THURSDAY 28 July

(Caution:  Long reflective post ahead with only one photo.)

I was awake before 6 AM but did not get up until 7 as we had a somewhat leisurely morning on tap.  I followed my usual morning routine; start my computer, feed the cat, put the kettle on to boil, make coffee, create yesterdays blog post in WordPress, and publish it.  (I wrote the text yesterday in Word and had already selected and processed the photos.  Creating the post was just a matter of copying and pasting the text, uploading the images, inserting them into the post in the proper places, and adding captions.  When it looked “OK” I clicked the Publish button and voila, another blog post.)  By the time the hot water was ready, Linda had also gotten up, so I made coffee for both of us.

This post covers our final day in Nova Scotia (for now) up to the point where we arrive at the Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal in North Sydney.  But first, we had to vacate our nice 50A 3-way (full-hookup) site at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA and move to a temporary site as the KOA was fully-booked.  As well it should be.

This proved to be a wonderful little KOA in a great location.  After suffering a serious decline in business for the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021), business here has really rebounded.  As one of the owners told Linda this morning, “this is not a place that locals come to camp, we are completely dependent on tourists.”

It’s not fancy (it is not listed as a Resort, Holiday, or Journey) but the bathrooms/showers were nice, the laundry was very useable (outdoors, but covered), the power at our site was excellent, the Wi-Fi was solid, unlimited, required a password, and was fast (early morning and late evening).  The setting was also somewhat dramatic, and, it had good access to North Sydney and Sydney (for shopping), as well as being a great base for exploring the Cape Breton area, including St. Ann’s (Gaelic College), Baddeck (Parks Canada Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site), and the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Parks Canada), all of which I have covered in previous posts.

Of particular importance to us, however, was that it was well-positioned as a staging area for RVers taking the Marine Atlantic Ferry from North Sydney to or from either Channel-Port-aux-Basque or Argentia, Newfoundland.  (Newfoundland and Labrador are two distinct places that form the single Province of Newfoundland & Labrador.)  In our seven nights here, we met a number of RVers who were planning to take the ferry to,  or had just returned from, Newfoundland.  We also saw lots of RVers come in late (even after dark), although these arrivals were likely not ferry related.  The owners here were friendly, regular folk, who work hard and want their guests to have a good stay and a fair price.  They were out every night in their golf cart leading arrivals to their sites in the dark.

Not long after we arrived here, we started to think about the fact that we had to shut off the propane in our Airstream before boarding the ferry, and that meant we would not have refrigeration.  We were aware of this, but had not quite thought through the logistics of the situation.  As I have described previously, this led to us buying Styrofoam cooler and starting to think about when we had to check out of the KOA and when we could arrive at the Marine Atlantic North Sydney Terminal.  Checkout time was 11 AM and the earliest we could get to the ferry terminal was “after the previous ship has departed.”  Or after the prior ship had arrived, or something to that effect.  What we knew for certain was that we had to be there at least 2 hours before out scheduled departure at 11:15 PM.

We eventually realized that we should have booked an extra night at the KOA and then left around 7 PM for the approximately 30-minute trip to the terminal.  We checked with the office to see if we could book the extra night and stay in our site. That wasn’t possible, and they had no other sites, but they offered that we could pull up alongside a storage area that backs up to their very large driveway, where we would be able to plug in to a 30A outlet.  That was all we needed to run the refrigerator, and would position us well when it was time to leave.  They cost would be 1/2 the normal rate for a 30A+Water site.

With all of that by way of background, I went over this morning to see if perhaps, just, maybe the reservation coming into our site (#18) had cancelled or delayed.  Nope.  And there were still no other sites available.  No problem.  I gladly paid for the previously discussed half-day solution.  Someone had already occupied one of the storage sites, which the park is using as overflow camp sites.  That gave us additional flexibility as to how we could position the trailer.

We wanted to be good guests and be out of our site by 11 AM.  We had a light breakfast of toasted raisin bread and then set about breaking camp, mindful that we were moving to a different spot in the campground, and would have plenty of time to properly prepare the trailer for road travel.  We pulled out at 10:50.  I spent a few extra minutes trying to find the most level spot, side-to-side, that I could as we did not plan to go through out normal leveling process or unhook the truck from the trailer.  I found a spot where the curb side of the trailer was only 0.50” low.  The trailer tongue was about 5” low, but we were able to reduce that to under 2” with the tongue jack.  We got the power plugged in and then deployed the patio awning, as the curb side of the trailer was facing SSW and the sun was very bright.  The air temperature was in the upper 60’s F (lower 70’s eventually), so we opened the windows, the door, and turned on the ceiling exhaust fan.  Our thermometer eventually said it was 82 F inside, but it was very comfortable.

We were much closer to the bath house in the new location, so we both took showers there.  Linda then took over a load and laundry (same building) and did that.  Linda then worked on reconciling finances.  We were very close to the rock cliff, so I tried to get some photos of our rig with the cliff as the background, then started working this blog post.  Here’s the one I liked best:

Our Airstream in its temporary site by the rock cliff at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA, New Harris, NS.

We managed to reduce our perishable food to point where it would fit in our Styrofoam cooler along with an assortment of freezer packs, and nothing was irreplaceable.  Lunch was cheese and crackers and we finished off a bag of Fritos for an afternoon snack.

