Tall Ships, Charlottetown Harbor, Prince Edward Island

 

Confederation Bridge, Prince Edward Island

 

This is one of the most awesome sites that you can see in the Maritime Provinces, it is definitely a must see. The Confederation Bridge, the link between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island over the Atlantic Ocean is the worlds longest bridge over ice covered water.
The bridge is 13 kilometers(8 mi) long and takes 12 min to cross at the posted speed. The bridge cost an estimated $840 million to build. As of June 1, 1997, The Federal Government is required to make 35 annual payments to Strait Crossing Development Inc. of $41.9 million. The developer will keep the revenue generated by bridge tolls until year 2032. According to terms or agreement with the Federal Government, Straight Crossing Bridge Ltd. will operate and maintain the Confederation Bridge. This agreement covers a period of 35 years (1997-2032) after which the Bridge becomes property of the Federal Government.
It took 6,000 employees four years to construct and employment consisted of a worldwide range of people that provided highly skilled job opportunities for Atlantic Canadian workers. The average height of the bridge is 40 meters above water and the highest point is at the shipping navigation span which reaches 60 meters above the water. This allows vessels such as cruise ships, tankers etc. to pass underneath. The bridge construction began October 7, 1993 and finished May 31, 1997. The grand opening for the public was June 1st 1997.

Fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton, NS

 

 The Fortress of Louisbourg is the largest reconstruction project in North America. The original settlement was founded in 1713 by the French and developed over several decades into a thriving center for fishing and trade. Fortified against the threat of British invasion during the turbulent time of empire-building, Louisbourg was besieged twice before finally being destroyed in the 1760s. The site lay untouched until well into modern times, when archaeologists began to reconstruct the fortress as it was in the 18th century. The reconstruction started in 1961 and continued into the mid 1980's. The government of Canada funded 25 million dollars for the reconstruction.

 

 

There are more than a dozen buildings including three authentic working 18th century restaurants. During the summer months hundreds of re-enactors or “animators” of all ages, from wealthy merchants to poor soldiers, populate the streets of the restored fortress working, playing, and living life as they would have in 1744.

 

Louisbourg Lighthouse is a historic Canadian lighthouse and is the site of the first lighthouse in Canada. Construction began on the lighthouse in 1730 to assist navigation to Fortress Louisbourg. It was completed in 1734. A fire in 1736 destroyed the lantern but the stone tower was unharmed and a new lantern was installed in 1738.  Lighthouse Point played a decisive role in both sieges of Fortress Louisbourg as, once captured, it provided a commanding gun battery location to bombard the fortress. This lighthouse was badly damaged in 1758 during the final siege of Louisbourg and abandoned by the British after they demolished the fortress. Stonework ruins from the first tower are still visibile at the site. 

Cabot Trail West, Cape Breton, NS

 

Today we toured the west side of the Cabot Trail. Below are pictures of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Highway. Cape Breton Highlands National Park is known for its spectacular highlands and ocean scenery. Steep cliffs and deep river canyons carve into  a forested plateau bordering the Atlantic Ocean. One third of the Cabot Trail, a world-famous scenic highway, runs through the national park along the coasts and over the highlands.

The entire route measures 298 km (185 mi) in length and completes a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the scenic Cape Breton Highlands, It is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497. The northern section of the Cabot Trail
passes through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The western and eastern sections follow the rugged coastline, providing spectacular views of the ocean. The southwestern section passes the Margaree River valley before passing along Bras d'Or Lake. The entire route is open year-round.

 

Pictured below is Cape North, the northernmost most point of the Cabot Trail.

 

 

 

Cheticamp Harbour, Cabot Trail

 

 

 

Paroisse Saint-Pierre / St. Peter's Church, originally built in 1893, designed by David Ouellet and is located facing the Cheticamp Harbour on the Cabot Trail. Father Pierre Fiset was the  parish priest from 1875 until his death in 1909. He is buried in a crypt beneath the church. The original Acadian settlers were devout Catholics.

 

 

Cabot Trail East, Cape Breton, NS

Today we toured some of the famous and beautiful Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. We started our tour from Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground and toured some of the east part of Cabot Trail. We stopped at Ingonish Bay and took a 2 1/2 hour boat tour on the Atlantic Ocean with hopes of seeing some whales, but were unsuccessful. The boat that we toured on is pictured above. We did get a demonstration on how the fisherman drop their lobster traps, and for each different boat the lobster markers and ropes are coded so the fisherman know which lobster traps are theirs. We learned how the lobster get into the two separate areas of the traps, how you can tell female and males apart, how they take the measurement of the lobster and why they secure the lobster claws. The lobster claws can secure onto a wooden stick handle and lift it in mid air. The fisherman have gotten into lots of trouble with lobster claws securing their fingers. We enjoyed the boat tour and the scenery and were happy to be able to ride the Atlantic Ocean.

