Ohmygosh -- The Bridge!!!! 8/12/10

The 8-mile long (oh, soooo long!) Confederation Bridge that connects Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick, Canada, cost us money. The ride (bridge or ferry) to PEI is free, but you have to pay to leave! Our crossing today was smooth, thank goodness (unlike three years ago!). We drove straight thru New Brunswick and entered Maine at Houlton. What a delightful time we had for six-and-a-half weeks in the Atlantic Maritime Provinces of Canada.

Welcome back to the Land of the Free,  Home of the Brave: Hello America!  Go Red Sox!

One of my favorite moose signs!

Hiking on Campobello Island --June 26th, 2010

After touring The Roosevelt Cottage, Jimmy and I picnicked on a bluff, and then we set off from Raccoon Beach to Liberty Point. We didn't quite make it. The gymnastics required for this trail tuckered us out and we turned around at the Sunsweep Sculpture -- 3.8 miles R/T. This trail required precision footing or we faced a broken ankle or a good shoe soaking, but, even so, the views were outstanding, and we had fun!

Getting lunch ready.

 Trail morphed from a gentle grassy track (above) to acrobatic madness (below)!

Pointing to Rose-root Sedum.

 Breathtaking coastline.

Far below us were Common Eider ducks: Boys, girls and babies.

It's a joy to be out here! 

Double-toed track now!

Pretty Beach-head Iris (above and below).

 

We're learning to convert, and it's fairly easy.

Sunsweep Sculpture (our turnaround point) -- it's named for the long, quiet, Canadian-US border that lies under the path of the sun as it crosses the sky from east to west.  Made from polished black granite, it is a symbol of international friendship.  Quite beautiful.

A stellar day for sure!

Roosevelt Campobello Internat'l Park, June 26th

From our Cobscook Bay St Pk campground, we drove a few miles to the town of Lubec, Maine, where we crossed a bridge to Campobello Island and, just like that, we were in New Brunswick, Canada and in the Atlantic time zone!

The Roosevelt Cottage on FDR's "Beloved Island."

Above and below.

 FDR's pipe and hat!

We wanted to tour The Roosevelt Cottage, FDR's magnificent 34-room summer home, open to the public free of charge. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945 and America's 32nd President, spent many enjoyable vacations on Campobello Island in New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy. Roosevelt Campobello International Park was created on Jan 22, 1964 by a treaty between Canada and America as a memorial to President Roosevelt. It's Canadian soil that has become part of America's heritage.

The Cottage, built in 1897, has nearly 100% original furnishings from FDR's time, quite amazing. The entire tour was very moving. Outside, scenic vistas overlook the islands and shores of Passamaquoddy and Cobscook Bays in NB and Maine. The International Park is 1,134 hectares - woods, bogs and beaches where FDR tramped as a child, a young man, and as President. Google it to read more about it!

Week Six, Monday, 10/1/07

Monday, October 1

After three fabulous weeks, it was time to leave Canada. Although, the time was only 9 AM, a stop at Ganong’s Fine Chocolates in the border town of St Stephen was a sure thing!   We bought two boxes!  Our aim today was Solon ME, for a possible bike ride tomorrow. The drive from Calais (pronounced callous) to Solon was particularly colorful. After passing thru Bangor, we shopped for groceries at Skowhegan.

We arrived in Solon early afternoon and found a campground on the swift Kennebec River. As we were the only customers we could take the best spot a few feet from the river. Weather was cloudy and may be tomorrow as well. Got info on how to get to the bike trail. The CG is called Evergreens and is quite pretty with all the trees. River looks peaceful despite its rush to empty into the Atlantic.

Week Six, Sunday, 9/30/07

Sunday 9/30 – 

We found out yesterday that two times a year Quoddy Link Marine takes passengers on a North Atlantic Right Whale cruise to the mouth of the Bay of Fundy to see the rarest of baleen whale species: Right Whales. And, fortunately for us, today is one of the two times. At 7 AM, we walked the mile to Market Wharf and joined approx 35 others to board the catamaran at 7:30. Our cruise took us out of Passamaquoddy Bay, past numerous small islands, as well as Campobello and Deer Islands. The sun shone brightly, but the air rushing past at 20 mph was icy. The cat had an open upper deck and a lower deck with windows, which is where most people stayed. After about two hours, we reached the large (up to 56’) whales.

