Morning walk at Cape Tormentine. This trail goes on forever, crossing roads. I wonder where it goes.
Beautiful streel gray and the reflection of light off the grass was so beautiful
Morning view before departing
We drove to Pictou, a cute town I'd head of. I planned to stay here for the night, but decided to move along. There was a concert in town so I figured it would get crowded.
My parking spot while hanging out in Pictou. Just to the right was a fabulous Syrian restaurant and I had an amazing falafel wrap. The owner was super friendly and even gave Zoe some of his ice cream cone. Lucky girl!
Found a "campground", but it really was more of an RV park with lines of RVs parked next to each other. How is that enjoyable? I was put in one of those spots, but was able to park far enough back that I wasn't looking at the next rig and had a view of the water. I figured I'd be doing a bunch of boondocking so I needed a shower before that, which is why I went here and the reviews were good. I cannot go nearly as long without washing my hair with the salt air and the humidity. 2.5 days is max before it feels really grimy.
On a walk at the bottom of the hill from the campground.
8/30 - Heading to Cape Breton today.
What a difference a day makes!
View from the van. Not too bad/
Walked a tiny bit on this trail as Zoe wasn't feeling it... A bicycle would be awesome.
Drove up 19 through the New Scotland area (I think) where there was lots of Keltic music places along the way. I didn't spend much time there, which was a mistake. Drove into Cheticamp, but there wasn't much there. We walked on the short boardwalk hoping to find something interesting. Maybe I just missed it! Drove by one of the places noted on iOverlander for boondocking, but it didn't look good to me and there were tons of people there. So, I went to the next spot, a bit worried it would also be crowded, but there was no one there. It was another amazing spot! I visited with a local and his dog for a bit and a young German couple who were biking the island camped on the beach. I didn't know then what the roads were like north of Cheticamp, where they had come from. I cannot even begin to imagine biking those roads, now that I've seen them. A few other campers came and stayed the night along with some locals coming for the beach. All good.
Another free spot with amazing views
8/31 - Wow. Fantastically beautiful day. I hadn't done any research, so I didn't know what to expect. The weather was perfect, making the water so blue!!
Enjoying the morning at the beach.
Zoe wondering what we're doing...
This is an idea of how steep the roads can be here. I had no idea!
Zoe and I did the Buttereau hike. She isn't allowed on the Skyline trail for some reason, so I found a nice quiet alternative. I really enjoyed the views from here and that it wasn't crowded.
The trail starts going up, but was pretty easy after that.
At least this whale tail is in an appropriate spot (unlike along 89 in VT). 😂
I decided to head to Meat Cove. Everyone says you gotta go, so I did. I was lucky enough to grab the last campsite appropriate for a van and had a great view (maybe not as good as some of my free ones, but pretty darn awesome). I had thought I could turn around and go back to a free spot, but the roads were so bad I really didn't want to do that as I wanted to do a hike here. I'm glad I stayed here as there was a beach down the hill. I don't often think of swimming in the ocean, but I was hot and Zoe was pooped, so I left her in the van and went for a swim. The water was lovely, but I almost decided it was too cold. I didn't really swim, but just hopped in, hung out for a bit and a few strokes and got out. There were showers there, so that's a bonus. I don't really like the feeling of salt water on my skin, but this water didn't seem very salty. Super happy I did it!
9/1
I woke up to see this view from my window. Not a bad way to wake up.
Checkout time at Meat Cove is 10, which seems silly and way too early. We did the Meat Cove overlook trail, which was a bit of a challenge for Zoe, but it was early and coolish. She did great.
The campground is just this tiny area on the cliff. Mostly tent sites.
Zoe enjoying the view from the lookout
The water is so clear
After leaving Meat Cove (10:45), we drove to White Point to do a hike. This was 1.5 miles, but I didn't end up doing all of it because it was pretty warm for Zoe. There was a rough road to a parking area that I couldn't see, so I decided to park on the road like others had done. Glad I did since I would not have been able to turn around. BUT, the road had a dropoff and I backed up a bit and thought I had plenty of clearance. So glad I didn't go back further, as I might have had one tire in the ditch and it would not have been pretty. Some people ended up parking in front of me (kinda in front of a driveway), but they left me quite a bit of space and I was able to get out. I was so afraid of backing up at all that I waited for them for a bit, but then decided to try it. I was super careful and thought through every step so as to not put that tire in the ditch and succeeded!
