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

Fredericton

July 4

I always love going to Fredericton.  It’s a beautiful drive along the Saint John River into the downtown, past so many grand old houses.  They would be so interesting to tour.  What stories those walls could tell.

  

The historic downtown is also very beautiful.  We’ve had a number of opportunities over the past few years to visit the various shops, as well as the art gallery, legislature building, and Christ Church cathedral.  I never get tired of this part of the city.

For most of this trip, our visits to Fredericton have been more practical in nature:  Home Depot, Costco, Sobeys, etc.   But today we were downtown to enjoy the night market at the Garrison District.  This is a historic district, a garrison for British soldiers in the 18 and 19 century.  Now it was a busy place with a large number of ethnic food vendors and street or two full of craft vendors.  We enjoyed sampling a variety of dishes such as shawarma, Caribbean samosas, pot stickers, and stroopwaffles. Fortunately, we found seats in the shade and could relax and enjoy the local music talent while eating and watching the people go by. What an enjoyable summer evening, despite the 30 + temperature!  I think it’s finally summer. 

Oromocto 2.0

July 3

God is good.  He has everything all planned out and we can look back and see how it all fits together even though we sometimes do get stressed and anxious along the way. I’ve titled this entry Oromocto 2.0 because coming back to Oromocto wasn’t in our original plan for this trip.  But God had a few surprises for us, and I’m expecting there will be a few more. 

The day we left home at the end of May, Devon went for a job interview.  The day we reached Montreal, Devon was offered a job in Ontario – someplace.  So, when we arrived in Oromocto at the beginning of June, we were entering a home that was frantically trying to prepare to move to… someplace.  Sitting around and visiting wasn’t happening.  Rather, we were thrown into all the work of getting a house ready to sell and packing it up to move.  Taking care of Elliott of course was a big part of that, done with pleasure! 

Helping sand and paint the cupboards

Sometimes Elliott came to hang out with us at the trailer. 

So now, at the beginning of July, we’ve returned to Oromocto after taking a couple of weeks to visit with our son Steve in Saint John (as originally planned).  Devon has been away on training for his new job (as a pilot with Ornge, a medical flying service for northern Ontario) and Katherine has been very busy with the final packing and selling the house. 

Sioux Lookout Ontario

The destination has been revealed:  Sioux Lookout, Ontario. “It’s not at the end of the world but if go around the corner, you can almost see it from there.” said Dave after we toured through there back in May.

Welcome to Sioux Lookout

God’s timing is the best and everything is coming together according to His plan. 

Rockwood Park

July 3

Our time in Saint John has been 50/50 rain and sun.  But a little rain doesn’t hurt anyone so we continue on. 

Katherine and Elliott (and Garth, the dog) came to spend a night with us at the campground.  It was a rainy day, but we put Elliott into a rain suit and away we went!  Later in the evening, when Elliott was asleep inside, we sat under the awning out of the rain, visiting together with Kelly and Steve too.  It wasn’t that cold. 

We’re camping in Rockwood Park which is right in the heart of Saint John.  The campground has two sections:  one surrounded by trees, overlooking the city with the accompanying traffic noises.  The other looks like an RV parking lot but is backing onto the forest and is more peaceful.  This is where we are, enjoying the quieter side. 

Rockwood is a huge park with many trails, some more well travelled ones, and some just a path in the bush, poorly marked and classed as challenging.  Those have the more descriptive names:  Heartrate Hill, Lorenz' Leap, Moose Trax, and Mama I'm Coming Home. We’re sticking to the main trails, marked 'easy', which meander around a couple of beautiful lakes and through an arboretum. 

Speaking of lakes, Dave bought a three-day freshwater fishing license and was determined to make good use of it.  Both Lily Lake and Fishers Lakes are wonderful places to fish for trout and bass.  He caught a couple of little ones and just generally enjoyed fishing.  Luckily for him, the rain let up every time he headed out there. 

Fishing on a misty morning

Dave's fishing companion?

Reversing Falls Rapids

The reversing falls are a phenomenon worth seeing. 

The St. John River enters into the Bay of Fundy in Saint John.  It’s a very wide river up in Fredericton and in Saint John it funnels through a narrow gorge with a series of rapids and falls into the Bay.  What’s amazing is that with the powerful tides on the Bay of Fundy, the river water is pushed backwards up the falls.  To get a full appreciation of the scene, you need to see the river both at low tide and high tide. 

The St. John River rapids at low tide. At high tide they are going the other way.

We were lucky enough to get a window seat at the Fallsview Restaurant and we saw the river at all three stages:  low, slack and high tide. As we ate our meal, the fog rolled in and it was difficult to see what was happening below.  We needed to take another look on another day.

At first it was low tide and the water was rushing out to sea. As the time passed you could see the rapids changing and the water slowly rising.  

Halfway to the high tide there is a period of about 20 minutes where the water is level, neither going out or coming in.  It’s called slack tide.  There are no rapids on the water and boats can sail without danger.  Once the tide has risen further, the water is pushed upstream until high tide.  Then the tide goes out and the cycle begins again.  It’s approximately another 12 hours until the next high tide.

The river is running downstream (to the right) and the tide is rising.

The slack tide is just ending and there is a ripple of river running to the left, upstream.

Saint John New Brunswick

Saint John is a beautiful historic city.  It's Canada’s first city, established in 1785.  There are many eras of history to uncover and lots of historical buildings, many with signs describing their past.  Uptown is a beautiful historic area with shops, restaurants and old houses.  Our son, Steve, lives in this neighbourhood and is in the midst of renovating a house (half-duplex) built in the late 1800s.  I love all the old houses, and the beautiful architecture from days gone by.

Look closely:  "On this site in 1897 nothing happened.'

Steve's house is the left half of the yellow building.

There about 20 salmon sculptures 'hidden' all over Uptown.
This one is in front of the City Market.

The City Market is the oldest continuing farmer’s market in Canada, in a building built in 1876.  It’s open every day with food vendors, fresh produce and handmade crafts for sale.  Steve works within walking distance so it’s been a great meeting place for lunch. 

Saint John is crazy trying to get around in when you have a specific address in mind.  Going around the block usually doesn't work.  You'll find yourself somewhere else completely - on the other side of a bridge or highway.  That’s because the city is stuck between a rock and a wet place!  Throw away the map and just generally drive around.  You’ll get ‘there’ eventually.  It’s not that big!

Canada Day

July 1

Happy Canada Day!

One of my friends asked me how many cities/towns I’ve been to for Canada Day.  That’s a good question.  Answer:  many.  We’re often on vacation somewhere this time of year.

This year we celebrated Canada Day in Saint John.  They had a whole day of activities.  It began with a short people parade along King Street.  We weren’t sure where to find the parade, but arrived at the right place, just at the right time.  As the parade ended, the national anthem was played and it was beautiful to see how people stopped where they were to show their respect.  

I get emotional thinking about the peaceful beautiful country we live in. Sometime ago an immigrant said to me that they loved Canada Day because the crowds were gathered in peace and everyone was happy.  

We continued along with the crowd into the Market Square for the opening ceremonies and music by a community band.  Along the boardwalk were activities for children and young people and more music.  The New Brunswick Museum had free admission so we took advantage of that.  At dusk, 10 p.m., the day ended with fireworks over the harbour. 

When I say I’ve been to other cities/towns on Canada Day, it’s usually just for the fireworks.  This year it was a full day of activities for us.