Mid-afternoon, Linda was trying to reconcile our reservation confirmation with the information on the Marine Atlantic website.  They didn’t quite match up, so I called customer service.  A woman with a pleasant and patient phone manner confirmed that our reservation information was correct, and we would be sailing on the MV Highlanders.  That was a relief.  We are excited, but also a bit apprehensive, about this crossing, not only because of food storage, but because Juniper-the-Cat while have to stay in the trailer during the crossing and we will not have access to her.  She will have food, water, and litter, but it will be a strange experience for her.  It’s only 96 miles, but will take about 7 hours of actual sailing.

The Newfoundland & Labrador time zone is 30 minutes later than the Atlantic Time Zone, so leaving North Sydney, Nova Scotia at 23:45 on the 28^th we should arrive at Channel-Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland at 06:45 on the 29^th.  Having never done a ferry like this, however, we did not know how long it would take for them to embark and disembark all of the vehicles and walk-on passengers.

As part of working out the logistics for all this, our research showed that there was or Sobey’s supermarket in Corner Brook, NL that opened at 7 AM, and was at least a 2-hour drive from the ferry terminal on our planned route.  It was at least another 75 miles from there to our KOA in Rocky Harbor, NL, so another 90 minutes driving time.  The published check-in time at the KOA was 1 PM, so we figured we would try to spend enough time at the Sobey’s, or in their parking lot after shopping, to arrive at the KOA as close to 1 PM as our driving and navigation skills allowed.

Late in the afternoon we packed a suitcase and changed into our trave clothes.  Dinner was shelf-stable soup (add hot water to the container) and we finished up the container of shelf-stable orange juice.  We started our final travel preparations at 7 PM and pulled out of the KOA at 7:30 in order to arrive at the ferry terminal while there was still daylight and well ahead of the deadline for checking in.

The details of the actual ferry experience will be in the next blog post.

…

WEDNESDAY 27 July

(Note:  These photos are in order, but do not necessarily match the text that flows around them.  That’s why pictures have captions.)

I was up early enough to upload the blog post for yesterday, make a cup of coffee, and feed the cat.  When Linda got up, we had raisin toast for breakfast.  Simple, but effective, as we had a long day ahead of us.

Today was devoted to (almost) circumnavigating the northern part of Cape Breton Island clockwise on the Cabot Trail.  We left at 8:11 AM and headed back down Hwy 105 (the Trans-Canada Highway) past Baddeck and picked up Hwy 30, the (unofficial) starting point for the Cabot Trail loop near Nyanza.

The Cabot Trail (Hwy 30) headed north along the west coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (photo by Linda).

For context:  The entire trail is a 298 km (~ 186 mile) loop road with a total elevation gain (uphill climbs) of over 17,600 ft. (~ 5,415 m) and is used by motor vehicles and bicycles.  At its northern end, a portion of the trail passes through, or along the edge of, Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  The road is two lanes except for an occasional turn or passing lane, and the shoulders are often narrow or non-existent.  This made for fun getting around the bicyclists, who were numerous.  Major portions of the road are posted at 80, 90, or 100 km/hr, but slowdowns to 70, 60, or to km/hr are common, with even slower speeds on hairpin turns.  The road surface is fabulous in some places and very rough in others, so you can’t always travel comfortably at the posted maximum speed limit.  The road is rarely straight or level and has some dramatic sections with 12% grades and switchbacks.  Grand views are found all along the trail, and there are scenic turnouts (lookoffs) to fully enjoy the views.  They were always in use.

There are a lot of large cliffs along the Cabot Trail. Some of them plunge into the sea (but not this one). (Photo by Linda.)

Before we had gotten very far to the northwest, we encountered a road closure and had to follow a posted detour.  The detour turned out to be quite some distance on a narrow, twisty, 2-lane road that was being completely rebuilt and involved flaggers and escort vehicles for traffic control.  At one point the lane that was open to traffic was dirt.  We were glad to have the FX4 (off road) version of the F-150.

The beginning of the Skyline Trail (after the parking lot)., Cape Breton Highlands Natl Park, NS. A good gravel trail with very few trip hazards. The trailhead is at ~ 1,300 ft. ASL.

Not knowing how much more of this kind of stuff we might encounter, the detour felt like a bad omen, but it was a beautiful drive otherwise and, as we got deeper into Cape Breton Island and the Cape Breton Highlands, we imagined that it must be similar to driving through the Scottish Highlands with high, steep hills plunging into lakes of unknown (to us) depth.  Once we made it to the west coast of the island, Hwy 30 followed the shore to the northeast.  It was very different from the east coast we had driven with Paul and Nancy when we first arrived on Cape Breton Island.  The land between the sea and the hills was broad and relatively flat with few trees.  It made for open feeling with good views all around.

Linda on the Skyline Trail, Cape Breton Highlands Natl Park, NS

Just beyond Cheticamp we saw a sign for the Aucoin Boulangerie & Bakery in Petit Etang and pulled in to the already crowed overflow parking lot.  For being a small place in a small town, the line was out the door.  It probably helped that they sold sandwiches to go, and were right on the highway just before it turned and climbed up into the National Park.  We surmised that locals and repeat visitors to the area were already well-acquainted with this place.  We splurged and each had a blueberry turnover.  And yes, they were yummy.

