Scenic Drives – Page 2 – ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen

ÍSLAND

28/09/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Art Museum, Cities, Dining, Foreign Travel, Foreign Travel Adventures, Live Music, Street Art and Murals, Travel

DAY ONE….DAGG EINN

Since this was our first visit to Iceland we decided to stay in Reykjavik and use it as our base for the trip. We selected the Ion City Hotel which would put us in the heart of the city on Laugavegur, which is a bit touristy but has multiple specialty coffee shops and restaurants within a five minute walk. The hotel is small with just 18 rooms and its location provided us a view down to the harbor and the night sky. The lobby is tiny as the majority of the ground floor is occupied by Sumac, a restaurant specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine. We were very happy with our choice based on our stylish room, our view, our private sauna and the very friendly, helpful front desk staff. Lastly, how can you not like a hotel with a painting of David Bowie in the lobby! Takk fyrir.

We crashed at the hotel for a couple of hours after our overnight flight and then went out to do some exploring in the neighborhood.

We made our first stop at Reykjavik Roasters, which is just around the corner from the hotel. We know you would expect nothing less of us. RR was founded in 2008 and has been a staple of the Reykjavik coffee scene ever since.

After finishing our drinks (and pastries) we walked up the hill to visit Hallgrímskirkja (the church of Hallgrimur). The church took 41 years to build. Construction started in 1945. Hallgrimskirkja is the tallest church in Iceland and provides fabulous views of the city, harbor, mountains and volcanoes from the top of the 243 foot tower.

Unlike the United States, Iceland has a state sponsored and protected national church – the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja). There is religious freedom in Iceland and a number of other religious faiths are practiced in the country.

After visiting the church we did a bit more strolling, grabbed a quick fish and chips dinner and went back to our hotel satisfied with a good first day. As we lay in bed, as if on cue, the Aurora Borealis appeared and we jumped up and out onto our balcony to take in the show and snap some pictures. We upgraded our good first day to an excellent first day! Húrra!

Day two….DAGG tveir

In accordance with Rule One of Travel (all days must begin with tea and coffee) we checked out TE & KAFFI (directly across the way from the hotel). TE & KAFFI was up to snuff and we added the establishment to our inventory of specialty coffee shops for our stay in Reykjavik.

After fika we spent the morning exploring the city on foot and made our first visit to the waterfront. We also happened upon several more excellent street murals. While down at the old harbor we popped into the one of the three Reykjavik Art Museum locations. The exhibitions at this location when we visited were not a good fit for our sensibilities so we did not tarry.

Towards early afternoon we walked back up the hill from the old harbor area to check out one of the other art museums. This museum, Kjarvalsstaðirat, was exhibiting predominately landscape paintings by both professional and amateur Icelandic artists. The museum is named after Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885-1972). Kjarval is Iceland’s most revered painter and many of his paintings are on display.

The art here was much more to our liking (or comprehension) and was a lovely mix of colorful renderings of the Icelandic countryside and cityscapes.

DAY THREE….DAGG PRIR

For our third day we hit the road (after coffee and tea) in pursuit of the Golden Circle (GC). We rented a 4WD SUV in case we found ourselves off the pavement in pursuit of getting up close to some of the natural features along or near the GC route. This worked out nicely as you can see from the photos directly below.

We made our way Þingvellir National Park (PNP) along an alternate route utilizing the excellent skills of our senior navigator. As we approached the park Þingvallavatn Lake came into view. It is the largest natural lake in Iceland. You may notice in the photo above left the large pipeline. In the States you might expect it to be an oil or gas pipeline – not in Iceland – this pipeline carries geothermally heated water. It carries millions of gallons per minute of boiling water and provides heat for most of the residents of Iceland.

The park is historically important to Iceland as it was the location of Iceland’s first parliament, which met there on the open plains from 930 until 1798. The park location is considered to be the birthplace of Iceland.

The other aspect that makes this beautiful park important is that within the park are the rift valleys that separates the continental plates. The rifts run north – south. The plate to the east is Eurasia while the plate to the west is North America. Some of the rifts are dry allowing visitors to walk through while others have filled with water.

After completing our hiking loop at PNP we continued north on the GC. We bypassed the popular Geysir Hot Springs as we have seen many a geyser (including Old Faithful) during our travels in the Western United States.

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) is impressive for its sheer force and size – and – it is a traverse waterfall. The water falls 105 feet into a crevice and then flows sideways and then down through a canyon that reaches 230 feet in depth. The waterfall is located on the Hvítá (White) River and is fed by the Langjökull Glacier.

It is hard for us to fathom but Gullfoss was privately owned by a local sheep farmer – Tómas Tómasson. A British firm (it’s always the British) attempted to purchase the property to use it to generate electricity. Fortunately, that never came to fruition and the river and falls remain in their spectacular natural state (owned and protected by the government of Iceland).

Gullfoss

From Gullfoss we started our return to Reykjavik. We detoured across Route 31 to see the Skálholt Church. The first Episcopal church in Iceland was built at this location in the year 1000. By 1550 the Reformation was in full swing under the auspices of the King of Denmark. In order that everyone understood his intent he had Jón Arason, the Catholic Bishop Of Iceland (the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland) and his two sons executed at Skálholt. Lofið drottin! In other news, the current church was built between 1956 and 1963.

***Hvítá River Viewed From Skálholt Church***

DAY FOUR….DAGG fjórir

We booked a food tour with Wake Up Reykjavik on the recommendation of our good friend Brian. The tour was lots of fun and the food was quite good. The tour included five stops to sample different dishes. We have included below the five stops and a description of the food we sampled. Thank you Brian!

Hotel Borg (The oldest hotel in Iceland) Icelandic pancakes with sugar, jam and whipped cream. Ljúffengur!!

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (The Town’s Best Hot Dogs) Traditional Icelandic hot dog with Icelandic ketchup, Icelandic mustard, remoulade sauce (remúlaði), deep fried onions and raw onions. Made famous after Bill Clinton visited for a dog. He had mustard only – now known as a Clinton!

Sólon Islandus (The Salvador Dali place) Lamb chop with mustard umami sauce, mashed potatoes and grilled brocollini

The young woman in the photo (above right) is Alfhedur Kristin Hallgrimsdottir aka Alfie. Alfie was our quite entertaining and informative guide. She is holding the traditional and obligatory sample of fermented shark, which is washed down with a shot of a strong liqueur. The lamb was delicious – the shark is what we would describe as an acquired taste.

Sjávarréttagrillið (The seafood grill) Lobster taco on a soft taco shell with garlic sauce, spinach, pickled red onions, deep fried langoustine, date puree, cilantro and parmesan cheese.

As we left Sjávarréttagrillið we happened upon a former Miss Iceland who was about to do a photo shoot. She graciously posed with our food tour group. She did not appear to mind being outdoors in the 40F temperature without much clothing. Icelanders are tough – and very nice!

Hannesarhollt (The poets/prime ministers cafe) Rhubarb crumble pie – Happy marriage cake! (Hjónabandssæla) Perfect timing as this trip was in celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary!

***Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake (Photo courtesy of Autumn Carolyn)***

After our afternoon food tour we were in no need of dinner so we retraced our tour route to photograph some interesting murals we had observed while on the tour and took a break at the hotel before venturing out for an evening of jazz.

The jazz concert was taking place at the modern and architecturally award winning Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Center. The Harpa was opened in 2011. This stunning facility sits directly on the waterfront and hosts the Icelandic Symphony, Icelandic Opera, Big Band and many other shows within the various venues housed here.

We were quite fortunate that the Trio Óskar Guðjónssonar, Jorge Rossy og Thomas Morgan was performing that night. The three members of the trio are all veteran performers who have toured extensively internationally and played with many renowned jazz bands.

The show was great. The trio played a number of their own compositions as well a several jazz standards. We also enjoyed the polite audience – no talking or videoing during the show! What a treat after experiencing so many disrespectful and boorish audiences at music events in the U.S.