Till 50 years ago, the North Atlantic Right Whale population was believed to be extinct. Current Right Whale population includes between 300-350 individuals, and 75-78 of them are in this area now. We spied the spouts from a distance and eagerly willed the boat closer. We were privileged to watch a mother and calf together, close to our boat – blowing thru their twin vents, surfacing with their whole bodies, and diving with tails aloft, just like you see on nature programs. We spent quite a bit of time with them, but followed others as well, and it was awesome.

These whales can weigh up to 100 tons! Much of their body length is taken up by their massive head and long curved mouth line that supports a massive rack of baleen. The rotund whales were not built for speed and have no dorsal fin on the back. They got the name “right whale,” because they’re slow and easy to take – hence, they were the “right” ones to go after.

We spent two enchanting hours in their midst, and then made for port. A jammed propeller slowed our return, but we didn’t mind – it was grand being on the water. Spotted both porpoises and white-sided dolphins, and a humpback whale on our return. We glimpsed black guillemots; shearwaters; and Bonaparte’s, herring, and great black-backed gulls. The boat docked at the wharf around 3 PM, and we walked slowly “home,” greatly pleased with our choice for this day!

Week Five, Sat 9/29

We were out the door at 8 AM, early sun shining in our eyes. The temp was almost 50, so we were bundled. Again, we were amazed at how far we had to walk to reach water's edge. The students (so young) were already out there, collecting specimens in marked grids. We were privy to their knowledge and willingness to share what they were finding: Sea stars, blood red stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, dog winkles, mussels, limpets, sponges, a skulpin (ugly), worms with fancy names, sponges that looked like slime, a fish that looked like an eel, chitons, etc, etc. I don't have a dictionary at hand, so my spelling might not be correct. We spent nearly two hrs out there. Dr. Aiken, their instructor, graciously answered our questions. Wonderful experience. We returned to town by 11 to check out an auction we'd learned about yesterday and it seemed half the town was there. We walked to Kingsbrae Garden, an 11-hectare horticultural gardens featuring 50,000 flowers, shrubs and trees - lovely and serene - and we spent several hrs strolling the paths. Walked slowly home, ate dinner, and watched the tide recede once again.

Week Five, Friday 9/28

Rain began at 3:30 am and continued till around Noon. That gave us needed time to do laundry and other household chores. In the afternoon, we walked to town and poked around. We've stumbled onto a lovely old town on the Passamaquoddy Bay. The tidal variation here is about 26'. The town was settled by Loyalists who fled the American Revolution - some brought their homes with them. We toured several historic churches and homes, inc Sheriff Andrews house (1820), Ross Memorial Museum (1824), and ended up checking out the 1832 county jail, a horror of a place that housed prisoners up to 1979! Ate a wonderful lunch at Great Harvest Market. Back in camp, after supper and towards dusk and a near-record low tide, we spied "ants" WAY out on the recently-revealed ocean floor. Wasn't really ants - it was people, so far out they looked like ants. Jimmy put on his boots and I put on my hikers and we joined them. Figured we walked a half mile or more over rocks and sand and seaweed! The people were 3rd and 4th year marine biology students studying what they could find with this super low tide. It was great fun to be out there with them, but darkness sent us all back to shore. They'll be back in the morning for the 8:30 low tide... and we'll join them again. The two photos above show the same place: Almost-low and High Tide!

Week Five, Thurs 9/27/07

Our hiking shoes have definitely been broken in, but it's time to leave the chattering red squirrels, bunnies, chipmonks, Boreal chickadees and Juncos of this fine campground and continue west. Besides, our feet and knees need a rest!  We don't know our destination yet, but we're moving toward St Stephen, near the New Brunswick/Maine border. 

Beggars!

At the RV yesterday, we spied the Shiphaven Trail, an alleged 1 km trail which seemed much longer because it involved many stairs, but off we went anyway. We ended up at the covered bridge and the remains of an 1881 logging outfit that threw sawdust into the river which killed off the salmon.  Not good.  Quite interesting, tho, for the views across the mouth of the Point Wolfe River and the bay as well as the old sawmill days.

