This wind turbine farm consists of 77 traditional (horizontal-axis)
wind turbines (plus others in neighbouring communities, for a total of
133), as well as the largest vertical-axis wind turbine in the world
(110 metres tall). Le Nordais is the largest windmill park in eastern
Canada; it uses Danish technology built locally in the Gaspé area.
The vertical-axis turbine is not in service, so it is open for public
tours. It functioned briefly in the 80's, then was shut down when
metal debris from the bearings was found in the oil filters. Changes
in Quebec's energy policies have not yet made it economical to repair
and restart the turbine, but they hope that will change soon. The
vertical-axis design has its own advantages and disadvantages; it has
lower maintenance costs, since parts which need periodic replacement
(e.g. gearboxes) are are ground level, so a crane is not required. As
well it does not need to rotate to face into the prevailing wind.
However, it does require an electric boost from the power grid in order
to start (i.e. the generators are used as a motor to get it up to
speed).
Location: Gaspésie Prov. Park, Quebec
Date: Sept. 2, 2007
This park is not near the St. Lawrence, but is set back in the
mountains of the central Gaspé area. As you might expect, there
are lots of scenic waterfalls, and several strenuous hiking trails.
Current Location: Site 162, Des-Rosiers Campground, Forillon
National Park, Quebec
Dates: Sept. 3-7, 2007
Services: E; Cost: $26.75 + $4.95 entry fee;
Nights: 4
I made it! Three and a half hours of driving (including up and down
some rather large mountains) but I'm here, and my campsite can even get
a satellite signal through the trees. Since this is a national (Parks
Canada) park, pets are permitted, so I'm staying right in the park.
I've reached the most northernly latitudes that I'll be seeing on this
trip, and am heading south now.
There are two lighthouses (one of which is open for the public to
climb) and lots of trails in the area. The 1,100 km long
International Appalachian Trail ends in Forillon; it's other end is
in Maine, where it connects to the
Appalachian National Scenic Trail, which runs 3,200 km from Maine
to Georgia. As a consequence, there were many hikers on the trail and
it was well marked.
Current Location: Site 41, Camping Côte Surprise,
Percé, Quebec
Dates: Sept. 7-9, 2007
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $30.00; Nights: 2
I'm at the town of Percé, which is almost directly south of the
park at Gaspé. The trip was just under 2 hours on winding but
good roads. My nice campsite is directly on the bay; I can see the
Percé rock from my dining room window. There are several
companies in the area offering boat cruises out to the rock, as well
as nearby Bonaventure Island, which is home to thousands of nesting
Gannets. The island has several hiking trails, as well as areas to
view the nesting birds.
Current Location: Site 130, Camping de Carleton,
Carleton, Quebec
Dates: Sept. 9-10, 2007
Services: E/W; Cost: $26.00; Nights: 1
This commercial campground is a bit unusual; they own an entire
peninsula on the coast. It's almost an island, with just a small
section connected to the mainland. I'm almost out of Quebec;
tomorrow I head into New Brunswick. According to their website, Mount
Carleton Provincial Park is closed for the season, so I can't camp
there, although I am still permitted to walk in and hike. There are
several places in Grand Falls that may be acceptable instead.
Current Location: Site 160, Paradis de la P'tite Montagne,
Grand Falls, New Brunswick
Dates: Sept. 10-11, 2007
Services: E/W; Cost: $29.64; Nights: 1
Grand Falls happens to be the half-way point between Carleton and
Fredericton, where I'm heading next (to meet a co-worker and camp in
the front yard of his 5-acre property for a few days). Since I'm only
staying here for the night (and have hours of driving left for
tomorrow), I don't even have time to see if there's a falls here. Oh
well, this wasn't intended to be a New Brunswick tour; I'm just passing
through the area.
As any RVer knows, free camping is the best camping! I'm currently
staying for a few days in the back field of a co-worker's property
near Fredericton, New Brunswick. I don't have any hookups; this is
good practise for some parks in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
Labrador which are entirely unserviced. It's been a long time since
I've not had electrical hookups (my 2001 trip to Killarney, to be
precise); hopefully my batteries will hold up better this time. If
not, I've also got a generator with me, which will be necessary to run
the satellite dish (for Internet access) and microwave oven (for
melting the cheese on my sandwiches).
I'm using this time to do errands (oil change, mail forwarding, banking,
vet appointment) as well as seeing the local sights (a blacksmith shop,
sawmill, covered bridge, etc.)
Current Location: Marsh View Trailer and Camping Park,
Sackville, New Brunswick
Dates: Sept. 15-16, 2007
Services: E/W; Cost: $23.00; Nights: 1
Today's trip wasn't fun! Just after leaving Fredericton, it started
to pour rain, and didn't let up until several hours after I arrived.
