Goodbye PEI, the Cabot Trail Calls

Wednesday, July 3, 2013


We left St Peters Campground on Monday, July 1^st, Canada Day. It was overcast and damp. We made a stop at the visitor center in town, posted the blog, checked e-mail, took a look at the threatening skies, and decided we didn't want to hike in the other section of national park. Greg rode his bike there the day before. I asked him if I would regret it if I didn't see it and he said no, so we left the area and drove through the center of the island to Charlottetown. The main route took us around the capitol city and on past it to the southern coast. We had visited the downtown during our cruise, so we didn't feel the need to go back. On our drive along the southern coast we saw the Confederation bridge and noted that we would be coming back that way when we left the island.



At Summerside we joined the trail that follows the coastline around the western end of PEI. Traveling through the downtown we noticed cars and people lining the streets. Thinking there was to be a parade for Canada Day, we were surprised when a police officer waved us through onto the main street. I think he was supposed to stop us. Coming the other way were a couple hundred motorcyclists on parade. The Atlanticade motorcycle rally was just concluding with a parade. We were the anti-parade going opposite them!

Annual Atlanticade Motorcycle Parade

We spent the next couple hours driving up the Gulf of St. Lawrence side of PEI. We stopped for lunch at The Landing Oyster House and Pub in Tyne Valley. I went outside to photograph the exterior and realized the town was so quiet that not a single car had passed by the whole time I was outside, even though there was a crossroads there. Just then a tractor came over the hill and down the main road! There was traffic, just not what I expected!

St. Anne the Baptist ?? RC Church, Is this St. Anne of Green Gables?

Another ornate village church

Traffic Jam on Main St.

More Fried Clams!

We drove to the very northwesterly tip called the North Cape. At the end, the University of New Brunswick has established a wind research facility and has a wind farm there. The point also has a lighthouse and the longest rock reef in North America stretched off the end. Unfortunately we arrived at the wrong time to see the tidal currents from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait coming together over the reef. The sun had finally come out and it was hot, muggy and buggy, so we drove on.

Dangerous Falaises? Oh, a cliff!

Wind turbines in every flavor

We came a short ways down the Northumberland Strait side and found a campground on the water. We picked out a site all to ourselves in the field. There were a few families there camping or staying in cottages to celebrate the long weekend. As we were outside putting leveling blocks under the wheels, the insects descended. We hit the trifecta of bugs! We experienced the triple play of the insects of PEI! The mosquitoes were there, deer/horse flies, and a different breed of black flies. The bugs particularly like the hairline on the back of your neck. This breed of black fly also likes to get under your clothes. I couldn't figure out what felt so uncomfortable under my bra! I went inside to inspect and a dead black fly fell out! He injected me with an anti-coagulant and left me with what looked like a large purple mole that started to get red around the sides and welt up. Sorry, no pictures. I also have at least 6 large hard welts on the sides and back of my neck. My glands are swollen and tender there too from my reaction to the bites! Greg has even more on the back of his neck, arms, and legs, since he had to be outside longer hooking up the RV.



We escaped down the cliff to the beach where there was a slight breeze to keep them away. The sand was red from the eroding cliffs. It looked like a storm was building on the horizon, so we didn't walk long. We did get our feet wet. The water was warmer than you would expect for that far north. Now we can say that we waded in the Northumberland Strait!

Very quiet beach on the Northumberland Strait

How far do I have to hike to find water deep enough to swim?

Finally, wet feet!

A beach with sand, rocks, and a waterfall! What more could you want?

Over dinner we discussed what to do next. After 11 days in PEI we had seen most of the island and found that it didn't differ much. I think that people go year after year to the same beach and probably don't travel around much, so they aren't concerned with a lot of variety.



After a clear evening, Tuesday started out overcast so we took the most direct route to the Confederation Bridge. When we came over on the ferry we didn't pay. The fare is $91. When you cross to the island on the 14 km bridge you don't pay the toll of $44.50. You pay when you leave the island, so when we left we paid the bridge toll to get off instead of the ferry toll. Once on the New Brunswick side we took a turn east to reach Nova Scotia. This was a new stretch of coast for us. It was overcast and lightly rained on and off. We had a lunch stop in Pugwash at the Hillcrest View Inn and Restaurant. We saw a couple of motorcycle campers from Virginia there. We are starting to see a few tourists from the States, but not many. I guess it will pick up later in the summer.

Confederation Bridge

Retired permanently

Hillcrest View Restaurant in Pugwash

Canada Day!

We left the coastal trail at Pictou where we had gotten the ferry 11 days ago. Following the main Canadian Highway route we crossed back over the Strait of Canso and back onto Cape Breton. This time we drove up the west coast headed for the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We made it by dinner time as far as Port Hood and checked in to the Port Hood RV Co-op. The site was just across the road and over the dunes to the ocean. There was a beautiful sandy beach and harbor. Normal sand color, not red! Greg had gotten tired of the red cliffs and sand on PEI and was happy to see new geology on Cape Breton.
 

Bulk Freighter in the Strait of Canso

Port Hood Beach

Sea Rocket?

Beach Pea

The sky was clear when we went to bed, but again overcast and raw when we got up this morning. We got back into our long pants and sleeves again and drove away from Port Hood. On the way out we had to make way for a large fishing boat being trailered into town. All over the Canadian Maritimes we are seeing fishing boats resting on land in yards. Many fisheries are crashing and the fishermen's quotas are getting smaller, so more and more boats are lying idle on land. We took a back dirt road over to the main road and rejoined it as we traveled north.

 The Glennora Distillery was on our way, so we stopped to see about a tour and tasting. We just missed the hourly tour, and after Greg spied their whiskey in the gift shop with a $200 price tag on it, he decided he didn't want to like it, so we left! At West Margaree, along the Margaree River known for its salmon flyfishing, our road joined the Cabot Trail. A sign said to watch for fishermen crossing the road, and sure enough there were a few walking up from the river to their cars.

At Belle Cote we crossed into the Acadian section of the trail and more signs were in French. Greg pulled over to a lookout on a bluff to let some faster cars pass, and we noticed there were people outside their cars with binoculars. We raced to get ours and saw about eight pilot whales off the coast traveling north. We watched for a while and just after the other cars left, we glanced up from our seats to see a bald eagle soaring along the cliff just in front of us! Shortly after that the sun came out and by the time we got to Cheticamp the sky was clear.



In Cheticamp, the center of the Acadian area, and the home of our reinactor friend from Louisbourg, we stopped at the local Co-op foodstore. It was fun to hear French being spoken and English being spoken with French accents. We bought a meat pie for dinner and oat cakes, both made by Aucoin Bakery in Cheticamp. We also got a container of the local strawberries that have just come into season.

Canadian, Nova Scotian, and Acadian Flags

Next we drove into Cape Breton Highlands National Park and picked out a site at the Cheticamp Campground. We are in a grassy area with trees and a babbling brook behind us. We tried to sit outside for a while before dinner, but once again, the insects drove us inside. Tomorrow we will hike the Salmon Pool Trail along the Cheticamp River and see what we can discover!

Acadian Beef & Pork Pie