I'm glad the gravel didn't give under the weight of my van!
There weren't many places marked on iOverlander, so headed to Broad Cove campground. Canada has a long weekend, just like the US does. Not sure if it's labor day or not, but I was able to find a spot. There isn't much privacy and I said I didn't need hookups, so she didn't highlight any of those. I drove around checking out the sites, but by the time I was done, I couldn't remember which was best - even though I circled ones I thought I could tolerate. When I went to pay, I last minute chose a site that's right on the road to the dump station and beach access, but it ended up being a good site. It had some shade (I had planned to leave Zoe in the van, while I walked around since she was tired) and an open area behind me. Well, this lovely green lawn is part of the campground's own sewage treatment plant. No smell though!!! We walked to the beach (my site is very close to the beach) and I took my chair and Zoe got a good rest in the sun. It felt really good to just chill. I had thought I would go into Ingonish, but I'm glad I didn't and just chilled out, since I so rarely do that.
I thought I'd go grab dinner in Ingonish, but decided to cook up some spaghetti in the instant pot. I can't remember the last time I really cooked anything!
When taking Zoe out for a walk, I was chatting with my new solo woman neighbor and a man with his dog joined us. He mentioned that there was a fire on the beach - the last night of programs for the campground. I'm glad I went to that. They talked about history and tales. The guy spoke in French for those who can't speak english and it was fun for me to try to decipher it. Then he played some Keltic music on his fiddle. Reels and Jigs. I forget the difference... Zoe just relaxed in the sand. Good time.
9/2
Good morning, Silly Girl!
Short morning walk on the beach.
No feet, Mom!
I decided I wanted to stay another night, so waited around until 11 (gave me time for the beach walk!) and rebooked my site. No cell service, but I found that the fee to book the site is 1/3 of the actual campground fee, which seems crazy.
We went to do a hike that I thought the woman last night said there was some archeology digs going on and information, but I didn't see any of that. It was cloudy and not too warm, so I thought it would be good for Zoe. I didn't take the humidity into account though and it was harder and longer than I thought, so we ended up turning around, but did about 3 miles. I was under prepared with not enough water, but we made it. She's such a trooper! And after the hike, I sat in my van and updated my blog! :o) There is basically no reception at the campground (occasional single bar), so figured I'd take advantage of the service here. And now it's raining and I'm going to head back to the campground (maybe grab some food along the way).
Only photo from Middle Head trail
On the way back, I stopped at Top of the Trail food truck for a great burger, which I ate at the campsite.
9/3 - After a good shower with pressure and hot water, we left and stopped at Ingonish Beach, which I had heard was beautiful. I almost didn't stop, thinking how great could it be?, but it really is a beautiful beach. It's off season already, so dogs are OK on the beach. We walked the beach, then followed a trail to Freshwater Lake and enjoyed watching some loons there. It's always nice to have fresh water for Zoe to wade in and drink.
Freshwater Lake
After leaving Ingonish, we drove the rest of the Cabot Trail. There was a pull off, that I figured, why not, but really, haven't I seen it all? Kinda like Ingonish Beach, this was so beautiful! Plus there were a bunch of whales not too far off shore.
Onto Baddeck where we walked around the downtown and by the water and then stayed as an extra (fully booked) HH guest. There was plenty of room for me. I hung out with two other HH guest couples for a beer. Nice folks who told me about setting up my electric stuff in the Victron app. I always thought it was strange that I didn't have the ability, but Steve never mentioned it. Not that it's that important, but it's fun to be able to look at the status of things on my phone if I'm too lazy to look at the monitor!
Baddeck waterfront and lighthouse
Baddeck waterfront
Baddeck waterfront and lighthouse
View from Big Spruce Brewing
Growing hops
Weak sunset
9/4 - Went to the Alexander Graham Bell museum. It was interesting and I didn't know how much he was involved in. Funny that typically he didn't follow through with ideas, but was happy to pass them off to others. He made money from the inventing the phone and then enjoyed inventing and coming up with ideas. He was involved in hydrofoils and airplanes, the graphophone (improvement on Edison's phonograph), etc. His primary interest that started the telephone was his work with deaf patients (Helen Keller was one of them) and creating ways for them to communicate.
