As Portrayed by Mom and Dad
We spent a quick morning at the Fortress of Louisberg. We loved exploring the property. Our favorites were the animals, the old buildings, the blacksmith and the bakery. We bought some peasant bread to have later.
We made a wish in the well.
We went shoe shopping and I loved the back massager. I got new shoes and love them.
Tomorrow we get on the ferry to Newfoundland.
Today we had a down day. We went to town and did laundry and got a few groceries. We cleaned the motorhome and prepped for departure towards Newfoundland. Internet isn’t that reliable and wifi is nearly non-existent lately. We will update as we can.
In the evening we went to a Kitchen Party. It was lots of music and we stopped our feet and clapped along with the tunes. There music was Gaelic, Scottish and some from Cape Breton.
Today we slept in as much as we could. Dad and Breighton went for a long hike around Warren Lake and were gone the entire morning. Mom and Emmerson ran a few errands, scoped out wifi and played at the playground on the beach. It was nice to have a day where we split up a little to have some space.
After lunch we headed to the beach at the campground. It is a 15 minute walk through the woods to get there. We played in the river that leads out to the ocean. The rocks are huge and polished. We made lots of fun stacks of the rocks.
Mom sat and played with the rocks too and made a heart and then tossed pebbles at a larger rock for target practice. We were the only ones on the beach for the longest time.
Breighton wanted to take some photos for 4-H next year and practiced with the iPhone and the rock sculptures.
While moving rocks an eel slithered out from underneath a larger one. This led to a “eel house†being built so the eel would be safe from other kids.
It was a fun time on the beach and we were glad to see sunshine.
We all got cleaned up, had a small campfire and headed out to another evening program called Seeing in the Dark.
This program was no lights allowed. There was a group of about 10 people on the hike. We started by watching the sunset over Warren Lake. We listened to sounds and adjusted our senses to darker and darker and quieter and quieter. Soon we began our hike around the lake trail as the night turned dark. We head loons, frogs, squirrels and even an owl. It was scary walking in darkness with no flashlights. It was amazing how much you could see though. We had to walk in high steps as not to trip and use our hands to guide the path edges. We had white scarves on our backs to help people see behind us. You would really see the white stand out when it was so dark.
We even head fireworks off in the distance as we were finishing our trail. Happy 4th of July! They don’t celebrate here but someone out there must have been celebrating!
The hike lasted from 9pm until 11pm and then we ended at a picnic table for oat cakes and blueberry tea. The oatcakes were AMAZING! Mom and Dad enjoyed the hot tea.
We got back to the motorhome around midnight and all settled in for a good nights sleep.
We drove the Cabot Trail through the northern part of the park and to our next campground, Broad Cove. We have a lovely site along the woods. The bugs are terrible in the entire park but we are adapting and have upped the bug spray and full bod coverings.
We got the campsite set up and Dad had work so we went out to explore. We scrambled on the rocks overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs are very stunning.
Mom wandered around and found all the little flowers tucked into the rocks.
We watched the lobster boats pull up traps and the shorebirds dive into the water to catch fish. The wind was blowing and the sun actually came out!
YAY!
In the evening we went to a program called The Beach is Alive. We learned how the beach moves around with the tides and the high and low energy waves. We learned how the creatures have to adapt to the sand and will burrow down to the tide line or to find moisture in the changing tides.
We dug through the sand and found lots of sand shrimp. We even hot to hunt for treasures to show the others int he program. It was a lot of fun.
After the program we ran by the motorhome and grabbed raincoats as it was drizzling again. We headed out for a Lantern Walk Through Time. The guide showed dressed in a black cape that Dad likened to the Grimm Reaper! She was just as eerie and spoke in a soft voice.
We followed and learned about the people that first lived in the area. There was spooky tales but nothing terribly frightening.
We each carried a lantern as we walked to light our path. It was very historical!
We were out very late and got home after 11pm.
Today we took Dad to hike on some of the trails that we hiked plus a few more. I think we hiked 4-5 trails.
We showed Dad all the pretty flowers on the Bog Trail.
Mom and Dad took turns taking photos while I used the binoculars to look at EVERYTHING!
We showed Dad all the sugar maple trees on Lone Shieling.
We even found some cool fungus and dead trees we missed last time.
Then we hiked Benji’s Lake. It was a fun trail through the woods to a freshwater pond. We sat for a while and looked into the water and around the pond. It was very peaceful. Except us kids were bickering and talking loudly and being generally disagreeable.
We ended the evening with two campground programs. The first was a Discovery Program were we learned about the animals of the park.
The last program was called Bringing Back the Boreal. It was all about the changing forest and how they are trying to help return the boreal (northern) forest trees like spruce and fir. The moose population, with no natural predators, went unchecked during a redevelopment time in the forest and have started to turn the forest into grasslands. They are working now to reduce moose herds, plant more trees and help recover the forest.
Before bed I lost a tooth. Now I have “a symmetrical mouth”.
