The Ridge Runner: A Travelblogue

Labour Day in New Brunswick, Part IV: End of a Long Day

2008-09-23T23:48:00.006-04:00

It was getting later and later. I did not want to drive back to St. Andrews in the dark. I had been in the car almost all day. Not to mention, I really liked this place. After driving by the Ha Ha Cemetery, I passed a nice looking sign that read "Lakeview Inn on New Horton Lake." I was tired and hungry, so I drove down the gravel road past the sign. I found it, but no one was around, and the only vehicle was a motorcycle sitting out back. I rang the bell and a young lady came to the door, drying her hair with a towel. I told her I was looking for a room and with a heavy French accent she advised me to come in, but that she was only a guest and the inn's owners were out to dinner with friends. She also said that there were no other guests. So, I made myself at home to wait for the innkeepers. I had some bagels and apple juice and raided the inn's refrigerator for some cheese. The motorcycle belonged to Celine, the lady who met me at the door. She was riding from Quebec to the northern end of Nova Scotia and back--ALONE. More about that later. Finally, the innkeeper, Clyde Woodworth, arrived and we quickly made friends and finalized arrangements for the room. I dare say a book could be written about Clyde and his wife Virginia. Both of them were raised in the area, but didn't meet until later in life. Clyde had been a Conservation Officer with the Canadian government (a game warden, so to speak.) You can read about them HERE. Clyde and Virginia are much more than innkeepers, tending to many aspects of the land and their horses. Clyde is very knowledgeable about the history of the area, even explaining the derivation of the name of the "Ha Ha" Cemetery (it's not a joke!) We conversed for quite a while on a variety of subjects until I finally had to turn in as the following day was going to be a long one as well.

Labour Day in New Brunswick, Part III: Fundy Coast

2008-09-20T23:39:00.007-04:00

After the Hopewell Rocks, I made my way southwest again and discovered the Fundy Studio Tour (auto tour of the artists and craftsmen along this part of the coast.) The rain was letting up; I could get out and take photos for at least 5 minutes before the rain squalls drove me back to the car. I felt no remorse that I didn't make it to PEI. This area of the Fundy coast is was what I came for. There have been few places that I have been where the natural beauty of the land commingles so well with the human elements, unless it was rural Western North Carolina before the 1980's. Picturesque, yet presenting photographic challenges because of the scope of the landscape. Green hills and fresh-water rivers run down to rolling farmland that slopes down to golden salt marshes that overhang red-clay inlets that open into smaller bays that make up the larger Bay of Fundy. It was clean, I don't remember any trash along the road. The human element has, of course, had its impact, as it will. But it seemed to be more integrated into the environment, as if the people who live here understand the true value of the land as an investment in sustenance not dollars. Yet, there were many old barns, and farm houses in various states of undoing. There were churches, all of them with complex angles and curves, a tribute from the craftsmen who built them to the Creator of this beautiful and bountiful place.

The Fundy Studio Tour takes you to many working studios and galleries. Like Western North Carolina, any artist could find many sources of inspiration in this landscape.

I'm certain I'm related to the people who settled here long ago. English, Irish, Scots. Celts. There was a peacefulness there, no one seemed to be in a hurry. The pull of this land was subtle at first, but became overwhelming. Hopefully my photos will portray a sense of the feel of this place.

Labour Day in New Brunswick, Part II Hopewell Rocks

2008-09-17T21:22:00.002-04:00

Rain. Wind. Rain squalls. It just didn't let up. I really enjoyed the scenery along the bay. I had no choice but to take most of my photos from the car. I had seen the signs for the Hopewell Rocks, and decided I should try to see them. I believe it was around 4pm when I arrived and the rain wasn't letting up. I asked some folks returning to their car if it was worth both the $8 entrance and braving the weather to see them, and they assured me it was. So I put on all my rain gear, paid my money and headed down the path. The park is open based on the tides and I was lucky to be there in plenty of time to go down to the beach to be amongst the formations. They have attendants who herd visitors back to safety as the tides come in nearly a foot every 10 minutes, and could easily leave someone stranded. Here's the Hopewell Rocks website if you want to learn more. This area of the Bay of Fundy is a major stopover for migrating shorebirds, particularly the semipalmated sandpiper(so called because of partial webbing of the feet.) The mudflats contain mud shrimp that the birds feed on. The cliffs sheltered me from the wind and rain and I was able to take quite a few photos without getting my lens too wet before the attendants shuffled me toward the stairs.
Photographically, the light was difficult and low and because of the weather up top, I didn't even fool with a tripod. On the other hand, the weather kept the visitation low, so it was easier to get shots without people in them. The frustration of traveling like this is that you don't have the luxury of waiting for the light or weather to change, you have to make the best of it.

