Day 6 - Battery Provincial Park - St Peters Canal & Tall Ships

Bird at Mira River

Geese seen around Gabarus

 We left Mira River and drove down the Fleur de Lys trail. At first it went around Mira River to Marion Bridge then went towards Gabarus.

HMCS Oriole arrives at St Peters Canal

Battery Provincial Park only had spots for us for one night, not for Friday or Saturday.  We called to see if we could find anywhere to stay and Whycocomagh still had 2 spots. We weren't planning on staying there but it had spots!!!

Battery Park Chalet with Canada 150 flag

Putting up small tent at Battery Provincial Park

HMCS Oriole docked at St Peter's Canal

Lion's club Marina on Bra d"Or lake in St Peters

The HMCS Oriole was already docked in the canal when we arrived at Battery Park. By dinner time there was 3 boats, including the St Lawrence 2, the HMCS Oriole and the Mist of Avalon. We were told the If and When was arriving later.  We went to Lion's club marina to take photos on Bras d'Or lake, and we saw 2 RCMP vehiles in st Peters.  One car one, SUV.

Figures it was hard to find camping in Cape Breton this week. Between the Canada 150 celebrations, free entrances to National parks, Tall ships... no wonder.

Random photo of the day

Isle Madame, near Arichat

Day 12: Mira River Provincial Park & Mira Gut

Louisbough Lighthouse

Fishing boat near Louisbourg

We had a lobster dinner at the Lobster Kettle in Louisboug.When we walked in my bf felt he was being looked at but with his long hair sometimes it happens. Actually what we didn't think about is that he was wearing his black sweatshirt, with the "Notre Dame" fighting Irish logo and 4 leave clovers. Louisbourg despite it's name is very scottish.

After a few minutes in the restaurant an older lady walked in and sat under the AC vent, which was freezing me. After a few minutes she notices Terry and tells him that this is a Scottish town. Of course he was nonplussed so she started talking to him asking where we were from and telling him about her travels. When our lobsters showed up she showed him how to break a lobster and how to eat it. As it goes she was the daughter of a lobster fisherman. She was quite entertaining and in her late 70s.

The Louisbourg fortress at a distance

Louisbourg Fortress.

Our Campsite at Mira River

Atlantic seen from beach at Mira Gut

Mira Gut Beach

Mira River at Dusk

Mira River at Dusk.

I love coming to Mira River Provincial park and going on spot 141 I believe which is just on the edge of the water. I always wish I had my canoe with me when I go there. Sounds like a great place to canoe. This time we went down the road, after I realized that maybe 5 km down the road is the Atlantic Ocean. At a place called Mira Gut. 

Day 11: Meat Cove, and Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Dawn at Meatcove

There were lots of people camping at Meatcove that night.

Lighthouse and Chowder House at Neil's Harbour

Driving down the Scottish side of the Cabot Trail

Near the ferry at Englishtown

Bridge on Bras d'Or Lake

View on Bras d'Or lake

Lighthouse on Bras d'Or lake

Iconic Lick-A-Chick on the highway to Sydney

Exit for Balls creek!

Our tent didn't survive the last night at meatcove. This morning went we took it down we realized that the posts were broken. We had already ducktaped one part, and there were several more breaks. The tent was retired at Meatcove.

Day 10: Meat Cove

Fishing Cove as seen from the Cabot Trail

Pleasant Bay

Meat Cove Campground

Meatcove beach

MeatCove at Dusk

We drove from Cheticamp all along the cabot trail to Pleasant Bay then headed to meat cove. we were lucky in that it was sunny and not much windy the entire time we were there.

Day 8 & 9: The Seals at Corney Brooke

This is my third time at Corney brooke. Never noticed the seals before but there was a family of seals that spent part of the day fishing. Took a lot of photos this time. It was cute, at some point it was like there were ground hogs and there was up to 6 different heads bopping up and down.

NO PANTS !!!!

My buddy Rick, who died now 5 years ago on Canada Day used to like going around with no pants. Of course I'll wear skits in honour of him.

I can't remember why but when we went through the Timmies in Port Hawksbury he was wearing NO pants. {Yes his naked butt was in the car seat) So in honour of my buddy Rick.. here's my bf Terry with no pants!!!!

