TUESDAY 19 July

As the title suggests, today was a relocation day.  Our stay on Prince Edward Island had come to an end, as had our fifth full week on the road, and it was time to move on to a new campground (our 12^th of the trip) and a new Province (our fifth of the trip).  I would be the first time either of us had been in Nova Scotia (New Scotland).

As forecast, it started raining in the middle of the night and was still raining when I got up at 7 AM.  The rain was persistent, but not consistently heavy, with occasional lulls.  A check of future radar indicated that it would taper off and be done by 10 AM, but we wanted be on the road by then, and needed to start our final departure preparations an hour earlier.  Raincoats where in order and we had an umbrella at the ready, but all we had to contend with was an occasional light mist.

We pulled out of our site at 9:45 AM, and hour behind Paul and Nancy.  The weather was dreary and traffic was light, both on the island and once we were back on the mainland.  In order to take us on the shortest/fastest route, our GPS wanted us to take the ferry from …, PE to Pictou, NS.  Nope, we’re saving our ferry rides for Newfoundland and Labrador.  We paid our exit toll and used the Confederation Bridge.

Elm River RV Park in Debert, near Truro, Nova Scotia.

Our destination was Elm River RV Park in Debert, Nova Scotia and, once we were off of Prince Edward Island, our route was mostly the Trans-Canada Highway and the roads were mostly in good condition.  The park was easy to find and access and it was easy to get into our 3-way pull-through site next to Paul and Nancy’s, level the trailer, and set up camp.

Just the two of us, at the Fundy Discover Center on the Salmon River in Truro, NS.

We don’t usually plan any activities or outings on re-positioning days, but our campground was only 15 minutes from Truro which sits at the far end of the Minas Basin where the Salmon River empties into Cobequid Bay, the far northeast extent of the Bay of Fundy.  Linda was searching online for things to do in the area and found that the Fundy Discovery Center, in Truro, was a place where we could witness a “tidal bore” on the Salmon River.  These happen on the incoming tide at specific times, and the next one was due to occur at 5:55 PM ADT.  We left a 5 PM and drove over to see this rare event.

I say “rare” because tidal bores only occur on a very few rivers in the world.  Where they do occur, they occur regularly as part of the tide cycle.  The Discovery Center had excellent information boards that explained how tides work and the factors that determine if a river experiences tidal bores.  I was surprised to learn the very high tides in the Bay of Fundy originate at the continental shelf off of Boston, Massachusetts and involve a resonance phenomenon that is almost perfectly timed with the tide cycle of the moon and sun.

The Salmon River at Truro, shortly after the tidal bore had passed. The water is flowing upstream from left to right.

Tidal bores are rated from 1 to 4, 4 being the strongest/largest, and this one was rated to be a 2 this evening.  The frontal wave appeared to only be 12 – 18 inches high, but it was impressive because we calibrated our expectations.  While not a tsunami, it was clearly there and it was the leading edge of a massive amount of water moving quickly upstream and filling the river in a surprisingly short time.  And we were still five hours from high tide.  I shot video but could not include it here due to size.

Some “Fun(dy)” facts:  1)  Highest tides in the world occur at Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, 47.5 feet on average and 53.6 feet maximum; 2) At mid-tide the flow of water through the narrow Minas Passage near Parrsboro Nova Scotia exceeds the (estimated) combined flow of all other rivers in the world; 3) As 9 to 16 billion tonnes of water flow into the Minas Basin, the surrounding countryside tilts slightly under the enormous load.

Back at camp, Linda contributed frozen vegan pierogies to the evening meal.  Nancy prepared them by boiling and then pan frying in vegan butter and served them with scallions and sour cream (vegan for us, of course).  Leftover Thai ramen salad and fresh grapes completed the meal.  This evening’s wine was Cabernet Sauvignon.

After dinner we watched the 4^th installment of Obi-Wan Kenobi.  It was the last episode we saw before leaving on this trip, but a first viewing for Paul and Nancy.

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