After the show we came outside to find the Aurora Borealis again dancing in the sky over the harbor! If seeing the Aurora Borealis four nights in a row doesn’t warrant a night cap we don’t know what does! We made the short walk over to Apotek. The place was hopping but we were able grab two seats at the bar and have our cocktails and a couple of appetizers. We had a great time discussing the upcoming U.S. election with our bartender – who is probably more knowledgable about our upcoming election than most Americans! Sorglegt!

DAY FIVE….DAGG FIMM

On day five we opted for a slower paced day as we were planning on a long day touring the South Coast the next day. We started our day at Mokka Kaffi. Our intel was that they have the best waffles. We do not know if they are the best in Reykjavik but they were dang good! A bit of shopping in the afternoon completed the day time portion of that day’s program.

We finished our day with an excellent meal at the highly recommended (thank you Alfie) Tapas Barinn. We ordered several small plates starting with chorizo, followed by prawns, lamb and Icelandic foal. Ljúffengur!

DAY SIX….DAGG SEX

On day six we were back on the road for a tour along the south coast of Iceland following the Ring Road (Route 1). Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, a popular tourist stop as it is visible from Route 1 and the walk from the parking area to the falls is relatively short and level. At 197 feet impressive, but not the best of the day in our view.

We continued along Route 1 making frequent stops to admire the views on a gorgeous blue sky day.

Several miles drive further along the Ring Road conveyed us to Skogafoss (foss translates to waterfall). This waterfall is impressive not just for its height of 200 feet but also its width of 82 feet. You can walk along the Skoga River and stand at the base of this thundering wall of water.

This was probably the waterfall that we enjoyed the most due to the ability to both stand at the base (and get wet) and also at the top of the waterfall via a steep 600 stair climb. From the top there is a fantastic view of the valley below that extends to the ocean. From here, the Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail (summertime only) continues up the mountain along the river providing access to additional waterfalls.

Approximately 15% of Iceland is covered by glaciers. We began to get glimpses of the Sólheimajökull Glacier heading east on Route 1. While we were not prepared to hike on the glacier on this trip (guide required) we wanted to get up close and the hike up to the tongue of Sólheimajökull was doable.

What was immediately apparent as we approached the tongue was that this glacier is currently in retreat. The glacier is currently about seven miles in length. It has had periods of retreat (1930-1969) and periods of advancement (1969-1995). The glacier has been retreating since 1995 and the rate of retreat has accelerated since 2000. Between 2000 and 2015 it shrank by slightly over half a mile. When it retreats the glacier also gets thinner. We hiked by posts indicating where the tongue of the glacier had ended over a period of years. The photo below at the bottom provides a feel for the magnitude of the retreat. While the demise of glaciers in Iceland is not imminent, about eleven million tons of glacial ice is melting annually. Slæmt!

Iceland has a rich history relating to Elves. We visited Drangurinn rock in Drangshlíð. This large rock sits alone in the middle of a field with a backdrop of the Eyjafjöll Mountains. There are a number of cow and hay sheds built into the rock.

The legend is that elves live inside the rock and would tend to the animals at night if a cow was close to giving birth so that the farmers would not need stay in the pitch dark sheds.

Our favorite tale is about a local farmer who went missing for several days. Upon returning he told the local folks that he had been with the elves in the rock. He also said that the elves were lovely, decent and as handsome as humans. Furthermore, he was going to marry an elf woman. Soon after the farmer disappeared but no one looked for him because they knew he was living in the rock with his elf wife. Ég elska þig!

While it was a chilly day we were keen to drive south to the shore and visit a black sand beach. Route 254 took us south along the Markarfljot until we reached the shoreline at the ferry terminal for Vestmannaeyar (Westman Islands). The view from the beach of the sun heading down and the islands in silhouette was mesmerizing. While we did walk the beach there were no shoes off with feet in the water. This is the North Atlantic in September!

The Vestmannaeyjar consist of 15 islands and 30 rock stacks. The islands were created by underwater volcanic eruptions. The population is approximately 4300 people, all of whom live on the island of Heimaey. Heimaey has two volcanoes. None of the other tiny islands are inhabited on a full time basis.

The name of the islands – West Men – is named after the Irish slaves who fled the mainland to the islands to escape their servitude. Ireland was thought to be the farthest land west of the continent – hence West Men. The West Men were, of course, subsequently captured and killed. Frelsi!

Our friends Jim and Sally recommended that we stop at the Hotel Ranga for a cocktail if we were going to be touring the South Coast. The Ranga fit perfectly with our return leg to Reykjavik and of course all the fresh air and sunshine definitely engenders a thirst which can only be quenched by expertly made cocktails.

Takk fyrir, Jim and Sally! Excellent cocktails in a beautiful setting. The Hotel Ranga is definitely on our itinerary for our next visit to Iceland.

***Polar Bear, Hotel Ranga, Hella, Iceland***

DAY SEVEN….DAGG TI’U

On our final day in Iceland the rains finally came (no complaints from us) so we decided to do what many other tourists do when it rains in Reykjavik. We visited the Perlan (The Pearl).

Perlan sits on the highest hill in Reykjavik providing 360 degree views of the city and surrounding area from the roof top cafe and observation deck. The glass dome sits atop six geothermal functioning geothermal water tanks. Quite cool!

The food at the cafe is excellent and they have a full bar. The exhibits are also quite good and entertaining. The focus is on the forces of nature which dominate Iceland’s geography, weather and culture: volcanoes, glaciers, aurora borealis, wildlife and more.

One thing we did not get to see were puffins. But fortunately, the Perlan has a very realistic bird cliff and we have included a couple of photos below with our only puffin sighting, albeit inside the Perlan.

We wrapped up our final day with an Icelandic tradition. A wonderful soak at the geothermal lagoon at Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik. Before entering the lagoon we went through a multi-step ritual starting with a sauna, followed by a cold rinse, a salt paste application and then into a steam bath (we skipped the cold water plunge) and finally the lagoon. Delightful! Oh, did we mention there is a bar in the lagoon – Prosecco please! (Photos courtesy of Sky Lagoon)

That’s it from Iceland…..we had a terrific time. It is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes which reflect the fire and ice theme which dominates. The Northern Lights…. what can we say…. first trip – four sightings….we almost feel guilty. The country is modern yet maintains deep connections to its ancient Viking heritage (including the Icelandic language which reflects the Old Norse spoken by the Vikings).

Every Icelander we met was friendly, polite and knowledgable. This is a country that is civilized and humane (with a living wage for all). Iceland is a literate society. Reykjavik is chock full of museums, book stores, galleries, music venues, street art and excellent food (and coffee).

Be seeing you!

Time to go Home…..

29/08/202405/09/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Adventure Van Travel, Travel

***Grand Falls, New Brunswick (Photo courtesy Tourism New Brunswick)***

On our ultimate day in Canada we followed the St. John River south along the eastern bank after crossing over the river at Grand Falls. This route kept us off the highway and carried us through a scattering of very small farms and towns while keeping the river in view.

After crossing into the United States at Fort Fairfield, we made the short drive to Presque Isle where we had dinner and stayed for the evening.

If you visit Presque Isle, we heartily recommend dinner at RODNEY’S AT 436 MAIN. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the (yes-hip) Northeastland Hotel in the center of downtown.

https://thenortheastlandhotel.com/dining/

With the Presque Isle campus of the University of Maine nearby we were hopeful that good coffee would be at hand in the morning. Thank you HUB. We suspected that we would be in the coffee wilderness until reaching southern Maine (which entitled us to donuts) and unfortunately that suspicion turned out to be spot on.

From Presque Isle we traveled south on Route 11 through hilly woodlands and farmland to access the infamous Golden Road from its eastern terminus in Millinocket. The forecast for the following day was for heavy rain so we decided to hole up in Millinocket until the weather passed. Driving 100 miles in deep mud and flooded roads and potentially dealing with massive logging trucks (with the right of way) is overrated in our opinion. (Photos courtesy of Down East Magazine)

Millinocket was a mill town for over 100 years. The Bangor and Aroostock Railroad completed a rail line in 1894 that made the area accessible. Soon after, the Great Northern Paper Company (GNP) began construction of a paper mill which would become the largest mill in the world. The West Branch of the Penobscot River provided the necessary power. The mill produced newsprint (including for the New York Times) and operated 24 hours a day, seven days week every day of the year. The population grew from 1000 in 1900 to almost 8000 people by the 1960s (400 of the original 1000 were laborers from Italy, hence the Little Italy section of town). The wages at the mill were roughly double that of manufacturing wages in the state, drawing workers from Maine and beyond.

