07/16 to 07/20 2025 Trip to Canada - Part Two

2025 Trip to Canada Part Two

July 16 to July 21  

The approximately 1,500 mile excursion through the beautiful Canadian wilderness included five stops at campgrounds used as a base to explore the sights, attractions and dining experiences offered by our neighbor to the north.

As my trip unfolds I'm being inundated by sights and experiences that will require more posts than anticipated with little time to sit and enter in my on-going journal. As they say, "take it one step at a time." Some photo credits and my thanks go to Roberta and Tony.

The 3-hour, 183 mile trip from Hermon, Maine to Calais, Maine, site of the Canadian border crossing bridge was a scenic never ending series of ups and downs as the curvy SR-9 connected the Bangor area with the border crossing. In between? N-o-t-h-i-n-g. Oh yeah, there were trees. 

Finally arriving in Calais, I wound my way through the streets with fellow Hudson Islander, Jack, following. With only one lane opened and three vehicles in front of me, I was at the booth in no time. I answered about twenty routine (?) questions for the young lady officer after handing her my passport card and license. She entered it all into the computer and handed me a yellow slip and told me to pull over by the office and bring it all inside.

From the Canadian side looking back at bridge, the office I entered is on the left. Surprisingly, Jack was also asked to pull over and report inside.

Once inside another officer (young, fit, professional, friendly and serious) entered more info into a computer, asked for my keys and told me to have a seat. For the next 30 minutes I watched through the window as he proceeded to open and inspect every nook and cranny, drawer and cabinet on the inside the RV after which he unlocked and looked in every storage compartment (9 of them) under and around the outside of the RV, the water heater compartment and even lifted the engine hood to check inside. (Did I look that suspicious or dangerous?)

When he returned, he called me to the desk and asked me to empty my pockets and lift my shirt. (Checked for a money belt perhaps?) At last, I got a "Have a nice day" and off we went. Jack waited for me as his inspection by two other officers was performed in no time. At the campground where all others had already arrived, I found others had also been "inspected" but not as "thorough" as me.

It will be interesting to see how my return trip, August 1st will go when returning via the Houlton, Maine port of entry. We shall see.

A. Kiwanis Ocean Front Camping - 3 nights

The Kiwanis Ocean Front Campground is operated by the Kiwanis Club of St. Andrews, New Brunswick and since 1947 has developed and operated an internationally recognized seasonal campground at the tip of the St. Andrews peninsula to fund a wide range of social and community projects. Oceanfront Camping is believed to be the second largest tourist accommodation in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, after the Algonquin Hotel. The campground has 185 serviced trailer and 24 un-serviced tent sites, as well as onsite washrooms, laundry facilities, an activities center and a propane filling station.

We Hudson Islanders were able to cluster relatively close together starting with purple 153, 154 and 155 the lower left corner of the map with the remaining members along the bottom in orange. These sites faced the Passamaquoddy Bay. 

"Passamaquoddy" or "pollack-spearers" is the name given to the Bay by the tribe of the same name. Adding the experiences of my 3-day stay cannot capture all the incredible features of this beautiful area. For example, while nearby Bay of Fundy steals the spotlight, Passamaquoddy Bay experiences some of the most extreme tidal ranges in the world—as high as 28 feet. The Old Sow Whirlpool, the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, forms here due to powerful tidal currents.

At the Reversing Falls in Saint John, just a short distance from the bay, tides force the Saint John River to flow backward—a rare event caused by the extreme tide changes spilling into the bay's inlets.

The sites with full hookups were tight. My site, 155, was a back-in. Here's a 360º view:

Sue, Ray and Jack were my neighbors.

Low tide at Passamaquoddy Bay

As seen from the roadway, we found a spot to gather, tight as it was. But the breeze caused us to move to a rose hedge protected area a few feet away.

With the chilly, breezy evenings, no fires were allowed but our gatherings continued. Roberta appreciated the rose I gave her.

One day, the gang visited The Kennedy House in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea for lunch. Built by Angus Kennedy and is son is 1881, the building is Atlantic Canada's oldest summer hotel operating year-round.  

L. to R: Gene, Susan, Pat, Jim, Roberta, Sue, Ray, Tony, Doreen, Jack.

On Thursday, we woke up to an all-day dense fog that curtailed activities and rendered all chairs left out soaked. Than (short for Nathaniel) and his wife from Virginia were leaving thus affording me a beautiful view...but not. He's visited this campground as a kid and returns regularly. By mid-afternoon, I had a new neighbor.

On Friday, we traveled to Deer Island, the smallest  of the islands (7½ miles from one end to the other) in the Fundy isles home of the Old Sow Whirlpool visible three hours prior to high tide from Deer Island Point Park. To reach the island we caught one of the two (free) government ferries (Deer Island Princess) that run between L’Etete, New Brunswick and Deer Island, New Brunswick daily. Here's a short clip to appreciate the whirlpool.

With vehicles ahead of us, our caravan of four pickup trucks, Tony, Jim, Tom and Jack, would not fit so we waited for the next boat. 

