It was a rainy day and the forecast for the next couple of days also wasn’t looking all that great. Time to move on and find a cheese factory, this one called Fromagerie Le Détour in Témiscouata. They have a number of prize winning cheeses and little information sheets describing them. We focused on some of their soft cheeses, but unfortunately a few that were of interest required an additional 2-6 weeks of aging before they were ready to eat. Two ready to eat varieties and a small baguette made for a delicious lunch.
We continued to the town of Témiscouata and the bakery directly across from a beautiful park on the shores of the lake. Almond croissants had to be. The town itself seems to have fallen on harder times and many of the shops on the main street were empty or for lease.
With Quebec City input as our destination, our GPS let us know we could save 33 minutes by taking the Lévis-Quebec ferry vs driving further and taking the bridge. This ferry is the first we’ve been on that loads from the sides, rather than the front or back of the ship. The actual passage was quite short and we arrived in Old Quebec City close to a parking lot we’d used on a past trip. They offer 24 hour parking, and since we’ll have to come back tomorrow anyway, why not just spend the night here. We took the opportunity to explore the area, although most of the shops were already closed.
After having a great sleep right by the river, we saw that there was a little guest on the dock. Not too close, or I fly, but a portrait from there is acceptable.
We proceeded up Hwy 105 to Hartland, the site of the world’s longest covered bridge at 1282 feet long, completed in 1901. A 3t load limit sign was posted at the entrance to the bridge and we consulted the various manuals and placards on our van to see whether we were above or below that limit. In the end we weren’t quite sure, so we decided not to traverse it.
The information centre in Hartland is actually more of a souvenir store than an information centre, so we didn’t get a lot of information, but we did get some Covered Bridge potato chips. The factory is nearby and we toured it on a previous trip, but it recently suffered from a major fire and is still being rebuilt. In the meantime, the chips are made in a different facility.
The weather was rainy so we took the highway to the Grand Falls Falls and Gorge Campground where we took the opportunity to do some van cleaning before heading out to explore the town and go for dinner.
Grand Falls, as the name implies, has waterfalls which are used for electricity generation.
We learned that there had been four bridges across the gorge over the years and remnants of the footings can still be seen.
After a longish walk, we arrived at the recently opened Bullpen Steakhouse and Sports Bar and enjoyed a lovely French Onion soup and steak dinner. The service and food were great and the location and view of the river made it a night to remember.
The fog had rolled in overnight and the scene was dreamy and mysterious this morning. Ruth was in her element!
It was great to have breakfast outside and talk to the people in the next site who were part of a 22 coach tour group spending 61 days touring the Canadian Maritimes. They were at the end of their trip and said they had really enjoyed Canada and the friendly people they had met. Now it was time for them to return to Mississippi.
This morning the tide was higher and we were curious to see how the gravel bar we drove across yesterday to get to Ministers Island looked. You definitely didn’t want to drive across at the moment. Apparently the water is 14ft deep!
A number of vehicles arrived at the gravel bar and we talked to a few of the visitors, including two brothers whose grandfather had worked as a gardener on Ministers Island for William Van Horne. They filled us in on some of the local history as they themselves had spent their youth in the area. One of the brothers said that Van Horne had been very good to his employees.
We hit a bit of a milestone today when the odometer rolled over to 111,111kms.
The rest of the day was largely a driving day except for a visit to the Briggs and Little Yarn company in York Mills, NB which bills itself as Canada’s oldest wooden mill tracing its roots back to 1857. Two sweaters were purchased, some assembly required.
We had a wonderful dinner at Walter’s Table in Woodstock, NB. The portions were huge, home cooked, and delicious.
We are staying on a parking lot right next to the river tonight with a few other campers.
The Saint John Market is open on Sundays and we took the time to visit. Lots to see with all kinds of food, craft stands and live music.
A goat farmer who makes soap with goat milk even had a young goat with him.
Eveline, who makes beautiful wooden cutting boards with resin waves, told us about a concert tonight on Minister’s Island near St. Andrews where she lives.
Minister’s Island, formerly the summer home of William Van Horne, is only accessible at low tide by driving across a gravel bar which is submerged at high tide. The timing of a visit to the island therefore depends on the tide schedule.
We had time to explore the grounds before the concert, first visiting the old barn where Van Horne raised his prized horses, cattle and pigs. The barn, designed by Edward Maxwell, was constructed by unemployed shipwrights in 1898 and cost $20,000.
Next stop on the tour was the main house which contains information on the life and achievements of William Van Horne and his family. Van Horne was instrumental in getting the Canadian Pacific railway built across Canada and later focused on art, both collecting and making his own.
Van Horne was interested in many diverse subjects, especially in the fields of business and art, and spent little time sleeping so that he could learn and experiment. His quote “Nothing is too small to know and nothing is too big to attempt” was particularly inspiring to us.
It was time to make our way to the large outdoor tent for the evening’s concert, featuring Bill Stephenson. Bill is a jazz and blues pianist and singer and was accompanied by cellist and drummer.
