8. Home

 Home

Wednesday June 3: 

Woke up to a most stunning day at the KOA in Twin Mountain NH, the warmest and sunniest of our entire 11-day trip.  Walking around the campground made me think back to all of the White Mountain trips we've made over the years. We're lucky to live just a couple of hours from the area, so I've already started to scope out a possible return camping trip later this year.   

On our way out of the region, we took a detour to view Mt. Washington from across Route 302.  The summit still holds patches of snow from last week.

Getting home in the early afternoon meant plenty of time for unpacking and laundry for me and a start on lawn mowing for John.  

Despite the challenging weather, we enjoyed the trip --- and as always are happy to be home as well.  

I'll end with Roxy's happy dance to be back on her home turf. (Zoey did the same, but I didn't manage to catch a picture).  

 ~ THE END ~  

7. Heading Home

 Heading Home

Tuesday June 2: 

Coastal Maine in our rear-view window, today was an uneventful drive westward across the interior of the state.  Tonight we're staying in Twin Mountain, NH, just two hours from home.  We hope to get some good views of the Presidential range of the White Mountains on our way out tomorrow.

We're retired, so a return home doesn't hold the dread of returning back to the office, but it's still a gradual return back to day-to-day reality.  Case in point: tonight is the first RV park we've encountered that actually has Cable TV connections.  We had never tested out our TV in this new camper, so we decided to do so and tune in tonight - just in time to catch the news on our local Burlington station.  We feel as if we're dipping our toes into what's going on in the world....time to turn the TV off and go back to the silence of camping!

The TV works...but we'll wait to get home to get fully caught up on the news

6. We Can See Canada from Here

 We Can See Canada from Here

Roosevelt Family Summer Home

Monday June 1: 

Campobello Island is part of New Brunswick but the only non-boat access to it is via a bridge across Passamaquoddy Bay from Lubec Maine. So today we again got out our passports to make the border crossing to visit Roosevelt-Campobello International Park.

The Roosevelt estate at Campobello was Franklin Roosevelt's summer home during his childhood and up until his presidency.  It's also where he woke up one morning in August 1921 to find himself paralyzed from polio; he was 39 years old.

The home was one of about 20 summer estates owned by wealthy families of the late 19th century.  They'd travel by train from Boston, and then cross the bay by ferry.  The bridge from Lubec was not in place until 1962.

Today just a few of the surrounding homes still stand as part of the park.  The park's theme celebrates the "Legacy of Friendship" between Canada and the United States.  It was first opened in August of 1964 with both Lady Bird Johnson and Canada's First Lady Maryon Pearson in attendance.

A noble goal: "A living memorial ...to the friendship...of Canada and the United States"

                               * * * * *

Leaving the park, we continued with a short drive around the rest of the island, ending up at East Quoddy Head Lighthouse at the northern tip of Campobello.

Ending for today with a FUN FACT about the naming of Campobello Island, from a display at the Roosevelt park:

5. Hopewell Rocks

 Hopewell Rocks

Sunday May 31: 

Our campground in Lower Cape New Brunswick was only a mile or so from the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, with a gentle trail through the woods connecting the two - so the pups and I started the day with that hike, and John drove to meet us there at the other end.

We got to Hopewell Rocks just as the tide was coming in.  Park workers in the photo below monitored the water level as it rose, closing off public access for the duration when the beach floor became submerged.  A set of stairs and platforms allowed us a decent vantage point.

Unfortunately, we'd miss seeing the tide go out unless we wanted to wait another six hours.

While watching, we struck up a conversation with a couple from Alberta, and the husband began explaining the layers of rocks in technical terms; we found out in the course of further chat that he is a retired geologist! 

The visitor center's exhibition also touched on the geology of the Bay of Fundy, and once again I was intrigued by the science of Plate Tectonics, and how this very region was once connected to North Africa/Southern Spain back when the continents were all joined as part of Pangea.

