Nova Scotia 2024-3: Eastern Shore to Cape Breton Island

    We were a week into our trip enjoying a brilliant morning on the narrow spit that is Grand Desert Beach. 

Do we have to leave?

    We eventually roused ourselves and went the short distance back to town for breakfast at Rose & Rooster, where we'd had coffee the previous afternoon. 

Marilyn so enjoyed the setting & logo of Rose & Rooster she bought one of their large, sturdy,  cotton tote bags.

17 Days in Nova Scotia. Purple: Yarmouth-Peggy's Cove. Green: Halifax & Grand Desert. Eastern Shore to Cape Breton Island. Baddeck to Meat Cove. Red: Cabot Trail & Bras d'Or Lake. Louisbourg, Louisbrick & the Big Fiddle. Blue: Last day in Nova Scotia.

    We planned to stick to the eastern shore in the general direction of Canso.

Of course there were many churches & cemeteries.

Marie Joseph Harbor: typical small harbor with lobster boats. 

    Lobster fishing is a major industry in New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Year-round, each region has assigned dates for trapping lobster, with some seasons being longer than others. We arrived on the last day for Yarmouth lobstermen, with areas further north beginning their seasons.

Some lobster boats had seen better days.

In Sherbrooke, we wondered if we'd taken a wrong turn...

    Salzman Provincial Park became our destination. The map revealed two routes. It was a no brainer to choose the one that included a ferry. Who doesn't like to take the ferry whenever the opportunity presents itself?

Crossing from Port Bickerton to Isaacs Harbour on the free Country Harbour ferry.

    As with all the Nova Scotia Provincial Parks we stayed in, Salzman personnel were super friendly and helpful, and the park was spacious and clean. With the favorable exchange rate, we typically paid about $22 US ($27 Canadian) for a nonserviced site. With solar and water onboard, we rarely get a serviced site.

Salzman Provincial Park, on Fraser Brook.

Marilyn was happy to get in another swim, though brief. On her open water temperature scale of cool-refreshing-invigorating, it definitely rated invigorating.

She also enjoyed the wildflowers, as always.

Another night camped in Nova Scotia.

Robins had good breakfast pickings in the campground.

    We decided we should go to Canso, perhaps to camp, on the far northeast tip of Nova Scotia's mainland.

A rare wildlife encounter.

Flora, fauna, & water--doesn't get better.

Perhaps the most original wood storage in Nova Scotia.

In Larry's River, Marilyn mailed postcards to her family & a birthday card to her younger son. It took about 2 weeks to get to him in California.

Canso, another colorful town.

Nova Scotia has a very jagged coast. In 1929, it had 265 lighthouses. Today there are 82, with 54 open to visitors.

Canso.

We were to see 2 monuments in Nova Scotia that stood out for their elegance & simplicity. This one is to a helicopter crew who died while practicing search & rescue.

    From Canso, we decided to abandon for now our quest to stay on the coast and headed to Cape Breton Island.

We crossed Canso Canal on a combination bridge...

...& causeway. 

    A private campground in Baddeck, the official start of the Cabot Trail, provided a swimming pool for Marilyn, but also lots of mosquitoes, which this time liked Doug nearly as much as Marilyn.

Next up: Cape Breton Island & the Cabot Trail