OK, this is written a little like a grade school kid’s ‘what I did this summer’ project. It’s an overview of our week. Pictures and videos will follow very soon. If you scroll down to the bottom, I’ve posted my bitch list of items that annoyed me during the trip. It might prove entertaining and some info might actually be useful…
Edward was born June 16, 2012. We had envisioned camping and day trips all summer long. It didn’t quite happen that way. However, by September 8, 2012, we felt he was capable of his first major road trip.
This is an overview of our week long road trip that took us from Orangeville to Southern New Brunswick. In coming articles, we’ll post up more of the videos and images from the trip.
The two teenagers were back in school but with Angie, Edward, I and the two dogs, the Pontiac Montana SV6 was still packed to the rafters. We departed at 10pm on Saturday the 8th after a full day. It was brutal for the driver (me) but it made sense to leave at the time for many reasons:
- A new-born sleeps better at night.
- We would pass through Toronto (11pm) and Montreal (4am) at very low-traffic times.
- Saturday was a full schedule and was the earliest we could get away.
- We got to our destination at an appropriate time of day.
We got to Edmundston, New Brunswick in twelve hours. This was great time considering we had to stop for baby feedings on a fairly regular basis and a driver’s hour long knap in Quebec. We reached Fundy National Park by 7:00pm after taking our time through N.B. and stopping for a lengthy dinner in Sussex. Also, don’t forget, you lose an hour when you cross from Quebec to N.B., going from Eastern to Atlantic time.
This is fairly obvious, but when departing from Ontario to the Maritimes – you MUST stop for gas in Kingston, Brockville or Cornwall so that you can make it through Quebec without needing a fill-up. We paid $1.34 per litre in Brockville while prices reached as high as $1.49 per litre in Quebec during the week. Edmundston cost $1.39 per litre.
We spent four nights at Fundy National Park in the Chignecto North campground. I prefer this campground over the one at camp headquarters because the sites are more private. On the first night, we found out the tent is no longer waterproof. On the second night, the winds from a passing tropical storm off the Nova Scotia coast left us wondering if our tent would even be there in the morning.
We spent time in the small fishing village of Alma, at the edge of the park. This is a great place to view the tides of the Bay of Fundy and enjoy great seafood (if you’re not vegan like me!). We had a few meals at The Tides – outstanding.
Often overlooked by visitors to Fundy is the backcountry trails. People go for the world famous tides but the backcountry is littered with beautiful brooks and waterfalls along somewhat rugged hiking trails. We took in the short and easy Dickson Brook Trail and the longer and harder Laverty Falls Trail. Edward was in tow on my back in a Kelty backpack. The dogs, getting on in years, had some issues with the rocks in places but both survived.
Laverty Falls Trail offers great rewards after a fairly long hike. There are some great little waterfalls where you can swim at the base. Laverty Falls is a very impressive waterfall with an awesome pool to swim in. The main trail takes you to the top of the waterfall as well, where you can basically touch the crest of the cascade.
We left Fundy on Thursday morning, heading north to Mount Carleton Provincial Park. We definitely didn’t go the direct route, though. We headed through Alma to stop at Hopewell Rocks. Unfortunately, it was high tide and we wanted to see the attraction at low tide. The cost of entering sent us back out to the highway.
After stopping in Moncton, we headed north to Miramichi, going the back way and not along the coast. Why Miramichi? We thought we’d get Angie one last seafood meal before heading away from the coast. Wrong. Miramichi seemed completely void of seafood restaurants.
We shot across the province of New Brunswick on a road with no towns and were at Mount Carleton with the sun still in the sky. However… Mount Carleton Provincial Park only takes cash. We had ten bucks between us, not quite enough to cover the $50 for two a night stay. The closest ATM? St-Quentin, 40km away. We still made it back before darkness set in but Edward was not impressed.
Mount Carleton was a real treat this year, especially on the Thursday night. Last year, the temps were low and it rained much of the time we were there. This year, the weather stayed nearly summer-like and dry. Even better was the fact we were the ONLY people camping on Thursday night. The park is a dark sky preserve as it is. The darkness and silence were simply amazing.
With the baby and aging dogs, we opted for some easy hiking and a return to Williams Brook to check out Williams Falls. The one major thing we noticed was the difference in the water levels. Last year, we arrived a week after a tropical storm. This year, some brooks had completely dried up or gone underground. Video and images will follow in upcoming articles that show the difference a year makes.
Although, we had few complaints during the week, there were a few things that at least made us think, if not leave a bad taste.
The Bitch List
1. The toilet paper dispensers at Fundy National Park! They weren’t deabilitating but were a complete pain in the ass! As a taxpayer in this country and this being a National Park, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had the same set-up in the washrooms at the House of Commons in Ottawa. The problem? The toilet paper in the dispensers came on a 12″ diameter roll. When full, the roll would constantly back up on itself like it was spring-loaded. This left you reaching your fingers into the dispenser to try and find the end of the roll again. Yes, it’s petty but…
2. The Tides restaurant at the Parkland Village Inn in Alma, New Brunswick is amazing for its food and for its service. However, affiliated with The Tides is the Wharfside Patio. At this little hole in the wall snackbar, I paid $3.99 for exactly six onion rings. As a vegan, this and fries were the only items on the menu for me. At 67 cents per onion ring, should have taken the fries.
3. Just a little something for those planning on camping in New Brunswick: I’m not sure how this province could ever have a forest fire. The fire wood is about as burnable as a rock.
4. I already mentioned the lack of seafood in Miramichi.
5. Cape Enrage. It’s a lighthouse. It’s a long drive down a winding road to get there. Tell people it’s $5 a head before they head down that road. We were one of many cars turning around and heading back the other direction because it was, well, just a lighthouse. However, just around the corner, you can walk along the shore at low tide for some pretty spectacular views of the cliffs and the lighthouse.
6. I mentioned Mount Carleton’s cash only policy. This is a provincial government run business. Aren’t governments trying to create a cashless society?
7. The RCMP in New Brunswick are awesome. My definition of awesome is never seeing one over a week’s stay. Just a word of warning, though: when you cross back to Quebec from New Brunswick, there is always a welcoming committee of La Sûreté du Québec waiting to make money of anyone going anywhere over the speed limit.