After lunch we headed west back to Maine, and the weather continued to improve. It was the first time we had seen blue sky or a temperature above 50 since Tuesday!

We settled in for the night in the town of Lubec, Maine - the easternmost town in the United States - and finally got to see an actual sunset after a week of clouds and rain.

4. "Just a minute....it stopped hailing..."

 Not Yet Quite Blue Skies

Clearing skies at dawn

Saturday May 30: 

Waking up this morning, there were no sounds of raindrops on the roof of the camper, which could only mean one of two things: (1) the rain had turned to snow or (2) it was clearing - which in fact was the case.   The lyrics of Allan Sherman's 1960's parody "Hello Muddah Hello Faddah" echoed in my brain.  

A relatively uneventful day otherwise as Cape Breton disappeared in the rear view mirror and we made our way towards the Bay of Fundy.  The temperature never got much above 50 and the skies were cloudy, but we'll take it.

Tonight finds us at a campground just minutes away from Hopewell Rocks, which we will visit in the morning as we make our way back west.

The causeway between Cape Breton and the mainland

Ponderosa Pines Campground at the Bay of Fundy

3. Whatever the Weather

 Whatever the Weather

The view through our camper window this morning

Friday May 29: 

We woke up to a windy and rainy 34 degrees, but no snow - yet.  We haven't seen the sun, or a temperature above the mid-40's, since Tuesday.  

The weather threat limited our outdoor activities, so instead we decided to take a drive over to the town of Louisbourg, on the eastern-most peninsula of Cape Breton.  Louisbourg is the location of a restored 18th century French fortress, now one of Canada's National Historic Site. 

The view from through our windshield this afternoon

The hour-long drive had us checking the calendar (late May?) and thankful that we remembered to pack parkas and gloves.

The fortress at Louisbourg was built around 1720 by French settlers, was taken over by the British in 1745, restored to the French in 1748, and sieged a second time by the British in 1758.  Determined that it never fall into French hands again, the British then demolished the fortress, distributing some of its structural and artistic pieces throughout other British colonies.  

A more detailed history can be found at THIS LINK.  The amazing thing is that the fortress and settlement was rebuilt as a historical site during the 1960's through 1980's.  Many of those employed in the reconstruction were local coal miners, retrained in construction traces after the area's mines shut down.

Although not snowing while we were there, the weather and landscape could only be described as bleak - reminiscent, according to the interpreters, of the type of weather the region would have experienced during the 18th century.  

The coastal road within the park offered some dramatic views of the roiling ocean (sorry - had to take these pics from inside the car!):

High winds and driving sleet made our visit short as we walked among the buildings, with only a dozen or two other hearty souls - in parkas and even rain pants - to be seen.

On the way back to the campground, we found a local diner, enjoying some good old comfort food with a view of the snow-covered ground outside.   
All in all not a bad day - but as I write this at 7 PM, the rain and wind have yet to come to the promised end.   Hopefully by tomorrow morning.....!

2. Seize the Day

Seize the Day

Thursday May 28: 

The sound of rain on the roof can be so comforting....but maybe not so much after several days of waking up to it yet again while camping.  At least it's the sound on a metal roof of a camper rather than on a tent!  No matter, we still have to bundle up and go outside with the dogs, and so it was this morning in Cape Breton.  The temp hovered around 40 degrees and we were happy to have brought our heavier jackets.

The weather forecast for the next few days remains bleak, with snow predicted for Friday.  Added to that is a leak in one of the camper's water pipes (another story), and we figured that, dammit, we would seize the moment and compress our intended Cabot Trail journey into this one day.  And so we did!

Many of these pictures were taken from a moving vehicle, and of course don't do justice to the beauty of the area.

Parts of the trail reminded us of the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. The foliage is about a month behind what we have even in Vermont.

.

The study of plate tectonics is fascinating, and this poster at one of the scenic overlooks shows how this part of the North American plate was once linked to northern Africa:

We will definitely have to plan another trip here, but for now, it's time to settle in for the night ...