Five Islands, Bay of Fundy, NS

Today we traveled the upper rim of the Minus Channel of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. I thought it was all along the water, but it was not. Again this land is all small townships along the shoreline, but in the mountainous terrain. We saw mostly pine trees, farmland and occasionally beautiful shoreline. This bay is a dry basin until the tide comes in, as shown yesterday in the Tidal Bore blog. The roads of Nova Scotia are rough, due to their winters here. The towns are small, each with a little white church and graveyard. The life here seems simple, and hard. It ended up a long days drive down hills and valleys of wilderness, townships, and bay views. I underestimated the hugeness of this province of Canada. It is part of the left-over Appalachian chain from the ice age, and it is mountainous! Impressive, but overwhelming to cover in such a short time. We enjoy our campground and Truro township. We are getting ready to head back to the good old USA on Saturday!

Bay of Fundy from other shore of the bay than yesterday.

Hills of farmland and forest along the water.

Stopped car to capture a picture of the landscape.

Five Islands Lighthouse, which we could go in to and take some pictures of the five islands.

Two of the five islands. The tide is low.

View along the drive.

Speck on right is a man four wheeling on the dry bay bed before the tide comes in later in the day and puts it under water.

Landscape along the drive.

Before tide.

After the tide on our drive back home.

I put these two together so you can compare before and after. Interesting tides here.

Fishing village of Advocate Harbour at the end of the bay of Fundy.

Lovely scenery along the waters of the Bay of Fundy.

Fog stays over the water here. The day was cool and pleasant in the 70's.

What a view of Advocate Harbour.

Tidal Bore, South Maitland, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

Today we drove to South Maitland to the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Center to watch the Shubenacadie River Tidal Bore. The bay's incoming tide is so extreme that it temporarily reverses the flow of several rivers that empty into the bay. One hundred and sixty billion tonnes of water (more than the combined total of all the freshwater rivers and streams in the world) flows in and out of the bay in on 12.5 hour tide cycle each day. Today it was a around 1:20 p.m.. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to watch this slow but steady stream of water enter this virtually dry river basin from zero to 30 ft. in about a half an hour. It is the only place in the world where you can experience the thrill of  tidal bore river rafting. I took some pictures and some movie footage. The river bed is very red here, much like the soil on Prince Edward Island. The water evidently clears closer to the ocean. This was definitely worth watching, quite the experience.

Dry river bed before the tidal bore.

Our observation bridge behind Elwin.

Dry river bed behind me.

Dry Shubenacadie River bed.

You can slowly see the water coming over a 20 minute period.

The rafters are coming over what was dry before.

Filling in the dry spots.

Getting deeper.

Riding the tidal bore. You get very wet and red muddy clothing.

Riding the tidal bore over what was dry about 30 minutes ago.

River is full now.

Swirling water, that was previously only a few feet deep.

The water eventually rises to the water mark on bridge piling over 4 hours and then the tide goes out and it starts all over again.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Elwin in front of Visitor's Center at Peggy's Cove, NS. Love the bench!

The weather here is rainy for the next week. Despite the rain and fog we traveled to Peggy's Cove on the South shore of Nova Scotia, right next to Halifax. It rained on the way there, but stopped after we got there. The fog settled in a bit around Peggy's Cove. We had lunch at a nice little place called The Finer Diner. They had a great lobster sandwich and some fries and coleslaw. We got to sit outside on the deck and look at the bay area, near Peggy's Cove. Quaint little place. We were the only customers for a little while. The service was good and the food excellent. I would have loved to do more, but as always the day gets away from you when you have to travel distances to get to destination. This island is so big, even a central location makes a long day to anywhere. We hope to do the Minas Basin to the Bay of Fundy tomorrow. They have what they call a Tidal Bore here which is a tidal wave that comes in when high tide moves in. Hope to catch that wave while we are here.

The story of the name.

Lobster traps and buoys, a way of life on the waters here.

Beginning of Peggy's Cove, NS.

The drive in was over mountains of green, lush pine forests. The drive into Peggy's Cove was winding roads along a beautiful coastline. Unfortunately, it was foggy along the water. It still was a site to see. Pinch me, I love being here. I have always dreamed of going here, and I am living that dream.

Elwin found a fishing buddy!

Peggy's Cove.

Fog along the waters here at Peggy's Cove.

Love the rocks and waves at Peggy's Cove.

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, NS, Canada.

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, NS.

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove.

Entrance to Peggy's Cove, NS.

The Finer Diner! What a view. Temperature in the 70's. Pleasant.

View with lunch, yeah!