Miramichi

July 7

The Miramichi is an interesting part of New Brunswick that we had the pleasure of exploring today.   Miramichi city straddles the wide Miramichi River and you need to know what side you want to be on before you cross one of the two bridges.  We had a full circle driving tour just trying to find the tourist information booth.  

Eventually we found our way to a wharf area and after lunch, took a boat tour of the river.  It was a beautiful day to be out on the water listening to the guide tell interesting tales about the history of the Miramichi.  He pointed out various landmarks and had lots of stories to tell. One story was about the 1825 Miramichi Fire.  It destroyed 1/5 of New Brunswick forests and completely destroyed many of the communities along the Miramichi.  Many lives were lost.  He also told us about the various groups of immigrants that came to the area, the Scottish, Loyalist, and Irish.  Hence, the names of the towns that now are called Miramichi:  along the north shore is Newcastle, and Douglastown and the south shore is Chatham.  The history of these towns was largely based around the forest industry and shipbuilding. 

After an ice cream treat, (and that’s another story), we then spent some time at French Fort Cove Park.  It’s a beautiful nature park, around a cove in the river.  The Miramichi is a world-famous Atlantic salmon fishing river.  Although Dave didn’t have the license to go salmon fishing, he was determined to get his fishing line in the water to catch something else.  No luck.  The fish were just taunting him.  Meanwhile I enjoyed a hike around the cove.

We thought we might go out for a salmon dinner, but by the time our stomachs growled, the restaurants were closed and we ended up back home at our trailer, eating wieners and beans.

A bridge we found along the way.

Ritchie Wharf

French Fort Cove