CAPE BRETON ISLAND and THE CABOT TRAIL

Our first visit was to the area in PINK

CAPE BRETON ISLAND and the village of BADDECK.

In the northern part of Nova Scotia is the island of Cape Breton, where you find the
Cabot Trail, famous for its magnificent scenery. The area also hosts a popular National Historic Site known as the Fortress of Louisburg.  But the busy entry to all of this is through the village of Baddeck, at the southern end of the trail, where we stationed ourselves for 5 days.


Highlights of Baddeck, Cape Breton

Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Alexander Graham Bell actually worked and lived in Baddeck and a spacious museum is open to exhibit his life.  We know him as the inventor of the telephone, but his work with the hearing impaired, inventing visible speech,  is still a therapy used today.  It is  a method where a deaf individual can acquire speech.  His wife, who was deaf, learned several languages this way. He worked on many other projects during his lifetime, but with limited success.  For example, he competed with the Wright brothers, working on a flying machine.

I had to put this photo from the museum 
in the blog because no one would believe this.

Bell studied anatomy of the throat and mouth to see which sounds could produce words.  His unlikely student was actually his dog.  As the dog growled, Bell manipulated his mouth to form parts of words.  A very daring move on his part.

SAILING ON THE AMOEBA

We had an unexpected fun trip when we decided to sign up for the sailing excursion.  We have never been on a sail boat this size which was exciting, plus we had a entertaining crew who told us stories about the area and themselves.  

We had a smooth sail that day, but the captain often sails to the Virgin Islands for the winter.
Not a trip I would make from the north Atlantic.

I can't tell how much we enjoyed that experience!

Finding something to grasp was very important. Fortunately, not one of us slipped overboard!

Bell's home as seen from the schooner. (The only way to see it.)
It took 120 men 1 year to build their home and is still privately owned by Bell's decedents.

THE CABOT TRAIL

The Cabot Trail starts and ends at Baddeck and can be traveled in either direction, but clock
-wise is preferred.  Cape Breton Highland National Park hosts 3 campgrounds and a number of hikes.  Energetic people can be seen biking the Trail but it is very challenging and the pictures tell why.  No words are necessary to describe the land meeting the ocean at Cape Breton.

The northern most part of Cape Breton is Meat Cove...
an unusual little village because it is so remote.

Clearly biking, especially when it is windy, would be difficult.

Even our new friend, Dillon, loves to travel the Cabot Trail in back of a motorcycle.

THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG

In the mid 1700's, the French were busy establishing footholds in North America naming it New France.  One of the largest was Louisburg.  At its height, the port was the 3rd busiest, following New York and Boston! (If you look at the map, it is on the north Atlantic coast.)
This is a recreated site.  Having said this, years of researching architectural and cultural details was done to recreate what we can experience today....a French Fortress of the 1700's.

A fort is a military establishment only, while a fortress incorporates a town.  The reason for being here was to protect the fishing industry for France.

  This Fortress was built in the 1960's as an exact replica of the original in every detail even down to the gardens.  The work force came from displaced coal miners who needed work when area mines closed.  They were trained to build with identical methods that were first used in the 1700's.

When the fortress established, young French men were recruited from Paris to serve as soldiers at the Fortress.  They were promised much, but received little when they arrived.  Yet they were better off here than living under the harsh Paris conditions.

The main street does not look busy here, but a few hundred people were there the day we toured.

People in period dress takes their roles very seriously
and are never out of character.

This woman was actually a freed servant who ran a
business in the 1700's.  I never thought of slavery as
part of Canada's history.  Canada had an active
slave trade.

This man portrayed a Catholic Priest who lived at Louisburg.
These people make history come alive.  This man had such a sense of humor,
we could have listen all day.  We were served Heritage Chocolate, a drink served at historical sites in the U.S. and Canada. It is the most amazing concoction. 

The animals were even in character.  Garden plots grew behind houses.

Only 20% of the original Fortress was rebuilt using as many of the original stones.

