May 29 (Day 25): North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, Canada and 4 and a half time zones from home (yep, Newfoundland is one-half time zone from Nova Scotia).

North Sydney to Port aux Basques ferry

We checked in and settled into our assigned line for the ferry to Newfoundland leaving at 11:45 am.  As departure time got closer there were a couple of other RVs, quite a few cars and tons of semi-trucks in line.  It appears that the port at North Sydney is the “stuff” pipeline for Newfoundland.  Our ferry was delayed for a couple of hours, but we met so many great folks waiting that it was worth the time. We met several couples moving back to NL after being away to make their fortunes – as Dorothy and they said, “there’s no place like home”.  One character, a retired professional wrestler, was moving back after years in Toronto and proudly sporting a large “Ford/Mayor” bumper sticker related to the infamous mayor of that city.  They packed us in and made up some time along our 92 mile crossing to Port aux Basques and our quick getaway from the ferry got us to a fine little provincial campground in just a short drive.  We have consistently heard that Newfoundlanders or “Newfies” are very friendly folks and our arrival at the campground did not disappoint.  Marv came over from an adjacent campsite and helped direct me into our site and invited us over to share their campfire and conversation.  When he told us he was a retired liquor store manager it opened up all kinds of interest from Michele about local wines.  We’re on the hunt today!       

 J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park - first night in Newfoundland

May 24 (Day 21) to May 28 (Day 24): Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick, Canada to Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada along Bras D ‘OR Lakes (Cape Breton).

Five islands on the Bay of Fundy

Our original plan was to spend June in Nova Scotia, then ferry to Newfoundland for the month of July.  Since we’re flexible, when some other travelers told us the icebergs in Newfoundland would be melted in July, we decided to head north and change our ferry plans.

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site
in Baddeck, Nova Scotia

We’re deep in Scottish influence now nestled in The Highlands of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and wanting more.  We wanted to save as much time as we could to explore famous Cape Breton Highlands National Park so after settling in to our RV park near Baddeck we drove into town to visit Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site to discover that Bell is not just for telephones anymore!  Born in Scotland and later moving around the U.S. and Canada with his family he ultimately sold his telephone patent and while living elsewhere along the east coast of the U.S. purchased property here to spend summers with his family and experiment on other interests.  Among many others he made strides in powerless flights, building concepts using tetrahedral kites, hydroplanes, data transmission using light waves, and many others.  He noted in later life that his greatest joy was the significant work he did to help deaf children “speak” using various techniques.  Helen Keller credited Bell and the techniques he developed with changing her life.  For more on Bell and his contributions Google Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site – I encourage taking the time. 

Beautiful small churches in almost every town

We topped off our first day with a visit to the St. Ann’s Gaelic College and a visit to a staff member I had emailed with months ago.  She sent us away with countless suggestions of things to see and do and of course we left the gift shop with two CDs of Scottish music to help us along.

We spent our second day driving through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a spectacular park in northern Cape Breton.  A full day of driving, and we saw dramatic coastlines along both the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean.  Alas… still no moose even though this park boasts a large population in their wilderness.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park

We’re now ‘camped’ in a Walmart parking lot in North Sydney, and will embark on a 6 hour ferry ride tomorrow morning to Newfoundland – for more scenery, culture, and (hopefully) whales, icebergs, puffins, and moose.  Stay tuned…

May 22 (day 19) to May 23 (day 20): Bar Harbor to New Brunswick, Canada; 4000 miles and 4 times zones away from home!

The view from our front window

One of the most enjoyable experiences along our route and traveling in general is the unplanned and unexpected.  Since Nova Scotia was one of our main goals we were happily main-lining along the Trans-Canada Highway when I spotted a New Brunswick information center and pulled in for a break.  Our friends in Bar Harbor had mentioned a small village called Hopewell Cape where the Bay of Fundy tidal influence was very noticeable and the folks at the information center confirmed that.  We made a trip recalculation and found a nice campground there with a killer view through our windshield across a pond to the tidal flats and beyond across the Bay of Fundy.  

11am, low tide

4:30pm, approaching high tide, our heads would be under water!

