I only wish that I could teleport my son, Glen and my Son-in-law Neil here to be with me this evening. We are boondocking in the parking lot of the Railroad Museum here in Hillsborough New Brunswick. Thirty feet from the nose of Arcturus is parked a Canadian Voodoo Fighter Jet. All along the tracks to the left side of the coach are railroad equipment, beautifully preserved, and I think some of it is used for excursions. The town administrator, Danny, gave us permission to camp and to enjoy the outdoor exhibits of the museum. What is unusual is they have a 4-6-0 Canadian National steam engine here and it is not all boxed in to keep people out of the cab. I even have permission to climb in the engine and take photos. What I need now are Glen’s aircraft identification book to get the details on the Voodoo, and Neil’s Locomotive books to identify this engine. The museum is closed but it is still fascinating.
To top that off, I am looking out the south side of the coach and I see a Great Blue Heron, dowitchers and at least two species of ducks in the swamp area a hundred feet away. There is a one kilometer nature trail that starts right here and leads down to the Petitcodiac River. That is connected to the Bay of Fundy so it can be full or empty depending on the tides. We walked on down and it was brim full.
It has been very windy today and it was a relief when the wind died down just at sunset. It looks like it will be clear tonight. Perhaps this will be the night we see the Aurora Borealis. As I look south over the pond I am looking at a gibbous moon floating in a sea of sparkling stars. I just walked down to take a picture of the moon light reflected in the water. Just as I was steadying the camera for the shot about a thousand mosquitoes settled on my head, neck and hands. What I got was an abstract photo with squiggly light streaks. I have heard that if the wind is over 8 miles per hour the mosquitoes cannot light on you so I beat an eight MPH streak back to the coach and jumped through the door and slammed it behind me. No mosquitoes got in with me .I hope.
September 13, 2005:
Again no internet, so I will keep going. Today we visited Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. This is a mile long stretch of beach on the Bay of Fundy where the sandstone washes away leaving columns capped with conglomerate rock “flower pots.” They are adorned with trees that almost make them look like people with funny hats. At the surf line at the base of a 70 to 100 foot cliff we were able to gradually work our way around the base of each outcropping and into a new cove as the tide receded. We eventually got to traverse the entire formation and return to the Interpretation Center. Then we went back at low tide and did it again. By then the beach was a hundred yards wide.
After we wore ourselves out with that we put Arcturus in gear and made our way to the Cape Enrage Lighthouse. This was perhaps the most challenging road yet. The switchbacks were so sharp I needed to take part of the opposing lane. I used my dad’s technique from when we used to drive crooked logging roads around Colville Washington. Blow the horn before you go around a blind corner. Arcturus has a beautiful deep throated air horn, and we sure announced our intentions on two different switchbacks. Arcturus actually downshifted into first gear to grind his way up one hill. Getting turned around proved to be interesting also. I had to pull into one parking lot and then back across the road into a second parking lot to get headed back toward town.
We send our love to all. Bye for now.
Gary and Judy.