I am sorry the pictures look a little bland, but the weather here is often cool, overcast, misty and very breezy.  It is said the area has its own weather patterns.

This is a painting of Louisburg and all the activity.  Fishing, like many of the shoreline communities, made the residents prosperous.

Time to leave our 18th century friends behind and drive into the sunshine
.....literally

On to the rest of Nova Scotia......

2016 to 2017 TRAVELS- 1ST STOP- PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA

                        

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND or PEI

                                           

With a size comparable to the state of Delaware, PEI, the birthplace of Canada, has an abundance of small farms, country churches, and villages so small you don't realize you are driving through them.  It boasts of COWS Ice Cream (and founder Scott Linkletter, whose famous father was Art), and of course L.M. Montgomery, the author of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

The entire island has a population of 140,000 (Scottish, Irish, Acadian and French). The capitol and largest city on PEI is Charlottetown, with 32,000 people and the University of PEI.  The official language is English, but many speak French Canadian.  

CHARLOTTETOWN  

                                            

Located on the southern shoreline, it resembles our southern cities of Charleston or Savannah because of the historic character to the streets, buildings, and waterfront.  The Confederation of Canada was formed in Charlottetown in 1867 due in part to the Civil War.  American aggression and financial security were on the minds of the delegates when they met.  Also England was anxious to have its colony financially independent.

Cafes and galleries line this pedestrian only street.

                                                                                    

Historic homes are open for tours.

Most of the churches are Catholic....

and very ornate.

Low tide in Charlottetown does not hinder huge 
passenger ships  docking on a regular basis.

What to do on a island when your world is so small?

Bike  270 miles of the Confederation Trail which spans PEI.  In our case, 
we biked a fraction of that.

                     Go to a Ceilidh which is a Celtic performance of music and dancing.
                    This was the high energy Ross Family performing is a little town hall.
                                                             What a treat!
                                                           

Hike the National Parks along the shoreline.

Visit country churches...

and more churches.  47% of the population is Catholic, 
but there are a few others sprinkled around.

Go for a swim!  It is the warmest water north of Virginia!!

Visit all 45 beacons of light.

Tidy up your house.  Many of the houses are a variation of this style.  
All are very well kept and the yards are immaculate.

Have a conversation with John MacDonald,
 one of the founding fathers of the Confederation of Canada.

Perhaps it is time to leave the Island.

Before we go, a visit to Green Gables is a must!

The popular village of Cavendish on the northern coast of PEI is where L.M. Montgomery grew up and created the fictionalized  character made famous in her book, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.  The National Park Service manages the area with a recreated 19th century house.  It was disappointing to learn that this house is not where Montgomery lived.  Her cousins lived here.  Montgomery spent much of her time with this family, but you have to imagine this is where she placed Anne Shirley.  Montgomery's house no longer exists.

This is Green Gables.

 None of the PBS mini series was filmed here. How sad.

A part of you wants the character of Anne to be a real person 
who spent time this bedroom.

We found few libraries, fewer policemen, hundreds of small cottages for summer visitors, a small Amish community, many fishing boats, and lots and lots of wind.  

After several days, it is finally time to pay our toll ($45 Canadian) to drive across the bridge and head for Nova Scotia.

MOAB, UTAH (#7)

Moab is a small, seasonal town whose main focus is being the gateway to our last two National Parks of  Utah's Big 5. Prices are relatively high, dune buggies are everywhere and boutiques cater to the outdoor enthusiasts.  It appeared to us that people are willing to live on very little just to be surrounded by this outdoor playground.  There is only a hint that Moab functions as a municipality outside the tourist season.

However, it was a surprise to find two parks within 40 miles of each other and exhibit such varied landscapes. 

Moab, Utal (7) and Durango, Colorado (8)

View from our RV in Moab, UT in April.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Just a few miles north of Moab is the entrance to Arches National Park,  boasting 2000 arches within its boarders.  It also offers miles of hiking and various paths for mountain bikers.  Again some of the hikes are not without risk of falling, but generally they offered a fun time climbing over rocks.

