Red Rivers, Black Flies, and Searching for Fairy Shrimp!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013


Our second gorgeous day dawned as we prepared to drive to Nova Scotia. Still no WiFi, so we prepared our blog post of Fundy to save for later. We drove through the town of Alma at low tide and saw the fishing boats resting on the Bay floor. Blomidon Provincial Park is maybe 20 miles across the Bay of Fundy, but we needed to travel north-east along the coast, past Chignecto Bay, then along Shepody Bay and then north up the Petitcodiac River to the city of Moncton. Then we could proceed back south on the other side to the top of the Cumberland Basin and into Nova Scotia.

The drive along the water through small towns and past farms was scenic. We stopped in Moncton for diesel and drove along the river through town. We saw a digital readout that gave the times for the twice daily tidal bore. At half tide when the water flowing back up the river overcomes the water flowing out, a large wave or bore barrels up the river. This happens near the top of the Bay of Fundy where the rivers narrow out and the huge tides force their way into the narrow rivers. We haven't seen one yet. Hopefully, we can be more deliberate about being in the right place at the right time.

Greg made a quick stop in Sackville at the Scotia Bank to use the ATM. Currently the exchange rate is very slightly in our favor. Scotia Bank has an agreement with Bank of America, so we're avoiding ATM fees. We drove to the border and crossed the Tantramar marshes, that later in the summer will be filled with migrating waterfowl. A grove of wind turbines greeted us at the border and we discovered why they're there when we got out at the Nova Scotia Visitor's Center. Windy, but around 70 degrees, finally! We got all our maps and guidebooks and while we were browsing, one of the middle-aged volunteers came over to Greg to tell him she liked his t-shirt. He was wearing his black “Dr. Who” shirt with a picture of the Tardis and the words “You Never Forget Your First Doctor!”.

Wind Turbines near Amherst, NS

Speed Limit on the big road. Those KPHs are little but there are a lot of them.

Red sediment in the Shubenacadie River near high (50-foot) tide

We spent an hour and a half in the center's parking lot, eating lunch, e-mailing, and posting the blog while using their free wifi. It was 4 pm by the time we left, but we decided to keep driving until we reached Blomidon. It's been staying light until well after 9 pm, so we could continue to see the countryside as we drove. We traversed through an interior area of the Chignecto Peninsula and around the top of Cobequid Bay at Truro. Cobequid Bay and the Shubenacadie River are the other top of the Bay of Fundy, and experience even higher tides and tidal bore than the New Brunswick side. We began driving west along the southern coast of Cobequid Bay toward the Minas Basin and Cape Blomidon.

We drove this stretch along the water as the tide was going out again, exposing brick red mudflats from the erosion of the red sedimentary rock cliffs. Because of the constant turbidity of the twice daily 45 foot tides, the water stays brick red. By the time we traveled to the much wider Minas Basin, the blue/green water was starting to mix in. It was odd to look at the beautiful green fields and woods, the scenic farms and cottages and the brick red water behind them.

By 8:30 we reached the peninsula jutting out into the Minas Basin that closes the water to a 15 mile gap between it and the opposite shore, as it flows to and from the Bay of Fundy. We were driving through the eastern end of the Annapolis Valley, which is the breadbasket of Nova Scotia. It's a fertile strip of land that runs inland from the coast and south through the western side of Nova Scotia. We saw prosperous farms, large chicken houses, planted fields and lots of fruit orchards in bloom. The 81^st Apple Blossom Festival is going on now, with the third longest running parade in Canada.

Traveling up the peninsula the scenery became more rugged. When we reached the park we climbed 600' to the campground on top of high bluffs (formed by thick lava flows over the older sedimentary rocks - Greg). The rest of the peninsula ends at Cape Split. We saw an aerial photo at the campground office of huge spectacular cliffs. There is a drive and a daylong hike to get out there. The best time to go is at mid tide when there are huge rushing sounds of water against the cliffs as the tidal flow equals the combined flow of all the rivers and streams on earth! The campground has a trail along the cliff top and another that goes down to the beach. The peninsula has semi-precious stones (originating from the ancient lava flows at the top) that can occasionally be found on the beach.

We found our campsite on the bluff just as it got dark. Dinner was some soup and cheese and crackers, a quick “Dr Who” DVD episode, and we found the Halifax local TV station again for the 11 pm news. Then off to bed. It was a long day of driving!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

No million dollar view this morning. We awoke to fog! We heard rain on the roof during the night. Two days of sun and we're back in the soup. Greg took a walk around the campground. The spruce trees look beautiful shrouded in fog, but knowing that just behind us is a spectacular view we can't see is frustrating. Now the wind has kicked up, the fog's still here and the temperature has dropped to 50 degrees. We paid for two nights, and have no hook-ups here. Nova Scotia Provincial Parks are set up for dry camping. We feel like we have our own private campground. There's one trailer on the next loop that we can't see, and the tenters on both sides of us left. There's one more down the road. We're hoping that tomorrow will be better. We'd like to hike the cliff side trail and check out the beach.

Now (3:30) the wind is stronger. The fog hasn't gone away. The strong wind gusts just blow it from the treetops down toward the ground in thick billows like smoke. I guess it covers such a large area that it just keeps blowing more through. Greg decided that he can't sit still any longer, so off he went to hike. He took the camera with him, so this way I don't have to go out to document the fog and the campsite!

Cliff-side campsite with spectacular view of fog

Friday, May 31, 2013

The fog cleared out to beautiful blue skies, and warming temperatures. But, we still have the strong winds! We decided to stay two more nights. Tomorrow there is a hike with a naturalist that will take us through the woods to see fairy shrimp, the only place east of Manitoba that has them. When Greg went to pay for more nights he found out that the site we're in is reserved, as well as most of the other ones in the woods near us. We found a new site in a field with an unimpeded view of the Minas Basin beyond the edge of the 600-foot cliff. The other advantage of the site is that there are no trees, lots of wind, therefore not as many black flies! The wooded campsites are full of them. Once the wind dies down we may have them, too. It is obviously still black fly season here and probably will be into June.

