original frozen out)

Sunday, July 26

Chilly and rainy

Campground is on the Codroy River: quiet winding river with islands, looks inviting. Launched canoe, quickly found river is shallow. Maybe a former threaded river draining glaciers from valley above. Found enough navigable water to make a one-hour canoe.

Drove to Corner Brook, the largest city/town in west part of Nfld. Along the way, seacoast views and mountains to our right. Corner Brook is a gritty port town, pulp/paper, gravel, stone. Besides stores, only attraction is mountaintop historical site re Capt. Cook's survey of Newfoundland, which was so well done the basis of his charts still used and the job earned him the commission to explore the Pacific. Camped across the Humber Sound at a pvt/club not-bad campground.

Monday, July 27:

Up early to get trailer to RV Svc place at their 8:30 opening. Chat with technician: this is so far the coldest summer they can remember. Last winter was snowy and stormy. Fix of furnace was quick, easy, and cheap: a bad igniter component. Says the most common problem, so I bought an extra. On road earlier than we'd expected to Gros Morne National Park, around Bonne Bay. Was there in 1970, before there was a park. It's still just as spectacularly beautiful; bays, lakes and mountains. Little towns mostly unchanged. Big thing is the roads are now paved. Camp at Trout River Provincial Park. Knew the town was there, didn't know there was a landlocked fjord maybe 6 mi long.

Tuesday, July 28

Too windy to put canoe in the lake. Drove to trailhead for Tablelands hike. A long valley with green on N side and bare on the other. Remember wondering why when here before. Turns out the bare side is one of the few accessible places on earth with exposed mantle rock. Continents collide, one side pushed on top, continents pull apart, seabed covering the top part erodes away, leaving the Tablelands. Minerals inhospitable for plants. Easy 2K hike, returned. Drove around Bonne Bay to N side. Did another short hike around marshy Berry Hill Pond. Abundant tadpoles. Saw a sm bat on a railing, alive but not reacting much, sick? Got closeup pictures. Visited a lighthouse on coast. Camped at KOA at Norris Point to get elec svc we didn't have last night.

Wed., July 29

Rained all night and morning was rainy, windy, cold, and misty. Had reservations for a boat tour on a landlocked fjord with a 2K hike-in. Called to cancel: no good to go if you can't see the scenery. Will try again on our return south. Others we spoke with later in day said weather wasn't too bad. Did laundry at KOA before leaving. Stopped at Broom Point at an exhibit of an old shore summer fishing camp one family used from 40's to 70's, with fishing gear and artifacts, and 3 sm boats. Newfoundland fishing boats are about 28', open. I guess intended for cod jigging. DK what they are used for now that cod fishing is banned but many still in use. Formerly wood, carvel construction, sharp bows with straight keel and moderate deadrise, modified for engine use by stern shape wide and relatively flat. Some wood boats now fiberglass covered, some all fiberglass, heavily built from rough molds. Don't think any wood boatbuilding now. On to Arches Provincial Park, shoreside big arches eroded through very high rocks. The farther N we go the trees get smaller. Road (was gravel last time we were here, now paved) right along beautiful seacoast. All the little outport villages still seem to be going, though province losing population. Camped at River of Ponds, formerly provincial park, long since privatized. I remember we stopped there with kids for a picnic, and spoke with a ranger who told us we should have come in the summer- it was late August. Same weather this time. Lots of bugs, locals call them "nippers". Look, act, and feel like mosquitos, though not as voracious as red blooded Florida mosquitos. So we have a new word for mosquitos. Met neighbor campers Linton and Carol, English-Canadians, who summer in Florida on their sailboat which they keep on St. Mary's River at Indiantown, a nice little marina we visited 2 years ago on our way across the Okeechobee Waterway. May stay in touch.

Thurs. July 30

a.m. canoe ride on lake at River of Ponds. Shallower than it looks, with many "sunkers", hidden rocks. Only took 1/2 hour to circuit the lake. Both inlet and outlet are creeks with fast rapids. First stop at Port au Choix, a short diversion from the Trans Canada Highway, a medium sized fishing port. Lots of archaeological work been done out there, peninsula occupied successively by archaic indians about 2000 BC, two waves of Eskimos, and Beothuk Indians until historical times. Excellent museum, displays, and artifacts. Lunch picnic at tiny outport Eddy's Cove West. Rain off and on, but a few degrees warmer; haven't had to use furnace since fixed. Marshy land along rocky coast, foggy. Road strikes across peninsula toward St. Anthony, and there it was really foggy for a while. Still haven't seen any moose on Nfld. They aren't native: introduced in 1904 and now are too abundant for local preference. Most Newfies try not to drive at night. Short of St. Anthony stopped at Triple Falls campground, private, not especially attractive, but adjacent to a good pond.

