Next Stop: The Islands Provincial Park Near Shelburne, Nova Scotia (June 20-23)

 Wow! Another short driving day! It was an uneventful drive except for an unusual road kill! That's right, I saw an unusual road kill. We usually see deer, skunk, possum, and raccoons, but today I saw a porcupine! It was only the second one I have seen, but the first as a road kill. 

Our stop for the next four nights was The Islands Provincial Park. We arrived a bit early, but our site was clear and we were told to go on down. The road down to our site looked narrow so we unhooked the car first and I drove to the bottom of the hill to check the site. Bob was not far behind. We had to wait a few minutes because a trailer was backing in to another site. The area did not look like it did on the site map, but it was not bad. We had a water front site and we chose to drive straight in facing the water. This campground didn't have hookups so it didn't matter how we positioned Sol.

view out the front window

view of the side

view across the Roseway River to Shelburne

After we were set, we unloaded the bikes and headed to Shelburne on the Shelburne County Rail Trail. The trail was great going to Shelburne....not too bumpy and shaded!

While in Shelburne, we did some more Adventure Labs. This carved sign was in a secret park (it is not on any city maps).

We rode along the waterfront checking to see what we would like to visit when we drive the car over next time.

On our way back to Sol, we rode south on the bike trail. We found a nice picnic area not far from the campground.

The following morning, I enjoyed watching this great blue heron fishing in front of Sol. I didn't get the camera fast enough to get a good picture of the heron with his breakfast, but he continued fishing until he was full.

 Later in the morning, we drove to Shelburne. We looked at all the old buildings and enjoyed the sunshine along the waterfront.

barrel factory

warehouse built in 1902

As we walked, we noticed this deer enjoying the local plants.

 Once back to the car, we drove to Sandy Point Lighthouse, the one closest to Shelburne. You can walk to this lighthouse at low tide.

Sandy Point Lighthouse

We drove the scenic loop back to Canada 3 and then it was back to Sol for lunch and another bike ride. This time we went further down the trail going away from town. Unfortunately after about 2 miles, it got very rocky and narrow with many low hanging branches. After a bit we decided this trail wasn't for us and we returned to the campground. 

Saturday was a driving day...mostly because of the rainy weather.  We chose to complete the Shelburne to Barrington Adventure Lab as we traveled south to Barrington. The drive took us to 10 different places as we explored the area. We saw two different lighthouses.

Seal Island Museum

Baccaro Point Lighthouse

Near the Baccaro Point Lighthouse there was a huge blue adirondack chair with painted arms. The arms had painted rocks for heads.

As we were leaving the loop near the lighthouse we spotted a national historic area.--Fort St. Louis.

The only monument there was the stacked cannon balls. The fort was built in the 1620s to monitor the fur trade. It was the last Acadian stronghold on Cape La Tour. 

As we were heading back to Sol, we spotted Sobey's (a Canadian grocery store similar to our Publix). We stopped to see what was on sale and to pick up a few necessities. 

Our last day near Shelburne, we walked the campground loop then drove into town to check out the farmers' market. Due to wet weather, we stopped in Boxing Rock Brewery for lunch and a cold one. 

We enjoyed our time at The Islands Provincial Park, but it was time to pull up stakes and move on up the road....

Yarmouth: On the Edge of Everywhere (June 16, 17, 18, 19)

Bob chose Ellenwood Lake Provincial Park for base to explore Yarmouth. The saying in the title is on all the signs in Yarmouth. The drive from Keji was not too bad. We didn't leave early in the morning as we couldn't check in until 2 p.m.. Of course, we still arrived a little after noon. Rats! The campers on our site were staying as long a possible...the downside of moving on a Sunday when people who work want their weekend to last as long as possible! We were able to park in Visitor Parking to wait for them to leave. 

Then the fun began. The site was long enough for us, but there were three trees and a power post that were strategically in the way! Bob could back in fine, but we had to maneuver Sol so Bob could get past the power pole and one of the trees on the driver side. That meant the two trees at the front passenger side came into play. Out came the tape measure!  Once Bob was past the power pole and near the tree, we measured to see how far he could go so we could open the slides on the passenger side and still be able to open the door (3 inches) Finally, we got in the site!

As you can see, we had plenty of room in back of Sol! It was just the trees on the passenger side that were a problem.

Once we were set up, we drove into Yarmouth to scout out stores and a laundromat. The next morning, we took our laundry and drove to Cape Forchu to visit the lighthouse. Along the way, we found some Adventure Lab caches.

Lobster Buoys representing all the lobster fishermen

"Bug" Lighthouse

Cape Forchu Lighthouse

 

Yes, we climbed to the top of the 'apple core' lighthouse.

We also walked the Leif Ericson trail at the foot of the lighthouse.

distance signs to different places in the world

Foggy, the fin whale skeleton

 The trail is named for the Vikings who were thought to have visited this area long before Columbus sailed. Archeologists found a rock with Viking runes dating back to 1000 AD. The rock is in the Yarmouth County Museum.

 We enjoyed Cape Forchu, but time to take care of that laundry, then back to Sol.

Our second day we did more Adventure Labs in downtown Yarmouth.. After completing the caches, we had lunch at The Dinner Plate. It was highly recommended by everyone. They were correct! The portions were large and the food was good. I had scallops and haddock, Bob had clams and haddock. 

Later that afternoon, we drove to Tusket Falls to visit the local brewery. 