The open forest along the Skyline Trail in CBH-NP. A budworm infestation in the 1970s killed large areas of Balsam Fir, allowing Birch trees to flourish. A favored food of Moose, they flourished as well, alternating the forest in the process and preventing it’s regrowth.

The National Park is a gem, with numerous hiking trails and campgrounds.  Our specific interest for today was the Skyline Trail on the western edge of the park.  This trail is rated as easy and relatively flat.  As we have learned, that does not necessarily mean we would agree with that characterization.  AllTrails describes it as “a 4.9 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, Canada that offers the chance to see wildlife and is good for all skill levels. … Route Type: Out & Back; Length (total): 4.9 mi (~ 7.9 km); Elevation Gain: 633 ft. ( ~ 195 m); Difficulty: Easy.  Yah, right.

The Boardwalk (and giant staircase) at the end of the Skyline Trail. The last several hundred feet go down the face of a cliff by a couple of hundred feet. No photo of that. (Photo by Linda.)

We didn’t see any wildlife, but we did see a LOT of people on the trail.  And that was OK.  It was nice to see people out being active and a National Park getting the attention it deserves.  Besides, it was a nice day for hike through a forest, with the temperature in the upper 70s F and cloud cover, at least initially.  And the hikers just naturally spread out along the trail.

The end of the trail is a boardwalk and towards what we thought was the end, it cascaded down the side of very steep cliff for another 200 feet.  We overhead another hiker say to her party “do I get a sticker or a medal if I walk down there and back up?  Because if not, I’m staying here.”  We concurred with her thinking on this matter as we did not see any amazing photo opportunities arising out of the additional time and effort.  For that matter, the Skyline Trail had a loop section, in case we wanted to make it an even longer hike.  We didn’t, and started back the way we came after spending time admiring the views and taking some photos.

A experimental reforestation area along the Skyline Trail. It covers an area equal to 9 football fields and is fully enclosed by a Moose proof fence with gates to allow hikers through.  (The fence is visible in the right side of the frame near the center.) The gates do not reach the ground, so smaller animals have access to the area.

From this point, the Cabot Trail (Hwy 30) ran north to the McKenzie River Valley and then dropped from the highlands to the sea on a 12% grade with switchbacks, before finally turning east, crossing the McKenzie River and entering Pleasant Bay.  It then traversed the northern reaches of the park eastbound over to Neils Harbor.  We encountered one other construction project, this one in the park, but it was short and didn’t take much time to get through.  But before doing all of that, we ate the BP&J sandwiches that Linda had packed and had a few Fritos.  We brought water this time, and actually drank it.

A view of the McKenzie River Valley from a lookoff along the Cabot Trail.

From Neils Harbor down to Salty Rose’s & the Periwinkle Cafe, just north of Ingonish, the road and scenery were still new to us.  The café was the northern extent of our previous drive on the Cabot Trail.  We had a nice lunch there last time, but today we just drove by.  The scenery and road from this point south were just as nice and interesting as the first time, but we did not feel compelled to stop at scenic pullouts (lookoffs).

A view of the Cape Breton coastline looking north from the McKenzie River lookoff of the Cabot Trail.

We got back to camp around 5 PM, although this included an extra 40 minutes to drive about 24 km round-trip in towards North Sydney on the T-CH, refuel the F-150, and return to camp.  Start-to-finish, it was a 9-hour day and we traveled at least 200 miles.  If you are able to arrange your travels accordingly, it probably makes sense to take two or more days to do the Cabot Trail in a point-to-point fashion as there are campgrounds for tents and smaller RVs, as well as Inns, rental cottages, and other forms of lodging for non-campers.  Fuel is available, and there are quite a few restaurants.  Grocery stores, however, are not one of the Cabot Trail’s strong points.

We finished the vegan chorizo for dinner and then I got to work processing photos and writing this post.  By 10:15 PM the temperature had dropped.  Before closing the trailer door for the night, I went outside to check the sky.  The air was crisp, the sky was mostly clear, it was dark enough for all the major stars and constellations to be visible, and I could make out the Milky Way, albeit very faintly.  Tomorrow begins a new phase of our adventure; our first time putting the Airstream on a ferry, and our first trip to Newfoundland.  But more on that in a subsequent post.

…

MONDAY 25 July

I did not get up until 7 AM this morning, and Linda got up not long after.  On travel days, Paul and Nancy tend to get an early start.  We knew this would be no exception, and wanted to be up to say “safe travels and see you down the road.”  They pulled out around 8 AM and we gave them a proper “royal wave” send-off.  It was in the upper 60’s F, with a nice breeze, so we opened up the trailer to enjoy the fresh air and take a break from the noise of the heat pumps.  We are glad to have them, but they are not quiet when operating.

With another hot day on tap we planned to hang around the RV park and take care of some chores in the cooler temperatures of the morning.  Top of the list was laundry, the first time on this trip we would be doing it in a RV park laundry facility.  But first, coffee, a few iPad games and puzzles, and breakfast.  We also spent some time figuring out what we wanted to do with our remaining time in this area.  Rain/heat is on tap for tomorrow, so we will try to visit the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s for their “cultural experience.”  Wednesday is supposed to be cooler and dry, so we plan to finish our exploration of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, including the Skyline Trail.