Friday, July 31

What we came this far north for: drove 50K to L'Anse au Meadows and extreme N end of Nfld, where in 1960 a confirmed Norse settlement was found and later dug by archaeologists. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of 2 in Newfoundland, the other being Gros Morne. Strongly suspected to be Vinland, Leif Ericsson's settlement, first European settlement in N. Am. and site of first contact with native americans, "completing the circle" of human settlement around the world. Occupied only for about 10 years, a base for exploration likely south to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but no other confirmed Norse site anywhere in N America. Great museum, great artifacts, great tour down to the site. Nearby they have reconstructed the buildings they have found, turf walls, post-and-beam roof frame, turf roof covering, firepits inside, ventilation hatches in roof. Reinactors describe Norse life. Great effort to make the reconstruction historical authentic. Back at the visitor center spent a long time talking with a ranger, who has lived in the immediate area all his life, played at the Norse site as a child (they thought it was an old Indian camp), gave us a good feel for what it was like to live at this remote place back in the day, before roads or telephones. Wonderful visit. Then drove back to St. Anthony, did some shopping, and continued past town to Fishing Point, a headland overlooking the harbor entrance and the ocean, a great place to see icebergs and whales, though none in evidence today. Windy and ocean waves crashing on the cliffs below. Wonderful scenery. This morning was 48F, used furnace to take chill off trailer. No sun all day today, misty rain, never got above 55. Scheduled for whale-and-iceberg watching boat trip tomorrow, forecast is windy, rainy and cold. Will probably be hard to spot whales, and no icebergs here at present.

Saturday, July 25 to Newfoundland

A cloudy day, in 50's in the morning. Only a few minutes to the ferry terminal to arrive 2 hours ahead of departure. Once in line for the ferry, we had to turn off our propane tanks, and we didn't want to run down the trailer (or car) battery on DC, so we turned the refrigerator off. The ferries now are huge: three car and truck decks and four or five passenger and cabin decks. Our reservation was too late to get a cabin, but that would have been a waste of money as the chairs in the general seating are comfortable. One of our fellow campers said they planned to spend two days in Port au Basques to recover from seasickness, but we could hardly detect motion on the ferry. 6 hours to Port au Basques. Once there we went direct to St. Andrews, about 30 miles north, where we had learned there is a 7:30 Sat. evening Mass. Turned out true. They probably have such an odd timed service to coordinate with people arriving on the ferry. But we were sure we were the only non-Newfies at the church.

Port au Basques is still a small town, with mostly small old houses, but they have one street of modern retail and fast food. Mountains and bare hills right out of town. Mtns are only 1500' but there are patches of snow .

Our campround at Grand Codroy is a few miles further north. It had been a Provincial Park on donated land from the mid-60's, but in 1997 the province decided to privatize a lot of their parks so they gave it back to the original donors, whose daughter still owns and runs the campground.

There is a folk festival this weekend, but we need to get to Corner Brook Sunday to be ready to get the trailer in for service Monday morning: propane furnace doesn't work. We have a little electric space heater and the air conditioner has a reverse cycle heat function, but if we're a place with no electric service, we need the furnace.

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Friday, July 24 Louisbourg to North Sydney

On our way out of town we stopped at Louisbourg's disused railroad station, which is now a museum. Expected to spend only a few minutes, but it turned out to be interesting, full of railroad memorabilia and old pictures. Finally moving on, we drove to Glace Bay, and their Coal Miners Museum. An old retired miner with a great spiel suited us up in hard hats and capes and led us down into a mine for a long and entertaining tour. Also at Glace Bay we visited the Marconi National Historical Site, where in 1902 Marconi set up a huge antenna, matching one in Cornwall, and sent the first transatlantic wireless signal. By then it was starting to rain (not forecast) and we headed for our campground in North Sydney, near the ferry terminal where we'll take the boat to Newfoundland tomorrow.

Thursday, July 24 at Louisbourg

The rain stopped overnight, and although it is cloudy, there is no rain in the forecast. After breakfast we drove a couple of miles to the Louisbourg Fortress National Historical Site, not knowing quite what to expect. Turns out Louisbourg has a long and interesting history. France established a town here in about 1720, which became for a time one of the busiest ports in North America, with a protected ice-free deep water harbor and lots of cod to trade with the other colonies and with Europe. The French built an elaborate fort with guns facing out to sea. In the French and Indian War the English besieged the town and fort from the land side, and the fort surrendered. England sent all the Frenchmen back to France. The treaty ending the war gave Nova Scotia back to France so the Frenchment came back. But a few years later another siege and another surrender. The English didn't really want Louisbourg, they just wanted the French out. So they destroyed the fort and burned the town. Skip a hundred and fifty years of not much in Louisbourg, and the town was reborn as a shipping port for coal sent by railroad from elsewhere in Nova Scotia. The coal mines shut down in the 60's and 70's and the government put unemployed coal miners to work reconstructing the fortress and town on its original site, a couple of miles from the present town, as it was in 1744. They did an exhaustive study of the original plans and records, did a lot of arcaeological work, and rebuilt it all using period building techniques, materials and tools. We spent all day there, and didn't see quite all. An enjoyable day. Wednesday night we went to a concert at the theatre next door to the campground, with four local musicians playing mostly Celtic music, with songs (one in Gaelic) and dancing. Enjoyed it a lot, and bought a CD.

Wednesday, July 22 to Louisbourg NS

In the wee hours we could hear rain starting again, and in the morning we continued heading south, with the idea of camping near St. Peters at the south end of Cape Breton where a canal connects the Bras d'Or Lake system with the ocean. At a gas stop on the way I spoke with a young couple from Montreal on motorcycles. They have been on the road four days and claim it hasn't stopped raining on them. They seemed to be in good spirits anyway. The roads as we headed south were in very poor condition, even though they appear as primary roads on the map. We stopped at Colaiste na Gaeilge, an education and cultural center supporting Celtic culture and the Scots Gaelic language. No Gillespie tartan ties for sale, so we left no poorer.  What would I do with a tie anyway? When we reached St. Peters it was early in the day and still raining. We couldn't think of a good reason to stop so we ate lunch aboard and headed up the east coast of Cape Breton toward Louisbourg. The roads were very poor: dodging potholes and frost heaves all the way. Camped at Louisbourg in the rain. The municipal campground is by the harbor with fishing boats at the pier. Very pretty spot, but still raining when we went to sleep.