In no time at all, the Deer Island Princess appeared with returning visitors/residents from the island.

At low tide, the down hill grade was steep. We were first in line.

The side of the dock at low tide host loads of seaweed.

Tony, Doreen, Roberta, Susan and Vicki enjoyed the twenty minute ride.

The narrow roadway up the ramp greeted us as we approached Deer Island.

Within a mile, we came upon The Cap Sill Restaurant, "Where Island Folk Gather;" all 718.

Fresh caught lobster roll w/onion rings. Deeelicious.

On the way home, six of the gang enjoyed ice cream at a roadside ice cream shop...

...while seven of us went on ahead at stopped at Pete's Dairy Bar in St. George. Thank you, Ray.

B. Scotia Pine Campground - 1 Night

Hilden, Nova Scotia

This is a typical view snapped while driving through the Canadian wilderness; pine trees as far as the eye can see. Dual flatbed semis hauling cut logs a common sight.

In addition to seeing one RV for every ten vehicles, another common sight were power lines that marched along the Trans-Canada Highway. Every few miles the structure was occupied with a large nest.

Most common large bird nesting on power poles in Nova Scotia is the Osprey. They prefer tall structures near water. Built with large sticks, nests are often reused and added to each year. When trees are scarce, eagles occasionally would nest on utility poles, cell towers and specifically-built platforms. There is a high risk for electrocution and power outages: sticks can contact power lines, leading to outages or fires. This is why it's often necessary to relocate nests to safer platforms. In Nova Scotia, historic coop programs have installed alternative nesting platforms beside transmission lines to move osprey nests off poles, which has been quite successful.

This leg of the trip was a long, 275 miles, five hours with a break for a diesel fuel fill up and lunch. The learning continues as I got used to speed limits of 110 km/h being about 68 m.p.h. or 55 mph being 88 km/h. Fortunately, my on-board Rand McNally GPS was showing me everything in Canadian while my dash Garmin GPS was still presenting everything in American English. Converting CAD/L of diesel to USD/gal was daunting. An example: 67.950 liters @ $1.596 per liter was $108.45 Canadian. Converted, it was 12.959 gallons @ S4.410 per gallon or $79.16. Paying with my credit card which has no international transaction fees saw a charge of $108.45 but posted $79.66.

Although we were only an overnight, Scotia Pines Campground was able to cluster our eight RVs near each other. Again, with no fires allowed, we skipped our get-together. Instead, we planned to catch the Tidal Bore at Trulo, NS, after stopping at Martha's Pizza II for a quick bite to eat. I was eager to try Canada's version of pizza. I was not impressed with St. Louis's version. Martha's pizza was run by Middle Eastern or Eastern fellas, three in number. They did a brisk business and with 13 folks walking in, I'm sure it was a challenge. Their oven is referred to as a conveyor oven or an impinger over.  The "impinger" type oven has hot air blasted over the pie to cook faster.

But what really intrigued me was the method of preparing the dough. After sending it through a mechanical roller, there was minimal 'tossing' to enlarge and stretch the dough to fit on the sheet. Then a roller with spikes perforated the dough before treating it with sauce and toppings.

The result was not that bad. I prefer a more crispy crust. I asked for just two slices but that turned out to be the equivalent of half a large pie back home.

From there we drove 2.6 miles to the Fundy Discovery Site on Tidal Bore Road in Lower Truro, NS, set up our chairs and waited for predicted time (7:54 pm) for the high tide in the Bay of Fundy to push the tide waters up the Salmon River to our location, a narrow portion of the river. Because of the phase of the moon, today's bore was rated small to moderate.

Sue, Pat, Tom, Jim and Ray are ready.

Doreen, Tony with Barry and wife, Bethe. They live a few minutes away here in Truro and rent their lot at Elite in Florida to Roberta in Florida for January and February.

Watch in the distance as the bore comes up the Salmon River. Notice the size of the sand bar that will soon be inundated. 

A tidal bore occurs here on the Salmon River near Truro, Nova Scotia twice daily at predicted times offering a natural demonstration of the extremity of Fundy’s renowned tides. CLICK HERE for a full explanation. 

Sandbar exposed.

.

Sandbar gone.

This small to moderate bore tonight was anticlimactic for some but if you have the time, sit and wait 6 hours to watch the 50' rise and fall at The Hopewell Rock. The time lapse sequence shows just that. This video, taken one photograph per minute from before sunrise till after sunset, details it nicely. View it HERE.

I'll conclude this leg of our trip here. In Part III, I'll visit four more campgrounds waiting to provide memories. Here's hoping you're enjoying the trip so far. Next up, stops in Inlet Baddeck and Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia and finally to New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island. See you there.

Unlike manicured parks or tourist-heavy trails, much of Canada’s wilderness feels untouched—as though you’ve stepped into a postcard that hasn’t yet been mailed. It’s wild in the truest sense, with a beauty that doesn’t try to impress—it just is.