As we neared the brewery, I kept noticing bridges near the ones we were driving on....they looked like part of a bicycle trail. We asked the bartender and she said the rail trail went through all of the county! So, the following day we took our bikes, found a trailhead and rode about 15 miles round trip. 

one of the bridges on the trail

Of course, the trailhead was near the brewery so it was time to quench our thirst! 

The following day was a moving day! Time to pack up and move on down the road.

Kejimkujik National Park (June 13-16)

 I am loving the short travel days! From Valleyview to Keji (rhymes with edgy) was only about an hour's drive! Once we were checked in at the front gate with our park passes, we proceeded to the campground registration kiosk. We were in site 310 with 30 amp electric hook-up. The campground was huge! There were a lot of downed trees in our loop, but the campsites were clear. The sites were so clear in our loop that we thought we would have it all to ourselves...but no, it pretty much filled up by 7 p.m.

 After we arrived, we took the bikes off the car. This looked like a great place to ride our bikes to explore the park. In fact, we rode our bikes to the visitors' center which was about 5 miles from the campground. There were rest areas beside the Mersey River.

The following day we hiked Slapfoot Trail. It follows the lake from the furthest campground loop all the way to Jake's Landing. 

 But, alas, the trail was only open to within a quarter of a mile of Jake's Landing. The area about a quarter of a mile beyond the group camp area was closed due to spraying of the hemlock trees. Beyond that, the pontoon bridge was not in place to cross the river to Jake's Landing. 

We did see some interesting sights as we walked the trail. This camping pod is called an Oasis. It sleeps 4. There is a dinette in the bottom that makes into a bed and above that is a loft. Several of them were occupied. There are windows above the red portion.

Later in the day, we rode our bikes to Jake's Landing where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards.

 Then we continued to Merrymakedge Beach. Yes, there were people swimming in the lake! I felt the water and it was about air temperature (65 degrees)! Too cold for us1 Along the way we picked up some geocaches. Yes, there was one in this old phone booth!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to do much on our last day at Keji--it rained all day. Every time there was a break in the rain, Bob and I ventured outside to get some exercise, walking around the campground loop. Needless to say we didn't get out very much that day.

Cheers to our time at Keji! 

We would have liked more time here, but it was time to move to our next spot......

Valleyview Provincial Park, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia (June 9-12, 2024)

 Since we arrived in Nova Scotia, we have established that most of our travel days are going to be SHORT...unless we veer off path to sightsee. This day was no exception. We left Blomidon and 2 hours later we were at Valleyview Provincial Park in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. The reason it is called Valleyview is because the park is on top of a mountain and has a great view of Bridgetown in the valley. We also decided that we will drive Sol on major highways where possible as the other roads are narrow and not as well maintained (translation----potholes!).

Valleyview was our home base to explore Annappolis Royal, Middleton, and Digby. 

Our first afternoon we drove the coastal road to view a couple of lighthouses. The first was Hampton. The lighthouse houses a museum, but it was closed when we visited. The beach is rock covered, reminding me of Oregon beaches.

We continued down the coast road to Delaps Cove where the road ended. From there we drove east and found Port Royal, a Canadian  National Historic Site. It was almost closing time, but the docents gave us a quick tour of the buildings We used our Canadian Park Passes for entry. (when we were making reservations before we left home we realized that to camp in a national park in Canada, you pay the camping fee and a daily entrance fee. The park pass pays for the daily entrance fee--ours has already paid for itself). This was the first permanent settlement in Canada and it was used in the fur trade.

 

 

 

The next find was Melanson National Historic Site just a few miles north. Both historic sites were part of a Geocache Adventure Lab. No, not a single picture...we were staying ahead of the mosquitos as we walked the trail around the site!

The following day we drove to Annapolis Royal to visit Fort Anne and the Historic Botanical Gardens. We enjoyed walking around the old fort. The officers' quarters is the only building standing, and it had been rebuilt using some original materials.

 

 From Fort Anne, we walked to the Historic Botanical Gardens. This hatched roof gardener's shed had mason bees living and working in the thatch....we didn't want to get too close!

Bumblebees were busy elsewhere in the garden.

There were artworks and sculptures throughout the garden.

After exploring the two places and completing a couple of Adventure Labs, we stopped by Annapolis Brewing Company before heading to Sol. It is the first place we have been in Nova Scotia where they had tin signs for sale! Bob got one to add to his collection by the pool.

Our third day in Valleyview, we headed north to Middleton to walk a nature trail and pick up some more geocaches. We also took our bikes so we could ride from Middleton to Kinston...and we didn't take any pictures! We rode our bikes on the roughest trail we have ridden (it was nothing but washboard most of the way). Once I was off my bike, I felt like I had been on one of those belt shaking exercise machines from the 1960's. Whoever put me on it, gave me the full body belt! I thought I would never stop the bouncing!

After our ride, we found the nearest Wal-mart to pick up a few supplies. Most of our campgrounds have not been near towns...most have been at least 10 miles from any town with big stores.

Our last day in the area, we chose to drive to Digby, the scallop capital of the world!

We visited Digby Pier Light which has been rebuilt.

We drove to Prim Point to see the tallest lighthouse we have seen so far in Nova Scotia. I enjoyed walking on the rocks! The lighthouse had a cute gift store in what once housed the light keeper.

Yes, the scallop fleet was in for most of our day in Digby. We did see a few boats going in and out of the harbor after the tide changed.

And, YES, I had scallops for lunch. They were delicious! (Bob had a lobster roll).

We enjoyed our time at Digby, but it was time to head back to camp. June 13 would be a travel day.