Monday, August 27, 2018

Nova Scotia was an astounding collection of vibrant cities, quaint towns, coastlines, beaches, mountains, lakes, rivers, wildlife and a diversity of languages and cultures. Here are a few snapshots of the wonder that we encountered.


Sailboat and lighthouse in the fog in Halifax Harbor



Halifax Harbor



The Peoples Garden in Halifax


L'Eglise Saint-Pierre (St. Peter's Church) in the town of Cheticamp


Water Lillies in the Bog in Cape Breton Highlands National Park


Beach north of the town of Cheticamp



Harbor at Pleasant Bay



Four Mile Beach at Cabot's Landing


My campsite is so little and the sea is so big.
Campground at Meatcove on the northern tip of Nova Scotia




Northermost tip of Nova Scotia



Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park



View from the end of Skyline Trail



Life is good on the coastline of Cape Breton


Female moose in the National Park



Dennis with lobster pots at Ingonish Harbor


Ingonish Beach



Feeling right sized at Arm of Gold Campground near Sydney, Nova Scotia


Following a lumber truck through the fog out of Nova Scotia


Tuesday, August 21, 2018

We were in Nova Scotia for most of the last two weeks. We did not do a blog post while there because there was VERY poor phone service and access to Wifi. So, over the next few days we'll try to put up 2 or 3 posts (or 4 posts) to catch up. Hope you will enjoy all of them.


A dragonfly, at Porters Lake Provincial Park, north of Halifax Nova Scotia


Porters Lake, north of Halifax NS








These were the most delicate mushrooms we've ever seen. They were only about 2 to 4 inches tall and paper thin. They grew in the morning dew, and when it began to rain they melted away almost instantly.


 The boardwalk in Halifax Harbor.


The Halifax Harbor had paid falconers who walked the boardwalk with their falcons (a Harris Hawk in this case) to scare away the seagulls. 





 And Nova Scotia bunnies were much darker brown than we had ever seen before.


The Liscomb River (in morning fog) near it's mouth into the North Atlantic.


Our first Bald Eagle sighting of the trip.


 Wild Roses at the beach on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.


Mike at an overlook of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the village of Pleasant Bay - along the Cabot Trail.


A cow moose in French Lake at dawn - Cape Breton National Park.


Tiny Orchids growing in the bog (each bloom was only about 1/4 inch long) - Cape Breton National Park.


Another plant from the bog: These are called Pitcher Plants. The parts that look like flowers are in fact leathery leaves, as are the pitcher shaped upright tubes below. They are an insect eating plant, and these are both parts of the plant for trapping and digesting insects.


 A bridge over the MacIntosh Brook.


Blooms along the trail.


Cabot's Landing Provincial Park - a day use only park on the North Atlantic. Be honest with me. When was the last time you were on a sandy beach that was 4 miles long and you could not find a single footprint other than your own? There were people swimming at almost every beach we saw, but this one was just too remote. (Mike did go swimming and said that it was warmer than Barton Springs.)


A Butterfly among the thistles.


Wild Blueberries.


The view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Skyline Trail.

 
Sunset at the Cheticamp campground.


Another cow moose - at the side of the roadway.


Berries and ferns along the trail. 


 Mike on the trail to Ingonish Beach.


Ingonish Harbor - although a long established fishing community (that still survives as its primary industry) Ingonish had quite a large summer population and several beaches and campgrounds and resorts with world class golf courses.


Canada had many unusual signs. We plan to do a special post of signs soon. 



Friday, August 10, 2018


We had a Country Mouse/City Mouse visit to New York City. We spent our nights in the woods at Harriman State Park on the Hudson River. During the day we took an express train thirty miles into Manhattan. In the City we spent time with the Impressionist painters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wandered through Central Park, and visited with friends from Austin who have moved to the Big Apple. It was hot and humid and a whole lot of fun.



 Mike and our little house in the woods


 A doe in the woods at Harriman State Park


 And a Chipmunk


 The bridge between Harriman State Park and the train to NYC

 Grand Central Station


 Dennis outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art


 Inside with van Gogh


 A tea party in Central Park


 Jazz quartet in Central Park


 Water Lillies in Cental Park


 The front yard of a brownstone on Park Ave.

 Visiting with friends in Central Park West

 Jame Audobon mural in Washington Heights


 Going back up the Hudson River in the rain

One of the reasons that we moved to Las Cruces was the wide range of camping opportunities: We are about 600 miles from Austin, TX; 600 mile...