Tuesday, July 21

a.m. really wanted to get the canoe in the river, but 55F and misty rain. Nah. Drove S along the coastal Cabot Trail in light but definite rain. There must have been a storm offshore related to this rain because heavy seas crashing ashore even though only moderate wind. As the highway rose a few hundred feet, we found very heavy fog, but it cleared again when we got back down. That reminds me. Several days ago we drove into a patch of fog and S remarked, "I think we're about to use our lights". But my faulty ears heard, "I think we're about to lose our lives". And she said it with equanimity, too. You miss a lot with bad hearing, but not entertainment.

The forecast was for rain all day, but by the time we reached our campground at Wycocomaugh Provincial Park in the Bras d'Or Lake area, the rain had stopped, so we took a short hike into the hills behind the campground.

Sunday and Monday, July 19-20

Sunday- Although we were at a remote spot near the extreme north end of Nova Scotia, we learned that there was an 11 a.m. Sunday Mass at the nearby fishing village of Dingwall. We drove over there with the trailer in tow. The priest was an older man covering for the regular priest who was away somewhere. He introduced himself to the small congregation, and surprised us with the fact that for the last 10  years he has been wintering at a church in Seminole, only a few minutes from our Florida home. He is retired as a priest, but he says that means he works all the time. After church a local man spotted our Florida tags and spent several minutes giving us helpful tips about things to see this week in Nova Scotia.

Following that advice, we diverted from the main Cabot Trail highway and took a coastal road around the NE corner of Nova Scotia, following the headlands way above beaches and rocks below. Our campground is near Ingonish on the east coast, a place we camped with our kids 45 years ago. I remember we all got badly sunburned here. Not this time, it turns out. After setting up camp, despite threatening weather we drove a few miles and took a short hike out a rocky narrow peninsula with good views of the ocean in all directions. Later we went out to dinner at a little restaurant overlooking the ocean. Excellent fried scallops and other local seafood, including mussels about five times the size of those we had last year in Normandy and Brittany. Their wifi brought us a bad weather forecast, and indeed it started to rain lightly by the time we got 'home'.

Monday- Rain all day. 55F all day. Forget the hiking, cycling and canoeing. Fortunately we had a backup activity planned. With difficulty we found a laundromat not far away. We weren't the only ones to decide it was a good day to do laundry, so waiting for machines to be available and waiting for the slow machines to do their thing helped fill the hours of the day. S had an interesting conversation with a Quebecois couple who had just returned from Newfoundland with a couple of tips, and also a couple from Alberta with a teenage boy. The father and son played basketball outside in the rain. As I write at 5:30, the forecast is for fog tomorrow and rain the rest of the week. Not at all the good weather we've seen throughout this trip. If tomorrow is foggy but not rainy we may stay an extra day and at least put the canoe in the river here.

July 18 at South Harbor, NS

This morning we made a reservation to take the ferry to Newfoundland next Saturday. Our preferred date would have been Thursday but that was booked. We didn't reserve farther ahead because of the difficulty estimating when we'll be when. Spending an extra couple of days in Cape Breton is not a hardship.

The body of water beside our campground is called South Harbor, from which the village takes its name. The 'harbor' is about two miles by three miles, sealed off from the ocean by a narrow sand dune with only a narrow tidal outlet. We launched the canoe in the harbor this morning and spent two hours exploring coves and islands in near-perfect conditions. Temp in the 60s, sky clear and sunny, and only a moderate wind. We really enjoyed it, one of our best canoe expeditions ever. One notable sight was a mother duck with 19 ducklings. At least she doesn't have to send them all to expensive colleges.

I may have mentioned it before, but the sea water up here is very clear. Water temperature about 65-70F.

After lunch we bought some necessities at a tiny local market, and then explored by car a couple of nearby fishing villages, including Bay St.Lawrence near Nova Scotia's remote northern tip. One surprise there was among the fishing boats, a replica of the Spray, Joshua Slocum's famous boat circa 1900. Slocum's book, "Sailing Alone Around the World" is a classic, not just for nautical lore but also for great writing. His style resembles Mark Twain's.
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Back at camp, same place as last night, we spent time talking with a man from Tennessee who with his wife lives in their travel trailer full time, moving with the seasons.

Grilled ribs in light rain. Much rain in the forecast for the next few days. Maybe our good weather luck has run out.

The Lemonade- This is a good one. While driving out from our campground we passed a table with a couple of kids evidently selling something. I would have slowed down but knew if we stopped we'd have to buy whatever they were selling. Especially since they were on a lightly travelled out-and-back road which didn't go much of anywhere except to the campground. After we shopped and were heading home we approached them again and could see a "Lemonade" sign. OK- no harm there. We stopped and a little boy (7?) asked us how many cups we wanted. Two. How much do we owe you? The boy looked puzzled and whispered to his (sister?), about the same age. She hesitated and told him something, and he said "Two twenty-five." We looked at each other: $2.25 for two lemonades? That's not even divisible by two. What? Are they charging tax? But of course, we were hooked. You can't negotiate with a child. So we forked over a 2-nie and a quarter. Whereupon the girl poured the last of the lemonade into two cups: about one ounce for each of us. When you're screwed twice by children you can only laugh, so we did. It wasn't until I was musing in the middle of that night that I realized "Two twenty-five" really meant they couldn't add so said "Two twenty-fives". When it hit me I laughed out loud and disturbed S's sleep.

