Peg and Steve's Retirement Adventure

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 16, 2012

On Saturday we went into Cheticamp and I finally was able to find a place to get my hair cut. We stopped at Wayne's Beauty Shop. This is his 35 year cutting hair. He was born and raised in Cheticamp. I got a great hair cut and had great conversation with Wayne and one of his customers, Anne Marie, who was a retired school teacher. She taught Home Economics for 38 years in Cheticamp.

Sunday we pulled up stakes and went over and down the three mountains on the Cabot Trail. Steve had to put the truck in 4 wheel low so we could go down the 12 and 17% grades. Wow!! What a trip.

On our way to Broad Cove campground we passed a female moose. We were not able to take pictures, but later when we went for a ride she was still there. MY SECOND MOOSE...

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14K, 2012

Today we hiked the Skyline Trail. This was a 4 hour 6.36 mile hike through the Acadian Forest. We talked with a photographer for Field and Stream and he had just seen a bull moose after a female moose. He shared his photos with us and we were hoping to see a moose also; but we didn't. However, the trail was wonderful. It was a loop trail with a boardwalk that overlooked the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is hard to put into words how amazing this trail was. Pictures do not capture it well enough.

On the Cabot Trail going up French Mountain there was construction. Scary, but neat. While we were on the Skyline Trail boardwalk you could see the construction.

Here are pictures of our walk including a moose print.

Also in the evening we went to look for a moose. We watched the sunset at French Lake and thought there would be a moose there. We were disappointed until we started to drive back and saw a bull moose wanting to cross the street.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

On Thursday we drove some of the Cabot Trail. "The Cabot Trail loops around the northern tip of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 185 miles or 298 km long. The trail passes through many charming communities, each with breathtaking scenery and unforgettable hospitality. The Cape Breton Highlands National Park lies along the Cabot Trail, providing world class hiking."

PILLAR ROCKS

We stoped at MacIntosh Brook and hiked for about 15-20 minutes to a beautiful waterfall.

Next we went to Lone Shieling, which is a 15 min. loop through 350 year old maple stand where there was a reproduction of a Scottish crofter's hut.

We drove through Pleasant Bay a small fishing community. Steve loves to take all the dirt roads to we followed the Red River Road to a Buddhist Monastery, Gampo Abbey. The abbey was closed to tours but the ride was so beautiful.

Pleasant Bay has a Whale Interpretive Center we stopped at and learned quite a bit about whales in the area.

We stopped at The Bog and walked on a boardwalk through the area. The landscape was very different from just down the road. We also stopped at the Veterans Monument and Cap Rouge. The Cabot Trail is amazing. It has the water on one side and the mountains on the other.

THE PITCHER PLANT WHICH EATS BUGS.

We drove up and then down the switchbacks for French Mountain which is 435 m high (1427 ft.) Also we drove up and down North Mountain 455 m (1492 ft.) We plan to take the camper over these mountains on Sunday. Hope the break are good!!

Of course our day would not be complete without stopping at the local market and bakery. Got some wonderful raisin bread, butter and milk.

We met some bicyclists from Deer Island Maine and they were biking the whole Cabot Trail. They took a picture of us at one of the outlooks.

Picture of us near the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

We drove to another water falls: Beulach Ban Falls. Steve was very excited because we had to drive a dirt road in 4 wheel drive for about 6.5 km. It was totally worth the trip.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Well, if you have been following you will realize I haven't posted for awhile. Although the National Parks are wonderful, there is no internet. I will try to remember all that we have done and post when I can.

We traveled to Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, today. Cheticamp is located in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We arrived mid morning and set up camp.

The day was beautiful and so we had time to go for a hike. We walked the Salmon Pools Hike. This was a 8.72 mile hike through the woods, along the Cheticamp River. We had our pedometers on and walked 20, 469 steps in 4 hours and 20 mintues.

There are 3 different pools where the water gathers and the salmon stay. We did not see any of the salmon because the water was high due to the terrible rain on Monday; however, it still was a beautiful site.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

Well the rain finally stopped late morning. It poured all night, and we had thunder storms. No wind though.

Today we took a ride to Baddeck, NS. We stopped at the Visitor's Centre and got a map. There was a large cruise ship in the harbor that had arrived last evening from France. It stayed until 3:30 p.m. and was on its way.

We took a walk along the boardwalk and there were some wonderful sites:

Walking along the boardwalk we came upon Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell just relaxing and watching the boats sail in and out of the harbor. Here is Steve talking to them.

Baddeck is where Alexander Graham Bell lived a great part of his life. We went to the museum and was amazed at all the inventions he worked on other than the telephone. Bell like to invent things and then when they worked we went on to invent something else.

THIS IS THE SILVER DART DESIGNED BY BELL AND HIS GROUP.

THE FIRST CANADIAN FLIGHT.

One of the more interesting p;iece of equipment (below) is the photophone. This is a working telephone without wires. It transmitted speech over light waves.