The only good news was the price; $23 cash is the cheapest that I've
paid for camping. For the first time, I didn't bother unhitching the
trailer upon arrival, due to the pouring rain. I did a quick trip into
Amherst (the nearest large town) for gas, but its grocery store was
closed until noon on Sundays.
Current Location: Site 12, Linwood Harbour Campground,
Linwood, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 16-18, 2007
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $29.64; Nights: 2
Yet another 3.5 hours of driving per day! Since my trip for this year
doesn't include a mainland Nova Scotia tour, I'm just driving through
the area; I'll come back another year (when I have more time), and see
it in more detail. Linwood is just a few minutes before the causeway
to Cape Breton Island; it's a good base from which to explore the
southern part of the island, as well as to visit Port Hawkesbury for
groceries.
While taking pictures of the causeway, I noticed a tug boat
approaching, pulling a gravel barge. My timing was perfect; I was
ready with my camera when the bridge swung open and the tug and barge
passed through. Due to the different water heights (both sides are
“sea level”, but are affected differently by the tides),
accentuated by the causeway blocking most of the channel, there is a
lock system there with a 1 metre lift. The swing bridge carries two
lanes of traffic, plus a railway.
Current Location: Site 6, Ceilidh Cottages, Campground & RV Park,
Port Hood, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 18-20, 2007
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $28.50; Nights: 2
Today's drive was quite short, only about an hour. My “Nova
Scotia Campers Guide” book said that this park was at Port Hood,
so I took the road into town. On the other side of the small town, it
turned into a very windy gravel road, with no signs for the campground.
A quick call to their office confirmed that this road would get me
there eventually, although I should have followed the highway further
instead.
The Cape Mabou Hiking Trails are an extensive set of trails along the
Gulf of St. Lawrence shore and the nearby mountains. I did 9.8 km
(approx. 4 hours) of hiking, including the trail over top of MacArthur's
mountain, a climb of about 275 metres.
I had dinner at the Red Shoe Pub
which is owned by the Rankin
family (although they rarely play there). Tonight's performer was
Ryan MacNeil, who played the bagpipes and two types of whistles. As
might be expected for a restaurant which considers itself to be classy,
the food was good but pricey, with small portions. I had the roasted
halibut (caught locally) with mixed vegetables; $31 (including tip)
later, I was still hungry for something from the local bakery
afterward.
I've picked up a few brochures for the ferries from Nova Scotia. Here
(mostly for my reference) are the approximate costs for the truck and
trailer (estimated at 47' combined length x 10.5' height):
North Sydney, NS to Port aux Basques, NL (6 hrs): $243 CAD
North Sydney, NS to Argentia, NL (15 hrs): $519 CAD
Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbor, ME (3 hrs): $623 USD
Yarmouth, NS to Portland, ME (6 hrs): $753 USD
Current Location: Site 60, MacLeod's Beach Campsite,
Dunvegan, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 20-22, 2007
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $31.92; Nights: 2
These days were spent further exploring the Mabou/Inverness area. I
drove around Lake Ainslie, trying to find Piper's Glen waterfalls.
Eventually, I found a general store, where the locals provided me with
directions. It's poorly marked, as “Pipers Glen” isn't
actually a community, but two or three houses up on an unnamed gravel
mountain road. Eventually I found the little sign by the side of the
road, parked, and walked in to a fairly large waterfalls on the
MacFarlanes Brook. The area was very tranquil, and I had lunch sitting
on a rock at the base of the waterfalls.
Inverness also has a mining museum, which has railroad and local
history exhibits.
After inquiring about the location of a Ceilidh, I was told to visit
the Glenora Inn &
Distillery any evening from 8 to 10. This is the location of the
production for Canada's only single malt whiskey (they can't call it
“Scotch” unless it's made in Scotland). As well as the
distillery, they have a small inn, a dining room and the pub which
has music twice daily. Surprisingly for a Friday night, it wasn't
too busy, so I hung out at the bar drinking iced tea and listening to
a Celtic instrumental duet (acoustic guitar and fiddle). Their food
looked surprisingly good, but I had already eaten dinner before I left
home.
Current Location: Site 25, Plage St-Pierre Beach & Campground,
Chéticamp, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 22-24, 2007
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $30.78; Nights: 2
I'm on the Cabot Trail now! Chéticamp is the last major town
before the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Surprisingly, it's
mostly French; it seems that Nova Scotia has its Acadian section just
like New Brunswick. On the way here, some internal bracings for two
drawers in the trailer came loose; I need to find the local hardware
store and see if I can buy some wood to fix this. I had noticed
earlier that this area of the cabinetry didn't appear to be well
supported, so I wasn't surprised to see that it fell apart. The
trailer is generally well built, but I'm making a list of complaints to
send to the manufacturer... already, I've replaced two cheap hinges
in the couch (which came apart) with a long piano hinge, and added some
wooden bars in front of each shelf in the medicine cabinet, so that
items do not fall forward (and all over the floor) during
travel.