An amazing place!

Labour Day in New Brunswick, Part I

2008-09-15T20:27:00.008-04:00

Yes, Canada has the same holiday as the U.S., celebrating those who toil. Except they spell it a little differently. My plan for the first Monday in September was to visit Prince Edward Island, off the northeastern coast of N.B. PEI, as almost every Canadian calls it, was accessible only by ferry until the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. The longest bridge in the world crossing ice-covered water spans the Northumberland Straight for 8 miles. You can cross to PEI for free, but there is a $42 toll to get back. I was looking forward to the PEI experience, as I had been informed of its beauty, and the excellent quality of light there, the color of the beaches and water. I left St. Andrews around 9 a.m (Atlantic time) under windy but clear conditions. I passed through St. John an hour later under cloudy skies and enjoyed the drive through the countryside on Highway 1. I noticed what appeared to be eagle's nest on the tops of several of the high tension towers along the way. Then, I spotted a bald eagle landing on top of a barn and pulled over in the safety lane for a photo. The eagle didn't stay long on the barn and to my surprise flew down to a pasture below to dine with some Holsteins, who seemed to be just as surprised at first, but eventually continued their grazing.
As I drove the wind pushed my Chevy Uplander around a bit and at a stop to fuel up, I had to add a layer as the temperature had dropped into the 60's. Gasoline there was advertised by the liter, and I paid 124.5 cents/liter. I never did figure out exactly how that compared to our gas prices. I will say that I got that Uplander from 18.1 mpg when we got it to 19.3 mpg when we returned it. Maybe it was my driving, or maybe I just broke in the vehichle, adding almost 2000 miles while we had it.
The weather continued to deteriorate and eventually I got into rain squalls. I checked the website for the Confederation Bridge and found it to be open, but the closer I got, the worse the weather. I ended up in the coastal town of Shediac (which had a lot more French names and signs than anywhere I had been so far) and realized I had to decide whether to continue or not. I decided to head south and see what I could see. I knew that Fundy National Park was fairly near St. John. I had my laptop with Mickeysoft Streets & Trips software and found a nice road through the country that went due south. Route 940 good road through rural countryside with almost no traffic. Every now and then I would pass a farm, either abandoned and delapadated or a working farm. Eventually I ended up in Sackville at the Trans-Canada Highway 2, and only about 8 miles from Nova Scotia. The weather had deteriorated further and I could barely open a window without getting a good soaking. I did a lot of car-window photography that day! I drove over to Nova Scotia to a very modern visitor center with a public computer. I checked the weather report and it was nasty. I bought my only T-shirt for the trip in Nova Scotia. Kind of a joke, since I was only about 2 miles into N.S. and spent the rest of my time in N.B., but I liked the shirt. The photo of the N.S. Visitor Centre sign was from the car--note Old Glory in the background. The connection to the U.S. and N.B. and N.S. seems to be very strong, and I couldn't have felt more welcome or at home there. I suppose my Scots-Irish lineage didn't hurt.

Highway 2 took me back to Moncton, a very large city, very American looking with lots of overpasses, factories, shopping centers. (Yep, I even saw a Wal-Mart.) My destination was 114 that ran south along the Petitcodiac River, which pours into Chignecto Bay, an inlet of the Bay of Fundy. The waters were clay red. At first I thought it was from runoff from all the rain, but as I travelled further down the bay, I realized it was probably a result of the tidal extremes of Fundy. The constant stirring of the red mud in the tidal flats and the erosion of the red cliffs along the coast provide plenty of natural dye for those cold waters. And yes, they have trailers in southern New Brunswick!

If the photos look dark, well, the remnants of Hurricane Faye brought some thick clouds over the Maritimes.

