Springhill Nova Scotia-August 19

<
Anne Murray's music is still ringing in my head. There was a lot of her music played through out the Murray Centre in her hometown of Springhill. For those of you a bit younger than John or I, she was the first female Canadian artist to earn an American Gold Record. She has sold close to fifty million albums and has won countless awards. Her song "Snowbird" was her first song which catapulted her to fame. We were informed that she spends May through September in Springhill. Her hometown was the site of a major coal mining industry until about 1970. Over its 85 year history the mine had a couple of explosions and one bump(miniature earthquake). All total, some 442 men were killed since the 19th century. One of the explosions occurred in 1956,the bump happened in 1958, and in 1957 the town itself had a major fire! On a lighter note,the town has a couple of benches dubbed the"Liars Bench" in memory of the miners who congregated at those benches to tell their fishing stories. From Springhill we drove to Williamsdale Winery. We had a shock there because, as we drove up the path to the winery,we found it over grown in weeds. It took some heavy knocking and a dog inside ferociously barking to get the owner to come to the door. He said that he was closing the business. On the average he use to have 3-4thousand people a summer come to his winery-this summer so far John and I were his 14th and 15th customers. He especially noticed a sharp decrease of people from the USA. He did have some blueberry wine to sell to us and also gave us free samples of maple syrup. Our last stop was Oxford-the blueberry capital of Canada,second only to Maine in blueberry production. Fortunately for us,this is the time when blueberries are ripe.

Tidal Bore- August 18

This morning we left Dartmouth and headed for Amherst, Nova Scotia. We are now a few miles from the New Brunswick border. We got a fairly early start so we could watch the tidal bore in the upper arm of the Bay of Fundy. We got to the spot at the Salmon River early so could see the before and after effect. The river at first was at a low level and meandering slowly to the west. A bore is when tide meets the river. This creates a dramatic effect because the ocean tide pushes the river in the opposite direction it is flowing. The level of the river rises rapidly and the flow of the river reverses. There are narrower areas in the Bay of Fundy where the tidal bore creates waves as high as several feet. Never having seen one before,we enjoyed watching this less dramatic tidal bore. Other people had joined us at the river banks so it was fun also people watching; hearing their comments and reactions to this phenomena of nature which happens twice daily. The picture I have here is of the stirred up muddy water of the river meeting the tide. In the afternoon we visited a world heritage site located at Joggins, Nova Scotia. In the middle 1800s scientists here discovered a treasure trove of fossils dating from 300 million years ago. To be more precise, it was the "Coal Age Galapagos" of the Carboniferous prehistoric era. Giant insects, towering trees and the first known reptiles lived and died here. Over the years they were preserved in the stone which make up the cliffs in Joggins. New fossils are continuously being exposed by erosion of the cliffs. These cliffs are along the coast of the Bay of Fundy and are being eroded by the high tides. We walked along the shore there and tried to find our own fossils (but you are not allowed to keep what you find). We found a variety of many kinds of rock, of differing colors and shapes. One thing we saw interesting was a fossilized seed pod. We also saw pieces of fossilized trees in the cliffs. In the museum located at Joggins it was easier to view the fossils. This also used to be a coal mining area-I have posted here a seam of coal which we found among a pile of rocks.

Halifax Nova Scotia,Day 2- August 17

I have one more picture from yesterday. It is of several wharf musicians. Yesterday was a buskers festival, so we heard a fair amount of music while walking around. Nova Scotia(the name of this province means New Scotland) is very Scottish ,so we heard the bagpipes played a couple of times. And it was not a bad sound when played with drums! Our first stop today was St.Paul’s Church. It is the oldest Protestant church in Canada,founded by proclamation of King George II in 1749. It was quite beautiful inside. It had 22 stained glass windows depicting Jesus’life,death and ministry. Also,most unusual,in the chancel are wooden plaques on which are inscribed the Lord’s Prayer,the Ten Commandments,and the Apostle’s Creed. They date from a time when few could afford the Common Book of Prayers. We went from there back to the harbor to take a sail boat ride. And that is a picture of John hoisting the sails. Our afternoon was spent touring a brewery, Alexander Keiths. This brewery dates back to the early 1800s,so it was interesting just touring the old building. On the tour we were treated to some tavern songs and games dating back to that time period. It was an unusual brewery tour. The ale was quite good.