What am I doing in that tree?

On our way, we traveled thru a wide lush valley, alive with autumn color, stopping in Saint John. With our limited time, we managed to visit their City Market, Saint John Stone Church, and the 1904 Carnegie Free Public Library - now an arts center.  (We've seen several Carnegie libraries on this trip; they're easy to spot because they were well-crafted.)  After lunch at Reggie's, we hit the road again. 

St Stephen in New Brunswick, near the Maine border, boasts Ganong's Chocolate Museum and store; obviously we had to stop there first.  With the museum tour, samples of fine chocolates on large silver trays were offered in each room ... how amazing!  Eat till you burst - so we did!  Hah, we  were so full that we skipped the store altogether!

 

We doubled back to a CG on the Bay of Fundy shore in St Andrews, NB - another gem find for us. Plus they offer wifi. The good news is: We have to go back thru St Stephen (think chocolates!) on our way out of Canada ....

Week Five, Wed, Sept 26, 2007

Another gorgeous day, perfect for hiking! We drove to Point Wolfe, even taking Tergel through a covered bridge!  The trail then took us down to the water.  Operative word here: Down.  When we got there, the tide was just beginning to enter a cut, and when the Fundy tide comes in, it wastes no time!

In the space of a half hour, we watched the rising Bay of Fundy water completely cover the spit of land we'd been standing on.  Check out the photos above and below of Jimmy by the driftwood!  Only a few minutes elapsed between the top and bottom photos.

We hiked back UP to our RV, after which we decided to trek to the old Coppermine (4.4 km), one more beautiful trail ... straight up.  At the coppermine, we climbed to the top of the tailings pile, without thinking about how we'd get down, besides sliding on our butts!  At the top we saw a rusted steam boiler and a deep cave.  We found a different way off the tailings pile and then came the trek back DOWN to our RV.  A PBnJ sandwich on the trail energized us.  We made one more stop on the way back to camp at Dickson Falls and opted for the shorter of two trails, which also involved: STAIRS.  The falls was lovely, but our feet said it was time to head for camp. 

We bought a mousetrap on our way home yesterday and set it tonite.  A loud SNAP at around 2:30 AM told us we'd dispatched a dinky (but noisy) big-eared deer mouse. Maybe tomorrow we'll sleep w/o interruption....

Hard at work! Not a bad job... nice location!

Week Five - Tues the 25th

Tuesday the 25th we put on our hiking clothes to explore the "moderate" Kinnie Brook trail, roughly 4km. This trail turned out to be a narrow footpath that took us up and down, including 175 steps (Jimmy counted), between sheer cliffs, bordered with the usual "Christmas" trees that smell oh-so-wonderful, and colorful autumn maple trees. Good thing we opted for moderate! These trails are rated 1 thru 4, with 2 being moderate, so "4" must be a killer! 

After lunch we drove to Cape Enrage Lighthouse on an incredibly bad winding road. Once again, the end was worth the trip. Quite a view!  Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy was next -- over a kilometer of coast is lined with uniquely shaped flowerpot rock formations. The brochure states that the tides here are the height of a four-story building!  We were there in the 3-hr window of low tide where we could walk on the ocean floor, and touch those rock formations. Hard to believe that a mere six hours later the 40+ foot tide would cover the area where we walked! We hiked up and down and all around and loved every minute of it! Strange noises last night... and this night we saw that we'd picked up a passenger....  

Week Five - Monday 9/24

Decided to move on to NB as most of the campgrounds on PEI are already closed for the season... time to leave. Stopped first @ internet café to catch up on emails and the world’s goings-on. Chilly morning (and windy), so coffee tasted extra special. On our way, we stopped at a roadside stand for another king-sized cabbage, some broccoli, and a new pint of blueberries which we enjoy on our morning cereal. Drove across Queens County to the new (1997) Confederation Bridge, 12.1 km span over the Northumberland Strait, linking PEI to New Brunswick. Of course, the wind gusts were 60 km/hr, which gave me extreme shudders, but Jimmy drove and he said it was fine. I wanted to kiss the ground when we landed at the Visitor’s Ctr in New Brunswick. Drove to Chignecto campground (only one open) @ Fundy National Park on Bay of Fundy, a most beautiful place.