Whale Tales and Tails

2008-09-11T17:23:00.006-04:00

On Sunday, Jo had a day off from her Plein Air Masters event, and I had booked a whale watching trip for the morning. I chose the outfit with the large catamaran boat in lieu of the zodiac outfit (where you had to wear survival suits and get wet) and the sailing vessel (which was really glamorous and cool looking.) The catamaran was faster and had a longer reach than the others, and I could not even imagine trying to photograph much of anything splashing around in a crowded zodiac. It turned out to be an excellent choice, as our group was only the second this season to experience a "grand slam" seeing three whale species in one trip. We saw Minke, Finback, and Humpback whales.

Not only did we see whales, we saw harbor porpoises, gray and harbor seals, several bald eagles, northern gannets, lighthouses, many islands and coastal cliffs. It was a beautiful day, a little windy, but otherwise sunny. The ladies who hosted the trip were exceedingly friendly and knowledgable about the Passamaquoddy Bay area off of the larger Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy is known for the worlds highest tides, in other words, the difference between low and high tides can be as much as 30 feet in places along the coast. Certainly an amazing and beautiful place.

Click on the thumbnail for an animation of Mustache the humpback whale diving (please give it time to load up.) We got to see this 3 times, I got photos of it twice, as the first time I just wan't prepared for it. The finback and minke whales do not show their tail when they dive, only the humpback does this. Every time, just before it happened, our hostesses would call out, "TAIL!" On the trip back, we were treated to a natural history lesson using live sea stars, urchins, scallops, and crabs. One of the high points of the trip, for sure.

I will have more photos from the whale watching trip posted soon!

Back in Waynesville--Blog will continue!

2008-09-11T09:11:00.002-04:00

We slept well in our own bed last night! But--the blog is not finished. I didn't have the time to keep the blog going during the last half of the trip, as I was out and about taking photos or enjoying the scenery or just too tired to type. However, if you have been following the blog, do not despair, I am going to keep posting to it as I get time to edit my photos over the next few weeks. Thanks for keeping up with us and please continue to do so!

Pagan Point Nature Preserve in St. Andrews

2008-09-06T08:27:00.006-04:00

After a lot of driving on Friday, Saturday was pretty casual for me. I think I even took a nap in the afternoon. Otherwise, I spent the day back in St. Andrews, taking several outings for photographs. The first place I went was the Pagan Point Nature Preserve, a salt marsh, beach, and maritime forest area that has been preserved. I saw a variety of birds there, including a common yellowthroat, but those little warblers go out of focus too fast to get a good shot. I did find a batch of what I first thought was sanderlings, but now I believe are semipalmated sandpipers. Semipalmated refers to the partial webbing between the toes. I also got photos of some least sandpipers, both new species in my life list of birds. I watched what I think was a red-throated loon for while, too. Several sea-kayakers and canoeists passed. The turret structure in the background is on Minister's Island, near St. Andrews.

I had the preserve to myself except for a few exersizers passing through. My constant company was FIRE ANTS! My research indicates they may have been European fire ants, as the true imported red and black fire ants are found only in the southern half of the U.S. I don't believe they were as aggressive as the fire ants down south, but they sure do sting. I got at least half a dozen stings and they burned for 20-30 minutes each. I don't think I've ever been stung by a fire ant before and "fire" is an apt description of the pain. Sorry, no pics of the ants...they were reddish, just over 1/4 inch long.

One of the most interesting aspects of the nature preserve is that you walk directly from the beach into a spruce-fir forest very similar to those found above 6000' in the Southern Appalachians. I felt like I was back home on Richland Balsam for a minute, except it was flat! I enjoyed my visit to this natural area, ant stings and all.

St. John Photo Gallery

2008-09-06T07:31:00.004-04:00

It's been an interesting week since I've posted to the blog (more on that as time allows.) I promised more of St. John architecture and have put up a small gallery on my website of some of the interesting things I found there. Next to the last photo is the famous Reversing Falls, which, because of the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy, actually flows backwards as the tide is coming in. You can click on the first thumbnail, then use the L-R arrows at the bottom of each image to navigate through the gallery. I hope you find it interesting. I've never been to the British Isles, but St. John has the look and feel of what I would expect from that part of the world.

Click HERE to go to the gallery and enjoy!

Real Estate, New Brunswick style

2008-08-30T15:59:00.004-04:00

So, the mountains of WNC are not the only place where large tracts of undeveloped land are being subdivided. But, at $75K for 10 acres, this development seems like quite a deal. And it's pretty far away from anywhere, too. Then, there was a church for sale in downtown St. John, no price listed. Can you think of something to do with an old church in St. John, NB? I can't, unless it's to open it back up as a church. Wow.

