Long Trip Back To Maine
I slept in the car in a field last night. The rain was very heavy and I woke around 5:45 to blowing rain on the car. I was on the road at 5:55 headed for Cape Chignecto Provincial Park, Nova Scotia.
I eventually got out of the rain an into bluer skies. Today was Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and as I traveled through small towns I saw memorial services taking place in Canada. I stopped in one village to listen to bag pipes being played.
In the middle of nowhere, there was a general store. It was a three story building that sold food, tools, furniture and I guess anything that the locals were willing to buy. The building looked like it had be build a hundred years ago and the low light of the sun created a warm environment upstairs.
There was also a corner dedicated to the locals that had caught large mouth bass over the years and various records that were set and broken.
I drove through an area called Spencer’s Island during low tide I assumed. The boats in dock were stranded as the water had receded easily a mile.
Cape Chignecto
Cape Chignecto is a beautiful area for hiking and extremely remote. This was to be an adventure. From Yarmouth it is normally a 6-hour drive but because of the rain and side trips for gas it was over 7 hours. I spoke to the park ranger, and he explained the trail system. All hikers must register before “Hiking In”. While I was at the office, several people had just completed multiple day hikes and were "Checking Out”. The area only has tent sites which was fine by me. Everything was rugged including the hikes. I wanted to do the two-day hike and the ranger explained that they were expecting heavy rains for the next 3-4 days.
I didn’t want to camp and hike in heavy rain. It would be hard enough on a non-rainy day to hike these tails. All trails rated these as moderate or hard trails. I went to the cliffs and relaxed for 30-minutes, took a few photographs, and decided to continue to drive direction Maine for a few hours.
I found a Starbucks in a town 2.5 hours away in Dieppe. This would shorten my trip to Bar Harbor tomorrow. It was all back roads, and I couldn’t drive more than 40 mph for much of the trip. In the end the trip took 4 hours. It’s stunning to drive on a road and not see a car in either direction for 45 minutes. The forests on either side were very dense.
New Brunswick Canada
I was in New Brunswick and I was driving through. This reminded me of what the woman from New Brunswick said at the Sea Rocket bar in Charlottetown, PE. She said everyone drives through New Brunswick on their way to somewhere. She told me to listen to the song by David Myles, Don’t Drive Through. I laughed as I listened to the lyrics.
Starbucks In Dieppe
Just a huge thank you to Starbucks. You get it! If you travel for a while and want to do anything online, good luck. Campsites tell you they have wi-fi, but more often than not there is some issue. Even having a hot spot may not help because of weak coverage or heavy usage.
I ordered my coffee and setup the MacBook to catchup. I needed to find a place to camp overnight. More rain was forecasted for tomorrow.
As I sat in Starbucks, a seagull dropped an apple in the drive-thru lane. This stopped all activity at Starbucks for about 10 minutes (activist take note). I pulled out the camera to get a photo and several people came to the window to watch the standoff between seagull and car. The car tried inching forward not wanting to harm the seagull, as the seagull held its ground. Another less patient driver got out of her car and was suggesting to the woman to just move forward with no effect. Obviously, the second driver in line needed to be somewhere and approached the seagull causing it to give up its gourmet meal. It eventually came back to peck at the crushed morsels.
Stonehurst Golf Course & Trailer Park
The Stonehurst Golf Course & Trailer Park was 15 minutes away. The woman at the front desk told me they closed at 7 and I packed everything and arrived by 6:30 pm. I quickly setup and made vegetable soup.
As I was enjoying my soup in the tent field alone, I heard the sound of loud mufflers arriving in the campground. It was my neighbors across the street pulling into their “camp site”. There is camping, and glamping, but I have no idea what to call this. This couple had a huge glamper, but they weren’t just towing a car, but a trailer with two cars. The trailer was equipped with a lift to allow them to store a second car.
I just looked up the difference between camping and glamping and found on rvshare a post titled, Are You a Camper or a Glamper? These 7 Differences Will Help You Decide. For me, I just love being outdoors, hiking, cycling, or enjoying a cup of coffee as the sun comes up in front of the tent. There are moments though when it is pouring down rain and the shelter of a larger camper is appealing. To relax with a cup of coffee and a book is also appealing.
Stonehurst is a clean campground if you’re ever in this area.
I was sound asleep by 9:30 knowing I’d need to pack-up early to beat the rain.