Halifax Nova Scotia- August 16

We are parked in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. It is across the harbor from Halifax. We had some difficulty finding this place yesterday. A missed turn proved to be helpful,however. Missing a turn is a bit disturbing when one is driving a 37 foot rig through city streets. John did find a street to turn into. And while he was debating where next to turn the rig around, I saw a Lutheran church. I quickly ran out of the rig to check church times for today. All is well that ends well. We did find the campground and we were able to attend church today. We now know that the Lutheran Church in Canada is connected with the Missouri Synod. The few Lutheran churches in Canada are struggling to survive. The church we attended today had only about twenty worshippers. They also do not have a regular pastor The one serving today had been helping the church for the past two weeks and was now heading back to his home church in Ontario. After church we took the ferry across the harbor to Halifax. I have posted here a picture of the harbor as we were crossing it. We toured the Halifax Citadel- an old fort which was the last of four built to defend the city. Halifax was the principal British naval station in North America. We also walked the older part of Halifax. There are a few older buildings left- I have here a picture of the old courthouse. In our walking tour we were able to walk through the Public Garden of Halifax. It is a rare example of a formal Victorian garden,intact since 1815. The floral abundance in this park was awesome. I have posted here a picture of the bandstand located in the park.

Random Thoughts- August 15

The picture I have here is another one taken in the bog on the Cabot Trail. It a photo of white orchids which we saw there. The other picture is just of some wild flowers we found when hiking. Another loose end which I would like to pick up is in regard to Alexander G.Bell. I forgot to mention that he was one of the founders of the National Geographic magazine. Actually it would be difficult to think of anything he did not tinker with or invent. When he heard of something newly invented he usually obtained that object,used it and/or added his own improvements. He did that with the x-ray machine when it came out,trying it out on his farm animals.From what I learned about him,it seemed that he was a true renaissance man! With all of his projects he kept the towns people employed, and he also mentored some men who had engineering degrees. Today we headed for Halifax,Nova Scotia. And it was the first day of summer for me. I wore shorts for the first time all day! Also,John and I had our first McLobster sandwich at McDonalds. It was quite good,made as well as the ones which I have had in the local restaurants. I have not seen many unusually named roads for awhile, but I saw a few recently. On Prince Edward Island I saw Panting Beach Road(I figured it was a code name for Lover’s Lane). Also there I saw Seaweed Road- you can’t get it plainer than that.Maybe there was a Mr.Seaweed.. Today we noticed Short Cut Loop Road- short cut to where,and how can one take a short cut on a country road when all that can be seen is farm fields? We should have gone down that road! Another road which we saw today: Mushaboom. That made me think of the baby boomers,only it happened instead with mushrooms and they had to commemorate the event. And we came through a town today with the name Ecum Secum. That reminded me of the phrase “come si,come sa” . Maybe I am dabbling in foreign languages here and should leave that one alone!

Uisge Ban Falls-August 14

Before I write about what we did today,I want to cover one more detail from the Cabot Trail. One the Cabot Trail we had the opportunity to hike through a bog(fortunately there was a boardwalk provided to walk on). This bog has several insect eating plants,and we were able to see two of them. One is the bladderwort,the other is the pitcher plant. I was pleased how the pitcher plant photo turned out and hope you can see the little pitchers at the bottom of the plant. Those pitchers are what catch the insects for the plant to feed on. Today we took a hike along the North Branch Baddeck River to the Usige Ban Falls. Usige Ban is Gaelic for clear waters. And it is a clear mountain stream. The path to the falls is a bit rocky and steep. We saw one area along the way which had a lot of tall white birch and spruce trees with their roots wrapped around big boulders.I have here a picture of one of those trees. Surprisingly,the trees were very healthy in appearance otherwise. I guess all that matters are that the roots find their way down to the soil. Hmmm..seems like like there is some philosophical message I could make out of that thought. Suffice it enough to only say that it was a beautiful forest walk. The water falls tumble down fifty feet to a rocky canyon below. After that hike,our afternoon was spent at the Alexander Graham Bell museum. He came to visit Baddeck after his success with the invention of the telephone. He and his wife loved this area so well they stayed thirty-seven years,until their deaths. They had a big gray castle-type building which can be seen from the museum. Their descendants still live there today. I did not know that Bell is considered the father of aviation for the British empire- he designed and flew a plane two years after the Wright Brothers,called the Silver Dart. Actually,there were quite a few different projects he was involved in during his lifetime,including man-carrying kites and animal husbandry. Just before he died he was working on the hydrofoil. With an associate of his,he produced the fastest boat in the world. Unfortunately at the time(1919)there was not a big need for it.