This campground is on the Cheticamp island, which has a small
lighthouse at the east end. South of the town is Joe's Scarecrow
Village, with dozens of scarecrows.
Current Location: Site 154, Chéticamp Campground,
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 24-27, 2007
Services: E; Cost: $26.75 - $4 + $6.90 entry fee;
Nights: 3
Back when I had the motorhome, I used to like campsites that were
surrounded by lots of trees, as they not only screened out buildings
and other campers, but also provided some privacy. Now that I have
the satellite Internet dish, I notice that I'm choosing campsites
primarily based on how well of a signal I think I can get. So, I try
to find a site without a lot of trees to the south-west.
This park is pricey, at $33.65 per night (camping plus park admission),
but they are offering a $4/night discount due to noise from the
construction of some new maintenance buildings. Several other
campgrounds in the park are still open; I'll likely spend a few nights
at each, to do the trails that are near each one. Most of the other
campgrounds don't have any services (not even electrical hookups), so
I may have to run the generator for a few minutes if I need Internet
access (e.g. for weather reports).
Current Location: Site 9, Corney Brook Campground,
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 27-28, 2007
Services: None; Cost: $22.75 + park entry fee;
Nights: 1
“
The mountain is my front yard; the ocean is my
back yard; the roar of the waves is my lullaby.
”
I'm only about 10 km from the previous campground (likely the shortest
drive yet), but what a difference! The other campground was large (145
sites), and in the woods. This campground is small (only 20 sites),
unserviced, and sandwiched between the road and the ocean. So far,
there's just myself and four families tenting here, so it will likely
be quite quiet tonight.
Current Location: Site 117, Chéticamp Campground,
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 28-29, 2007
Services: None; Cost: $24.75 + park entry fee;
Nights: 1
Yesterday was almost perfect weather, with clouds rolling in by late
afternoon. By evening however, the winds were really picking up,
and the trailer was rattling all night. It was bad enough that one
tenting family packed everything into their car at 2 am and left, while
another couple took down their tent and spent the night in the kitchen
shelter building. By 10 am the next day, I was the only one left in
the campground.
The winds continued to be very strong all day, and I turned on my
weather radio to hear about gale warnings for most of the maritimes.
By mid-afternoon, I decided to go back to the more sheltered
Chéticamp campground, instead of spending another night here.
This is the first time that I've left a place early, but the winds
were constantly shaking the trailer, day and night.
Current Location: Unnumbered site, MacIntosh Brook Campground,
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2007
Services: None; Cost: $20.80; Nights: 2
Today I packed up the trailer and continued heading north on the Cabot
Trail. This section does not follow the coast, but heads inland, up
the French mountain, across the mountain top, and back down the
MacKenzie mountain towards the town of Pleasant Bay. Although not
long, the mountain drive was very steep, and on the downwards sections,
I was often shifting between first and second gear. Just east of
Pleasant Bay is the MacIntosh Brook picnic area and campground, a small
(approx. 10 sites) unserviced campground. During the day, many tour
buses stopped here to let their passengers have lunch and a washroom
break. By dusk, there was only another couple and myself here; with
neither hookups nor a view of the ocean, it seems to be an unpopular
place.
Instead of fire pits at each campsite, this campground has a
“kitchen shelter” -- a large enclosed building containing
10 picnic tables, two sinks with running water, and a wood stove.
During the day, the stove was kept stoked by people dropping in for
lunch. For several hours in the evening, I stayed in the shelter,
reading and keeping warm by the stove. It is very peaceful here; after
dark, there is very little traffic on the highway.
Location: Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia
Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2007
Pleasant Bay is indeed very pleasant. However, it does not have any
cell phone coverage, and the mountains were blocking my satellite
signal. So, I was completely “off the air” for a few
days.
During this time, I drove around several back roads in the area. The
last thing that I expected to find in an area settled by Scottish
immigrants and Acadian French is a Buddhist monastery! However, there
is one down a long gravel road beyond Pleasant Bay. A local tour
guide suggested that it was located there due to “good
karma” in the area. With the picturesque mountains and
incredible ocean views, I'm not surprised that this site was chosen for
the location of Gampo Abbey,
Canada's only Buddhist monastery.
Pleasant Bay is also a popular location for whale-watching boat cruises,
with 4 local companies offering several tours per day. I took a late
morning tour with Capt.
Mark's Whale & Seal Cruise, and saw two pods of Pilot whales
about 30 feet from the boat. Also there were several small seals
sunning themselves on the rocks on the shore.
