Canadian Maritime Provinces

During the month of June we’ve visited various areas of some of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  Each area has something different to offer, and yet so much is similar.

We started our Canadian adventure when we crossed from Calais Maine to St. Stephen NB.  We’ve crossed into Canada at this border crossing yearly since 2007 so the roads and gates are very familiar to us.  Each crossing is different in that we’ll never know what questions we’ll be asked or when they’ll want to “inspect” the trailer and pickup.  Most of the time it’s been a few polite questions: where are you heading to, how long will you be here, do you have any firearms, alcohol, produce... With our prior experience in crossings, we’ve learned to empty the fridge in the days leading up to our planned crossings - have heard tales of folks having to throw out steak and lobsters, as well as fresh corn or other produce they had just bought.

In New Brunswick, our travels have primarily been along the south coast, and once again we kept to form, visiting 2 campgrounds before crossing in to Nova Scotia.  Except for road signs indicating a change in highway numbers, the countryside is very similar in these 2 provinces. And there again, the countryside is very similar to Maine.  Lots of coastline, sometimes with cliffs, other times long tidal beaches. Rolling hills, covered in forests with the occasional village.

Nova Scotia holds special meaning for Chuck and I as we honeymooned and took a few anniversary trips in this Province via the ferry from Portland (alas, the Scotia Prince stopped that service several years ago - part of the reason we got an RV).  We deliberately did not return to places we knew from those trips and headed into the unknown for us.  Even our venture over to Cape Breton, although a new destination, felt like so much of Maine, especially the Down East region.

Most recently we headed to Prince Edward Island, and returned to a campground we had stayed at before. Our first visit there was a short 2 night visit and we .  This time however, we stayed for 8 nights and visited some of the Provincial Park Beaches, Cavendish (Anne of Green Gables fame) and even got some kayaking and bicycle riding in.  An old railroad line that went from tip to tip of the island was converted into a public trail and we enjoyed riding parts of it.

PEI has the biggest difference in landscape of the 3 Provinces we’ve visited thus far and that’s it’s elevation.  The island is relatively flat on either end and has rolling hills in the mid-region.  I think I read that the highest elevation on PEI was around 450 feet.  Between the lack of major hills and the strange tides we’d have at the campground, it made for a fun time.

With access to Labrador/Newfoundland a bit awkward (travel by ferry, 6 hours, dogs can’t be on deck with us and we can’t go down to car deck to check on them), we’ve now returned to New Brunswick and have moved inland on our journey back across.  Our current destination is fairly close to Frederickton, an area we visited last summer. The landscape is once again very forested and dotted with lakes and streams.  

Our plan is to head northwest through the province to work our way into other regions.  Time will tell when and how we do this.

Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

One of our destinations while RVing in Canada was the territory of Cape Breton.  It’s a large island and is the north east portion of the Province of Nova Scotia.  Prior to the Confederation (when the territories joined to become the country of Canada) Cape Breton was it’s own distinct territory.  Folks in this area still fly their own territory flag along with the provincial flag of Nova Scotia.

By far the largest tourist draw to Cape Breton is the Cabot Trail, a 300 km (185 mile) loop road that crosses through mountains and valleys and along both coasts of this area.  Portions of the trail are within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, while the little towns along the way are "outside the park".  There are numerous hiking trails, rustic campgrounds and overlooks throughout the Trail, within the park as well as in the little communities.

We opted to do the trail in a clockwise direction - if we decide to drive it again we’ll go counter clockwise to catch some vistas we missed on the initial trip.

It was a beautiful day, the temperature was 15 c (60 f), the sun was out and just a few clouds dotted the sky.  The fields and hills were various shades of green.  Some trees were still just getting their leaves, showing a soft green against the dark conifers. Multitudes of rivers, ponds and lakes dotted the landscape and added punches of blues to the palette. 

The Trail roadway is well maintained in some areas and needs work in others.  It seemed that the road within the park was in better condition, while the road in the towns and villages were not so - leaving me the impression that the Park maintained it’s portion (thus an entrance fee) and the small communities (and provincial government) were responsible for the rest of the road.

We started our trip just below Baddeck, on the lower right hand point of the Cabot Trail, cutting across through the Margaree Valley.  This was a nice trip, the road had some curves and hills, but all in all a generally easy ride through farm lands and forests.  We did find ourselves driving slower than the posted speed limit, but we never felt like we were holding up traffic.  What little there was would easily pass us and we were alone again on our outing.

 On the west coast, the view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence greeted us at the Village of Belle Cote, one of many fishing villages that dot the coastlines. 

Our travels then turned towards the north and in to the Highlands.  The Cabot Trail follows right along the coast with beautiful vistas toward the water, and equally beautiful views back into the woods. It passes through the community of Cheticamp, known for hooked rugs.  Many shops were not open (pre-summer season) and for the few that were, we did not stop to look. Besides, with less than 400 sq ft of living space in the RV, where would we put all the souvenirs we have bought.

When we reached the Provincial Park, we started to climb in elevation, which increased the intensity of the views; deep valley gorges filled with conifers and other vegetation. The highest point along the Cabot Trail is North Mountain at 457 m (1499 ft). There were a lot of twists and turns on this road and each one brought another grand view.  You leave the park to go through the community of Pleasant Bay and then re-enter the park and drive across the Cape Breton Highlands, heading towards the east coast and the communities of Cape North and then Ingonish.  

This portion of the drive is especially tricky in terms of twists and turns and dips and hills.  We felt there were a lot of blind corners. While this is a National Park, the road is the only way to cross this region of the territory; every now and then a tractor trailer truck would drive by. We were always so glad we didn’t “run into them” on the hairpin turns, nor did we get stuck behind one on any of the hill climbs.  As we rounded one corner, the driver of a pickup truck, coming the other way, had his hand out the window.  I wasn't sure if he was "hand surfing" or giving us a warning ahead wave. His motions weren't so clear.  A moment later we knew exactly what he was doing as a very wide load was following right behind. Chuck quickly maneuvered our truck over to the shoulder to allow the oversize load to pass.  Unlike the U.S. when you need banners and other indicators of large loads driving along, Canadians seem much more relaxed and nonchalant about it.

Waterfall near Ingonish

We stopped at an ocean lookout along a stream in Black Brook Cove.  Here the river and ocean have a rather black color, I think due to the large quantity of seaweed that is churned with the tides. While at this stop, we noticed there was a waterfall on the opposite side of the river. We did a quick backtrack and while Chuck walked the dogs, I clambered over the cobbles to capture the image.  The changes in sounds was very interesting.  While walking the shore, I could hear the deep roar of the ocean tide crashing on the rocks, but as I got to the base of the falls, their sound overshadowed the tide. The falls emptied right in to the ocean in the cove.  While the whole day had been enjoyable, this scenery was the personal highpoint of my day.

When we reached Ingonish, we started south along the East Coast, thru St. Ann’s Bay area and back into Baddeck and to our campground.  By the time we reached St. Ann’s Bay, we were so glad to know our day’s adventure was almost over and we’d be home in a short while.

Wreck's Place

Our day trip took 8 hours - the drive itself can be done in 5 hours, but adding in all the stops at scenic lookouts and one or two shops along the way stretched it in to a lot longer trip.

A few more images of our day on the Cabot Trail - between us we took well over 200 photos - it was hard to pick and choose which few to share.  Enjoy!

Lupine and the Aspy Valley

Chuck photographing scenery at Cap Rouge

Chuck and pups at scenic stop - Cap Rouge