I was catching up on some blog posts I follow using Feedly, and decided to go back and read the ones I had written so far about this trip.  It’s useful to see how they look on a tablet after they are published as I create/edit them on a laptop computer.  In general, I was pleased with my writing and the photography, but found way too many typos (or mis-spellings) so I will have to go back and edit them.  As a diary of our trip, I want them to be accurate.  To the extent that anyone else reads them, I want them to be well-crafted.  With people checked out of the park, the Wi-Fi was not getting slammed, so I figured I could do this during the day, but never found the time.  Tomorrow, perhaps.

As noon approached the thermometer in the rig was reading 80 degrees F.  There was still a fair cloud cover and a good breeze, so it was not uncomfortable, but it was beginning to feel warm rather than cool.  I wanted to hold off closing up and turning on the heat-pumps as long as possible, but it was inevitable that we would need them, especially as the wind was too strong to safely deploy the awnings and shade the trailer.

We gathered up the laundry, which included stripping the beds, and carried it up to the laundry room around 10 AM.  Three other campers were already there, but one washing machine was still open.  We got into a conversation with two of them, and Linda was still taking to them when I returned to our rig.  I worked on the blog posts for yesterday and today, and transferred/edited the photos from yesterday until Linda texted me to come pick up a finished load of laundry.  At 12:30 PM it was 82 F in the trailer, so I closed it up and turned on the heat-pumps in cooling mode.  The final load of laundry was done about then as well, and Linda carried it back to the trailer.  We put away the clean clothes and left the beds for later.

One of our big tasks before boarding the ferry for Newfoundland on Thursday is to use up as much of our frozen/refrigerated food as possible, making sure whatever is left will fit in our Styrofoam cooler along with the freezer packs.  We split a sandwich for lunch.

Linda (lower right) at the Big Fiddle statue in Sydney, NS.

Linda and Nancy went to North Sydney the other day for groceries but did not find everything they wanted at the Atlantic Superstore.  The largest city in the area is Sydney, so we decided to drive there after lunch to do our final shopping before sailing to Newfoundland on Thursday evening.  (Both cities actually no longer exist as independently governed entities, having dissolved in the mid-1990s to become part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.  The Sydney area still has the largest population on Cape Breton Island by a wide margin.)

Bruce (lower right) at the Big Fiddle in Sydney, NS (photo by Linda).

Our first stop was the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion to see the Big Fiddle.  The statue was designed and built by Cyril Hearn in 2005 and, at 60 feet, is the tallest fiddle in the world.  The fiddle is associated with Keltic music and culture.  The pavilion had shops and a restaurant.  One shop sold Scottish hats, scarves, tweed jackets, and kilts.  The were pricey, of course, but they were nice.

Our next stop was a Sobey’s supermarket for non-perishable items.  Some fellow RVers at the KOA had just returned from Newfoundland and told us that we would need bug netting, so we went to Walmart looking for some, as well as a short (10 to 15 feet) potable water hose.  No joy on either of these items, so we tried the Home Depot next to Walmart for the water hose but no luck there either.  Our final stop was the Canadian Tire store across the street.  They didn’t have the water hose either, but they had the bug netting.  Score!

The shopping complex was at the terminus of NS-125, which was our route back to North Sydney where we picked up the T-CH/Hwy-105 back to the KOA.  We doodled for a while before dinner, which was a simple affair of vegan chorizo on a bun and corn with a little vegan butter and black pepper.  I made my bed while Linda cleaned up a few dishes.  We then went for a walk to drop off the trash and recyclables and continued on around the RV park.

We chatted for a while with the two couples that were parked on either side of Paul and Nancy in Cavendish, PEI and are now camped in the two sites to our west.  A couple of rigs farther on, we chatted with the couple who have the other Airstream in the park.  It is also a Flying Cloud, 25 rear bed, 2021 model year.  They came here from the Vancouver, British Columbia, area and are headed to Newfoundland on the Atlantic Marine ferry on Wednesday.  Their first stop is the Rocky Harbor KOA, so we will see them on Friday when we get to there.   It has become apparent that many of the people who are camped here are either going to Newfoundland in the near future, or have just returned from there.

Back at our trailer, we turned off the heat-pumps and opened the windows.  Linda made her bed and then got out the container of dairy free passion fruit and lemonade sorbet.  It was a nice finale to the very spicy chorizo, and got one more thing out of the freezer.

…

SUNDAY 24 July

First off, our What 3 Words location here at the North Sydney  Cabot Trail KOA is “steamy.provide.rally”.  I forgot to capture and post this when we first arrived.

We are back in a dome of hot/moist air, with excessive heat warnings for daytime high temperatures of 90 degrees F +/- (29 to 33 degrees C), “humidex” readings of 36 to 40  C (96.8 to 104 F) and lows barely in the 60’s F.  Temperatures moderate a bit near the coast, but not much.  Fortunately, our electrical power is good and our two heat pumps have been functioning well in cooling mode.

Paul and Nancy will be observing their 33^rd wedding anniversary on the 29^th of this month, but will already have left the RV park by then.  We were going to take them out to dinner in Sydney (Regional Municipality) this afternoon but first decided to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (Parks Canada) in nearby Baddeck, NS.  Baddeck is just off Hwy-105 (the T-CH), about 25 minutes from the RV park.