July 17 into Cape Breton Highlands National Park

After a couple of days of evident Gaelic cultural influence, a few miles up the coast from Inverness today we suddenly passed into an area with French names, French signs, and Acadian flags everywhere. Shortly, we entered the huge Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Let me say it once and be done- the coastal scenery is the best God could do. An engineering marvel of a road winding around and over mountains and ravines along the deep blue sea. We stopped for lunch by the shore at a spot called Le Bloc, formerly the site of a French fishing village before the park was created in 1936. No trace left now, except remnants of a large concrete jetty. They had no harbor and little protection for their boats. After lunch we drove a few more miles and then set out on a 6-mile hike on their Skyline Trail. Very easy trail- well groomed and not much climbing. Even though there were many people on the trail we did see a moose and also a Ruffled Grouse with chicks. The trail went out to a headland about 1300 feet above the ocean with a wonderful view all around. The last extensive hike we took was back up in the Gaspe, and it had left us tired and sore and wondering if our hiking days were about over. Today was a redemption hike, very enjoyable and not exhausting. It didn't hurt that it was sunny and 65F. On to Hideaway Campground, at South Harbor near the north end of the park's Cabot Trail coastal road. This looks like a place we might get the canoe in the water, but we've thought that before. When you stick to the seacoast, you don't get many places good for a canoe.

The drive across Cape Breton Island along the National Park boundary from west to east climbs through mountains and valleys. The elevation is not high but the road climbs and descends very steeply. The Suburban's V8 was working hard on the climbs and braking was difficult on the downhills. The Cabot Trail road around the perimeter of the park is famous as a bicycle touring destination, but I am just as happy not to be doing it. Our bikes are well equipped for steep climbs, though our bodies are not as well equipped as they once were. And steep descents are really no fun since they take constant braking, especially on roads with sharp curves and switchbacks like the Cabot Trail. Fun to drive though, and the scenery can't be beat.

July 16 Linwood to Inverness, Nova Scotia

Rain overnight, followed by a clear but very windy morning- forget canoeing. We continued driving NE along the coast, crossing over a short bridge to Cape Breton Island. Stopped at Judique (still don't know how to pronounce it) at a Celtic Music Interpretive Center. We got lessons in Scottish Gaelic, in fiddle playing, and in step dancing. Lots of fun. Also a good interpretive center about the history and types of music in the area. Live music started so we stayed to listen and have lunch. Afterward we took a short hike on a coastal walking path and drove another few miles to Mabou, where we bought a hiking trail map and set out in search of the trailhead for their network of hikes, which we'd read were very scenic. The paved road turned to gravel, then to rough gravel, then dirt, then single lane, then closed in on both sides by trees and shrubs, then- we stopped, because of an overdue sense of discretion: we were towing a trailer, after all. There was a wide spot, not quite wide enough to turn around, so I carefully backed up the road until we reached a farm field driveway. It was enough of a project to get the trailer turned around that we decided we'd had enough adventure without the hike. We continued up the coast road along cliffs overlooking the sea and little fishing harbors to the town of Inverness, where we camped overlooking the ocean. The wind was still very strong so we were grateful for the shelter of a few trees which we otherwise would have resented for obstructing the view. Earlier at the Celtic Music Center we'd picked up a brocure from which we learned that there is a Thursday night caelidh (CAY-lee) at Inverness's fire hall. After dinner we went to find it, vaguely expecting music but not knowing quite what a caelidh is. In this case it was traditional music played by local youngsters. Fiddle tunes accompanied by keyboard, sometimes rhythm guitar or celtic drum. Also some step dancing by young people and adults. And some songs in Gaelic which everyone seemed to know. Among the musicians was a young woman we recognized as having been playing earlier in the day at the Celtic Music Center. The quality of the music was very good on the whole, and it was all low key. We were among few non-locals. These caelidhs are a local institution at various towns up and down the coast.

July 15 to Linwood Nova Scotia

Itchy from 2 days at Northumberland Provincial Park, reacting strongly to mosquito bites. Drove along the western shore of Nova Scotia as far as Linwood, just south of Cape Breton Island. Terrain is hillier than Prince Edward Island. Mountains visible in the interior. Higher seaside cliffs. Lighthouse at Cape George way above ocean with great view up and down the coast. Road signs and town names are bilingual, but not the expected English/French. Instead, they are English/Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic, that is. I'll bet they are taking advantage of the wording of a law specifying that official signs need to be bilingual with the local minority language. On PEI, many signs are English/French/Micmac. Private campground at Linwood unremarkable, but has all we need. An adjacent lagoon off Northumberland Strait is a possibility for canoeing tomorrow morning.

