Fundy

Ah, Fundy. Where tides can reach 55 feet. Where the Hopewell Rocks beckon visitors from all over the world. Where the salmon come to spawn. Where I brought my TLs for their last few Canadian nights (of this trip. Of course, there’ll be more!). And where we have seen the gradual onset of fall begin its slow explosion. Red maple, accented by gold beech and birch have begun to strut their color against the green of fir, spruce, hemlock and pine.

We arrived, mid afternoon with rain threatening. And the next day, rain it did. A fellow traveler from the states had warned us about road conditions going north out of here, so with hiking set aside for the day, we took the Hauler out to see how bad it might be. Lucky for us, it wasn’t. We’re not sure what the concern might have been, or perhaps we just misunderstood – in any case, when we depart, we won’t have to add a few more hours to the 4 and a half we have planned for.

It has been said that Fundy is a great park for hiking, in addition to the spectacular views of the Bay proper. Off we went, along the Coastal trail, in search of some of the vistas. While the hike was definitely beautiful, this was a trail through forest, along the cliffs of Fundy Bay, where clearings occasionally opened up to the Bay below.

Because of the rain, the trail was quite wet in spots, which of course, allowed for the Road Toad to smile at his TLs as they negotiated mud, root and rocks! They did well though, neither one landed in the drink.

 

 

 

 

 

For our next (and regrettably, last) outing we went for the Six Vault Falls. A very gentle trail for its first mile or two, followed by a steep descent into a gorge. Here the Canadians have thoughtfully provide stairs to assist the hikers and for protection of the trail itself. Along the way, one must cross a creek or two,

and for our travel, the water level wasn’t sufficiently high to cover good stepping stones to keep TL feet dry.  And the reward at the end, is of course, the falls!

Below the rocks shown at the bottom of the photo above, there is a lovely shaded swimming hole, which the TLs casually ignored on this cool fall day.  I myself took a quick dip when noone else was looking.  So hard for a Toad to ignore water!!

Back at the Holler we headed out for a dinner in Alma, where the Tides restaurant didn’t disappoint!  We started with a draft of a local red ale – one that both Minkie and Carlos both favored.  (I should mention here that the craft breweries in Canada have rarely disappoinged us!)  Seafood chowder (they were out of steamed mussels), fried clams, and sauteed sea scallops, all wonderfully prepared, and perfectly seasoned, followed by a delectable and surprisingly light white chocolate cheesecake left us fully sated – a perfect ending to a fantastic visit to Canada!

On now, to more adventures as we head back to the US!