Maritimes & New England - 2015
Maine to New Brunswick
Day 7 - September 24
From Maine into New Brunswick!
Welcomed at the border (literally) by a flock of Canadian geese
The back entrance to Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
Beautiful little Wolfe Lake, just inside the park. We stopped here for a lunch of crackers, salami and cheese. It was windy and chilly
Lots of cute little lakes in Fundy. This one’s Bennett Lake. Just to the right is the outlet of this lake, forming a stream
Caribou Plain Trail, a short boardwalk path. This strange bog is full of dead trees and lily pads
The fall colors really haven’t popped yet. Because the northeast had such a late Winter in 2015, and because it has stayed warm into Fall, the leaves will turn later. We are starting to see it, but it’s very spotty. We’ve seen many trees like these, where leaves are turning branches at a time
Found a laundromat in Alma, New Brunswick, behind the General Market. Clothes are clean!
The Alma boat harbor. Tide is out, the boats sit in the mud. The Bay of Fundy has such radical tidal ranges, you can only take the boats out in high tide.
The beach at Alma at low tide. When the tide is up, this entire area is under water
The Bay of Fundy outside our motel
Day 7 - September 24
Acadia National Park, Maine to Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick
We left Trenton, Maine at 6:15 am this morning, bound for New Brunswick, Canada. It was about a 5 ½ hour drive to our next motel at Hopewell Cape - if you only stopped for gas and eats. We stopped more than that.
We took the back (northwest) entrance into Fundy National Park, where we will spend a good part of our time while in this area. We stopped at many of the “back country” spots in the park - Wolfe Lake, Bennett Lake, Caribou Plain Trail. We also stopped at Butland Overlook, which is just before the main entrance on the southeast - gorgeous views on a bright, sunny day!
Alma, New Brunswick sits just outside the main entrance to the park. We stopped here to do laundry and get a few things at the market.
It is then a 40 minute drive north to Hopewell Cape and our motel. Right next door to the motel is Hopewell Rocks, a park where you can walk on the ocean floor at low tide.
Alma sits at the mouth of the Chignecto Bay portion of the Bay of Fundy, and Hopewell Cape is up towards its end. This bay is famous for having the highest tidal range in the world - up to 50 feet. We are anxious to see this phenomenon occur right outside our motel window!!
Fundy National Park
Day 8 - September 25
Took a coastal detour on the way from the motel back to Fundy National Park. This find is Cape Enrage
Cape Enrage lighthouse
Cape Enrage panorama, morning
Cape Enrage, panorama, late afternoon
Kathy loves red barns. This is half-red. I’m sure we’ll find a full one somewhere down the road
Dickson Falls trail in Fundy National Park. Short trail, lots of steps
Dickson Falls
Point Wolfe Covered Bridge in Fundy. The inlet to the left leads to Point Wolfe Beach
View of Point Wolfe Beach from the Point Wolfe Beach trail. This was about 11 am
Point Wolfe Beach, at about 12:30 pm. The tides here are serious
Point Wolfe Beach Trail
Point Wolfe State Beach. At one time, ships would come up to this beach - and even beyond - to load up with milled lumber. In high tide only, of course.
Laverty Falls trailhead. About 3 ½ miles roundtrip. Not that long, but pretty steep decent to the falls, and of course ascent back. Kathy did great!
Kathy on Laverty Falls trail, Fundy National Park
Laverty Falls Trail - some color!!
Laverty Trail, fraught with rocks and tree roots
At the top of Laverty Falls, looking upstream
Laverty Falls, Fundy National Park
Ric walking back up the trail. I think walking up was easier than down. I’ll take the cardio workout over pounding of knees and ankles any day!
Day 8 - September 25
Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
We spent almost the entire day in Fundy National Park. Our motel is in Hopewell Cape, about 30km north from Fundy. We decided to take the coastal route, a bit longer, and there discovered Cape Enrage, a small bay with a rocky beach and lighthouse. Our morning visit was at high tide, so we decided to stop by again in the late afternoon at low tide. Dramatic difference.