July 14 Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia

A lazy day at Northumberland Provincial Park, killing time before our ferry reservation at 6:15 p.m. We had a long chat with a woman from Saskatchewan who had the next camp site. We took a walk on the beach, and could see a couple of animals just far enough offshore that we couldn't identify them; probably seals. At check-out time for the campground we moved the trailer over to their day use area and parked at the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach and Northumberland Strait. A warm, sunny day. Lots of reading and napping. After all that waiting, the ferry ride across to Nova Scotia was anti-climax: only 75 minutes. We had a reservation at a Nova Scotia provincial park near the ferry terminal, so were camped and snug by about 8 o'clock. The campground is OK for an overnight, but no electric or water on site, and not even flush toilets. Might as well have parked in a shopping center parking lot, which we've never done. Except in this case there was no shopping center. A warm night- slept with the windows open.

Prince Edward Island in a nutshell:
All hills, no mountains
Best road cycling anywhere we've seen
No real cities, only a few real towns
Green fields and green forests (not to mention Green Gables)
Large farms, lots of hay and potatoes
Red earth, red cliffs, red beaches
Lupin flowers abundant
Many cottages for rent, few motels, almost no hotels
Little evident poverty, few lavish homes
Many properties for sale
Want secluded property with ocean view? PEI is for you.
Harbors with lobster boats
Few jobs to hold kids on island
Friendly people, proud of their heritage
Winter snowfall abundant
We saw it all, but were sorry to leave

July 13 Panmure to Northumberland, Prince Edward Island

We took a good bike ride Monday morning. We checked out of the campground and parked the car and trailer nearby on a narrow spit of land connecting little Panmure Island with the main island. We rode out to Panmure to the end of the road. There are only a handful of permanent residents now, plus another handful of vacation homes and cottages. The whole island looks depressed: farms going back to nature and abandoned farmhouses. A lot of for sale signs. On the way back we met a man from Ontario having trouble with his rental bike. We all stopped at our car, I got out the bike tools, and we soon had him tuned up and on his way. We continued for a loop into the countryside of about 20 miles, then drove the short distance down to Northumberland Provincial Park, near the terminal for the ferry we'll take to Nova Scotia tomorrow evening. After setting up camp there, we drove south along to coast and out to the lighthouse at Point Prim, south of Carlottetown.  We turned back to camp there, having failed by only 10 or 20 miles to have completely circumnavigated Prince Edward Island's coastal roads. There are probably a few significant things in the interior we've missed, but only a few.

Back at camp at Northumberland, we took a walk on the beach. The mosquitos are numerous and hungry at this campground, and a few biting flies complete the picture. Off Deep Woods controls them pretty well, but not completely. Inside the trailer we're safe.

I grilled burgers for dinner. There is a laundry near our site, so S did laundry in the evening.

Sunday, July 12 Red Point to Panmure Island

Today started rainy. We drove as winding route down the coast, taking all day to go 120 miles and probably moving only thirty miles as the crow flies. Many small fishing boat harbors (correction, harbours). Stopped at an historical site where a Frenchman named Roma set up a crown colony settlement with fifty indentured servants. They traded with Europe and the Caribbean, and a number of roads on the island follow the route of roads Roma's people built. The settlement was wiped out after 12 years by the British. There's an archaeological dig going on there now, and a reinactment settlement with young girls in period costume trying to simultaneously stay in character and sell us on their restaurant meal. After that lunch we continued to Panmure Island Provincial Park and camped beside a large bay. We took a long walk on the beach and drove a mile or so to a lighthouse, built in 1857. Our tour guide turned out to be a middle aged woman who had grown up there as the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. All the lighthouses on PEI are of wood (no local stone or brick-making materials available), and were built by shipbuilders. So it was interesting to see how the heavy beams were mortised and secured with heavy wooden pegs instead of bolts. Neither the materials nor the building skills could be reproduced now. A good view from the top.

Saturday, July 11 St. Peters to Red Point

Leaving St. Peters we cut north directly to the coast, since the loop out the peninsula was the route we cycled yesterday.

By chance we met a very interesting old woman. Driving NE along the coast we passed a particularly beautiful spot that caught eye as we passed a tidal creek that wound a couple of hundred yards to the ocean. I turned around when I could, with the trailer, parked beside the road and walked to where I could take a picture. Meanwhile, a little dog ran down from a farmhouse to where S waited in the car, and a woman sitting on the front porch shouted to S, "I love to meet people". So we met Iva Ryan, age 80, whose ancestors arrived in PEI in 1772 on the Alexandra. Her maiden name was McEachan, descended from the first bishop on the island. She'd been a teenage bride, living the first 21 years with a mother-in-law who "knew everything." She was full of stories, and we spent a good while with her and got a good picture of her, her dog Alfie, and S. The picture is on a different device so I'll attach it separately.

One of the many fishing harbors we visited was North Lake, the "Tuna Capital of the World."

We visited a railroad museum at Elmira, the end of the line of the old railroad, and the end of the line of the Confederation Bike Trail, which now occupies its roadbed.

At the eastern tip of the island we visited a lighthouse. The ticket taker was a woman originally from Baffin Island, presumably an Eskimo. The whole island had 1800 residents when she left 20 years ago, 7000 now. Last winter they had a day of -60 degrees, Celsius.

Two people had recommended Basin Head Beach to us. There's no camping, but we made a stop there. It's a popular beach with locals, and yesterday being a sunny warm Saturday, there were hundreds of people there. The beach is bisected by a clear, fast flowing river which empties into the ocean. There is a footbridge connecting the two sides, with a prominent sign warning against jumping or diving from the bridge. There's even a lifeguard stand adjacent to the bridge. Nevertheless, there was a line of kids waiting their turn to jump off. Also at Basin Head Beach there's a fishing museum we found interesting.