Hopewell Cape was not disappointing offering a Saturday breakfast at the local town museum/social center/Saturday market and then a short drive to Hopewell Rocks to see interesting geologic formations that are accessible by walking across the sea floor at low tide and completely inundated at high tide.  The staff there was very friendly and Megan offered great suggestions including a video clip of her, her supervisor and another staff member standing on the sea floor when the tide rolled in. You just gotta take a look at the YouTube link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbU0c9798sY)  .  

noon, high and dry

We then headed over to Alma to see Fundy National Park and the town harbor with large fishing boats lying on the sea floor next to the slips waiting for the tide to return and float them again.  The all-time record tidal change stands at 46 feet (world’s highest tide), but today only 38 feet – yeah only, when the average global tidal change is 3 feet.  Off to Nova Scotia tomorrow and perhaps bye bye WiFi for awhile.

3 hours later

May 20 (day 17) to May 21 (day 18): Durham, Maine to Bar Harbor, Maine (Acadia National Park)

It was an easy morning and a relatively short mileage day to Bar Harbor, the home of Acadia National Park.  We drove the infamous Hwy 1 along the Atlantic Ocean that added time to our day, but it was well worth it to see the small towns and the Maine countryside.  After settling into our new RV park “home” we picked up some general information at the park visitor center and took on the 27-mile loop road along the spectacular Atlantic coast.  One side trip took us to the highest point along the Atlantic sea board, Cadillac Mountain in the middle of the park.  For you Coloradans don’t fret, it’s just 1530 ft. above sea level!  The numerous lobster pot floats along the coast got us revved up to head into Bar Harbor for the local favorite, lobster rolls with fries. 

The next day we took the girls on a hike in the park – the Great Head trail with wonderful views of the ocean and Acadia shoreline.  We ended the day with a visit and dinner with an old friend, Superintendent Sheridan Steele and his wife Barbara.  We enjoyed our visit to Acadia – a worthwhile park – and are getting out just in time before the Memorial day weekend crowd comes.  Tomorrow it’s on to Canada and our primary destinations – the Maritime Provinces!  Our cell phones will be turned mostly off and we’ll be relying on Wi-Fi from now on for this trip, so our updates will come when we have internet access.

May 18 (day 15) to May 19 (day 16): Sturgeon Falls, Ontario to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec to Durham, Maine

Denny and Michael Greco

Test – what city is the capital of Canada?  We guessed correctly – Ottawa.  The treat for today was winding our way through the countryside around Ottawa to visit an old friend I had worked with on the board of the River Management Society (RMS), Michael Greco.  Michael had a severe stroke many months ago and his recovery has been painfully slow.  He was recently awarded the RMS annual award for lasting contributions to the work of the Society in managing rivers.  It was a joy to visit with him, congratulate him on his award, and wish him well on his journey.

It’s been interesting to watch the countryside unfold as we travel from west to east.  Temps have been below freezing in the west to the mid-80’s in Valleyfield where we boon-docked in a Walmart parking lot (a French Walmart!).  We knew things were looking up when the managers of the KOA campground in Thunder Bay were thrilled that the next day was going to be 18 degrees!  18 degrees!  Get out the heavy parkas!  Oh, that’s Celsius - duh.  To mirror the rising temperatures we have observed the deciduous trees flow from no leaves in Thunder Bay to full on here in Quebec and dark time thirty go from 10:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  One complaint so far – we have seen hundreds of signs warning to watch out for moose and as hard as we've looked we haven’t seen a single one where the signs were.  Go figure!

Tuesday we sprinted a short distance to the US border crossing near Champlain, New York, sliced across a small corner of that state into Vermont and on into New Hampshire and Maine.  We learned that back country roads in Maine are narrow and rough, especially for a motorhome! The White Mountains are beautiful, as are the thick deciduous forests that cover these states, and lakes everywhere.  Fortunately we entered the digital zone once again with cell phone coverage and wifi – for a couple of days!     

