Day 22 – It rained again last night and most of today. It was 45 degrees when we got up in the morning and the temperature never got higher than that during the day. It was quite windy with the gusts shaking the RV at times.
We stayed inside, did some baking and cooking, we got a propane refill at the campground, and the rain finally stopped at around dinner time. And at low tide, just a little earlier, we’d watched lots of activity from inside the RV at the area in front of us – two Great Blue Herons fishing, a Bald Eagle flying by, lots of Ducks and a group of Bonaparte’s Gulls scurrying about. We took pictures from inside but the lighting wasn’t good and the windows were fogged, no luck there. Then the sun finally peeked through all the clouds around sunset, which was around 8:30 p.m. Rob went out to the front of the RV to get a few pictures. It was really pretty. We move on tomorrow, sadly. We liked it here (although Pixie never relaxed completely. We had to keep the shades down in the bedroom for her, and still she thought there were too many people here).
Even a wood pulp plant can be beautiful at sunset! Northern Pulp Nova Scotia, Pictou, NS
Pictou Landing viewed at sunset from Harbour Light Campground, Pictou, NS
Sunset, Harbour Light Campground, Pictou, NS
Harbour Light Campground: 2881 Three Brooks Road, Pictou, NS Canada B0K 1H0; phone (902) 485-5733; website https://www.harbourlightcampground.ca/; e-mail harbour.light@ns.sympatico.ca. Check-out time is 12 noon. Large campground by the Bay. Many campsites have nice water views. Rec Hall, laundry, propane, dump station, swimming pool, all the amenities. Conveniently located close to the ferry crossing to Prince Edward Island and to the nice, old city of Pictou. Bald Eagles nest nearby & many birds can be found here. Family-run, the owners are extremely nice & accomodating. They accept Passport America, CAA, and Good Sam Club discount cards, and also offer a senior discount. We got 50% off all three nights that we stayed here, paying only $60 Canadian currency including tax (that boils down to $15 U.S. per night). This was for full hook-ups and a fantastic water view. Out of approximately 200 campsites, less than 15 were sites for tenters, and only 25 or so were available to transient RV campers like us. Everything else was occupied by seasonal trailers, RV’s, and Park Model homes. All were well kept up; some had really nice decks. Most of these campers were empty because it’s still very early in the season, but those that were here were on first-name basis with the owners and it was like living in a close-knit community. The campground was clean and very well-maintained. If this place were full like it must be during peak season, it would be extremely busy, but during off-season, we’d definitely stay here again.
An observation: This was a good campground & we enjoyed our stay here. The same applies to all campgrounds we’ve stayed at in Canada this trip (even though there are lots of seasonal sites with trailers in them). We’ve stayed in independent campgrounds mostly because the Provincial Parks weren’t open yet for the season, and we’ve found that the independent campgrounds in Atlantic Canada (that would be in NB & NS so far) are very well-maintained & nicely situated to maximize views. The customer service has been excellent & the owners have all bent over backwards to make sure we were comfortable. All of them have had quite a few seasonal spaces occupied, much more so than we’ve seen in the U.S., but the campgrounds have been so well kept up that it didn’t take away from the experience of the transient camper. Campgrounds that we’ve been to in the U.S. with lots of seasonal & permanent campers, mostly seemed to have become run down, even a bit trashy – that’s been our experience at least – and that’s one reason we’ve preferred State Parks, County Parks, National Parks, etc., and campgrounds without seasonal campsites. (And also, the Canadians in general have all been extremely nice, helpful, and friendly people.)