Cabot Trail,Day 2-August 13

Since we had not completed our drive on the first day(we really had not expected to),we decided to stop for the night in the town of Cheticamp. As we drove through the town all we could see was "no vacancy" signs until we came to the Nestle Inn. What a lovely home;it was a bed and breakfast type place. We got a room in an apartment which we shared with two other couples. They were from the states(Maine and Virginia)and very friendly. You certainly have to be willing to talk to strangers if you are sharing a bathroom! Our brief stay there was very enjoyable. From there the next morning,today,we went to les Trois Pignons.This was an Acadian culture center with a large display of decorative hook rugs made by the ladies of the area.It was a very worthwhile stop. As we were leaving town we stopped at an historic site. There I saw cows standing in the ocean at the next small island over from us. I was confused,surely they were not there to drink ocean water? Maybe waiting for their ship to come in? I asked Germaine at the information center there. She said that the cows were there either to keep cool,or perhaps it was one place for them where there were no flies. I am not sure how it happened,but Germaine then proceeded to give me her life story. Her parents initially had a farm in what is now the national park,but just before she was born they had to leave and live in the town as their land had become government property. Her family only spoke French when she was young so it was difficult for her and her sister to enter an English speaking school. She said she was picking up the English with some difficulty until the ninth grade when they started studying Shakespeare. She said:"I was already having problems learning English,but boy the English of Shakespeare was too much for me-I dropped out of school at that point!" One other stop today was to see a scarecrow display. In the early 1980s a seventy year old man put up several scarecrows to keep animals out of his garden. Tourists started stopping to look at them and the rest is history. It really became a thing of art for him. I will post a couple of those pictures here. In the first he has scarecrow children playing ring around the rosy. The laughing guy has the title "laugh and the world laughs with you.." We ended our day back at the town of Baddeck,the town near where our home is parked. The town has a ceilidh music concert every evening during the summer months. This concert was different than others we had attended. We heard a Gaelic vocalist and participated in square dancing to a Celtic jig!

Cabot Trail,Nova Scotia- August 12

We are actually on Cape Breton Island,the northern most part of Nova Scotia. A large part of that island is Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The Cabot Trail runs through most of that park. We had just started on our drive when we stopped at the park office. A ranger pointed out several walking trails and described them as level and easy walks. We only did a couple as the first one was fairly strenuous for us! It was very much an uphill climb out on a peninsula called Middle Head. At the top we had a panoramic view of the Atlantic ocean and the cliffs surrounding us. One rock out on the ocean had a lot of cormorants and two puffins. It was worth the walk! A good part of our day was spent just driving through forested areas. We started wondering where the great scenery was which everyone had told us about. However,once we got to the eastern part of the island,we started seeing steep cliffs and deep river canyons. We discovered that the Cabot Trail was every bit as beautiful as we been told. And just before we left the park we saw a mother bear with her two cubs shuffling along the side of the road. Actually the cubs were more into playing with each other,not foraging for food which their mom seemed to be doing! The sight of those bears made our day complete. More on the Cabot Trail in my next posting.

Leaving Prince Edward Island- August 11

We are now on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Lobster must also be very plentiful here for eating- even McDonalds advertises that it has a McLobster sandwich! However, I still want to go back to P.E.I.and share some more of those pictures with you. One can only enter and leave on the Confederate Trail Bridge. There was a heft toll for our big rig-$56.00. Fortunately we only had to pay it once,as we were leaving the island today. I have a picture of it posted here. Another island scene I have is a bucolic one,as diary farming is big on the island. In that picture note the gulf in the background. The last picture is a pretty typical scene on the island; pasture and hills with a village on the lake in the background. Wildflowers are plentiful on the roadsides; yellow goldenrod and cinquefoils,white yarrow and daisys,purple thistle and American vetch,to name the more common ones seen. Some of those wildflowers can be seen in the foreground of that last picture. Tomorrow we are driving on the Cabot Trail- supposedly one of the most scenic drives in north America. Will get back to you on that in a couple of days.