A few more miles down the NW coast of the island we reached our campground at Red Point Provincial park. We had a site on an open grassy area near the low cliff to the beach. We learned that the local church was 10 minutes away at Souris, with weekend Masses at 7 p.m. Saturday or 9:30 a.m. Sunday. We opted for the Sat. evening service, before which we spent the afternoon walking the beach, reading and napping.

After church we asked a parishioner for a restaurant idea, and were directed to the wharf area. That turned out to be not the usual fishing harbor, but the terminal for the ferries to the Madeline Islands and a big marine service area. We found a restaurant in what had been a large old house overlooking the harbor, and had one of our best dinners ever. S had penne with chicken, and I had poached Haddock. Sounds simple, but was excellent. Good bottle of Alsatian wine, too.

The eastern end of PEI has more woods, some from old fields. Lots of potato fields, a few cows and sheep. Same red soil, cliffs and beaches as elsewhere. Quite a few farmhouses have RV's parked nearby- farmers probably take off in the winter.

Friday, July 10 at St. Peters, Prince Edward Island

Finally a day for a bike ride on the road: clear sky, little wind, and a good route available. We rode on the gravel Confederation Trail just a mile to St. Peters at the head of a bay, then on the road out the peninsula on the other side of the bay. At the end was a section of PEI National Park, and we spent a good while at the visitor center, learning about parabolic coastal dunes and the Miqmaq (pronounced MIGma) Indians, known in Canada as First Nation people. Interesting people, with two remaining towns, one of which, Lennox Island, we visited Thursday. They have a written language still in use. They've been Christians since 1610. That's right, 1610. We couldn't get out to the dunes because our bike tires can't handle loose gravel, so we rode back to St. Peters and then across the peninsula to the ocean by a different road. Back to camp, 27 miles of excellent road riding. The rest of the day we took it easy and did chores. I hunted down some contact cement to fix S's bike shoes which had protective pads on the soles coming loose.

Also learned today about mussel production, which is a major industry in the bay here. They hang little mussels in tubular nets in shallow water. The mussel beds are marked by colorful floats, and some of them must cover 50 acres of water. When the mussels grow up they are harvested by small boats, or in winter even by divers who cut holes in the ice to gain access to them.

Random observations I realize haven't been mentioned before:

Flags- Homes and businesses fly the Canadian flag more than the American flag is flown at home. Along the north coast of New Brunswick the Acadian flag is more common than the Canadian flag, but isn't shown much on PEI.

When the sky is clear it is a very light shade of blue. Not like our sky at home at all.

A flower called Lupin is abundant along the roadside all over PEI. It usually is a spike with many purple blooms, but the color can also range from white to various shades of pink and on to purple, with multiple colors even in the same patch. We are told they bloom about now and are gone by mid July. Makes the roadside so spectacularly colorful I thought maybe they were planted, but turns out they are wild.

We spent the evening making a rough estimate of where we want to go when between now and Sept. 17, when we want to be in Richmond. The result is a leisurely rough itinerary which still leaves some slack days. From here we plan to go to Cape Breton, then over to Newfoundland and maybe even a bit of Labrador, back over to the rest of Nova Scotia, around to the Bay of Fundy, along the coast to Maine, on to Cape Cod, and then down to Richmond. No surprise we have time for it all, since we are taking the whole summer for the trip. Years ago we covered most of the same territory in a three-week vacation from New Jersey.

Thursday, 7-9 to St. Peters, Prince Edward Island

a.m. 58F, drove most of way eastward across island.  Stopped at Green Park Shilpbuilding Museum. Location, on N coast of PEI is at home of James Yeo. He was a carter in Cornwall, but his horse died so he was out of work and starving, so emigrated to PEI about 1820. Worked as shipyard worker, eventually owned shipyards, died in 1867 richest man in PEI. Good interpretive museum and videos about PEI and shipbuilding, but their reproduction shipyard burned down over last winter. Reached campground at St. Peters on N coast about 3:30, took a bike ride on adjacent Centennial Trail, a rail-to-trail which extends from end to end of the island. Not paved, but hard packed gravel no problem for our 28mm tires. Campground overlooks beautiful St. Peters Bay. Fewer mosquitos here.

Wednesday, July 8:

Really hoped to get a bike ride in. Yesterday's coastal drive would be ideal. Rain was forecast, but that turned out not to be a problem. Wind, on the other hand, was prohibitive. S 20-30 kts.

Drove up NW coast of the island to N Cape. A few abandoned fields and some woods: haven't seen much of either before. At N Cape there is a wind farm, a wind energy research center, and an interpretive center. Wind energy is a particular interest of mine. Saw huge Vestas turbines ulp close and learned a lot about how turbines work. We'd been told by others that large wind turbines are noisy, but not so- sounds like the wind. Interesting sidelight: at the research center they are working on wind/hydrogen systems to electrify remote settlements: wind turbines provide electricity but also produce hydrogen which is compressed and stored. When there's no wind they rund hydrogen engines to provide electricity. Never heard of such a thing, but it is good fuel for imagination. Ate a good lunch at N Cape: seafood omelet for S, seafood crepes for D- it's a good life.