GNP was acquired by Georgia Pacific in 1989, which began the eventual death spiral. The company was sold several more times before filing for bankruptcy. An asset management company purchased the assets and sold them off to various entities. The mill closed down in 2008 with all the mill jobs lost. The population, not surprisingly, declined and is currently 4300. The main industry (really the only industry and reason for the town’s existence) was paper.

Tourism brings some folks through town – the northern trailhead of the Appaclachian Trail and Baxter State Park are nearby. There is also rafting on the West Branch of the Penobscot River. This has helped but the town looks pretty forlorn. A number of boarded up storefronts and the charred remains of a vacant bank building (destroyed by fire in March, 2024) are still standing among the few operating busnesses along the main street (Penobscot). Sadly, this is not a unique story in the old mill towns of New England.

While waiting for the expected rainstorm to pass through we washed ALL of our laundry at the cottage we had rented for two nights. With our laundry project behind us and the rain letting up we walked the two blocks to Penobscot Street. There we quickly settled on the Blue Ox Saloon as our venue to meet some local folks and imbibe a drink or two.

The Blue Ox is old school. Cash only and the pours are extraordinarily large. Don’t even think about asking for wine. The antique cash register is not for show. The bartender/owner is a character and the handful of locals at the bar (5 PM Saturday) were friendly and looking to share their stories with us (and buy us drinks). Some sad stories, photos of first wives, second wives and lots of kids and grandkids. Not surprising as we mentioned earlier this whole town was built around the GNP paper mill and the closing left a permanent mark on the folks here. N.B.: Be mindful that this is Appalachia and the politics and culture of the local folks is very conservative.

Golden Road

The Chesuncook Boom House sits on a knoll overlooking Ripogenus Lake and Chesuncook Lake with a view to the Katahdin Mountain Range. The house was moved to the current location in 1916 to avoid flooding after the dam on Lake Ripogenus Lake became operational.

A boomhouse was home to river drivers. The Chesuncook Boom House was where up to 24 river drivers lived and ate when working as log drivers. The link below provides a brief but extremely interesting history of log driving on the Penobscot River. The link also includes a number of archival photographs which provide views of the men working on the logs in the river. You can clearly see the inherent demands and dangers of the occupation. The article was written by the the curator of the Chesuncook Boom House which is open seasonally as a museum. We met the curator, Chuck Harris, while visiting. He worked in the forestry industry for many years. He is quite interesting and knowledgable about the industry and the history of the area. Definitely worth a visit if you decide to tackle a portion of the Golden Road.

River Driving History

From the boom house we continued east on the Golden Road, venturing deeper into the North Maine Woods until we came to the Caribou Checkpoint. The Golden Road is still privately owned despite the demise of the Great Northern Paper Company. As such, we were required to pay a per person toll, declare our destination and obtain a permit to camp within the privately owned woodlands. Ah, capitalism at it’s best…..

***Golden Road***, ***Caribou Checkpoint***

Moose, did we mention moose? Maine has an estimated 76,000 moose. The moose population in Maine is the largest in the United States outside of Alaska. Unfortunately, the moose population in the other lower 47 states is declining. As an example, the moose population in Minnesota has declined by 70% since 2006. Maine’s next door neighbor New Hampshire is also experiencing a precipitous decline which has folks in Maine very concerned. Global warming is the apparent culprit. Tick infestations are worsening and killing more moose as the warmer temperatures allow more of the ticks to survive the winter and feast on moose. Dang it!

If you have not seen moose in the wild – we highly recommend a visit to Maine. If you are not comfortable setting out into the backwoods on your own there are a number moose watching tour outfits. The males are usually about six feet in height and weigh 1200 to 1400 pounds – magnificent!

***Bull (Male) Moose*** ***(Photo courtesy of USFWS)***

Although we did not find our intended camping location, our last evening of camping was fittingly spectacular. After finding that we had missed the well hidden Nelhedus Stream Trail on the north side of Seeboomook Lake, we were able to navigate around to the south shore and find a spot right on the lake. The lake was beautiful, the sunset spectacular and we were serenaded by the calls of loons echoing across the lake. Magic!

Seeboomook Lake was created with the construction of a dam at the eastern end of the lake which feeds the West Branch of the Penobscot River. The dam was built in 1936 to provide hydropower for the Great Northern Paper Company.

Historical tidbit: during World War Two, German prisoners of war were brought to the area to cut and transport trees as the GNP was short of labor, for obvious reasons. The prisoners were housed on a farm in Seboomook; they were repatriated to Germany in 1946. Seeboomook still exists today as unorganized territory, a couple miles south of the eastern end of the lake, with a population of 23.

We would be remiss if we did not give the Beast it’s due. The Beast was a bit battered but not defeated at trip’s end. The second alternator and light bar had given up the ghost. Our navigator-side hoop step was damaged during a backcountry ramble. The Beast got us everywhere we wanted to go and to a couple places we probably shouldn’t have gone! Many thanks to our rugged and reliable steed.

This is our last post for OTR 10.0. We had a great trip despite not completing our full itinerary. We were unable to travel to New Foundland and Labrador due to issues with the Nova Scotia to New Foundland ferry. We probably would have ended up being quite seasick anyway (16 hour ferry ride)! Another trip for sure.

Next up is a visit to Iceland in September. We will be home for the remainder of the fall as Maria recovers from knee replacement surgery. Our current plan is to depart The Fort in mid January (OTR 11.0) for a trip through the Southwest, including several extended overland segments through the Sonoran Desert.

Be seeing you!

Au Revoir Isle Royale

19/08/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Travel

Bridge or ferry..not really a question is it?

We wanted to take the most scenic and interesting route to Sydney so we crossed the Bras d’Or Lake at the Little Narrows on the Little Narrows ferry. The ferry operates on demand 24 hours a day and is free of charge. Quite the bargain! This is not the smallest ferry we have ever taken with the Beast but we would not venture out into the open ocean on this vessel!

***Little Narrows Ferry, Cape Breton (Photo courtesy of Diana Robinson)***

The ferry is a diesel powered cable ferry. This one of four cable ferries servicing Cape Breton and we believe the shortest crossing. The full ride across takes under three minutes. Dare we say it is cute?

After departing the ferry we followed Route 223 to the Grand Narrows where we again crossed a portion of the 62 mile long lake and continued on the Grand Narrows Highway (Route 223) towards Sydney and our appointment with Doktor Luke.

Finally, Doktor Luke’s -silly rabbit – not that kind of doctor! Doktor Luke’s| A Respectable Coffee House… where it is always TIME FOR A DAMN FINE CUP O’ COFFEE.

https://www.doktorlukes.com/

Sydney (pop. 30,000) sits on Sydney Harbour in eastern Cape Breton. The city was named for Thomas Townshend Baron Sydney (Viscount Sydney). The city’s origin is distinctly British as it’s founding (1785) was as a place for British loyalists who remained faithful to the Crown and in opposition to the establishment of the American Colonies as an independent nation. It is estimated that 100,000 colonist fled the American colonies during or after the Revolutionary War (we do not recall that fact being mentioned during history class). About 70% of the loyalists emigrated to Canada. The United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada (ULEAC) is an one of the organizations that continues to actively preserve the history of the loyalists (to learn more click the link below).

https://uelac.ca/

Sydney’s early economic engine was coal mining. There were over 100 coal mines in the area and these mines produced more coal than all of the other coal mines in Nova Scotia combined. The vast majority (similar to Inverness-see prior post) of the coal fields were underwater. As with so many places where coal was a major part the economy and culture, the coal industry began winding down in the 1970s. The last of the underground mines in Sydney ceased operation in 2001.

https://notyourgrandfathersmining.ca/sydney-coalfield

In addition to coal, Sydney was also anchored to the steel industry. Dominion Iron and Steel was one of the largest steel producers in Canada. Unfortunately, the company was also responsible for significant environmental damage. Steel operations shut down in 1988. Read a brief history below courtesy of Sydney Steel.