An early patch cable telephone switchboard.

The A. G. Bell NHS was another fine example of what we experienced with Parks Canada locations.  Besides a nice building complex, it contained a lot of well-curated artifacts, large and small, with associated information.  We learned that Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and came to Canada at the age of 23.  He eventually ended up in the USA, where his famous “first telephone call” with his assistant, Watson, took place in the Boston area.  An old/small patch-cord telephone was on display and reminded Linda that her mother had once worked as a telephone operator.

Alexander Graham Bell did pioneering work with tetrahedrons as structural elements.

He and his wife, Mabel (deaf from the age of 5 and a former pupil of Bell’s) eventually bought property in Baddeck, which reminded him of Scotland, and built a marvelous estate.  (The house/estate is still owned and occupied by their descendants, and is not open to the public.)  We learned quite a bit about this couple and their long active careers and lives.  Besides deaf education and telephony, A.G.B. was involved in aviation, hydrofoils, and the structural use of tetrahedrons, to name a very few of his interests and investigations.

The three amigos outside the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

Mabel managed their estate and had deep interest in conservation and ecology.  They were both well-ahead of their time and we came away with a new found admiration for their contributions to a wide range of subjects and for the kind of people they were.  Bell’s life-long passion, however, was teaching the deaf to speak.

Airplane and Hydrofoil, just two of A. G. Bell’s many interests.

Baddeck was a small but charming port town with an active marina and lots of pleasure boats anchored or sailing the Bras d’Or Lake. And it was a busy town on this day.  The Lake is punctuated by headlands and bays, but ultimately is connected to the ocean via the Bras d’Or Channel, which is the body of water we can see from our RV park and over which the Seal Islands Bridge takes the Trans-Canada Highway into North Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Linda and Nancy outside The Freight Shed Restaurant in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

Some quick online research indicated that The Freight Shed Waterside Restaurant might be a good place to eat lunch, and we decided to give it a try instead of driving all the way to Sydney (Regional Municipality).  We had a bit of wait to get a table, but it was outside and under cover, and there was enough of breeze to keep it comfortable.  We all got something different to eat and everyone indicated that their meal was tasty.  After lunch I took Hwy-205 along the lake back to Hwy-105 and returned to camp.

The rest of the day we relaxed in camp (hid in the air-conditioning) until the sun dropped low enough and it cooled off enough to sit outside comfortably.  We had both left our awnings out while we were away from camp to try to shade our rigs.  Ours were fine, but Paul and Nancy’s awnings had automatically retracted.          Normally that would be a good thing, as that is what they are designed/intended to do, but something on the big patio awning had apparently gotten tweaked.

A couple of seasonal campers had seen this happen and let Paul know.  He fussed with it for a bit before one of the locals eventually brought his pickup truck to the site and used it as a work platform to reach the awning.  (These awnings are mounted on the edge of the roof, about 12’6” off the ground.)  They were finally able to get the awning to go in correctly and then Paul promptly disconnected the power from the awning motor so it could not be “accidentally” deployed.  This awning will now be out-of-operation until they return to the American Coach Factory and Service Center in Decatur, Indiana, to have it fixed.

Situations like this are always a bit anxiety provoking, and it was our last night camping together on this trip, so Nancy got out the bottle of Cyser Mead they bought on PEI and we split it four ways; a nice cap to the evening and our joint travels.  While enjoying our beverages, we reviewed the shore excursions that were currently listed for our Panama Canal cruise in February 2023 and made selections for each port of call.  The Norwegian Cruise Line concierge service is supposed to contact Nancy in about 35 days and she wants to have all of our selections ready to book.

…

SATURDAY 23 July

I awoke at 5:30 AM to bright sunshine and blue skies, got up, fed the cat, and went back to sleep.  I got up to stay at 6:30 AM, early enough to make a cup of coffee and upload the blog post for yesterday before Linda got up and fixed breakfast.  The Wi-Fi connection to the Internet at this KOA is strong and fast when very few people are using it, and that has generally been early in the morning.  We had egg and cheese “toasties” (to borrow a term from my favorite English Youtube channels) made from Just Egg patties.  Yum.

View of the east coast of Cape Breton looking south from the Cabot Trail.

Our objective for today was to drive a portion of the Cabot Trail from St. Anns to Ingonish, stopping at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Ingonish Beach Visitor Center and doing a short/easy hike in that area before continuing to Ingonish for lunch and then heading back.  With a high temperature of 88 degrees F forecast for today, we wanted to leave at 9 AM, an earlier start than usual, and be back by mid-afternoon at the latest.  Between breakfast and departure, we set the two heat-pumps to cooling mode and deployed all of the awnings to keep some of the intense sunlight off of the trailer.

View of the east coast of Cape Breton Highlands looking north from the Cabot Trail (photo by Linda).

We took the F-150 for this drive; it’s very comfortable for four people, performs very well in hilly/curvy terrain (ride, handling, performance, and fuel economy) and has very effective air-conditioning.  Looking at maps last night, Linda saw that we could shorten our round-trip driving time by at least 30 minutes if we took the Free Ferry from Englishtown (Rte. 312) rather than driving down to St. Anns to pick up Highway 30 (The Cabot Trail) directly.  This proved to be a good choice as we got to ride on a car ferry, it was free, and it was cool so, triple-bonus.  (The Ferry is owned and operated by Nova Scotia as part of the highway system.)

