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. 

St. Martins & Black Sand Beach

June 28

St. Martins

We woke up to a foggy morning but decided it would be a good day to go for a drive to St. Martins.  Maybe the fog would lift before we got there.  It didn’t.  We didn’t see anything.

St. Martins is a lovely fishing village in a sheltered bay with some interesting caves in the rock.  The caves are only accessible during low tide and we timed it right.  As we walked across the stony beach towards the caves, we found there was a little stream that we’d have to cross.  We walked alongside the stream all the way to where it flows into the bay, not able to find any spot narrow enough to jump across.  Oh well.  Dry shoes are highly over-rated!  It was well worth it.

What’s also unique about St. Martins is that there are two covered bridges crossing a river that flows into the bay.  And in between, is the tourist info booth, a replica lighthouse.  The dome is from a real lighthouse.

 The fog lifted a bit so we decided to go look for the real lighthouse.  By the time we found it, the bay was engulfed in fog again and the fog horn blast was going regularly.  It’s loud enough to do serious damage to your ears!  We’ll have to return someday when we can see something. 

On the way back to Saint John, we saw a sign to another covered bridge.  It stood as if on stilts over an empty river channel waiting for the tide water to come in.

Black Sand Beach

Steve said he’d heard about a beach with black sand and suggested we all go have a wiener roast supper there.  Black sand?  In New Brunswick? 

With Steve and Kelly’s directions we drove out towards Lorneville, past a power generating plant and then down the roughest gravel road ever.  Given all the potholes, it hadn’t been maintained in years.

The reward was worth it.  What a beautiful beach with black sand, derived from graphite deposits.  We built a campfire right on the sand and enjoyed hot dogs and s’mores.  The tide was coming in fast, but we were set up above the high-tide line.  It was a an incredibly calm evening to sit and watch the sunset over the water.  What a lovely evening.

A time lapse of five minutes between these two pictures.  

Irving Nature Park

June 23

We are now camped in Saint John for the next week or so to explore this part of the Fundy Coast and to visit with our son, Steve and his girlfriend, Kelly.

They have often spoken of Irving Nature Park as their favourite part of Saint John.  This afternoon they took us for a hike around one of the trails.  I would agree.  It is so beautiful.  It’s on a peninsula jutting out into the Bay of Fundy and as you hike around the point, you come across a different view of the Bay and city at every look-off.  And the forest is ever changing too.  It is fascinating and it would be a different view every time you hike.  Even when you return to the start an hour later, the water level has changed.

Lobsters and Farmer's Markets

When travelling to the east coast, one requirement is to eat some lobster.

On Father's Day, Steve came up from Saint John to Oromocto and we had a wonderful family dinner.  He'd brought fresh-caught lobster, mussels and clams and cooked them outside at our campground.  It was the best tasting seafood ever.  But what do we know?  We're all prairie people!

Dad and his kids - just before the feasting began.

The amazing thing though is that when there is lobster on the menu, it's served in so many different ways.  Last night, for example, I had lobster stuffed potato skins and Dave had lobster poutine.  There is no end to lobster dishes, and they're always delicious. 

Lobster Mac n Cheese

When you stop and think about it, there’s a lot of regional food in Canada.  I love going to farmer’s market to find what is grown locally.  Fredericton has a lovely market of fresh produce, food trucks, and local crafters.  It’s hard to resist buying something! 

Rhubarb and  fiddleheads

We went to the Market on the Kingston Peninsula.  It’s not an island, but the best way to get there is by ferry across the Kennebecasis River. It’s a wonderful market, part indoors and part outdoors with crafters, local produce, ethnic foods (Syrian, Korean) and a pancake breakfast.  It’s still a bit early for the produce, other than rhubarb, radishes and lettuce.  On the way home we took a drive around to the other side of the island and crossed by another ferry on the Saint John River.