14 August, 2017, Blog Post No. 10

August 14, 2017

14 August, 2017, Blog Post No. 10

12 August After a leisurely start, we arrived at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in the small town of Baddeck. The museum itself was fascinating, as was the life story of Dr Bell. We got very good advice on exploring the scenic Bras d’Or area from the tourist assistance office, and on their advice we left our camper parked in their yard and walked the km to the museum. We dallied over coffee and snacks, nice sunny day, but as we got to the museum we noticed the wind had come up a little. The museum visit included a talk by one of the museum staff and display of some very interesting artifacts. After that we became completely engrossed in the displays themselves, which included a reproduction of one of AGB’s planes which was actually flown in about 2008. Also a full size replica of one of Dr Bell’s hydroplanes, which set a world speed record for a boat at around about seventy miles per hour in 1919. We emerged from the various displays and museum rooms to find that the skies had opened. The rain was unrelenting, We checked out the gift shop for umbrellas, no luck, waited for about ½ hour and then Phil hiked back to the camper in the heavy rain. One of the big advantages of travelling with your home, Phil was able to get out of his soaked clothes before returning to pick up Kirsty. Back to the camp for a quiet evening listening to the rain beat on the camper roof.

13 August Up early to embark on a complete circular tour around the Bras d’Or lake system. Still indifferent weather however. First stop was the Rita McNeil Tea House at Big Pond. The dining room was booked solid, the afternoon feature was a concert featuring the “Men of the Deep” so we missed out on the main feature. We took an outside table on the deck and had tea in the Rita McNeil style. We did get to see the ”Men of the Deep”, complete with helmets and miner’s lamps, as they milled around outside the concert room, and we heard brief excerpts of their singing as the door to the concert area opened and shut. Stuffed to the gills with fresh biscuits served with whipped cream and strawberry jam we continued on a very pretty drive to Battery Provincial Park, a very nice park with elevated campsites with a view over the Bras d’Or lakes. Struck up a conversation with a couple in the campsite next to ours. They recognized our license plates, they were from Victoria and had just returned from a trip to NFL, so gave us some very useful advice. Some nice trails at the camp site, ideal for the dogs who were able to have a good run and chase. Heavy rain again in the evening.

14 August. Continued our meander around the Bras d’Or lake system. There is a set of locks on the canal at the Battery Provincial Park which are actually two way locks, with double gates. One end of the canal is higher at high tide, then lower when the tide reverses. Thus the same set of locks are used to both raise and lower small boats passing thru. The Bras d’Or lakes are connected to the sea thru a number of channels, but do not fully follow the sea tides. Some very remote holiday homes on the Bras d’Or systems. The lake area is enormous, over 3,000 square miles and in the good weather we enjoyed today, very scenic. Back to the Good Sam camp to prepare for our voyage to NFL tomorrow.

A la prochaine

P & K