The concert ended at 7PM and we had until 8PM to make it off the island as the tide was rising. The fear of getting a flat tire on a gravel bar with the tide rising fortunately didn’t come to fruition.
Tonight we’re at the Oceanfront Campground with the big boys and our van is proud to be in a 50AMP ocean view site. There is a 22 vehicle RV tour group here tonight with huge coaches doing a 61 day Canadian Maritime trip.
Although we would have liked to spend another night at the Lakeview campground in Fundy National Park, the office said it was fully booked for tonight. Time to move on.
We drove to Sussex in search of the information centre and ended up in a traffic jam. Turns out this was the weekend of the Sussex Flea Market, an annual multi acre highlight of the region. Tables upon tables of well loved items, some handicrafts, tools, car and tractor parts, kids’ toys and food stands. It was very busy and there were cars parked on pretty much every flat surface in town.
We had two major possible routes to Saint John but the RCMP officers in Sussex recommended the Fundy Drive as more scenic and recommended visiting the Octopus Ice Cream shop in St. Martins. The information centre across the road from the ice cream shop recommended driving through the covered bridge to visit the sea caves around the corner during low tide which happened to have to just started.
We arrived in Saint John and found the Rockwood Park Campground where we will be spending the night.
The morning started with a walk to the Petitcodiac River passing geese filled fields along the way.
Next to the river we found artifacts of time past – an old landfill site and two crumbing silos with graffiti and Danger signs. The concrete at the base of the silos on the river side was largely nonexistent so it may not be long before they tip over. At the moment it was home to quite a number of pigeons.
The New Brunswick Railway Museum houses many artifacts from an older railway era. Here you’ll find documentation, signal lights, yard control panels, railway cars and engines, both diesel and steam. It would have been great if the “guides” actually told you something about these items instead of playing cards or with their phones, but nonetheless, there is lots to see, read and learn independently.
We stopped in Alma at the Information Centre and got some tips for what to do in the area and where to eat. Dinner was right at the wharf at Tipsy Tails, before spending the night at the Fundy National Park Headquarters Campground at a site right next to a lookout point. When the tides are low, the ships rest on the mud and when the tide is high they are floating much higher on the dock.
Not too much to report today as it was mostly a day of driving. We finally left Prince Edward Island, but not before stopping at the Information Centre in Borden-Carlton where Kevin had given us so much information of possible things to see and do when we arrived on this Island. Unfortunately, Kevin wasn’t working today, so we left a note of thanks with one of his kind colleagues. We returned to the mainland via the Confederation Bridge.
Gas in New Brunswick is substantially cheaper than on Prince Edward Island and even more so at Costco where both the tank and our fridge was filled.
Hillsborough has a railway museum and we’ll visit that tomorrow after spending the night nearby, well protected by an old fighter jet.
Today is Saturday and the Moncton Farmer’s Market is open and worth a trip to. We recognized some of the stands from our 2019 visit and found some new ones as well. There are a number of craft stands with jewelry, leather goods, toys, minerals and fossils, and wooden creations. Other stands had freshly made pastries, bread and meals while another hall had fruits, vegetables, meats and, of course, seafood. We bought some pastries and ate them outside where a musician played guitar and sang. A refreshing cold raspberry lemonade helped cool us off on this hot and humid day.
On our way out we found a stand that was selling cooling “scarves” that you wet and hang around your neck. Very effective today!
We found the Pumphouse brewery a couple of hundred metres from the market and purchased a six pack of the blueberry beer we had had yesterday to take home.
We haven’t been to Prince Edward Island for a while so we crossed the Confederation Bridge and stopped at the information centre to see what we should see and do while on the island. Kevin was a great help and probably gave us suggestions for several weeks of activities and sightseeing. We may not make it to Nova Scotia at this rate.
While we had a large stack of brochures and a map, we found the roadside signage great as it gave ample warning of upcoming attractions, the first of which was the Thompson’s Woodcraft workshop (46.37375N, 63.72876W). Wilfred Thompson is an accomplished woodworker with over 50 years of experience. He turns beautiful wood bowls, and when we told him we’d just started turning wood ourselves, he gave us a tour of his workshop and a couple of tips on bowl making. What a delightful experience.
We’re staying at the Linkletter Provincial Park, which is right on the water and features mosquitos. Nonetheless we had a great walk along the beach.
Today was a restful day at the USVA spa, alternating between saunas or steam baths, and then ice cold water, either from buckets above or a small dipping pool with a small waterfall. After the shock of the cold water, we relaxed for 20 minutes, mostly in hammocks before repeating the cycle once again. After five cycles, we were hungry and set out to find a place to eat.
Skipper Jacks ended up being the place for dinner. We’d been there on our 2019 trip and really enjoyed it, so why not return? The fish and chips meal was great and we topped it off with cheese cake. We had a Pumphouse blueberry beer with our meal and it was really refreshing. We’ll have to find some to take home.