Preserve Gardens- August 9

I think this posting will be the last for Prince Edward Island. We will be leaving the island Tuesday. I want to mention a couple other things which we did Sunday. We ended our touring with a stop at the Prince Edward Island Preserve company. This company is famous for the preserves which they make, a 12 acre botanical garden, and restaurant. The garden had paths which overlook the Clyde River, they also wound through flower beds and woodland. The owners do not charge admission fees to this garden, but rather request that donations be given toward a hospice building which they hope to build on the grounds. We dined at the restaurant for supper-both of us had lobster quiche which was quite delicious. That evening we attended our final concert of island music. We saw the Sky family whose performance was entitled “Fiery Faith And Fiddles”. They mostly did Celtic dance as well as one Russian Cossack dance. The family was very talented and several of them played more than one instrument. One of the men switched between playing a fiddle and sax in one song. They also played a couple of religious praise songs which were quite beautiful to hear. I think for the pictures which I want to post here I will just have the theme of flowers. One of them (it has a wooden post in the foreground) was taken at the Preserve Gardens. The other two were taken at a L.M.Montgomery heritage site. Maybe in my next posting I will have more pictures taken from around the island. I still have many more to show!

Cavendish- August 9

After three weeks of missing church due to being in areas that were French and Catholic,it was a thrill to walk into the United Church of Canada in Bedeque. I did not realize how much I really missed attending church. The United Church of Canada came about with the combining of the Methodist,United Church of Christ and Presbyterian churches in 1925. The church we attended today is over 100 years old,and was originally Methodist. During the fellowship hour we enjoyed talking to several members who were very obliging in talking to us about their lives here on the island. We also met an elderly woman who was proudly showing off her adorable two great-grandchildren. They were adopted Cree Indian babies from northern Canada. Apparently there is a big need for people to adopt these children from that part of Canada. After church we headed for Cavendish to finish our tour of the L.M.Montgomery sites. We first toured the Campbell home in Silver Bush where she married Reverend Ewan Macdonald. Mongomery referred to this place as “the wonder castle of my childhood”. Here I have posted a picture of the pond on the premises which was the inspiration for Anne’s” Lake of Shining Waters”. After that we went to her paternal grandparent’s home in Park Corners. There we were given a tour by a man who said that his father was a first cousin to L.M.Mongomery. His mother had lived in that house until about ten years ago,after which it was turned into a museum. So fortunately it had a lot of the original furnishings in it. Our final stop was the site of the home where the author grew up. All that is left is the well and the cellar foundation of the house. I have here a picture of the wooded path which the author spoke of in her writings. It was the path she took to her church where she was the organist while she was still living at home with her grandmother. We had a chance at this place to speak with the lady whose husband is the great-grandson of the author. She and her husband decided to restore whatever was left of the author’s home and grounds. I am thankful they did- it was interesting to see the areas which Mongomery so lovingly incorporated into her stories,as the old well and the forest path. What was also great about the day,actually this can be said about every day on this island, are the flowers that are present everywhere. They are seen outside homes,in gardens and by the roadsides. Wherever there is a patch of ground there is some type of flower. I have taken so many pictures of them I will have to start posting them wherever I can fit them in!

Southern tip of P.E.I.- August 8

We have been on the go here a lot,and ,with attending concerts in the evening,there is little time left to write for this blog. But I try because there is so much we are seeing and doing that at I am anxious to share it all with you with you. Yesterday,Saturday,we toured the southern tip of the island. We saw lots of coastline and woodland,also rolling green hills. A bright blue sky with huge fluffy white clouds made for some spectacular scenery. We toured the Cows Creamery. For those of you who have never traveled to Canada,this ice cream is the Ben and Jerrys of Canada. On our tour we learned the process of cheese and ice cream making. That was interesting,and it was helpful that we could have a sample of their products! We also toured the lighthouse at Woods Island. We found out that the lighthouse had been moved in 2007,otherwise it would have toppled into the gulf. The iron in the sand (which gives it the red coloring) makes the sand very friable so the seashore is eroding at a rate of two to three feet a year. The lighthouse had eleven themed rooms so it was helpful to have a tour guide. Our guide was a young island girl who was very informative about the history of the lighthouse. She also discussed the types of fishing done in this area. For herring fishing it is necessary to fish at night as the herring are attracted to light. She said it is quite a sight to come out and watch this as the sea then becomes quite lit up. She also enjoys mackerel gigging,which she encouraged us to try if we have a chance. Something else we enjoyed doing yesterday was stopping at a few local farm produce stands. Blueberries are starting to be picked, also there seems to be a lot of potatoes and string beans for sale. Finally we are able to enjoy the fruits and vegetables of summer! There is only one winery on the island so that was another stop for us. We purchased cranberry wine, a first for us. In case you are wondering John is investigating the lobster traps in that one picture of the harbor at Victoria.