Have I ever told you how much I LOVE Fireweed??????

In PEI

Yes all the pink IS fireweed

More fields of Fireweed

I was thrilled to see that there are fields of Fireweed, all around coastal New Brunswick, all around PEI and all around Cape Breton and the Eastern part of Nova Scotia.

I discovered I loved Fireweed when I went to La Tuque about 10 years ago in Early September. The fields were pink with Fireweed. It's one of my favourite wild flowers and it is native here. It grows far up north too.

It's EVERYWHERE in Eastern Canada!!!!

I don't think I've been to a Provincial Park this year that did NOT have POISON IVY all around the edges of the campsite. Thankfully neither Terry or I have managed to touch it or get welts from it.

But seriously, there was some at Plaisance around our campsite, there was some in Mauricie National park, there was some at Charleston lake and this photo comes from Cedar Dunes Provincial park.

This is not good when one needs to tarp the campsite for rain. This is usually when I walk in the bush to bungee a tarp.

Two time-lapse from Cape Breton trip 2014

One of my travel companions makes really nice time-lapses. These are two from our road trip to Fundy National Park and Cape Breton.

The video below is from the location that destroyed my tent last year. As you can see it was not that windy this year otherwise the tri-pod would not have been stable enough for this sunset.

Music in the pines - Part II

This song has been stuck in my head since hearing it on Sunday afternoon at Music in the Pines.  It also stayed with me, because I've been missing Cape Breton from the moment I left it. I'm melancholic. I want to go back.

Strawberry Extract revisited

I blogged about a month ago about Strawberry Extract

On my trip I found some in the drugstore on the main street in Baddeck. It was in Stone's PharmaSave on Chebucto street.  I found 2 bottles of Rougier's Strawberry extract.  This tells me that anywhere I go in cape Breton I can find my favourite anti-diarrheal and stomach ache medicine.

Back in Montreal I went to Walmart twice in one day. I went to the Walmart in Kirkland, where of course I spotted a Mercedes parked in the fire lane. It's almost always those with expensive cars that seem to think they have the God given right to park anywhere, because they are so special.

Walmart in Kirkland, on the Island of Montreal, with a Mercedes in the fire lane

Anyways since I was at Walmart I decided to check if they had the Strawberry Extract, and they did. I also checked the Walmart in Ste-Dorothe were I was also dragged the same day and found some there too.
Now I wonder if I can find it at all the Walmarts in Canada?

Day 13 - Baddeck, Wagmatcook, Port Hawksbury

We packed up our stuff and left Mira River Provincial park and drove through Sydney to go back and take the 105, which drove us down past Baddeck.

Blooming tree in Baddeck, Nova Scotia

We wanted to souvenir shop and Baddeck has 5 gift shops. We also stopped in various other artsy shops.

We stopped at the tourist information, not so much to get information but because they all have washrooms and they are generally in far better shape then the gas station toilets or the outhouses in some of the provincial parks.  Most big enough towns I've been to in most of the Canadian provinces I've travelled in have tourist information. I've seen them in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, & Nova Scotia.  I'm sure I've seen one or two even in PEI.  Usually signalled by a large ? on a brown sign, with arrows to show where it's located.  Also good place to get free maps and find out what's around the town you just stopped in

We also stopped at the RedBarn gift shop at the cross roads of the Cabot trail, and we left the Cabot trail for good.

Wagmatcook giftshop in Nova Scotia

We also stopped in Wagmatcook in a gift shop to get Micmac souvenirs.  I found this dream catcher type piece of art really interesting.

Artwork in Wagmatcook gift ship.

 Our last stop before leaving Cape Breton was our beginning point, Port Hawksbury. We stopped at the Canadian tire to pick up a part for my Coleman propane stove. Which I found no problem. Would you believe I know the layout of the Port Hawksbury Canadian Tire?

MacPuffin Motel in Port Hawksbury, Cape Breton

Driving out of Nova Scotia and into new Brunswick we saw many different sunsets. Most of the photos I took are filled with bugs on the windshield. Despite having scrubbed the windshield an hour or two earlier when we last gassed up.

Border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at Dusk.