Sydney Steel Corporation is behind one of Canada’s biggest environmental disasters. At the very end of the 19th century, American investors formed the Dominion and Iron Steel Company LTD (DISCO) and began large scale steel production in Wintering Cove, Sydney. The area was ripe for steel production with iron ore, limestone and coal at hand in troves. It also has a good harbour for shipping and a good fresh water supply. Within a decade of opening, the steel mill was producing 800,000 tonnes of pig iron and 900,000 tonnes of crude steel – nearly half of Canada’s steel production. It was also one North America’s largest steel production company.

During production throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, operations had dire consequences for the surrounding environment – in particular the wetlands and harbour adjacent to the plant. The facility was situated directly adjacent to and north of the coke oven operations. These coke ovens produced a huge amount of hazardous materials that flowed freely into the subsequently named Tar Ponds.

Throughout the 1970s, as environmental activism began to take heed, concerns for the damage that these mills were causing had reached new heights. Environmental groups would consistently uncover evidence that the government didn’t know the damage that the mills were causing to the environment, or they did and were turning a blind eye. In 1980s, scientists discovered polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the lobster caught in Sydney harbour – a direct result of contamination from the Tar Ponds.

Insistent pressure from various sources caused the steel mill to cease operations in 1988, when the Sydney Steel Corporation turned into an electric arc manufacturer. Industrial production ceased altogether in 2000.

After our Damn Fine Cup O’ Coffee at Doktor Luke’s, we set off on a walkabout through the historic district. Our first stop was at Cossit House Museum. This house is the oldest standing residence in Sydney. It was built by Reverend Ranna Cossit in 1787. Cossit was the first Anglican minister in Sydney. The arrival in Sydney of an Anglican minister at this time is not surprising based on Sydney’s loyalist origin.

Cossit moved from New Hampshire as part of the establishment of the Anglican parish. He was accompanied by his wife, Thankful Brooks, and their six surviving children. Thankful provided the good reverend with another six children before departing for the next life while delivering their 13th child. The well used birthing room is pictured above.

***Cossit Family (Photo courtesy of the museum)***

The Cossit House Museum was well worth the visit. We had two period costumed guides who were both informative and interesting.

https://cossithouse.novascotia.ca/

After another damn fine cup o’ coffee the next morning at Doktor Luke’s we set out to visit the Fortress Of Louisbourg (pronounced Lewis-Berg). The fortress is a national historic site located about 20 miles south of Sydney just outside the the fishing town of the same name (pop. 1000).

***Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site***

The construction of the fortress began in 1719 and was completed in 1745 by the French who came to this area after Newfoundland and Acadia were lost to the British in 1713. The settlers, who were primarily fishermen, were able to continue fishing the Grand Banks from Louisbourg. The cod fishery was the primary economic industry and was lucrative. The cod was dried and exported to France in exchange for goods.

Unfortunately, peace and prosperity were not long lived as the British and French went to war in 1745. With troops frm New England leading the attack, the British laid siege to the fort soon after war was declared.

While the fortress is impressive to look at and the harbour side was well defended, the surrounding hills made the fortress vulnerable to the British batteries. The New Englanders captured the fortress in just 46 days.

A treaty signed in 1748 restored the fortress to the French. The French carried on for the next 13 years until once again the British and French were at war. The British attacked the fortress with a massive force of 13,000 soldiers supported by 14,000 sailors on board a fleet of 150 ships. The battle was over in seven weeks with the overmatched French losing once again. The British who were determined that the fortress would never be useful to the French at any time in the future completely demolished all of the fortress walls!

The photos in this post are of the re-created fortress and village. The fortress and 50 of the original buildings have been faithfully reconstructed to the specifications in the many documents left by the French. This is quite remarkable as not a single structure remained when the work began to re-create a portion of the village and fortress. The majority of restoration took place over a 20 year period between 1960 and 1980. Quite impressive!

The fortress is a fascinating look back into the history and lives of the French in this area of Cape Breton. The park is staffed by very knowledgable and friendly guides who are dressed in period costumes. We highly recommend spending a day at the Fortress of Louisbourg Historical site.

***Fortress of Louisbourg National Historical Site*** ***(Photo courtesy of Parks Canada)***

After finishing our tour of the fortress we departed for Battery Provincial Park. It appeared on our atlas that we would be able work our way down the coast on backcountry trails. However, we were ultimately thwarted by a locked gate and had to retrace our way back towards the fortress and pavement. Not all bad news because our back road jaunt did bring us to the beautiful Kennington Cove (photos below) where we paused and took in the marvelous views and the sound of the surf. It is all about the journey!

Back on pavement, we drove to Battery Provincial Park to camp for the evening. The park sits on a bluff above the historic St Peter’s Canal, which allows passage between the Bras d’Or and the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, those are franks and beans!

The next morning we were treated to coffee and music at the Farmers Pantry in St. Peter’s. Steve MacIntyre is a singer/songwiter who hails from Part Hawkesbury. Steve performed a set of original songs and covers of traditional Cape Breton music. Who doesn’t like live music with your first cappuccino!

Too Small a Town – Steve MacIntyre, Robyn Chisholm

Well, that’s a wrap from our travels on Cape Breton. We hope you found it interesting and perhaps helpful for your future travel plans. We enjoyed the scenery, people, history and music of Cape Breton immensely. We have one more post to publish which will chronicle our trip back through the Maine North Woods as we return to Connecticut.

Be seeing you!

Unama’ki or Isle du Cap-Breton or Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn or Cape Breton

09/08/202405/09/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Bike Trails, Camping, Hiking, Live Music, Travel

After departing Broad Cove we followed the Cabot Trail (CT) west along the northern perimeter of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP). This route took us up into the heart of the highlands and then back down along the western slope where the highlands meet the North Atlantic. As always, lots of spectacular scenery and driving.

Cabot Trail, Petit Etang

Along the way we stopped to hike the Skyline Trail, considered one of the best hikes in CBHNP. The trail leads out to cliffs providing dramatic views of the mountainous coastline and the ocean below. Although the weather began closing in during our hike, we were still able to see for several miles up and down the coast.

From the Skyline Trail we journeyed south on the CT to the Acadian community of Cheticamp. We had booked an AirBnb for two nights with a deck overlooking the harbour. Unfortunately, the rain moved in that evening squashing our plans for cocktails and nibbles on the deck (rough, eh?). We made the best of it— washed our laundry and got a good night’s sleep.

The next morning was still drizzly, so feeling chipper after a hot shower and wearing freshly laundered duds, we set off for coffee at Marguerite Boutique et Provisions. In the ‘it’s a small world’ category, we met a retired long-haul truck driver (J.P. — Jean Paul) who had lived in Meriden (our home base) for several years-and-a young man from Hamden, Connecticut (on a two year solo journey). We also met some folks from California and New Hampshire — all in all, an enjoyable fika segment!

https://www.boutiquemarguerite.com

After fika we poked around town a bit before returning to our our cottage for an afternoon lie down — perfetto on a rainy gray day. We capped off the day with a delicious dinner at L’abrie Restaurant, Cafe et Bar. This restaurant was recommended to us by our barista at the Periwinkle Cafe in Ingonish —thank you very much!

L’abrie is owned by the same partners that own Marguerite. You can read more about the partners, their mission and the restaurant by clicking on the link below.

https://www.labri.cafe/

***Cheticamp (Photo courtesy of Societe Saint-Pie*****rre)**

Chéticamp is an Acadian region on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the western slope of Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia. It is located between Cape Breton Highlands National Park to the north and Grand-Étang and Montagne des Écureuils to the south. These magnificent sites stretch for many kilometres along the Cabot Trail. It’s settlement began in the decade following the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, ending the Seven Years’ War between France and Great Britain. Chéticamp takes its name from a Mi’kmaq expression meaning “rarely full”, presumably in reference to Petit Étang (small pond) in La Prairie (the prairie) near Buttereau at the foot of Grande Falaise (big cliff) in the estuary of the Chéticamp River. All these names are the legacy of a rich heritage in the heart of a landscape where wild habitats and the sea merge with extraordinary beauty.