Concerts on Prince Edward Island August 8

The picture of windmills did not come up as well as I expected in the posting yesterday so will post another here. Last PM we attended a concert at St.Mary’s church in Indian River. This church is a century old and to get it restored the church started a summer concert series fourteen years ago. Money raised from the concerts is used to pay for the restoration of the church. The church is all made of wood and shaped like a violin. What better place can you find to hear music? Last evening we heard two of Canada’s finest operatic singers,soprano Wendy Nielsen and tenor Robert Kortgaard,sing Broadway hit songs. It was a very enjoyable evening. In our campground here we have a music place called “Harmony Hall”. A local group who call themselves the Jericho Band(composed mainly of the campground staff and anyone else who wants to participate)perform here on the week-ends. We have been to a couple of those concerts and have also enjoyed them. I have posted a picture of them here. Now to move on from the sublime to the mundane. When John and I toured in the states often we could not find recycling for just aluminum cans. Here on the island there are four cans everywhere for different kinds of trash,all labeled quite clearly- even one for compost material! America could take a lesson from that. Now back to the sublime. I will post here a picture of some wildflowers called musk mallow. We have been seeing a lot of this flower by the roadsides.

Evangeline Area of Prince Edward Island-August 7

Yesterday we toured the western coast of Prince Edward Island. Here we again found the brightly painted homes with odd angles and additions as we found in Quebec. Interestingly enough,we also found a Catholic church with its historic signs all in French. And we thought we were pretty much in an English speaking province! Our first stop of the day was the Bottle Houses. In 1979 Edouard Arsenault started collecting bottles and then began construction of three houses. One of them is a chapel(note the cross made of beer bottles which I have posted here,located in that chapel). It was said of Edouard that he had a sense of humor! The three charming buildings(there is one that is a bar) are located in a lovely garden setting by the sea. Note the picture of one with a lighthouse in the background. From there we drove along the coast and could see the red sandy bluffs of the seashore. It was a bright sunny day and the water had the color of a vibrant sparkling blue which stood out quite dramatically against the red sand. I will post that here. I just noticed that in that seashore picture windmills can be seen. The windmills belong to Wind Energy Institute of Canada.. We also saw many fields of potatoes,which is one of the major crops of this island. John remarked to me that he did not think the scenery of this island was all that outstanding. I disagree,and here I want to quote the author M.Mongomery : “the beauty of the island is due to the vivid color contrasts-the rich red of the winding roads,the brilliant emeralds of the uplands and meadows,and the encircling sea”. We also saw a lot of forest land in our tour of this part of the island,which I thought also made it very picturesque. Mrs. Montgomery loved this island deeply,and when her travels required her to leave the island she made it a point to return as soon as possible.

Prince Edward Island- August 6

We crossed over a nine mile bridge to enter Prince Edward Island. The first sign we see says:“the gentle island welcomes you”. Our hopes were raised. We had a hard day crossing over many rough roads. I have here a picture of our cat snoozing contentedly even though totally surrounded by many objects that had come flying down around him in the course of this very unsettling day. And we were deceived by that sign- Prince Edward also has many bumpy roads,frequently we have seen the sign “broken pavement”. And I should not start out on such a negative note because our experience here has been a good one so far. As we were setting up here Tuesday evening the owner of this campground came up to John and offered free tickets to the musical “Anne and Gilbert" showing that evening. Without hesitating John took them. We had only an hour and half to get there and had not eaten supper yet. We made it to the show on time and were treated to a delightful evening of song and dance. The story was that of Anne of Green Gables,covering that period of her life when she was teaching and attending college. Yesterday,Wednesday,we toured L.M.Montgomery heritage sites(for those of you who are not familiar with her,she was the author of the Anne of Green Gables” story series and many other writings,a very prolific author of whom Canada is very proud). I will not post a picture of the house which Montgomery wrote of in her Anne series but rather a picture of the yard and woods which she also so dearly loved and spoke of in her writings. We ended the day attending a concert by the Ross Family. John talked to John Ross during intermission. Mr.Ross,when he heard that we were from Missouri, wondered if they were good enough for Branson. John reassured him that they were more than good enough. The Ross family mostly played ceilidh music. John played the keyboard,one sister played a fiddle, another sister a guitar and a brother was on the drums. They could also stepdance quite well and were very versatile in their musical offerings. The younger sister did an older Bruce Springsteen folk song,they also did some rag and jazz- ending with the”Orange Blossom Special”. It was typical island music of which there is a lot of around here,especially during the summer months. It was very enjoyable toe-tapping,hand clapping music.

