Thursday, October 8, 2015 - My Last Day in Nova Scotia

As they say, all good things must come to an end and waking up on this day I knew my vacation was officially coming to an end.  My original schedule would have me driving the Cabot Trail at a comfortable pace with a goal of ending the day in Part Hawkesbury.  But I got an earlier than expected start in the morning AND I was about 100 KM closer since I didn't stay the night back in Louisbourg.  So in reality, this became more or less my official start to the long slog home to Wisconsin.  Given the less than desirable weather forecast for the coming days, it would turn out to be a blessing.

I slept like a log at the St. Ann's Motel.  Imagine my delight when I opened my curtains to this glorious view!

Traveling with groceries in the truck, plus the plug-in cooler, I was able to have most of my meals conveniently in my room or at picnic areas.  With a bowl of Rice Krispies and banana, plus a couple of muffins that Marion had sent with me the day before, I was ready to hit the road by 7:30am.

The skies were beautiful to the east, but I could see rain on the hills ahead of me on the Cabot Trail.  I was hoping they'd clear for several reasons, but particularly since I wanted to see a rainbow.  I knew as I saw the skies lightening that the conditions were favorable.  I came around one curve in the road, and there it was!  I immediately pulled over to snap a couple of photos.  Within minutes, it was gone.

I stopped at the park entrance to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park to pay my admission fee and get some information about potential wildlife viewing areas.  I guess they must get tired of tourists asking "Where can I see moose?" or "Where are the moose, I've been driving for days and haven't seen a single one yet!"  So I did my best to not sound stupid especially since I totally understand THEY ARE WILD ANIMALS and go where they want to go, when they want to go there.  So imagine my surprise when the gal at the visitor center acted like I was a total moron for wanting to see a moose while in Canada.

I think the other lady working the counter observed how I was spoken too.  She immediately came over after she finished with another visitor she was helping to find a decent hiking trail for the time they had available.  She was very nice and explained that since it was below freezing the night before, the moose would be cold this morning.  She suggested I keep my eyes peeled for them (safely of course) on the sunny side of the hills along the road.  She also said that there was a high plateau where they are known to feed.  She also mentioned that it was rut and that the large bull moose might be on the move to find mates.

While hopeful to see a moose, I also felt that having been in New England and Canada for nearly two weeks and being skunked out on the moose sighting photo op, I might well make my way home without seeing one.  And to be honest, I was OK with that, as I've been fortunate to see them on several trips to Alaska.  So with that mentality, I was off to see what there was to see!

What I didn't take into account in my planning was that there were a couple of significant construction areas on the Cabot Trail. I  was heading in a counter-clockwise direction.  Stops at Neil's Harbour and the St. Paul Island Historical Society Museum were planned along the way.   Both were of interest to me because they were the location of repurposed lighthouses.  The Neil's Harbour Lighthouse is now an ice cream shoppe . . . well at least in the summer it is open and serving ice cream.  But in October, it was closed for the season.  The drive through the fishing village was worth the side trip though.

Located in Dingwall, the St. Paul Island Lighthouse stands on the grounds of a museum that tells the story of the perilous waters around St. Paul Island.  The lighthouse had been torn down and sent off to Dartmouth where it was falling into ruin.  A community effort raised money to bring the lighthouse home and to restore it as the centerpiece of their museum.  It was relocated in 2011 and over $100, 000 was spent to restore it.

For folks planning a trip on the Cabot Trail, be sure to leave yourself at least 90 minutes to make this detour and visit the museum and lighthouse! Inside the museum, docents with local connections and knowledge are available to provide privately guided tours of the small two story museum.  I have read that in the summer, they also offer tours inside the lighthouse, but that wasn't an option when I was there.

My visit coincided with the start of Celtic Colours, a large festival like event that celebrates the heritage of this area along with the beautiful fall season.  I was fortunate to be leaving as people were coming into the area.  I was told that the tourist season has one last hurrah before folks begin their winter hibernation.

The Celtic heritage is noticeable however, year-round as their road signs are in both English and Celtic.  Additionally, there are restaurants and bars that serve traditional food with music from the old world.  Again, I was reminded of our travels in Ireland a few years back.  It is understandable why immigrants from Britain and Ireland would settle in this area given the similarities to their homeland.

The rugged coastline with the mountains in the middle of the island are prominent features along the drive.  I thoroughly enjoyed my drive, even if the prime fall colors were probably a week to 10 days away.

But I'm saving the best for last!  At least the last on my Cabot Trail drive and time spent on Cape Breton Island.  Along my day's journey, I passed several caution signs for possible moose.  But there was something special about one sign.  It was located in the area as I approached that high plateau that the lady earlier in the morning had told me about.  Leading up to that area, I noticed that the vegetation looked a lot like what I've seen in Alaska where moose are known to graze.  Within a mile of the sign, I saw a decent sized bull about 20 feet off the road to my left.  Because there was some traffic behind me, I wasn't able to safely slow down or stop, much less turn around.

So I had to drive about a half mile to one of the marked "emergency cabins" where I was able to turn around and go back.  Fortunately for me, nobody behind me had noticed the moose as they kept on going.  When I got back up to the area where I had seen the moose, he was still there enjoying leaves and twigs.  I went beyond him about 200 yards and navigated a safe shoulder-to-shoulder U-turn.

With my flashers on, I drove slowly on the shoulder hoping to not disrupt him.  When I pulled up parallel to his position, I was able to snap off a couple of photos before he got spooked and high-tailed it deeper into the brush and trees.  I did get this photo of  him before he became a blur with my 300mm lens.  While not my best "moose photo" I am still pretty happy at my sighting and being able to get a photo of him.

It seemed appropriate that I would finally see and photograph a moose late in the afternoon.  I continued to head south towards Port Hawkesbury with another stop at the Farmer's Daughter Market to use the restroom.  With it only being around 4:00pm, I felt it was possible to drive further than my original itinerary and since I  wasn't tied to a reservation, I kept moving.

I made it into New Brunswick faster than I expected so at nightfall I decided it was time to find a place to sleep.  Again Toots was great in helping me to figure out how far I could expect to go and to start making some phone calls to inquire about vacancies and rates.  With the Moncton Scenic Motel at $70+tax (CDN) I was set for the night.  The owner was a friendly lady and happy to see me.  She felt badly for me that I didn't drink coffee so she gave me a liter carton of orange juice for the morning.

The room was huge, with a big sitting area including a sofa, recliner and large wall mounted TV.  I was comfortable and ready to fix some tuna fish for supper and enjoy some Thursday Night NFL.  Too bad it was the Colts & Texans . . . a snoozer of a game!

While today's drive was the longest since my first day back on September 25th, the 437 miles didn't seem as wearing on me as the day before (355) or the long haul from Cape d'Or to Digby back the weekend before (318).