Learn more about the fascinating history of Acadian communities around the world at: acadie-on-the-roads-of-the-acadian-people-map-articles-and-references-about-the-acadian-communities

We departed Cheticamp traveling along the coast on the CT through the scenic villages of Grand Etang and Margaree Harbour. At Margaree Harbour we said our final farewell to the CT and our widdershins loop of CB. From there we followed Route 219 to Southwest Margaree, then we veered inland to explore some of the interior of Cape Breton in the distinctly Scottish heritage area around Lake Ainslie.

The photos above are from the MacDonald Farm in East Lake Ainslie – now operated as a museum by the local historical society. Alexander MacDonald emigrated from the Isle of Mull, Scotland in 1823 – receiving a land grant of 518 acres. His son Charles started the first mercantile in the area in 1848 and built the present house during the 1850s. He also established the first post office in 1876 – Charles also being the first postmaster. The post office operated until 1956!

After exploring the farm we pressed on further into the interior on what appeared to be logging roads which eventually gave way to farmland.

East Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton

Much to our surprise and pleasure, after cresting a rise in the road, we found ourselves staring at a bright red building housing the Skye Glen Creamery! We crossed our fingers in hopes that the creamery was open. Fortunately, we had chanced upon the creamery a few minutes before closing and we met one of the owners, Meghan. She and her husband bought the dairy farm (jersey cows) in 2020 and opened the creamery soon after – lucky us! We bought cheese and delicious chocolate gelato. What a tasty way to finish a ramble.

***Meghan, Matt, Sophie, and Heidi (Photo courtesy of Skye Glen Creamery)***

From the creamery we found our way to pavement and to the settlement of Mabou (Mi’kmaq for place where two rivers meet). Mabou was a definite on our itinerary due to its proximity to the Celtic Shores Coastal Bicycle Trail and the Red Shoe Pub. We checked in at the Mabou River Inn and then made the short trip across the river into town to dine and enjoy live music at the Pub.

The pub is owned by the Rankin Sisters, members of the multi-award winning Rankin Family musical group. The first generation of Rankins began performing during the 1970s. The Rankin family hails from Mabou and it is a big deal when the sisters drop in to perform at the pub. The pub boasts live music everyday and we were fortunate to hear the Campbell Sisters perform on the evening we dined at the pub.

https://www.redshoepub.com

American Loyalists were the first to settle in Mabou during the 1700s (as usual, if you exclude First Nations). The Loyalists were followed by British and Irish settlers but it was the Highland Scots that came to the forefront during the first half of the 1800s (emigrating as a result of the Highland Clearances). While fishing has always been part of the economy along with agriculture, a notable economic driver in Mabou and Inverness County was mining coal and gypsum. Coal mining persisted into the 1960s but was never successful on a large scale because the coal was under the ocean floor and was prone to flooding (not taking that mine tour!)The bike trail that we were looking forward to riding came about because of the abandonment of the rail line (I&R Railroad) as mining wound down.

We set out the following morning to bike the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail (CSCT) from the Mabou Rivers trailhead north to Inverness (and back). The trail is 57 miles one way – our ride from Mabou Rivers to Inverness and back was approximately 34 miles. Inverness is the northern terminus of the trail and sits right on the ocean.

***St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (background) Mabou River (foreground)***

The trail is not paved but for the most part is smooth hard-pack and level. We chose this portion because segments to the south are quite windy making the riding difficult from both a wind and trail erosion perspective. The trail has very few road crossings (always a plus) and we only encountered one other cyclist over the entire 34 miles. We had been looking forward to riding this trail and we were not disappointed.

Upon arriving at the end of the trail we sought out lunch to refuel before riding back to Mabou. We felt it only right to dine at the Coal Miners Cafe & Lounge as the establishment is Biker Friendly. Good grub, definitely friendly and best of all – a Red Sox pub!

On our way back south we stopped to take in the view at Cabot Links Golf Course, which is adjacent to the trail terminus. We are not golfers but the course is laid out along the ocean and the combination of the course and the ocean view is quite magnificent (that’s for you Dorothy). The course actually sits on top of one of the reclaimed coal mines. Cabot Links is ranked as the 35th best course in the world while its sister course Cabot Cliffs is ranked as the 11th best. One of the people we met while at Marguerite for coffee had played at Cabot Cliffs – Twilight Round – nine holes at $350.00. The photos below are courtesy of Not Your Grandfather’s Mining Industry and Cape Breton University.

After completing our ride back to the trailhead at Mabou Rivers we made the short drive to Marble Hill and spent a relaxing evening watching the sky as the sun set over the Northumberland Straight.

We will pick up the final leg of our journey on Cape Breton as we drive two hours for a much needed consultation with Doctor Luke in Sydney. More on that in our next post.

Be seeing you!

Cape Breton, Anti-clockwise- Sunrise to Sunset

30/07/202419/08/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Coffee, Travel

After departing the bustle of Halifax we made our way east to tour the island of Cape Breton. We had become quite enamored of the beauty of the island and friendly folks we met along the way, we stayed two weeks before crossing back over the Canso Causeway onto the mainland of Nova Scotia. One of the major tourist draws is a loop auto route around the island known as the Cabot Trail (CT). While we drove the majority of the CT during our stay we spent considerable time poking around on the numerous side roads and back roads that led us to many scenic and uncrowded places.

***View from Cabot Trail, Englishtown, Cape Breton***

The morning after crossing onto the island we met Bill who asked us if we were going to drive the CT. We said sure – he replied that you will miss a lot of the beauty and culture of the island if you just follow the trail. We assured him that we would explore well beyond the trail. In retrospect, it was excellent advice – Bill had grown up on the island and moved away to serve in the military and was back visiting family – some of our best experiences were in little harbors and settlements we happened upon while rambling off the main roads.

After spending our first night camping at Whycocomagh Provincial Park, we drove a few miles along the coast and joined the CT at St. Anns. After a bite at the Lobster Gallery (with a view up St. Anns Harbour- photo above right) we drove up and around the bend to visit the Great Hall of the Clans at the Gaelic College (Colaisdena na Gaidhlig).

We toured the exhibits in the Great Hall and we were also treated to several demonstrations and performances taking place in the hall. There was of course, the obligatory Bagpiper along with a kilt maker. The kilt maker demonstrated with another guest how to properly put on and wear a kilt along with the appropriate accessories – actually quite interesting. We also watched a demonstration of a milling frolic and, finally, some good Cape Breton fiddling. We have included below background on the milling frolic (courtesy of Gaelic.com).

A milling frolic is a social event that was born of necessity, and is carried on today for enjoyment. After wool cloth is woven on a loom, it is necessary to shrink the cloth in order to make it warmer and more watertight. In the Scottish Highlands [in pre-industrial times], cleansing and shrinking the newly-woven cloth was done by hand in local communities. It was a social event of shared labour, made enjoyable by singing songs which maintained the work rhythm, preserved traditions, and encouraged original compositions with jokes about local events and personalities.

Nowadays the real milling is done in factories, but the milling frolic has continued as a social event in Nova Scotia Gaelic communities. This contrasts with Scotland, where you might see a milling frolic performed on a stage or as a historical re-enactment, but not as a social event in the village or church hall. Milling frolics involve special work songs which are known as “milling songs” in Nova Scotia (and “waulking songs” in Scotland). Some milling songs are shared with Gaelic Scotland, but quite a few were indigenously composed in Nova Scotia. There is a good but short collection of these songs on a Memorial University folklore website.

From the college we followed the CT along the breathtaking coast on a day made even more beautiful by blue skies, white puffy clouds and brilliant sunshine. Wow!

We camped for the next four nights at the Broad Cove Campground within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP). The site was on an open field (not great) but we were just a ten minute walk to the spectacular Broad Cove Beach (photos below). The location was also a great base for some nearby hiking and exploring back roads. Most importantly, it was under a ten minute drive to first rate coffee and “brekkie” sandwiches in Ingonish. Hot diggity!