After selecting our new site we drove down the 600' hill to the beach. The tide was mostly out, the sun was brilliant, and the temperature was in the 70's. It is apparently warmer than usual. Tomorrow it should be a few degrees warmer yet. We spent the next almost three hours exploring the cliffs and tidal flats. We walked all the way out to the water's edge. In July and August these mudflats will be filled with flocks of migrating birds, filling themselves on the rich sea life in the mud before their journey continues to South America. We saw a bald eagle soaring overhead and a few noisy ravens. Otherwise the only other life we saw were a few people and dogs enjoying the walk on the beach.

See, the beach really is brick red!

Blossoms from old apple tree.

 We ate lunch in the parking lot in the RV and watched the visitors come and go. We were the only ones not from Nova Scotia. After lunch we drove back up to the campground and we had the most scenic dump station we will probably ever have! Most are located in the least desirable spot, so the best areas are kept for campsites. This one was along a sloped field with a spectacular view looking back up the peninsula, along the fields, cliffs and red mudflats and across the water to the nearest shoreline.

Dump station view

We took leisurely hot showers then set up our chairs to face out towards the water. The wind was fierce, but the sun was warm and we enjoyed soaking up the view, until dinner. Greg remarked that it reminded him of our view at the great campsite we had looking over the ocean at Big Sur. That was the Pacific Ocean and now we had found the same on the Atlantic coast.

After an almost empty campground, now it's more than half full. Everyone seems to be from Nova Scotia, here to enjoy the unseasonably warm weekend. At 9:30 it is not quite dark yet. Children are playing flashlight tag in the field across the road, and the lights are coming on across the water. The wind seems to be calming a bit, though it is still rocking the RV. There are some clouds moving in from the west. I hope this weather holds a few more days. The weather system that brought the rain has moved north to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but is forecast to drift back here the beginning of the week. Maybe that will be a good time to do wine tastings at the local Annapolis Valley wineries!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

We finally made it to June! The last two months have seemed really long, and May was cold and rainy almost everywhere we went. We are hopeful that June will finally bring warmer temperatures and clearing skies. Last night about midnight, after calming winds, the sky opened up with rain and the wind whipped and rocked the camper. By this morning, the wind died down and the sun came out. The temperatures quickly rose into the 70's.

Around 10 am we met the naturalist and the group for the hike to the vernal pond to see the fairy shrimp. There was a group of about 15 people, mostly local. Some had come on the same walk last Spring. We met Guisa (Gee-sa) and Bill and their teenaged son, or grandson, who are camped next to us. They came yesterday evening and were disappointed to find us already in their favorite spot. They live in Dartmouth, near Halifax on the Atlantic coast.

An elderly gentleman, Jim, lead the walk and was accompanied by Bernard (Burr-nerd) Forsythe. He was on Global TV last night, apparently a national news program. He's going to be flying to Victoria, British Columbia to be awarded the Outdoorsman of the Year. He is a thin, wiry 71 year old with a short white beard and hair, and a Jeep belt buckle holding up his jeans. He was a mail deliverer and never missed a day of work, even when he had cataract surgery. He had his son drive him. It's obvious that he's spent his life in the woods. He instantly identified every bird call, and named the flowers and plants. He showed us the ground nest of a woodcock, a shorebird who never goes to the shore! One egg hadn't hatched, but several others had. We also saw a robin's nest with one perfect blue egg in it.

Woodcock nest

Blueberry Lillies

Robin's nest all of 1 foot above ground

 After a leisurely walk where we stopped often to look at things in the woods and ask questions, we came to the pond. A vernal pond may have a spring feeding it, but has no inlet or outlet. It was rust colored from the tannin in the autumn leaves that had fallen in it. Jim put on his rubber boots and waded in. He brought out two deep trays of pond water. Then he took a net and scooped around the grasses near the edges and dumped the contents into the trays. Lots of tadpoles were wriggling around. There were water beetle larvae and tiny, newly hatched salamanders, mosquito larvae, diving beetle larvae, and flatworms, but alas, no fairy shrimp. Jim wasn't sure why they weren't there. Maybe it was too late in the season. Maybe they hadn't recovered from the drought two years ago. Another missed opportunity for us. Like the Marfa Lights in Texas. Other people have seen them, but not us!

Jim, the naturalist

Viewing pond inhabitants

Star Flowers

We hiked the rest of the loop in the unexpected heat and humidity. Several days ago there was an unusual end of May Canadian Maritimes-wide frost warning. This weekend it's been in the 70's and there's a chance of thunderstorms. Canada seems to be having more erratic weather from climate change, too. Along the trail we stopped at Look Offs (we call them overlooks) to see the view across the Minas Basin to the Chignecto Peninsula. Today we didn't have the trails to ourselves. Lots of Nova Scotians were hiking too.

Lichen

Shelf fungus

View west toward Chignecto Peninsula across Minas Basin (about 15 miles)

 
Late afternoon Greg sat outside and read. There was just enough wind to keep most of the black flies away. As long as the wind blows hard, the flies don't land, but in the woods, we got a good dose of them. The tent campers spray the repellent and build smokey, refugee-camp-like fires. We are staying inside when the wind dies. While we were hiking they would get up under the brim of your hat or burrow into your hair. They kept crawling in at my temples. Yuck... I think they go away some time in June. We'll see...

Tomorrow we'll leave and explore the coast and the Annapolis Valley. We don't have a destination, just figure it out as we go!