St. John

2008-08-30T15:46:00.003-04:00

St. John was not exactly what I expected. It is a very large and industrialized city. At some point in the late 1800's, and early 1900's, there was a LOT of money pouring into the city from both the fishing and lumber industries. The architecture is simply amazing, with many fine old homes, apartment buildings and churches. St. John is also famous for Reversing Falls, where the nearly 30 foot tides cause the St. John River to reverse flow. In the town centre, I decided to walk around and do a little street photography, something I don't do very often and don't feel really comfortable doing it. Here are some assorted photos from that little walkabout. I visited an art gallery with some nice work, and the city parks are nice and well maintained, though many of the buildings are in various states of decay or reconstruction. I ended up at the St. John Market where I bought some dulse (seaweed) to eat, and encountered a friendly merchant there who invited me to go up the stairs for a comprehensive view of the market, and when I came down, he gave me a souvenir of St. John. It was a button-on-a-string toy, but the button was made of red clay from the Bay of Fund. I'll try to put up a few of the architecture photos at some point.

Friday in New Brunswick

2008-08-30T09:21:00.004-04:00

Jo and her mentor and students headed out to Deer Island (again.)

I headed out fairly early to explore a bit. Found an abandoned bridge where I photographed loons and seaweed harvesters. I believe the seaweed is knotted wrack and is used as fertilizer in organic farming. A stop in St. George and a little accidental exploring took me to the falls and the power plant. There is also a fish ladder there for salmon and alewives. From there I went on to Beaver and Blacks Harbours. At Beaver there is a rock quarry on a cliff right next to the bay. At Blacks', there is a large seafood operation, mainly salmon, I think. The ferry to Grand Manan leaves from there as well. If you want to photograph fishing boats, or just boats of any kind, this is the place. It began to rain, so I headed to St. John, a large city that is quite a contrast to the rest of what I have seen in N.B. More on that later.

Thursday afternoon in St. Andrews by the Sea

2008-08-28T21:08:00.003-04:00

While Jo was out with her painting group, I played hooky. Napped in the morning, then went into town for fish and chips, and a walkabout. Lots of touristy shops, a few galleries, and a bunch of restaurants. Oh yeah, and a Great Canadian Dollar Store where I purchased a couple of $1 LED flashlights with real Canadian money, and all in coin. While there are lots of great old buildings, the wharf area was pretty interesting. I talked with a fellow who sailed a quarter million dollar sailboat for the owners who are in their mid-80's. In an area like this, it's easy to view boats as more than shipping and recreation. The painting on the side of a building reminded me of this and it's easy to see why the region is called the Maritimes. There are lots of relics in the water around the wharf, visible at low tide, but most interesting was all of the sea life. Seaweed and mussels abound, but I found some sea stars congregating beneath one of the pilings. Exploring around a bit, I found a wet area around a little creek full of goldenrod, cattails and some purple flowers that I do not recognize, but it was spectacular. Tomorrow I plan to be a little more productive!

I have yet to find a way to organize the photos, they just show up where they want, in no particular order.
Ed!

Fishing vessels and lobster pots

2008-08-28T11:08:00.004-04:00

Deer Island is as picturesque as you might imagine the Maritime fishing villages to be. You can see the lobster pounds in the background. This is where they keep lobsters alive after they catch them. Since the season is only a few months long, they can catch them now, sell them later at higher prices when they are out of season. The bird is a Bonaparte's gull in non-breeding plumage, the only gull that regularly nests in trees.

Wildlife of Acadia

2008-08-28T11:03:00.004-04:00

We have yet to see any large ungulates or bruins, but were excited to see a LIVE porcupine (as opposed to roadkill porcs, which are fairly common--can you get a flat from running over a porcupine?) Also, a red squirrel or boomer eating a red spruce cone.