Broad Cove, CBHNP

Periwinkle Cafe, Ingonish (Ingo) – pre and post activity base camp while camping at Broad Cove.

While camping at Broad Cove we hiked at nearby Warren Lake which sits at the base of Broad Cove Mountain. Warren Lake is the largest lake in the park. The trail closely follows the shoreline providing views of the lake from varying perspectives. It was a scenic hike with easy terrain albeit lots of water crossing and muddy patches. No bears or moose spotted during our hike but plenty of waterfowl and birds.

Always in search of the best chowder, we headed to Neils Harbor to sample the best chowder on Cape Breton. Neils Harbour is just off the CT at the beginning of New Haven Road. What a surprise awaited us when we came around the bend – another tiny, picturesque fishing village! Alas, the real surprise was that the Chowder House was not open! Thankfully, salvation was at hand because the ice cream parlour in the base of the nearby lighthouse had just opened for the season.

The settlement at Neils Harbour (pop. 300) has been occupied since the 1700s onward by French and Scottish settlers drawn to the close by and plentiful fishing grounds, as well as the protected cove (photos above). The lighthouse was constructed and began operations in 1899. The lighthouse was automated in 1956 and is still operational today; it is currently owned by the local community development agency. It is a Heritage Lighthouse which means it will be preserved in its current state.

**Lighthouse and Ice Cream Parlour, Neils Harbour**

***Neils Harbour, 1939 (Photo courtesy Nova Scotia Archives)***

After finishing our delicious ice cream and looking around the harbour we decided to push on further up the New Haven Road to explore a bit more. This road led us to White Point Road which runs parallel to the coast and provides wonderful view from a vantage point a couple of hundred feet above the shore. We spotted a bay below and turned down the winding White Point Road which took us down to the harbour.

There is a tiny settlement of houses sitting on the hill just above the harbour. The larger body of water beyond the breakwater is Aspy Bay which has been fished seasonally by Europeans since the 1500s (and before that by the Mi’Kmaq). The permanent population here is estimated at 100 people today. The point that extends out into the ocean is spectacular. We are so glad we spotted this gem!

Our last ramble before breaking camp and heading around the bend onto the Sunset Side of the cape was to Meat Cove (don’t ask – okay we will tell you – the local inhabitants used the beach pictured below to butcher whale and moose carcasses).

***Meat Cove, Cape North, Cape Breton***

Meat Cove is another end of the road settlement at the extreme north of Cape Breton. We would have to say getting there is half the fun with the twisty dirt road scraped out of the mountainside providing fabulous views of the coastline and mountains. And yes, at the very end of it, just like in a dream (only real) is a seafood stand selling delicious seafood chowder and other goodies fresh from the ocean!

After taking in the astounding views and consuming our delicious fish chowder, we backtracked down the road and popped into the tiny fishing village of Bay St. Lawrence. This area is know as the Top of the Island because it is literally as far north as you can go. Longtime locals call the area Down North because rivers and streams here run northerly down from the mountains to the ocean.

The village was settled in the 1850s by Scots and retains its Gaelic heritage to this day. Some of the folks fishing out from this bay are fifth generation and direct descendants of the original Scottish settlers. There is no official census because the village is not officially recognized as a municipality – officially it is just an area within Victoria County. We found one estimate from 2022 which puts the local population at 400 although you could not prove that by us. The Bay Cafe in the community centre was not open so we unfortunately did not get to meet any local folks ( we hear they are very friendly). In fact, we did not see a single sole besides two fishermen cruising by the wharf on their boat (maybe they saw the van coming and took cover).

After our visit to Meat Cove and Cape North we traveled back to Broad Cove for our final night of camping at CBHNP. The following day we traveled the CT up through the highlands and followed the trail along the sunset side of Cape Breton. We are going to wrap up this post here because we have quite a bit more to share about our time on Cape Breton in our next post.

Be seeing you!

Acadian Coast…Parlez vous français?

22/07/202412/08/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Architecture, Museum, Scenic Drive, Street Art and Murals, Travel

***Acadian Coast (Photo courtesy of Forbes)***

After a fantastic two week tour of Cape Breton (future post) we headed west back to Halifax for a night and then north to Moncton (see Marvelous Moncton post). From Moncton we spent a day exploring a bit of the Acadian Coast following the Acadian Coastal Drive from Shediac to Bouctouche. Many sections of the drive are right along the coast providing wonderful views of the beaches, small harbors and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

As you may recall from several of our previous posts from the maritime provinces, the first European settlers in this area of Canada emigrated from France, arriving in the early 1600s. The fortunes of the Acadians rose and fell as the French and British fought for control of the provinces over a 75 year period. In 1755 the British began to deport those Acadians who would not swear allegiance to the British Crown. Many were deported to the American Colonies, while some returned to France and a sizable contingent went to Louisiana, which was at the time a Spanish possession.

The group in Louisiana named their new home Acadiana. Today the Cajun French culture and language still flourish in Acadiana (we can attest to this having toured Acadiana). Over one third (22) of the 64 parishes in Louisiana make up Acadiana, which is officially recognized by the state of Louisiana. The are about 250,000 Cajun French speakers in Acadiana today (see our post Bayou Teche).

Our first stop on this daylong tour was at the Musee de Kent located at la Pointe-‘a-Jacquot. The museum was formerly a convent and girls boarding school. Father F.X.J. Michaud, the local parish priest, led this effort. He was very keen that young women have the opportunity to obtain a level of education that would otherwie not have been available at that time.The building itself is interesting architecturally and the interior is a treasure trove of local culture. The building was built by local carpenters who volunteered their time and the lumber was donated by parish families! The school and convent opened in 1880.

Our guide provided us with an informative tour in English, which was definitely her second language but fortunately it was much better than our non-existent French language skills! The absolute hidden gem in the museum is the Gothic altar in the back portion of the building.

From the museum we followed the coast further north to la Dune de Bouctouche. This sand dune extends 7.5 miles along the Northumberland Strait, creating Bouctouche Bay on its backside. The preservation and restoration of this significant and, of course, fragile dune has been made possible by J.D. Irving Limited. Seeing Irving facilities was a common occurrence during our travels through the provinces. Irving is a large privately owned company headquartered in New Brunswick; their core business is extractive industries – forestry, timber, crude oil and liquid natural gas. We drove through many miles of Irving Wood Lands on their logging roads. Irving operates the Irving Eco-Centre adjacent to the dune and fully funds the preservation and restoration activities. Thank you Irving family!

We learned a lot about the environmental aspects of the dune and the flora and fauna that inhabit the dune. We also had great fun walking on the long stretch of beach and in the water (surprisingly warm).

On our way back to Moncton we stopped in Shediac for some fresh seafood and a beverage (you know how hungry you are after walking on the beach!). Shediac is the self-proclaimed Lobster Capital of the World so we of course dined at the Lobster Deck. As always fresh and delicious! Footnote: Shediac is a French town as you would expect on the Acadian Coast but has a distinctive accent known as chiac named after the town.

Our hotel manager (Canvas Tapestry by Marriott) had graciously upgraded us to a Presidential Suite facing the river front so that we could watch the Canada Day fireworks from our balcony – sweet! Canadians, in Moncton anyway, were quite celebratory on July 1 with fireworks, music and civic events. Canadian flags were seemingly attached to every house, building and motor vehicle we saw.

Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day) has been celebrated since July 1, 1867. That was the year in which Canada was granted the right to be self-governing as a dominion and was no longer under the direct rule of Great Britain as it had been until then as a colony. However, it was not until 1982 that Canada implemented its own constitution and became fully independent. Interestingly, and perhaps weirdly from our perspective, Charles III is the King of Canada as Canada remains a member of the British Commonwealth.

During our brief second stay in Moncton we did take advantage of the opportunity to track down a few more street murals.

This is our penultimate post from OTR 10.0. Our ultimate post will cover our two weeks on the island of Cape Breton. We hope you have been enjoying our posts and finding them informative and perhaps even interesting.

Be seeing you!