Quadding in Fox River, NS

 Today we got to play in the forest with John & Lisa's toys; their quads, on their beautiful piece of land. John took us for a very scenic ride through the dense forest on their land in Fox River. Passing through very thick forest, acres and acres of wild blueberry fields, and spectacular ocean views of the Bay of Fundy. Wow, the views and the ride was amazing.

John and Susie's sister Carol.

This was the spectacular view that we got to see at our view point 600-700 feet high looking at the Bay of Fundy staring down at the forest floor. You just can't believe the feeling you get standing there looking at this beautiful view. Paradise!

Our friends, John and Lisa and their very special dog, Sophie. We are extremely lucky to have the privilege to know two of the most kindest, gracious, and heart-warming people. Their hospitality, friendship, and generosity have been outstanding. We feel very blessed.

Cape D'Or, Advocate Harbor, NS

Our first sighting of the Nova Scotia Lighthouses in beautiful Cape D'Or, Advocate Harbor, NS.

The cliffs at Cape D'Or are 660 feet tall on the west side and on the east side they are 90 feet tall. The area was named by a French explorer because of copper deposits that remain golden. The seascape is stunning.

Digging For Clams at Fox Point, Nova Scotia

 Today we had an awesome day digging for clams. So at low tide we went out with our rubber boots, a pitch fork and a large bucket and found a place that was abundant with clams. We learned that you have to look for small breathing holes in the sand that the clams make as they dig down and bury themselves in to stay cool. Once you locate a hole then you use your pitchfork and dig down 6 inches and locate the clam right below the breathing hole. We had so much fun. From that point you go to the ocean and rinse the clams and everything else, because you are very muddy. You bring the clams back home in ocean water so they stay alive. Once home you put the clams in a bowl and sprinkle corn meal into the bowl and let the clams eat the corn meal and they spit out the sand. You then steam the clams in the ocean water for 5-10 minutes and enjoy them with garlic butter and beer.
Simply delicious!!  Thanks to John and Lisa for teaching us all about clams, and for preparing a delicious menu of clams and garlic butter. We all had so much fun.

The Bay of Fundy, Parrsboro, NS

 This picture is the view from our good friends Lisa and John's home in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia where we are lucky enough to have our 5th wheel parked on their land. They have 30 acres of heavily forested area that is elevated up 80 feet from the roadway. The view is simply breathtaking.

The Bay of Fundy is home to one of the most powerful tidal energy resources on the planet. The sun,
moon and the unique geological shape of the Bay of Fundy all combine to push 160 billion tonnes of water through the Bay every tide. That's four times more than the estimated combined flow of all the freshwater rivers in the world. The tides have one complete cycle every 12 hours.
FORCE (Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy) is Canada's lead test centre for tidal energy technology. FORCE collaborates with industry, government, and researchers to study the interaction between tidal turbines and the Bay of Fundy environment. FORCE's test site is in the Minas Passage area of the Bay of Fundy near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Research suggests up to 2500 megawatts of clean, renewable energy may be safely extracted form the Minas Passage, equal to power for nearly one million homes.

 

The picture above is at the Parrsboro Harbor in Nova Scotia at high tide, which is 45 feet or a 4 story apartment building.

The picture above is at the Parrsboro Harbor in Nova Scotia at low tide. It takes 6 hours to go from high tide to low tide. The lighthouse is 24 feet tall and the distance in the harbor is over a mile long.

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Today we got to see and experience Niagara Falls, in beautiful Ontario, Canada. These falls are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A spectacular sight to see and feel as it delivers more than 2,800 cubic meters of water that tumble 13 stories every second. Visitors has been taking trips to the base of the falls since the mid 1820's. The legendary boat tour of Niagara Falls is Canada's most iconic visitor experience. Visitors will experience the boat tour of the Great Gorge, American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. The boat, named  Hornblower is a 700-passenger catamaran boat.

Were Off and run into problems on our 2nd day...

Yikes!! What a close call. On our second day, while travelling through South Dakota we stopped at a rest stop in the middle of no where and discovered some major problems with two of our trailer tires. The tire above was worn down to the steel belts and there was a large split in it, we are astounded that it did not blow out on the highway. The second tire had a huge bulge on the side and was ready  to blow as well. We definitely had some angels watching out for us and feel incredibly lucky, and grateful to have escaped a very serious situation. Thank you God for watching over us and keeping us safe. We feel blessed!
After having all four tires replaced at a substantial cost; mainly due to after hours emergency assistance we were able to continue our journey to Elkhart, Indiana. It was there that we discovered that we had two bent axels which explained the problems with our tires. After all was said and done we had the axels replaced and continued our journey safely to Niagara Falls, Ontario.