The three amigos on the Cabot Trail.

Three slightly different amigos on the Cabot Trail (photo by Linda).

There were food and craft offerings at various places along the Trail, and we made note of some we wanted to visit on the return leg.  Much of the Trail was woods, rock, and water, but it was all beautiful and some of the views from high up were stunning.  The Cabot Trail alone is an amazing work of road building.  It was fun for me to drive, and I think everyone else enjoyed it too.

My new hat from the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Ingonish Beach Visitor Center gift shop.

Every Parks Canada location we have visited has been wonderful, with good facilities and great people.  The Ingonish Beach Visitor Center was small, but they had a baseball style cap that really spoke to me.  At Ingonish Beach area we hiked the Freshwater Lake Trail.  It followed the edge of Freshwater Lake and then turned into the forest, but remained level throughout.  There was a warning sign about coyotes, and what to do if you encounter one along the trail, but we did not.

Freshwater Lake at the Ingonish Beach area of Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Along the Freshwater Lake Trail at the Ingonish Beach area of Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

The Keltic Inn from Ingonish Beach, Cape Breton Highlands NP.

Across the bay we could see the Keltic Inn on a bluff, so we drove there to have a closer look.  It looked like a lovely place in a splendid setting to spend some time.  There is also a Scottish links-style golf course there, so a super spot for a golfer.   Back on the Cabot Trail headed to Ingonish, we passed signs for two NP campgrounds.  If we ever return to this area, we will definitely try to book sites in Parks Canada campgrounds.

Linda’s research on vegan dining options led us to Salty’s Rose & Periwinkle Café in Ingonish.  We both had a veggie hummus sandwich with sweet potato chips, and they were excellent.  Paul and Nancy both had lobster  rolls.  On the drive back we stopped at the Celtic Quilts shop, the Wreck Cove General Store, and Cabotto Chocolates.  The quilt and chocolate shops both appeared to be in small, reclaimed churches.

Salty’s Rose & Periwinkle Café.

The quilts on offer were all locally made and very nice, but seemed a bit pricey.  The proprietor made the knitted items, which were also nice.  She was delightful, with something of a Scottish brogue.  The General Store was nothing to write home about; lacking any of the authentic historical charm of the one in Wah Wah, Ontario (if it’s even still there).

The woman at Cabotto Chocolates was pleased to find out we were from Michigan.  She was from Ontario originally, but lived/worked near Lansing for years.  They wanted to return to Canada but felt Ontario was too expensive.  Given where they live and work now, it appeared to us that they had found a great alternative.  Without us asking, an older woman (one of the owners) in the back room explained to us what she was making and the equipment she was using.  Their most unusual offering was “ruby” chocolate.  It was dark pink in color with a slight fruitiness and a consistency similar to “white” chocolate.  We bought several different things here.

Waiting to board the Englishtown Free Ferry (photo by Linda).

From this point it was just a matter of driving back to the KOA via the Englishtown Ferry.  On the approach to the dock, we saw a Bald Eagle sitting in a short tree on the right side of the road.  We got back around 3 PM, a little later than we intended, but the extra stops were worth the time.  We were glad to see that our air-conditioning had worked as intended and kept the rig comfortable (and safe) for Juniper-the-Cat.  The electrical service at this campground has been excellent.

For the rest of the afternoon, I processed photos and Linda took a nap before starting dinner preparations.  Nancy brought over mushrooms and an 8-pack of pasta for Linda to use, and keep some of it for later use.  I got to choose the pasta, so we had organic Tri-Color Farfalle (bow-tie) Pasta with mushrooms, onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and zucchini sautéed in olive oil.  This evening’s wine was a sparkling Pinot Grigio + Chardonnay.

After dinner we sat outside for a while but small flying bugs posed a nuisance.  The sun had slipped below the ridgeline behind us and it was starting to cool off, so Paul set up their propane firepit, hoping it would also help with the bugs.  It didn’t, and we all called it quits at 9 PM and retired to our respective RVs for the night.

After I put the finishing touches on this post, I spent a few minutes doing puzzles on my iPad Pro before getting ready for bed.  It was around midnight, and I decided to see if the stars were visible.  The night was generally clear and the sky was dark except for the horizon to the east, in the direction of North Sydney.  There was still some light pollution in the RV park due to lights on various RVs and buildings, but the stars were visible like I have not seen them in a long time.  The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) was very bright just above the ridge to the northwest, and all of the stars in the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) where visible.  I saw two “shooting stars,” one low in the west and one low in the east.  I stayed out for a while and let my eyes adjust to the dark, and was able to see the Milky way spread across the sky from roughly south-southwest to north-northeast.  It wasn’t very bright, but it was definitely there.  I did not bring a tripod for my camera, so no Astro-photography on this trip, but it was a treat that reminded me of the star-gazing I did as a child.