New Brunswick,Canada- August 3

We had another beautiful drive here along the seacoast. We have left Quebec and now are seeing more English signs in the larger towns of New Brunswick. And we are seeing license plates here in the campground only from New Brunswick. Makes me wonder how much the people from the province of Quebec travel into other areas of Canada. One Canadian told us that 40% of them would prefer to secede from Canada-opting to keep their French language and culture. We just realized that we are on Atlantic time,so we are now an hour later than earlier today. Our campground is across the road from the ocean. Between the road and where we are now is a tidal basin estuary. It has a combination of fresh water and sea water-we walked along that area at sunset and saw lots of shore birds. As usual,we were not prepared and lack binoculars! Just maybe I will return there tomorrow before we leave. I have more pictures here of the gannets and Bonaventure Island.

Bonaventure Island Canada- August 2

We drove into the town of Perce today to board a boat bound for Bonaventure Island. On the way there we were able to view Perce Rock,pictured here. It is a limestone rock 1545 feet long and 288 feet high,with a hole pierced in it. It was formed 375 million years ago on the bottom of the ocean bed. Bet you can find that picture in this posting. Also on our little voyage we were able to see the gannet birds circling and roosting on Bonaventure Island. Once we arrived on the island it was necessary to take a 45 minute hike to get a closer view of the birds. It is estimated that there are roughly 110,000 of these birds in that one colony- the largest flock of them in the world is located here. What a sight to see! We saw gannets taking off and returning,fussing over territorial rights,and mama gannets feeding their little ones. When baby gannet wants to feed he taps on his mama's beak and when she opens her mouth he pokes his beak in and causes her to regurgitate digested fish into his mouth. Looked just yummy! The one baby I saw doing this got nothing out of his mom's mouth. It just was not feeding time! Gannets are pretty birds,especially with those clear blue eyes and yellow necks. We also saw herring gulls today and many cormorants. We are now a bit worn out,but have had two spectacular days in this part of Canada-even the weather has cooperated. I think this part of Canada is a well kept secret-especially from Americans. Yesterday we saw our first license plate from the states in over two weeks. In the campgrounds the majority of people are either from the province of Quebec or Ontario. They have been very friendly and kind,but all we can say to each other is "bonjour".

Forillon National Park-Aug. 1

Yesterday we drove northeast on the Gaspe peninsula(in fact John figured that here we reached the most northern area for us since we started our travels six months ago). We took highway route 132,noted on the map as a scenic byway. And the scenery was spectacular. On one side of the road we had the St.Lawrence seacoast,on the other were towering mountain walls with an occasional waterfall. We are now parked at the Indian Head campground- given that name because of a bluff overlooking the sea(on the grounds here) that gives the impression of an Indian head. I will post that picture here. Today we toured Forillon National Park. In this park we first toured an underground fort which Canada built during World War Two to defend a naval base in the bay. From there we toured Mr.Hyman's general store in which there were exhibits showing the cod fishing industry as it existed in this area during the late 1800s to the middle of the twentieth century. Our final stop for the day was Cap Gaspe,or lands end for the peninsula. It was a 4 km hike one-way,so we decided to use our bikes to save time. And it was about a 300 feet climb. After pedaling up the second hill on that trail we were close to giving up. Then a couple of people stopped us and pointed out a whale diving up in the water of the gulf. We decided to keep going,and saw several more whales on our way up. At the top we could also view seals swimming around. It was worth every bit of pain getting up there. And of course I have to share with you a picture from there. Also at the top was a marker announcing the end(or the beginning,however you want to consider it)of the International Appalachian Trail. We considered taking that trail down the mountain,but realized that our bikes would not do well going over the tree roots on the forest paths. It was scary going down,I pulled hard on my brakes most of the way! I had visions of me sliding on the gravel and flying into the sea. As we later drove out of the park we had to make one more stop. The people in the car in front of us saw a porcupine climb a tree so we also stopped to look at him- he was very large and seemed quite content to view us from his lofty perch. One other item before I close. I have pictured here a field of purple fireweed. It was located at the 100 year-old home of a local fisherman. That home has since been bought by the park. A lot of Canadian tour books touted those flowers as something very important to note when touring the house and its grounds during July and August.