Stopped at a coastal fishing village and talked with a fisherman. The last wooden boatbuilder on the island died last week. No wooden lobsterboats have been built for about 15 years, but there are plenty still working. Lobster season on S coast starts Aug. 12. N cost in season now.  Cod used to be the fishing mainstay, but it has been banned for years because overfishing caused the cod population to crash, with major disruption to the local economy and society- not to mention disruption to the cod.
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Monday and Tuesday, July 6 and 7

Monday:
Drove the coastal scenic route around central part of the island. Stopped at sm fishing village of Victoria for lunch: lobster mango salad for S, lobster Caeser for D, especially delicious.

Stopped at historical site Ft. Amherst on hill overlooking Charlottetown, originally French but English after 7 yrs war. Ended up at provincial capital of Charlottetown. Not a big city; outskirts are standard American retail servicing bellies and cars, but central old town is very attractive. City fronts a protected natural harbor and has many early 19th century buildings. Took a walking tour and struck up a conversation with a man who heads the local newcomers. Full of info: PEI population about 140,000, actually growing a little vs other Atlantic provinces which are declining. Golden age for PEI was mid 19th century, based on shipbuilding. When that declined starting about 1870, many moved to Maine seasonally and then permanently. Economy now fishing, farming (though as everywhere, most young people don't want to farm) and tourism. PEI has very low birth rate, confirmed by an announcement at church yesterday that since there are few young children around they need adult volunteers to be altar servers. First two months of this year PEI got 18 feet of snow. They have late springs because water cold, and late autumns because water has warmed up. Some boats out sailing in the harbor, including Optimist Prams, little boats designed about 1948 by Clark Mills in Clearwater, Florida. I learned to sail in prams and taught sailing in them every summer while in college.

Instead of dinner, we settled in on Victoria Row, a downtown walking street, with a cheese platter and a bottle of wine. The people at the next table were staying at our same campground across the island, two sites away.

Went to see Anne of Green Gables, the Musical. They've been doing this show every summer since 1964. When I booked the tickets, I opted for the second cheapest seats, but we were in the 2nd row center. What do the two levels more expensive get? A solo singing part in the show? The show is well written and they did a good job: lots of singing and dancing. So sweet a show it is embarassing to have enjoyed it, but we did.

Tuesday:
PEI is actually three islands, joined by narrow isthmuses (isthmi?). Heading for the western part we drove straight to Summerside, the province's second 'city' and then picked up the western coastal road. Stopped at the Acadian museum. Acadians were early 18th century settlers from France in what is now Nova Scotia. Their land went back and forth several times between France and England. Finally after the Seven Years War (=French and Indian War), England had control and started ethnic cleansing: deported thousands to New England while others fled to PEI, Quebec, and New Brunswick, then parts of New France. Later England took PEI and again deported Acadians to France: most died enroute. Some fled to Quebec, many to Lousiiana. A few hid out, others returned when it became possible. PEI now about 25% Acadian ancestry. Many don't speak French, but there is cultural pride.

Checked into Mill River Provincial Park in W central island, left trailer and continued on coastal route. At a provincial park on S coast, there is a lighthouse which is also an inn- better campground, should have stayed there. Beautiful coastal scenery- bright green farm fields right up to red cliffs over Northumberland Strait between PEI and New Brunswick, visible in distance. 

Tourists we see are mostly local. Some from Quebec. Met one Williams College alum who spotted my t-shirt. For good measure, I later spotted a St. Pete Beach t-shirt (Toronto resident). Haven't seen a U.S. license plate in at least 2 weeks.

Saturday and Sunday, July 4 and 5

Saturday- Happy 4th of July! Only the 2nd time we've been out of the U.S. for the holiday, and the first time was also in Canada, on our way to Alaska in '08.

We broke camp and drove to the center of Couchibougouac Village to the community center where there was a "grand petite dejeunai" and a market of local produce. Good breakfast, and enjoyed chatting with some of the locals. S bought some fresh lettuce and a hand crafted dish towel. I bought a pair of mittens. These were special mittens, with a separate finger cover for the index finger, so I can fire my weapon without taking the mittens off. Every man needs a pair of those.

Only 90 miles to the bridge to Prince Edward Island, so we took the slow and winding coastal route for part of it. On the way we stopped for some grocery and pharmacy items we needed, and I kept a lookout for someplace to refill our propane tanks. Not critical- we had one empty tank but the other had enough for at least 2 more weeks. But I haven't spotted a place with propane in two or three days.

The bridge to Prince Edward Island is about 8 miles long and costs about $60, payable only on the return leg. We plan to return by ferry from the east end of PEI to Nova Scotia. The ferry fare is also payable only on the return from PEI.

We cut north across PEI, heading for the PEI National Park on the north coast at Cavendish. The part of the island we saw is rural, rolling hills, and beautiful: green fields and many wildflowers. For some reason all the roads run NE/SW or NW/SE, so there was a lot of tacking back and forth to go north. No complaints though, it was a scenic and relatively short trip.

Once we checked into the campground we headed for a nearby town to look for a church. At North Rustico, 8 miles away, we found Stella Maris church (a name which brings a smile to Sullivan faces) with their only weekend Mass, 6:00 already 1/2 hour underway. But a helpful woman told me there was a 9 o'clock Sunday at the nearby town of Hope River. I spotted a place with propane so I returned to camp, collected the two propane tanks from the trailer, and went and took care of that chore.