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FRIDAY 22 July

(Edited Sunday, July 24, to change “Elizabethown” to “Englishtown”)

Our meals today consisted of: fresh fruit with yogurt for breakfast; mayo style potato salad for lunch (Linda), and; potato pancakes with sour cream for dinner (Nancy).  Both potato dishes were made with a medley of the PEI potatoes we bought at the Masstown Market a few days ago, and they were both very good.

Getting to see Atlantic Puffins has been near the top of Linda’s list of experiences she wanted to take away from this trip, and pretty high on my list as well as Paul and Nancy’s.  Our main activity today was Donelda’s Puffin Tour boat to Bird Island.  Last night, Paul reserved four seats for the 10 AM sailing.  We left at 9 AM for the 20-minute drive to Englishtown, just to make sure we were not late.  The boat was a converted fishing boat moored at a well-used dock along with several actual fishing boats.  The ticket office was a shack.  The bathroom was a port-a-potty.  Definitely not an upscale operation.  A hand written sign indicated that the boat did NOT have a toilet.  The total sailing time was 2.5 hours, so I elected to stay behind.  I returned to camp after the boat departed, and came back in time for its return.

In addition to Atlantic Puffins, they saw several other bird species, including numerous Bald Eagles, and Grey Seals.  The seven photos of Bird Island were taken by Linda using a Google Pixel 6.  There are a few photos from before and after the trip.  Before photos taken with a Sony alpha 99.  After photos taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.  The last three photos are at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA.

The Englsihtown free Ferry.  This will be our shortcut to the Cabot Trail.

Morning overcast and fog from the dock at Donelda’s Bird Island Puffin Tours.

Waiting to board the Puffin Tours boat. It’s a long step down. The tide must have been part way out.

Boarding the Puffin Tours boat. Big steps and no handholds.

A Bald Eagle with a fish (that the boat threw out). The Eagles come when they see the boat. (Photo by Linda.)

A Grey Seal watching the boat. (Photo by Linda.)

Two Grey Seals keeping a watchful eye on the passing boat. (Photo by Linda.)

Atlantic Puffins on Bird Island, Nova Scotia. (Photo by Linda.)

Two Bald Eagles on Bird Island. (Photo by LInda.)

Bald Eagle on a cliff at Bird Island. (Photo by Linda.)

Can you spot the Atlantic Puffins? (Photo by Linda.)

Another misty shot from Donelda’s dock while waiting for the boat to return.

The three who saw Puffins returned from their cruise to Bird Island.

The Seal Islands and eponymously named bridge.

Province & Territory flags at the entrance to the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA. The granite rock face was blasted in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s to get the material needed for the approach to the Seal Island Bridge. The face is very high.

A selfie at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA with the Seal Islands Bridge in the background. Just because.

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THURSDAY 21 July

I was up at 7 AM, a little late for me on this trip, and fixed a cup of coffee.  I put the finishing touches on the blog post for yesterday and then created it in WordPress.  I really like WordPress.  I had my laptop hot-spotted off my phone since I was unable to stay connected to the Elm River RV Park Wi-Fi.  When Linda got up, she played here usual morning games.  About the time I was done working, I got a text message indicating that I had used my 0.5 GB of high-speed data and would be slowed down until midnight EDT.  Linda has gotten this message several times, but this was a first for me.  The slow down is to 3G speeds, which are unusable even for simple e-mail.  We knew going into this trip that we would have to manage data usage, the same way we would have to manage electrical power usage when on a 30A RV service.

We moved the trailer today from the Elm River RV Park in Debert (Truro area) Nova Scotia to the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA in New Harris (North Sydney area), Nova Scotia.  It was one of our longest legs of the trip so far at 303 kilometers (182 miles), so we pulled out at 9:30 AM.  The travel time, however, was our typical 3-1/2 hours.  That was due to all but a few kilometers of the route being on the limited access Trans-Canada Highway (104 E and 105 E).

Somewhere along the Trans-Canada Highway in Nova Scotia (photo by Linda).

Hwy 104 was excellent, even in an 18 km construction zone, and usually posted at 100 km/h or 110 km/h, which meant I could sustain 62 to 65 mph over long stretches of road.  A lot of it was also 4-lane divided, so it was easy to get around the occasional slow-poke (which was usually an RV).  Hwy 105 was a bit rougher, but we often had the road to ourselves.  It was a beautiful drive, the good road enhanced by blue skies and amazing views.  There were a lot of up/down grades, and it was warm outside, so we ran with the a-c on and averaged 11.1 mpg for the leg.

Our sites at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail KOA overlooking Great Bras d’Or Lake and the Seal Islands Bridge.

We arrived at the North Sydney / Cabot Trail (NSCT) KOA at 1 PM, with Paul and Nancy about 2 minutes behind us.  Once again, we have adjacent 3-way (50A) pull-through sites.  The NSCT KOA is terraced into a steep hillside overlooking the Great Bras d’Or Lake with a massive red rock cliff behind.  We are parked facing east towards the lake.  Of all the RV parks we’ve stayed in so far, this is the most dramatic setting, and one of the best views.

We each had a banana for breakfast, so we were hungry by the time we finished setting up camp at 2:30 PM.  Paul and Nancy had gone in search of a fish/seafood restaurant to have lunch, which meant we would not be having a communal dinner this evening.  Linda fixed scrambled eggs (Just Egg) with vegan bacon and toast (with vegan butter and fruit spread) for our main meal of the day.  Yum.