Delicate Arch, the most photographed view in the park.  Visitors make the 4 mile round trip hike and just stare at this arch.

The picture shows the rock formation as it currently is.  

The picture below is a depiction of what geologist think the arch looked like.

Double Arch.  I always like to include people to give perspective.

This too is a view of Arches N.P.

Balanced Rock

Private Arch.  These arches are created by erosion with wind and water seeping into cracks, where it freezes and weakens the rock.  The creation of an arch is also the destruction of one.

Yet another one...actually these formations are really interesting and all are a work in progress....

just like these two!!

If the Park Service decides to name something, put a parking area near it, or better yet make people hike to see it,  it must be important.


CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, about 40 miles from Arches

The Green and Colorado Rivers flow through and converge in Canyonlands.  The green coloration in this picture is one of the rivers.

This Park is viewed mostly from a masa.  Our daughter, Bonnie, joined us for a week visiting Moab and Durango, CO. and Masa Verde National Park.

Canyonlands, before designated a N.P. was mined for uranium.

It is possible to hike and mountain bike on some of the roads below.  I suspect there are ways to get to the very bottom on the canyon also, but that was beyond our efforts.

Bonnie and I are chased by a storm.  Our photographer is well on his way to the car!

Such a gorgeous site.

MASA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, between Moab, UT and Durango, CO

Cliff dwelling cities are the draw for this park and their accesibility makes it very exciting.  So many historical areas are off limits to visitors and we are left to gaze and imagine from a distance,...but not here.

From the top of the cliff, it looks like a model.

Visitors on the tour are warned about the challenges of the cliff village tour, especially having to climb this  30 foot ladder.

Not everyone passed the challenge.

The park ranger was very proficient in describing life under the cliffs.  Farming in the valley below and on the masa supplied food.

This is not just a clever picture.  Every person on the tour was obligated to craw through this 6 foot long, very narrow tunnel!  The only alternative is going back down the ladder.

Roaming was encouraged.

To make a long story short, all of the southwest  cliffs and dwellings we visited were abandoned around 1350 AD probably due to drought, but no one is certain about their development over the next several hundred years or how they dispersed.  However, one fact is certain.  DNA testing proves that decedents of the cliff dwellers do live in the area today.

DURANGO AND SILVERTON, CO

Durango was known as the transportation hub for the mining industry.  Currently there is a tourist train that makes a daily trip  to Silverton, CO during the summer season.  (It is expensive and takes an entire day.  Locals suggested a driving tour would be as beautiful.) This is a vibrant town that supports itself with an economy not solely based on tourism.  Locals told us they experience a high cost of living, however.  The Fort Lewis College is a nice addition to Durango.

The town is surrounded by mountains.  This is one of the first southwestern towns I actually thought I could enjoy living in.....maybe it was seeing green grass and beautiful trees for a change!

Getting to Silverton is a 50 minute drive north over mountain passes with switchbacks.  Finally the town appears in the valley below.  There is a small amount of winter skiing here and the economy was just opening for the summer season.  The town existed because of the mining industry here.  We wanted to continue another 30 miles to Ouray, CO, but the wintery conditions (even in late April) were hazardous.

Silverton, the mining town.

Silverton is home to about 600 people and a few shops and hotels, at over 9300 ft. elevation.  A dirt road will take you higher into the mountains to visit a ghost town partially destroyed by an avalanche which is a big draw when the weather is accommodating.  A  4-wheel drive vehicle is  highly recommended!

 SADLY, OUR ADVENTURE ENDS IN DURANGO, CO AND OUR DRIVE BACK TO MICHIGAN BEGINS.  BUT WE ARE MAKING PLANS TO LEAVE AGAIN IN EARLY SEPTEMBER.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO EMAILED COMMENTS ALONG OUR TRAVELS.  AND ALSO TO THOSE NEW FRIENDS WHO ADDED ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS TO ENHANCE OUR ADVENTURE.

ALWAYS,
 DENNY AND LAURIE

P.S. See you in the Fall hopefully in Nova Scotia!