Eastport, ME, Deer Island, NB

2008-08-27T21:55:00.010-04:00

Tuesday was spent traveling up the Maine Coast to Eastport, an old port and sardine cannery town.
There were an amazing amount of OLD structures from homes to businesses and canneries. We stayed at a B&B with some very nice folks, the house was over 200 years old and really a museum of itself. For dinner we got a good deal on softshell lobster (2 each!) Well, Jo ended up with a "squirty" one, full of green juice. Let's just say that she likes lobster, but from now on will eat the "Lazy Man's" dinner. At the restaurant, just before dinner was served, we were treated to a spectacular full rainbow in the east, and part of another one (double rainbows occur near sunset) and an orange atomic sunset in the west--I did not have my camera.... :>(

The weather today was amazing and we had the ferry to ourselves on the way to Deer Island. We had to pass through Canadian "customs" on the way. It was one guy, in a simple blue uniform, very relaxed, who asked where we were from and where we were going and what did we have to declare. I didn't even have to get out of the car, there was NO I.D. check! On the other hand, it took 2 U.S. customs agents in wrinkle-free uniforms with Kevlar vests under them and all sorts of black gadgets hanging off them (and side arms) to examine the passports of a couple on foot pushing a baby carriage which contained a poodle wearing a T-shirt. (I kid you not--see photo!)

We passed through several small fishing villages on Deer Island. Quaint might be the word. There were lobster pounds and herring weirs here and there. So far, all the Canadians we have met have been exceeding friendly and helpful. We have seen 3 bald eagles, a couple of seals, osprey, but no whales.

We are staying at the Algonquin Hotel, pretty old, no air conditioning, but comfortable enough. Jo has met her mentor for the week and will be painting with him tomorrow. I have no plans, except to take some photos.

The other photo is from Tuesday evening in Eastport, taken through the window of a waterfront business. I'll try to post more scenic photos later!
Ed

Pink Rocks, Bar Harbor & Acadia

2008-08-26T00:15:00.004-04:00

We had a nice day on Monday. Jo got up really early to watch the sunrise and sketch it. I stayed in bed. After a delicious breakfast (with mango lime soup) we drifted down to the shore of the little bay across from Oceanside Inn. The photo with the pink rocks and also the tidal pool with the seaweed came from that outing. The fog rolled in and we finally decided to drive to Bar Harbor instead of taking the ferry. We drove through a section of Acadia N.P. and saw a porcupine. It was late in the day when we arrived at Bar Harbor, grabbed a bite and headed up to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in Acadia National Park. There were great views of Bar Harbor and the sunset from the mountain top was fantastic.

Click thumbnails for larger size, then hit your back button to return to the blog.

Down East

2008-08-24T22:25:00.004-04:00

Long day. but we are finally settling in. Almost a 3 hour delay in Atlanta, but had a nice flight, arriving at a bit after 5pm in Bangor. Drove to the coast, near Acadia National Park.
We are staying here: http://www.oceaninn.com/ for two nights, and will explore the area around Acadia for a couple of days. Lots to do here. Had delicious fresh lobster stew for supper. They don't put potatoes or carrots in their stew here.

Good wireless internet service here, but almost no cell phone service until you go back into town.

Maybe a photo or two in tomorrow evening's post.
Ed

itinerary

2008-08-20T08:35:00.004-04:00

Sunday - Tuesday, Aug 24-26 Oceanside Meadows Inn, Prospect Harbor, ME

Tuesday night, Aug 26 Eastport, ME

Wed. Aug 27 - Wed. Sept. 3 St. Andrews By the Sea, New Brunswick

Sept 3 - Sept 8 Portage Lake, ME

Sept 8 - Sept 10 Five Lakes Lodge, Millinocket, ME

Sept 10 arrive Greenville, SC around 9:00pm

A test to imbed photos in the blog

2008-08-17T02:15:00.002-04:00

This time I'm trying to figure out the best way to publish photos on the blog. The photos will appear as thumbnails in each post. If you click on them, they will open to a larger version of the photo. You will need to click your browser's "back" button to return to the blog. Try it with this photo I took at Mt. Mitchell State Park a couple of weeks ago.

Ed

Leaving on a jet plane

2008-08-17T01:40:00.002-04:00

I set up this blog so that family and friends can keep up with Jo and I as we make our way to Maine and New Brunswick in the coming weeks. Jo is going to take a plein air painting workshop from some well-known plein air painters for a week in St. Andrews by the Sea, NB, Canada. She is SOOOOO excited. I plan to carry along my photo gear, of course, and I am sure I will be overwhelmed with all the opportunities for photos. All I really want is to get a good photo of a moose.

At this point, I hope to have internet access a good deal of the time and will post photos, or links to them as often as I can.

Please keep us in your thoughts as we travel. More to come!
Ed and Jo