A view of the front of the barn showing two vehicle door openings with the entrance door in-between (photo by Mike G).

NSCT KOA provides password protected Wi-Fi with a strong signal, so we had no problem connecting our various devices.  It’s still a public network, so we had appropriate settings enabled for dealing with that.  It occurred to Linda last night that we should contact our insurance agent (Kim) and let her know that we are having a pole barn built and need it insured.  I e-mailed her late last night and heard back from her early this morning.  She put one of her associates on it (Eric) and he e-mailed us while we were traveling.  Once I was online, I was able to reply to him.

As a bonus, I received another nice photo of the barn project from our neighbor Mike, who is keeping an eye on the house for us.  Thanks, Mike!

This part of Nova Scotia is in for a serious heat wave while we are here, so we are very glad to have 50A electrical service.  We ran both heat pumps in cooling mode this afternoon with only minor voltage drops starting from a respectable 121 – 123 VAC.  We also left the strong winds behind, which allowed us to deploy our awnings and partially shade the trailer from the sun.

There is a lot to see and do during our seven days in this part of Nova Scotia.  Things on our list include: Cape Breton Highlands, Cabot Trail, and Cabot Trail National Park, Edison and Marconi National Historic Sites and preparations for the Marine Atlantic Ferry crossing to Newfoundland.  With regards to the later, we made a trip into North Sydney to buy a Styrofoam cooler as we have to turn on the propane for the ferry crossing.  Walmart did not have any, but Canadian Tire did.  But first on our list was a boat trip out to Bird Island to see the Atlantic Puffins.  Paul made the reservations for tomorrow morning while we were enjoying a propane campfire.

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WEDNESDAY 20 July

Revelry was at 0600 this morning.  No bugle, just sunshine.  I worked on photos and the blog while enjoying my morning coffee. We left our Keurig coffee maker at home and brought our electric kettle for this trip to cut down on storage and waste.  We have a single cup pour-over coffee filter holder and have been enjoying Gevalia coffee, both regular and decaf.  The coffee is good, but the whole process has been more labor intensive, and taken more time, than we thought it would.  We also have instant (freeze-dried) coffee and will be using that more going forward.

The wind died down a bit overnight, but ramped back up this morning, blowing 20 MPH out of the W to SW.  It was a beautiful day, with partly cloudy skies, but the wind continued unabated all day.  Breakfast was toasted bagels with vegan butter and spreadable vegan cream cheese, a fairly common breakfast for us.

We did not have much planned for today other than a visit to the Masstown Market and the Creamery, across the street.  It was, however, the first day of our sixth week of the trip and the beginning of our last week traveling and camping with Paul and Nancy.

Juniper in the shirt closet. It’s one of her favorite places in the Airstream.

After breakfast we trimmed Junipers claws, which we have needed to do or a while but kept forgetting.  She tolerates the process but definitely does NOT enjoy it.  What she does enjoy is getting in the shirt closet, especially during the morning.

Elm River RV Park fills propane tanks, so during a morning walk of the campground we checked at the office.  The fill service was by weight, 1$ per pound plus tax.  We checked our tanks to see if they needed to be topped up.  One was full and the other one appeared to be about half full, which would have been 15 pounds.  We disconnected the partial tank and carried it back to the office.  Within the hour, the park manager dropped it off at our rig.  It took 8 pounds, so that is all the propane we have used in five weeks on the road.  It fuels our furnace, range, and grill, and can fuel our hot water heater and refrigerator.  Both of the later usually run on 120 VAC, but we have been running the refrigerator on propane going down the road to keep our food cool.  I don’t like doing that, but I don’t like eating or throwing away spoiled food, either.

The central courtyard at The Creamery. Dairy to the right, meat & wine to the left.

With the propane tank re-installed, we went to Masstown Market, less than a mile from the RV park.  We took the F-150 so I could top up the fuel tank. The Market was nice, and we picked up a few things, including a 5 lb. bag of PEI potatoes.  We had hoped to eat lunch there, but the only options were heavily meat or fish options.  We noticed the Creamery across the street, but returned to camp and had a sandwich for lunch.

The creamery equipment room.

We spent the early afternoon reading and/or napping and, in general, just having a somewhat lazy day.  Mid-afternoon, we went to the Creamery.  It consisted of three sections:  1) the central court; 2) the cheese shop, and; 3) the meat market.  The central court had an ice cream shop at the far end with a seating area above.  There were also several people setting up small stations to sell various items.

On the left side was the cheese shop and the actual creamery.  On the right side was the meat market, which also sold wine.  Both the cheese shop and the meat market had an amazing variety of jellies, jams, mustards, sauces, etc.  For kind of being in the middle of nowhere, they had really nice, unique products for sale.

Dinner was an improvised potato dish consisting of Yukon Gold potatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper, and mixed greens with a little bit of shredded cheese and sour cream (both vegan for us) to top it off.  A Cabernet Sauvignon was already open, and I opened the Riesling Gewürztraminer we bought at the Market today.  After dinner we watched episodes/parts V and VI of Obi-Wan Kenobi.  The wind died down and we had some color as dusk descended on the RV park.

Sunset afterglow at Elm River RV Park, NS, with our Flying Cloud.

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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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