View from Alexander Graham Bell museum
Old Post Office in Baddeck. 1886
Another free ferry. This took all of 2 minutes to cross - seems like a bridge would be cheaper
We went to the Higland Village Museum, which allows dogs. It is a museum showing the Gaelic people who came over in the 1700s due to rents being raised and not having their own land. They came here to own their own property and be free, but they didn't want to leave Scotland as that was their home. Everyone at the museum spoke Gaelic and English, probably French too. They had people in the buildings who were dressed in period clothing and talked to us like we were back in the 1700s. It was very cool. Zoe didn't seem to enjoy herself, but what to do? I feel like if I can bring her along I should, but that's not always the case I guess. She stuck it out though.
This is the house that they would have lived in in Scotland. Stone. In NS, there were so many trees and that's what they had to learn to build with instead of stones
I stopped at a free place to park, but decided against it. It was right at a beach, but just a parking lot by the road, so I decided to head to the Mira River Provincial Park for the night. I wanted site 154, but though it appeared online to be available, there was an RV parked there. I ended up taking 156, which was fine except the last people were slobs and left at least 75 cigarette butts (which I cleaned up) and garbage in the fireplace. I guess this campground doesn't clean the sites???
And maybe the previous people fed the duck, because this duck came super close to me and hung out for a bit until she gave up, figuring I was a lost cause. I explained to her that she was barking up the wrong tree!
9/5
Site I had wanted - 154
Site I had - 156 Still a great site (aside from the butts!)
We left the campground around 11:30 after filling up my water and headed to Louisbourg. I hadn't intended to hit this Eastern section at all, but was reading a friend's blog and decided to try visiting these places as it wasn't too far.
I tried taking Zoe for a walk, but she wasn't interested at all, so we went back to the van and I went to the Fortress of Louisbourg. It was sunny and about 72 degrees and I parked the van so that the rear was facing the sun. I opened the windows and had the air exhausting, covered the windows, and felt that Zoe would be good. Then I decided to use the AC instead. I left and then came back and opened the windows again. I figured that if I closed it up and the AC failed, she'd have no air and I knew I'd be gone at least 2 hours.
I did the tour as fast as possible, but it's a big place. It is partially rebuilt from back in the 1700s. It's occupied by France and so everyone spoke French and English. I felt like I was in France with all the people speaking french. I really enjoyed walking around the old buildings and learning about that time. It was like a city, not just a fort, which made it much more interesting. Apparently, aside from the military presence, cod was the main industry as it could be salted and kept for over 2 years that way. This town/port was so busy that it rivaled Boston and NYC at the time. Twice the British took it from France.
Drawbridge over the moat
Access to the docks
There was a staged punishment going on.
The punishment was standing in front of the town and being humiliated. We let him go free after a bit due to his theft of a fishing boat being out of necessity.
Barracks
You can just see the legs of a goat hiding behind the door on the left. I thought he was stuck, but apparently not.
Decided to stay in Louisbourg for the night. I had a yummy haddock dinner at Spoondrift Cafe.
Free parking spot
9/6
It looks like Zoe doesn't want to face this day!
Keeping watch
This is Angelica and it was brought over by the French or Spanish as cattle feed, but it is very invasive. It is everywhere!
After leaving Louisbourg, my destination was a free parking spot on Bras d'Or Lake. Google told me to go one way, but then I saw the Fleur-de-Lis Trail and thought it would be a good alternative. What a horrible decision! I thought it would be pretty, and it was for a bit, but then I was supposed to take a dirt road, but they were grading it, so I continued on. I ended up going at least 15 miles out of my way, then backtracked to the "Trail", where the road deteriorated. I was irritated the whole time and I don't think Zoe enjoyed it at all. Had I gone the way that Google had suggested, I think it would have been a pretty drive and with much better roads! GRRRR.
I got to the spot on the lake, which is super nice with lots of area to walk around and this is where I am working on this blog. I'm still deciding if I'll stay here or head further along my way. It is supposed to rain a lot tomorrow and I need to do laundry. I'm thinking I will head to a HH in Antigonish and then do my laundry tomorrow. And if I'm going to do laundry, I'll have to find a place to shower too so I can be super clean along with my fresh sheets. I just love that feeling of being freshly showered with fresh sheets! 😀
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