The afternoon and evening temperature was near 80 degrees- balmy for Florida, but hot for here. We briefly turned the air conditioner on, I think for the first time on the trip.

Sunday, July 5

The church was only 5 minutes away, but it took us 30 minutes to find it. Expecting as much, we'd allowed plenty of time. After Mass we had breakfast at a local cafe with a precious wifi connection.

We dressed out and rode the bike 19 miles on a bike path, mostly paved, along the coast. Spectacular red dunes and sandstone cliffs.

Back at camp we showered and changed and drove a few miles to the Green Gables National Historical Place. If you have never been a little girl, you have probably never read Anne of Green Gables, a 1908 novel set in this part of PEI. The book is the province's big claim to celebrity, and they make the best of it.  The Green Gables farm which was the inspiration for the book's setting is part of the PEI National Park, and the Cavendish area has many many private tourist attractions catering to people who come to Anne Country. What can I say? It's a farmhouse trimmed in green. Still, it was interesting to see a restored 1880's farm.

I'm ending the day back on the porch of this morning's cafe using their wifi to update this blog, and- oh yes- booking our seats for tomorrow night for Anne of the Green Gables/ the Musical, now in it's 51st season.

Friday, July 3: at Couchibougouac National Park

a.m. temp 55, chillier than yesterday. Had left roof vent and a window open, so cabin not much warmer. Propane heater did not work: not a new problem, it's been working just sometimes so far. Have elec, so used little elec ceramic heater which took cabin up to 70F quickly. After breakfast I ckd if our new campsite had been occupied last night. No. So we moved trailer to new site, which gave us rest of the day clear. Temperature quickly rose to high 60's, and mostly clear sky all day.

We took the canoe a couple of miles to a put-in near the place where a creek flows into the bay between the mainland and the barrier island. Paddled upstream, not much current because the terrain here is pretty flat. But we did have wind, 15-20 against us out of the west. Made it hard to paddle, especially in our ultralight canoe. After 1/2 mile gave up and paddled back to mouth of the creek, then struggled back to the put-in and took-out. A short but vigorous paddle.

Back at the campsite we relaxed a while, and then after lunch dressed out and rode the bike 8 mi. on the park road to the visitor center. Hoped to get online there to make a reservation somewhere on Prince Edward Island for tomorrow night, but no connectivity. The park has a network of unpaved, hard-packed gravel roads through the woods, which we took for the return trip to the campground. Even withour 28mm tires, there was no traction problem riding on the gravel roads, and the ride through the woods was scenic and fragrant.

Back at camp we changed clothes and drove to the trailhead of a walk across a boardwalk to the barrier island beach. The park lit says they have seals there, but not today.

Today was our first trifecta of the trip: a canoe ride, a bike ride, and a hike. None of epic proportions, but so what.

Wednesday and Thursday, July 1&2

Wednesday- Left Caraquet and drove along N coast of New Brunswick to NE corner, a road out to the Acadian Isles, ending at Miscou Island (pronounced micoo), an important 16th century port and the site of the first Christian mission in Canada, about the same time as the Pilgrims landing. Today this is an area of sparse population on islands connected by recently-built bridges, modest but neat homes, salt marshes and bogs, a few fishing ports with many fishing boats similar to one another (like Maine lobster boats but bigger, maybe 40'. straight stems, flared bow sections, large working area aft, a sheltered wheelhouse area and a lower deckhouse forward covering whatever accommodations they have.) Until 1939 these islands were islolated and entirely dependent on fishing, and there was a barter economy: the fishermen were paid with credit at the company store. Sounds like serfdom, doesn't it? The big historical thing at Miscou is that in 1939 a Soviet plane attempting to fly nonstop from Moscow to New York for the World's Fair ran out of fuel and crash landed on Miscou. The plane was eventually salvaged and shipped back to Russia. We drove to the end of the island and visited the 1856 lighthouse there (still operational). On the way back we stopped at a boardwalk over a peat bog and learned about that habitat. New Brunswick has an important industry of cutting peat, which is mostly exported. Don't know what it is used for. We had experience in Ireland with peat turf as a fireplace fuel. It burns with more smoke than heat. Also on return trip on the islands we saw a baby moose running across a lawn. DK where mama was, presumably close by. We continued south along the coast to Kouchibougouac National Park. Try to pronounce that- answer below. Large campground but our campsite is wooded and private, with elec and water. Clouds of mosquitos, but Off repels them well. Grilled fresh salmon we bought yesterday same place as the lobsters. Delicious.

Thursday- Rain forecast today (a sprinkle fell last evening) and this is a good place for hiking, cycling and canoeing, so to make sure we could do it all we decided to extend our stay to three nights. Turns out we'll have to move to a different site tomorrow, but that will be easy. In the end, it didn't rain at all. We spent the morning hiking four short nature trails, and after lunch we set out on a longer hike along the Kouchibougouac River. Based on the sketchy map they provided, it looked like we could hike 5 miles on a trail along the river and then return on an improved bike path. But the trail and the path never did quite meet. I had to bushwhack a couple of times looking for the bike path. and finally did find it. Ended up a bit longer than we'd planned, but we finished in good form. S's new boots seem to be breaking in. For dinner S used leftover lobster to concoct a lobster salad. One more day of roughing it. Answer to quiz above: coochie boo GWAK. No wildlife except mosquitos. But saw tracks and scat of moose on the trail. Roads around here have many warning signs about moose.