Wood Lands Ramble

17/07/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Camping, Hiking, Scenic Drive, Travel

We departed Fredricton with a loose itinerary to find our way north to the remote Mt Carleton Provincial Park using only unpaved roads. We departed the pavement in Ward Settlement a few miles north of Freddy. A search of the records indicate that Robert Ward arrived around 1841 which was too late to have been a loyalist from the American Colonies. We did not identify any members of the Ward clan remaining in the settlement which is now part of the town of Stanley Parrish so there was to be no grand family reunion during this sojourn.

Ward Settlement

Most of the terrain we traveled through on this ramble is privately owned by major forestry concerns; many of the local folks scattered amongst the woodlands make their living in the forestry industry.

We came out of the wood lands onto Route 107 to stop at the convenience store rumored to exist at the junction of Route 107 and Route 105 in the hamlet of Juniper (named for the Juniper bogs in the area). It does exist and it was open but the six local folks hanging about the store (pop. 200) were none to welcoming so we bought a couple of cold drinks and went back into the woods.

Jumiper to Plaster Rock

From Juniper we covered a 32 mile stretch of dirt roads until we reached Plaster Rock. Plaster Rock (pop.1000) is a metropolis based on the size of most of the villages and hamlets we encountered in this part of New Brunswick. Like most of the other villages in the area the economy is centered on forestry and logging. The village sits along side the beautiful Tobique River.

We stopped in Plaster Rock to buy groceries for the next several evenings and to satisfy the Beast’s insatiable desire for diesel fuel (Juniper has no diesel fuel). A nice find occurred while we were driving through town to the grocery. A restaurant – lil’ Pepinos – purveyor of house made pasta, pizza and other Italian dishes in the woods of New Brunswick. You betcha – we pulled right in and ordered a pie. The restaurant did not feel Italian in the least but the pie was pretty dang good. No washing dishes after dinner at the campsite for us tonight!

From lil’ Peppinos we drove 30 miles north (mostly on pavement to a location along the Tobique River in the settlement of Riley Brook (pop. 100). This site is popular with kayakers and has campsites and firewood. All in all it was a good day on the road.

***Tobique River*** ***(Photo courtesy of Steve Rogers)***

The next morning we set out north on Route 385 to camp and hike at Mt. Carleton Provincial Park (MCPP). The road is narrow, winding and hilly and we began to see mountain peaks in the distance. The peaks we were seeing were actually the northern portion of the ancient Appalachian Mountain Range which extends in to Canada.

MCPP is very remote with dirt roads, primitive camping, no cell or wifi and a very dark night sky (just the way we like it). MCPP is a designated Dark Sky Park. Additionally, because of its remote location there are very few people visiting or camping in the park – uncrowded hiking trails make for an entirely different experience.

***Pine Point Trail, Bathurst Lake, Mt. Carleton Provincial Park***

***Wiliams Falls, Mt. Carleton Provincial Park***

There are eleven designated hiking trails within the 42,000 acres of pristine forest and lakes inside the park boundaries. Four of the trails reach summit peaks. Mt. Carleton, at 2690 feet, is the highest peak in the Maritime Provinces. We did not tackle any of the summit trails on this visit due to the combination of warm temperatures and trail ratings – next time!

That is it on our wood lands ramble in Northern New Brunswick. From a post standpoint we are going to circle back and report next on our time on Prince Edward Island.

Be seeing you!

Sou’West—Lunenberg to Peggys Cove—Post Card Perfect!

22/06/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Travel

We made the short trip from Keji NP to the southwest coast to visit the town of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. As we had been camping quite a bit on the stretch between Moncton and Keji we booked two nights at the B2 Lofts (AirBnb) one street up from the waterfront. This building was once home to one of the many shipbuilding businesses located in Lunenberg.

Lunenberg is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument which might infer that it is no longer a functioing, lively town; but it is infact so. The town is a very popular tourist destination with its beautifully maintained original architecture and Montague Street, which is lined with shops and a number of excellent restaurants. A brief history of Lunenberg from the Canadian Encylcopedia is included below for our history mavens.

Lunenberg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, incorporated as a town in 1888, population 2,405 (2021 census), 2,262 (2016 census). The town of Lunenburg, the seat of Lunenburg County, is located on Lunenburg Bay, 90 km southwest of Halifax. Lunenburg is located on Mi’kmaq traditional territory. The Mi’kmaq call the town’s location E’se’katik or “place of clams.”To the French it was known as Merliguesche. The site was a small Acadian settlement until the British began deporting Acadians in 1755 (see also History of Acadia).

In 1753, the British government settled 1,453 “foreign Protestants” in Lunenburg. The settlers were recruited from southwestern Germany and the Montbéliard district of France and Switzerland. These mostly German-speaking people were intended to help counter the French and Catholic presence in Nova Scotia. The settlement was named for the royal house of Brunswick-Lüneburg, where King George I of England came from. Each settler was granted a free town-and-garden lot and farm acreage in the county. The town’s grid-like plan mirrored that of Halifax.

Despite initial hardships, by the late 18th century Lunenburg supplied Halifax with many agricultural products. Lunenburgers had also entered the offshore fishery. They first fished off the Labrador coast. In the late 1860s, with the introduction of new trawling techniques, the town’s schooner fleet turned to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the Western Bank, southwest of Sable Island. The “Lunenburg cure” of dried cod found steady markets in the West Indies, particularly Puerto Rico.

“A boom of splendid proportions” (Lunenburg Progress, 1888) did not persist, however. The fish export trade became centralized in Halifax, where fast steamships left directly for the West Indies and US markets. Moreover, a preference appeared for fresh instead of dried fish. Local entrepreneurs, especially the Smith and Zwicker families, made adjustments to recapture lost trade. Beginning in the late 1920s, cold-storage equipment, processing plants and diesel-powered trawlers replaced cod-drying flakes and traditional schooners.

Today, Lunenburg is home to one of Canada’s largest fish-processing plants. The plant is owned and operated by High Liner Foods Inc., the successor to several Lunenburg-owned firms.

Lunenburg is also home to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. The famous racing schooner Bluenose was launched from a local shipyard in 1921.

Several churches serve as examples of Lunenburg’s heritage architecture. These churches include Canada’s oldest Presbyterian (St. Andrew’s, founded in 1769) and Lutheran (Zion, founded in 1770), and second-oldest Anglican (St. John’s, founded in 1754). Old Town Lunenburg was designated a national historic district in 1992 and a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1995. The film industry has been attracted by the town’s picturesque location and architectural heritage. The town hosts a craft festival in July and a folk festival in August.

As part of our self-guided walking tour we visited St. John’s Anglican Church which sits atop the hill over looking the town and gorgeous harbor. The church itself is a national historic site. The building is a wood frame “carpenter gothic” style church. The church was originally built by German Protestants who were brought to counter the French Catholic culture established by the Acadians that had settled the area prior to the arrival of the British.

The construction of the church was intended to help establish the Anglican Church of England as the preeminent church in Canda and assist the British in formalizing their authority over the territory. Regardless of the intentions of the Anglicans and the British ruling class the church is a graceful, beautiful work of craftsmanship. Remarkably, for a frame church it avoided a catastrophic fire until 2001. Fortunately it was quickly rebuilt and reopened in about four years.

Let’s not forget coffee—essential to any stop over—Lunenberg was up to snuff with No9 Coffee a three minute walk down Montague Street from our loft.

On our second day staying in Lunenberg we traveled about ten minutes east for a coastal tour by Zodiac. We had a picture perfect day although the open ocean was to quote our guide Jason —“a bit sporty”. The coves and gutters (channels) however were calm and serene. We saw many seals swimming and sunning on the rocks. We also were able to beach the Zodiac and explore several small islands. Jason was a great guide and host. After finishing the tour he served us Gin & Tonics on the dock. We squeezed fesh juniper berries that we collected on the islands into our G&Ts. Delicous!

Back in town we completed our stay with an excellent meal at the Beach Pea Restaurant. Beach Peas are native to temperate coastal areas in the Northern Hemisphere. I am not sure why the resaturant was named after this spcies since they are toxic if improperly prepared and are not on the menu. No matter — an excellent dinner and a greatwaytofinish our stay in Luxemberg.