In Fundy, we first drove down Point Wolfe Beach road. Our first stop was a 40-minute hike to Dickson Falls, a small waterfall deep in the dark forest. From there we drove to the end of the road to Point Wolfe Beach. We started our 1 ½ mile hike at a beautiful red covered bridge. The trail took us past gorgeous viewpoints of Point Wolfe Beach, then down to the beach. There was NO ONE at the beach! What a contrast to Acadia National Park!!
In the afternoon, Kathy and I took a 3 ½ mile roundtrip hike to Laverty Falls. Not long, but it was all descent, about 600 feet, to the falls. Which meant all ascent for the way back. A beautiful trail cut through the deep forest. The trail was rocky with a lot of tree roots to navigate. But the falls rewarded us - beautiful!
We stopped at the Alma Boathouse for dinner, then back to the motel. We were bushed.
Fundy National Park &
Hopewell Rocks
Day 9 - September 26
Kathy, Sheila and Andy at Hopewell Rocks
Hopewell Rocks “Flower Pots’ close to high tide
Flower Pots at close to high tide. At low tide, you can walk on the ocean floor. We will return in the afternoon
The obligatory selfie…
Point Wolfe Beach. I posted a couple of contrasting pictures of this view yesterday. The tide is a little lower today
Canada’s strategically place Adirondack chairs throughout its national parks. Sheila and Kathy are enjoying the view seen in the previous picture
Hopewell Rocks at low tide. This is Danielle Flats, an exposed mud shelf. The shore is probably 3 miles from where it is at high tide, and this shelf runs miles along the shore of the Bay of Fundy
It was late afternoon, and the lighting was tough, so you will see some washed out pictures. Compare this picture with the earlier post showing the bottom of the stairs. The shore here is about 400 yards away.
Hopewell Rocks - the Flower Pots are behind me. The sea level is about 30 feet lower than where I am standing, and the shoreline is about 200 yards away
Sheila is pointing to the high tide water line. She is standing about 20 feet above the current level of the ocean
The Flower Pots
A muddy walk. I wore closed-toed sandals. The park fortunately had a wash-off station
Day 9 - September 26
Fundy National Park & Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick
Andy and Sheila (brother-in-law, and Ric’s sister - it’s their son who was married in Maine) have also been touring the Maritime Provinces, and will join us today and tomorrow.
We first stopped in the morning at Hopewell Rocks, which is right next door to our motel. The tidal range in the Bay of Fundy is the most pronounced and dramatic here. It is high tide, and we wanted to get some perspective for when we returned later that afternoon at low tide. More on the tides in a minute.
We re-visited a couple of places in Fundy National Park - Dickson Falls & Point Wolfe Beach Trail to Point Wolfe Beach. After a late lunch in Alma, we returned at 3:30 pm to Hopewell Rocks. Low tide today is 5:37.
The Bay of Fundy boasts the highest tidal range in the world. The average tidal delta is about 40 feet. In about 5 days after we move on, the bay expects the highest high tides and lowest lows that they have experienced in 15 years, as much as 51 feet.
Why, you say? Well, so did I. Two reasons: 1) the shape of the bay is funnel-like, and causes a sucking-phenomenon which pushes the water in and out of the bay very rapidly; and 2) the length of the bay - the water moves in and out of the bay in a time cycle that fits perfectly with the tidal shift cycle, and creates a sling-shot effect.
The pictures don’t really do this justice. To stand at the base of the Flower Pots and look to where the sea level is - 35 feet below us and about 400 yards away - is truly dramatic and inspiring.
What a creative God we have!!
That evening, we had a final treat - Floyd and Jean Butler (Andy’s sister and her husband) have retired to their lovely new home - a beautiful travel trailer. They have been on the road since early August, and were in Maine for the wedding. From there, they headed north to visit the Maritime Provinces. They are currently staying in a park about 40 minutes from us, and invited Andy, Sheila, Kathy and me for spaghetti dinner. Fun! The six of us will tool around Prince Edward Island tomorrow, but more on that later…