Entering the US from Quebec (into New York)

crossing the bridge over Lake Champlain, New York

Chaco watching the road through northeastern forests

May 12 (day 9) to May 17 (day 14): Duluth, MN to Sturgeon Falls, Ontario

We spent an unexpected few days in Duluth while our truck was being repaired, so we made the most of them in a very interesting city.  We were camped in a boat yard and had a great view of ships as they entered the bay through Duluth’s iconic lift bridge – way big ships with “lakers” coming in at over 1000 feet.  We learned how to tell the lakers apart from the salty’s that go on to salt water.  The harbor cruise was fun, and a tour of an ore hauling ship (the William A Irvin) was a treat.

Duluth sites

Michele and the girls at Gooseberry Falls

Heading north to Thunder Bay from Duluth, we visited Gooseberry Falls State Park and Grand Portage National Monument.  Grand Portage was the major transportation corridor and trading site for fur traders moving products from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest to Montreal and beyond to Europe.

Denny at Gooseberry Falls

Grand Portage National Monument

After spending a night near Thunder Bay, Ontario, we drove the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) around the north shore of Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie where we toured the original canal and locks that enabled ships to move past rapids where Lake Superior joins Lake Huron.  The drive along Lake Superior is beautiful, with many smaller lakes along the road.  We were surprised to see ice floating on the lake along the northeastern shore – spring is late in this part of the world this year and the locals aren’t smiling!  The weather has been mostly cloudy with some rain, but now with more sunshine and warmer temps as we move east.  Not easy to find good RV camps along this stretch since tomorrow is Queen Victoria’s birthday and a cause for celebration as well as the first 3-day weekend camp out of the year for Ontarians.  

ice on Lake Superior - May 16th!

Sault Ste. Marie historic canal

Our route for this blog

May 11, day 8: Casselton, ND to Duluth, MN

The girls enjoying some lap time
while Dad's ice cream is finally soft enough to eat!

Jesse settled into our new 'home' in Duluth

Awakened to heavy rains – what ND and MN farmers are calling a “million dollar rain” after a dry spring with sparse precipitation – and winds gusting to 35 mph that made driving a large sided vehicle against side winds interesting.  We rolled into Duluth and found our way to the Lakehead Boat Basin to a nice RV site within the boat yard/marina.  Forecast is to near freezing again tonight with some sun coming our way in the next day or two.  We’ll be in Duluth for a few days before heading east once again.  Our view is out the front windshield to the EPA’s “Lake Explorer II” that monitors water conditions on the Great Lakes and a marina full of boats including a sail boat from Seattle on the hard for repairs.  Odometer at 2000miles since we left home a week ago.       

The view from our front window -- nice spot to see boats!

May 10, day 7: Hazen, ND to Casselton, ND

Visited Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site a short drive from Hazen where the same woman park ranger we met in the Hazen grocery store last evening greeted us at the visitor center. The villages marked the location where Lewis and Clark wintered over with the Hidatsa and Mandan people on their trip west to the Pacific Ocean and where they were joined by Sacakawea, her husband Toussaint Charbonneau and their son Pomp.  Our drive toward Fargo, ND soon turned to rain and then heavy snow – did we leave home too soon?!  We finally stopped just short of Fargo at a RV park with a good electric hookup to drive our heaters.  Snuggled in and with good wifi we are catching up on many small chores and will head through Fargo in the morning and on into Minnesota.

May 7-9, day 4-6: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Roosevelt's Maltese Cross cabin in Medora, ND

wild horse colt

bison close to our camp!

Stayed at Cottonwood campground in Theodore Roosevelt National Park:  A short day, we drove to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and stayed at the park’s Cottonwood campground.  A small herd of bison greeted us as we entered the campground, and grazed around the camp sites throughout our stay.  The park is spectacular and easy to see how President Roosevelt grew so fond of it.  The campground is delightful, and wildlife is abundant in the park – in addition to bison, we saw wild horses, black tail prairie dogs, coyotes, wild turkeys, mule deer, pronghorn (antelope) and several birds.   

May 9: stayed in Hazen, ND:  We left Cottonwood campground this morning and drove the scenic drive through the North unit of THRO NP.  Beautiful vistas and, you guessed it, more bison!  A great park.  We’re back on the road after a couple of days break.  

Chaco and Jesse see their first bison, up close and personal... they weren't sure what to think of it!

visiting the camp hosts