A FUNDY DRIVE (AND FOR YOU, CAROL, ROCKS).
Day 18 – This morning a Raven was creating quite a ruckus at a neighboring campsite. Evidently, one of the little kids had left some kind of food in a plastic bag on his little outdoor chair. The Raven was first flying in & out, then getting braver and hopping right up to the campsite and over to the little chair. Then the Raven proceeded to try to get the food out of the bag and off the chair. We got pictures from inside the RV. It was 37 degrees this morning when we got up, cloudy with light wind. The forecasted weather of heavy rain and winds was supposed to begin around 2 p.m. We set out for a drive by 9 a.m., hoping to beat the weather & be able to check out the scenery.
Careful with your snacks when Ravens are around, Ponderosa Pines Campground, Lower Cape, NB
Although there wasn’t bright sunlight & the best picture-taking environment, we certainly made the best of it. First we went north to Hopewell Rocks. We’d been there before, years ago, and it’s an awesome place, particularly at low tide. Two problems though: low tide wouldn’t be until 6:30 p.m. and Hopewell Rocks was CLOSED! We’d forgotten that it’s in a Provincial Park and the Parks in Atlantic Canada begin opening May 17, with some not opening until later in June. So we got a nice sign picture and an overall picture from a parking lot area.
Hopewell Rocks, Hopewell Cape, NB
Hopewell Rocks, Hopewell Cape, NB
Second, we went west and got on the road we were unable to take yesterday with the RV, Route 915, the more scenic road called the Fundy Scenic Drive. It was a two-lane road, somewhat narrow, and in places in need of some work, so we were glad we didn’t take the RV on it. We got to the sign for the road that climbs the mountain to Cape Enrage. We had better luck at Cape Enrage. Just the name, Cape Enrage, made us think of an angry sea boiling up with huge waves. The drive to the Cape was on a narrow, winding, hilly road and the scenery was quite nice. From up on the hill we could look down over small villages, farming land, marshes, and rocky cliffs with the Bay of Fundy below. Cape Enrage was open, in fact so open that they were expecting four tour buses and about 150 people to arrive (even in this weather). Luckily we got there early. Rob climbed down to the beach via trails and stairs. There was a lighthouse and several buildings, one that had tourist stuff for sale, one with restrooms, one where the crew of people who worked there were hanging out, and a large restaurant. There was also a Zip Line for the adventure-seeking people who wanted to fly high in the air over rocky cliffs and an ocean with extremely big tides. (Almost none of this was here when we visited years ago.) I hobbled around catching views from up high while Rob with the camera froze down at the beach. The wind was blowing fairly hard and it was only 44 degrees at that time. Back in the car we warmed up and started to drive out of the parking lot when one of the employees stopped us and asked if we’d mind waiting in the parking lot. A tour bus had just arrived. Three more busloads were on their way up the narrow, winding road. Could we wait until they got to the Cape before starting down the road? So we backed into a parking space and prepared to wait a while. Then they got a call from one of the buses. They had not yet arrived at the entrance to the long road. So we were sent on our way to hurry down the road before the buses came up. This was a little nerve-wracking, as we came to each sharp curve going downhill and strained to see around the cliff in case a bus was coming. We made it down and back on the two-lane highway before the buses arrived.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We’d brought the empty propane tank with us just in case we saw a place to get propane. We weren’t far at this point from Alma, so we stopped and got propane there. Then we continued west into Fundy National Park. Although the campgrounds were all still closed for the season, the roads through the Park were mostly open. We drove the very scenic, well-maintained road to Point Wolfe, stopping to get some pictures at a covered bridge. Coming back from Point Wolfe, we stopped at Herring Cove. There were several trails and great views from the top of the cliff. Rob took the stairs & trail down to the beach, went around in a big loop and came back through the parking lot where he found me at the top of the cliff at the lookout platform. They had one of those telescopes where you could see everything up close and interpretive displays. Maybe because of all the trees, it wasn’t as cold and windy, more protected from the elements right there.
It was nearing lunch time so we went back into Alma. We had lunch at a cute restaurant called The Tipsy Tail. It looked promising to us since it had wooden lobsters outside the building and was right on the wharf where the lobster boats tie up. It was really good. Rob got the Fish Tacos and I got a Lobster Roll that came with Truffle Fries sprinkled liberally with grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese & served with Sriracha Mayo for dipping. YUM! We split both lunches.
We got back on Route 915 and headed east. We turned off on a dirt road that looked interesting. We have new tires; time to break them in. It was a nice drive on a road that varied between almost impassable to entirely paved. At the point where it was paved, there were beautiful marshes on both sides of the road and we were at Shepody National Wildlife area. We saw Canada Geese and American Wigeons. There was a turnoff for the Lars Larsen Marsh & we stopped there briefly. Further along we got to Shepody Dam. This was quite scenic with a River, the Anderson Hollow Lighthouse, Bald Eagles, and Pidgeons catching the updraft of the wind. From there, we drove into a tidal valley & the road became dirt and meandered off on & beside an earthen levee going through marshes and through the muddy tidal zone. All the while we were looking out over the Bay of Fundy in the near distance. The dirt road eventually curved back to Route 114 fairly close to our campground.
CAROL! You wrote and asked about the rocks. Ms Geology, this is for you. Let us know if this helps to answer your questions.
We got back to the RV at around 3 p.m. The wind had picked up and rain started soon thereafter. The high today was 48 degrees. At 6:30 we looked out to see that it was snowing – the wet slushy kind of snow. The temperature was down to 36 degrees. With winds supposed to get up into the 24 MPH range, this should be interesting. And tomorrow it may rain all day. I guess we’ll be hunkering down. We’re really glad we got out today and saw everything!