Nova Scotia, the final days

Sculpted granite

Quiet lakes, fall color

Peggy's Cove lighthouse

Fun with perspective

Peggy's Cove was next on our "must do" list and it was not that far down the road. We took the slow road, around each beautiful bay and inlet between Halifax and Peggy's. Its longer that way. The colors continued to entertain us but we got the feeling that we were beginning to see the end of the peak. Bare trees started showing their barky trunks and branches. We arrived in Peggy's Cove just as the sun was going down, another postcard kind of sunset. The lighthouse at Peggy's Cove is perched on sculpted bedrock of beautiful, light gray granite that has been ground and polished by glaciers. It is a stunning sight. There is a restaurant nearby with a large parking lot that serves the busloads of tourists who come everyday. We were lucky to visit when there were very few people around. We hopped around taking pictures for a while, shared a dessert at the restaurant, and camped out in their nice parking lot. The next morning I was up and out early to catch the sunrise which was equally beautiful to the sunset the night before. We heard that there were some buses coming soon so we decided to bug out before being left with the memory of the lighthouse surrounded by gobs of people.

Sunset

Town of Peggy's Cove

Continuing along the rocky coast we charted our course to Lunenburg. Another historic city centered around the fishing industry, Lunenburg is a World Heritage site. It has a lovely harbor filled with fishing and sailing boats, a couple of streets in the business district, and neighborhoods of ornately built and brightly painted houses. We spotted the tall masts of a big schooner right away and went to investigate. It was the "Bluenose II", a replica of the original Bluenose. Unfortunately, it is undergoing some repairs and were not allowing people to get close or aboard so we had to admire it from a distance. The Bluenose was built near Lunenburg in 1921 as a racing and fishing boat. It won many races and set long standing records and worked as a fishing boat and freighter. It eventually was lost near Haiti. The Bluenose II was built in 1963 and for many years has been a major tourism draw. It is a beautiful ship! They are struggling so much financially that Thayer and I think we should be able to buy it and get it ready for next summer's cruise down the Atlantic seaboard. We drove the 5 km out to Blue Rocks, a fishing/summer cottage kind of community. It had a fabulous rocky coastline and many cute and interesting boat shacks, docks and boats. We talked to a nice older lady from New England whose family has owned a small house here for many years. Back in Lunenburg we met some other Rialta owners in the parking lot and joined them for dinner at the local pub. Nice folks from Wisconsin. They were on a quick trip to the Maritimes, only 3 weeks. They were headed to PEI next for only 2 days. We spent 10 days there and it wasn't enough. I guess we are just lucky to have all this time, not everyone does apparently.

Lunenburg is not afraid of bright colors!

Glacial carving in Blue Rocks

Boat house island

Lunenburg home

Bluenose II

The last big stop before leaving Nova Scotia was Kejimkujik National Park, located in the center of N.S. Yes, I had to go look that up to make sure I spelled it right. This special place is not only a National Park, it is also a National Historic Site. It contains Canada's treasure trove of Mi'kmaw petroglyphs, ancient sacred pictures carved into the smooth black rocks near the old villages. The Mi'kmaw traditionally spent their fall and winter seasons in the Kejimkujik area, fishing, hunting moose and deer, gathering berries and supplies for baskets and canoes. We did not get to see the petroglyphs because they are very protective of them and you can only  see them with a Mi'kmaw interpreter to guide you. The many lakes of the region were the Mi'kmaw's highways from the ocean shores 50 miles away to these wintering grounds. The campgrounds were deserted and mostly closed but we found showers open and electricity. During the summer season they provide all kinds of camping facilities: large tents, backcountry sites (with firewood and picnic tables provided), group areas, semi remote group sites... all beautiful, large sites. It would be so fun to have a canoe here, so many places to go and cool things to see. The trails I walked were lovely in the fall colors and delightfully deserted. In two long hikes I took I saw one other person. Canada does a wonderful job of providing opportunities to learn about the First Nation peoples, we have seen them represented in every park we have visited. They seem to have been treated much more fairly than the native peoples of the US.

Mill Falls on the Mercey River

Kijimkujik NP

With some regret, we turned toward Digby, our last stopping place in Nova Scotia. We missed the afternoon ferry so we camped in the parking lot at the ferry terminal, awaiting the 8 am ferry to St. John. Digby is the scallop capital of the world we hear, but we did not have scallops for dinner, I just haven't been having much luck with seafood and my stomach. Terribly sad, considering where we are. Anyway, farewell to Nova Scotia! 

Sunrise from Digby ferry

Enjoying fall sunshine!

Maple colors

Kijimkujik campground

Its not easy being a tree!