Stunning Cape Breton
So today we began our exploration of our fourth province, and it's the one Theresa and I know the best, even though we don't know it that well - Nova Scotia. T and I took our first trip together to Halifax, and a very dear friend of ours still lives there, but before we could reconnect with yesterday we needed to forge new ground as the Berry-Davies', and so we headed North to Cape Breton. We'd been warned that the terrain was stunning, the people beyond compare and the experience worth the Trekker but as we left Port Hawkesbury with clean clothes and a full tank we just thought it was narrow and steep. The 'highlands' don't really encapsulate what it is to drive through some of the oldest mountains on the planet, but it didn't take long to leave us without speech - the views were just that impressive. We had experienced the drive from Vancouver to Tofino, and it shares the ocean/mountain combination, but it's a little more unexpected here (out west you expect to see mountains once you get 50 k west of Calgary, here not so much). But we just set our sights on Ingonish beach, the first Natioanl Park campground past Baddeck on the Astern shore of Cape Breton Island.
About 2 hours out of Port Hawkesbury the terrain started to get steep and before we knew it we were in the highlands. The vistas were heart stopping and jaw dropping, and we quickly learned how fortunate we were. Just to be here. It is truly a special place.
After a few (hundred) more turns (it's not a boring place to drive, I was constantly imagining a Cape Breton rally race) we found our home for the next three days - Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The oTENTik was as expected and we made camp quicker than the last time. We were fortunate to get one of the two sites located within sight of the beach and while we couldn't get in immediately (the key was misplaced, a common theme for this leg) we went straight to Ingonish Beach and the crashing surf kept us interested for the rest of the afternoon without breaking a sweat!
This was Gird's first real apexperience with a real surf beach and it didn't take him long to learn the value of this unique and special place. The sound was all-encompassing, the force was without questions and his enthusiasm for it all was immediate and contagious. He immediately cr at we a game that involved him taunting the ocean. Challenging its strength, it's power, and ultimately spent th next two hours chasing th surf, screaming at the waves (luckily his voice was drowned by the surf), and throwing various things in. It was everything T could do to pull him away when time come to make dinner, but a relationship was forged. Ingonish Beach was a place to be and G would not be the same afterwards.
She doesn't look thrilled, but Hannah did enjoy the surf and watching her brother frolic.
The waves hit hard! Big undertow, better for taunting the ocean than swimming, according to Gordon.
Eventually we settled down to a simple camping meal pleased with our new (if temporary) home and basic flavours never tasted so good. Our setup was the same as at Fundy, with G and I taking the to bunk while T and Hannah womaned the bottom bunks - it worked before, it would work again. As T put Hannah to sleep to the sound of crashing waves Gordon and I enjoyed yet another fire, this time with a cute beaver fire pit. We were surely finding our groove now and afte stories and popcorn we easily found sleep - the crashing surf a natural sound machine for us all. Tomorrow we'd head back to ththe beach, but sleep took us quickly.
No glow sticks this time, but G enjoyed popcorn, scary stories and the sound of the ocean before we headed in to bed. Thanks Cape Breton - one day here, one day of joy.
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