From Lunenberg we set out for Halifax by way of Peggys Cove. Peggys Cove is a tiny working fishing village with a population of 30 year round residents. Amazingly, this tiny sheltered cove has upwards of 700,000 visitors per year. There is really nothing to do here other than soak up the scenery—pretty good scenery, eh!

After soaking up the scenery and walking out onto the rocks to the lighthouse and taking a silly amount of photos (that can never adequately capture what you have seen) we finished the trip to Halifax. Halifax is the largest city in the Eastern Provinces and we look forward to sharing our experiences there soon.

Be seeing you!

St. John and the Loyalists

15/06/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Art, Art Museum, Coffee, History, Travel

We made our way to St. John following the coast and sticking as much as possible to roads less traveled (which we have found are most often more scenic and historically interesting).

After arriving in St. John we secured the Beast at the hotel and set out for our first coffee session in St. John. Catapault Coffee was only a five minute walk from the hotel. Since it was still morning a capuccino was in order followed by a cortado. Catapault is a mission based coffee shop — “Part of the way we express this faith is by looking for opportunities to reduce the unemployment, hunger, homelessness, and medical costs in our city”. We are always happy to support coffee shops with a tangible mission to support the less fortunate in their community (and of course serve excellent coffee and tea).

***Strength Through Toast — Toast Marketing Board***

Fortuitously, this building-sized mural was staring at us from across the street as we approached the cafe. This mural was commissioned as part of Festival Inspire. The artist Mique Michele is from Ontario and is a highly regarded grafittist and advocate for issues impacting First Nations people (Michele is of Metis-Franco heritage).

***Untitled Artist Mique Michele, 2021***

We spotted the top of the mural above while walking back to the hotel. We walked down the hill and located this 80 foot high extravaganza on the back of an apartment building facing an empty lot. The street mural scene in St. John is relatively small but appears to have some folks committed to increasing the space dedicated to public art. The two murals above were our favorites.

St. John also has a small fine arts exhibition space at the St. Johns Art Centre. The space hosts art exhibits and musical recitals and also offers art classes.

The space that the art centre currently occupies is the former city library. This was a Carnegie library built with funds donated by the Scottish-American business tycoon and philanthropist. Carnegie funded the building of over 2500 free public libraries in North America. The library in St. John is one of three in the eastern provinces. The current city library is housed at Market Square on the water at the harbor.

Art invariably necessitated the need for more coffee while we reflected on the the art we had just viewed……so we set off for our second coffee shop —The Art Warehouse.

We had an opportunity to chat with our barrista, Jamie, during a lull in the action. Jamie is also a musician and songwriter when not plying his craft as a barrista. His band Jamie and the Crooked Teeth is well known in the eastern provinces and they have released several albums. He has also released several songs as part of an accoustic trio that performs as Pretty Western.

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Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth

We will close with a bit of history (as always). The title of this post is St. John and the Loyalists. Samuel-de-Champlain named the St. John River in honour of St. Jean the Baptiste while exploring the area in 1604. The anglicized version of the name stuck although the British eventually took control of Nova Scotia. Today there are still many French speakers here as well as in the other eastern provinces.

Okay — finally — the Loyalists! While you may not recall this fact from your U.S. history courses (probably because it was not mentioned) there were a considerable number of British colonialists that wished to remain British! The text below is from the Loyalist House in St. John.

The Loyalists

Our first refugees were American Exiles arriving in 1783-1784, the Loyalist Refugees, a multicultural group with Afro, Aboriginal, Dutch, German, English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish ethnicity from America. One hundred thousand came north – 15,000 of these Refugees arrived in Saint John Harbour by way of the Bay of Fundy. Their entrepreneurial/pioneering spirit helped them to survive. They slept in tents during those first winters, some died. New York and Boston were the last two ports of evacuation for this exodus, they were farmers, labourers, and trades people. These American exiles lost what they owned and came here like many other refugees and immigrants in search of safety and a new life. The aboriginal people the Wolastoqiyik [people of the Beautiful River] were the first people of our community.

Be seeing you!

Lobstah and Granite

03/06/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Travel

After departing the comfort of our hotel in PWM we followed the coast north for two nights of camping in Penobscot. A highlight of the drive to Penobscot and to Deer Isle is crossing the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Deer Isle Bridge.

***Penobscot Narrows Bridge (Photo courtesy State of Maine)***

The PNB pictured above and directly below is a 2120 foot long suspension bridge which opened in 2007 as a replacement for the Waldo-Hancock Bridge. The WHB was built in 1931 and was in very bad condition. The PNB was built as an emergency replacement using new untested techniques in order to accelerate the build.

***Deer Isle – Sedgwick Bridge (Photo courtesy of the State. Of Maine)***

The bridge pictured directly above is the Deer Isle – Sedgwick Bridge. The DISB is an almost 1100 foot suspension bridge connecting the mainland to Deer Isle. It is the only bridge connection to Deer Isle. This bridge was opened in 1939. The bridge, when opened, had wind stability problems similar to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed immediately after opening. The DISB has had additional cables attached to prevent collapse from high winds! Driving over this bridge is an adventure – the bridge is steep and narrow and frankly a bit scary – particularly given the history of other similar bridges.

Through HipCamp we found a family that hosts just three campsites spread across 50 acres of blueberry fields. This location provided us with privacy and wonderful scenery as we relaxed by our campfire in the evenings.

We embarked on a short road trip from our campsite south over the bridge onto Little Deer Isle and from there crossed over to Deer Isle. Deer Isle has two towns-the eponymous Deer Isle and Stonington, which is nestled at the southern end of the Isle on the Gulf of Maine.

Stonington has become somewhat of a tourist destination with Main Street predominately occupied by restaurants and retail establishments. The year round population of the Isle remains small at about 3000 residents. The mainstay of the local economy remains lobstering, although the granite industry has made a small comeback in recent years.

At one time there were over 130 granite quarries operating along the coast of Maine. Many of the quarries are actually on the numerous small islands dotting the coastline. Today there is a quarry operation on Crotch Island (Yep!), a short distance offshore from the harbor at Stonington. Granite is extracted and moved to shore via barges.

Of course, for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans settling in what is now Maine this area was home to the Penobscot.

The Penobscot (penawahpkekeyak) lived off of the bounty of the Penobscot River and Basin for thousands of years. After the arrival of settlers from Europe the Penobscot fought with the French against the British. When the British defeated the French the Penobscot signed a peace treaty with the British in order to avoid being deported to Canada.

With the advent of the Revolutionary War the Penobscot allied themselves with the American revolutionaries. Their support of the Americans was based on agreements that the Penobscot homeland would remain intact. None other than George Wasington agreed to this arrangement in a letter dated in 1777! Well, we all know how this story ends.

Today, the Penobscot are a federally recognized nation and a member of the Wabanaki Alliance of tribes. A portion of the Nation’s land was returned after a court case (The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act – 1980) found in favor of the Penobscot and other tribes.

As a result of the legal settlement the Penobscot have 4000 acres of reservation land spread across 200 islands in the Penobscot River (their ancestral home as riverine people). Additionally, the Nation has 90,000 acres of land in trust which they manage. The trust land consists of nine locations in Maine.

There are currently 2400 people enrolled as members of the Penobscot Nation. The Nation has a fully independent system of government including it’s own judicial system. Two members of the Nation represent the Penobscot as non-voting members of the Maine State Legislature.

We departed Penobscot for a night in Bangor before heading to Calais to enter Canada. Staying the night in Bangor provided us with the opportunity to replenish supplies and more importantly make up for our specialty coffee and tea deficit. An added bonus was the chance to shoot several excellent murals.

Chimera Coffee has been operating in Bangor for a couple of years. The owner had relocated from Dallas looking for a less crowded, hectic environment which offered cultural and oudoor activities. This worked out well for us as neither of the two specialty coffee shops in the Deer Isles had yet opened for the season. Thank you Chimera! P.S.Chimera serves Tandem Coffee!

Well that is pretty much a wrap for Maine. We will cover the enhanced security now in effect at the border and our travels along the beautiful coast of Fundy Bay in New Brunswick in our next post.

Be seeing you!