When we awoke this morning to a hillside view of the sunrise over the Bay of Fundy, it struck me how extraordinary a thing we were doing. Moments later when our camper was under siege with bats trying to nest, I realized what a strange thing we were doing.
Seriously, this is what our morning sounded like... "flap, flap, flap, thwap." As the sun rose, the local bat population made an attempt to roost up under the top of our camper. Although we could see how this was an appealing place for a bat, thankfully there was no place for them to get a foothold. Of course it made for an interesting morning as we first tried to decide what the noise was than whether it was a large moth, a small bird or, as we later confirmed, bats!
Some of our original plans had us pushing on past the park today and onto Prince Edward Island. Instead we were lured in to the beauty of Fundy National Park and decided to stay here and forgo the driving time and other expenses that going to PEI would entail.
After an enthusiastic recommendation from the front desk attendant, we chose to hike the Laverty Falls trail. We were not disappointed, the falls were breathtaking and the trail leads you directly to the drop point for one of the larger parts. Of course, the rains the night before had not helped the rich earth on the trail and our footwear did suffer a bit. JD had no problems, At points he was plucking through dark mud up to his knees and enjoying every minute of it.
After cleaning up from the hike, we made our way over to Point Wolfe. This area of the park used to be a port area for a logging camp. There is a reconstruction of a covered bridge marking the camp's area. A short trail here takes you down to the shore. The bay of Fundy is known for its dramatic tide changes, we were close to the low tide time and were able to step out almost 1 km further on the shore than you can at high tide.
Leaving the park, we stopped in Alma, NB to see the effect of the tides. It is amazing to see huge fishing ships laid on their sides as the water rushes out. We also saw a local fishing vessel which recently brought in a 30 foot shark.
After a stop for lunch at a Tim Horton's and exchanging some currency at a bank in Mocton/Dieppe, we said goodbye to New Brunswick and entered Nova Scotia.
The change was unbelievable. The first thing that hit us were the strong winds coming from the bay. We then focused on the local flora and fauna. The area were were driving in was beautiful, rural and also oddly familiar. There were times where we could have sworn we were back in Madison, VA on a Sunday Drive.
After following some back roads, we made it to our final camp at Five Islands Provincial Park. We have been extremely impressed with the local park sites in Canada.
Five Islands sits out overlooking the Bay and the five islands along the shore which give the area its name. Our site looked out over the water and the view was breathtaking. After starting the day with a stunning sunrise, we finished it with an equally beautiful sunset.
As we tried to start a fire, we were overwhelmed by the night sky as it came to life. There were more stars and planets visible and anyone could imagine. The entire dome of heaven was laid out before us and the universe was visible in all its splendor. The sight was truly indescribable.
Since the strange fire rings/grills at the park made a fire a bit difficult, but we took our minds off of the wind and cold of the night by playing with the camera and trying to figure out some light art effects. They may not be museum worthy, but we had fun. Check them out:
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