From Claudia’s it took us about seven hours to drive across New Hampshire and Maine and enter Canada in Calais. Fortunately the foreign entry was smooth and quick; we were just asked a few questions and then allowed to drive through. After a night in nearby St. Stephen we meandered along the southern routes with a few stops here and there. To welcome us, a bald eagle flew by as we cruised down the road!

First up was a small nature preserve at Pea Point. Some of the trail was in the forest which opened up to a gravel road and then the bay. At water’s edge we encountered an elderly gentleman and his friendly dog. The man was very chatty and made a couple of recommendations for us to stop at as we continued east. He also told us how to get to the lighthouse we were seeking and to be careful as the way was slippery at low tide. The lighthouse turned out to be of little interest but we enjoyed the views before making our way back on the other side of the loop with more shoreline trail and re-entering the forest. It was a refreshing two mile hike.

The next place he recommended was on the other side of St. John’s but before we arrived, we stopped at a small rustic seafood eatery there in St. Martin’s. I enjoyed my lobster roll with generous chunks of lobster freshly caught just down the coast. Bill had pork and pineapple tacos. For a little extra decadence I had a cup of key lime pie ice cream which was good but not flavorful enough. I am rather picky about wanting a strong tart lime flavor. Just a bit down the road we came across the sea caves I had read about. With low tide we were able to walk close enough to admire them. Made from conglomerate and sandstone 250 million years old, they are rather striking.

Later in the afternoon we arrived at Fundy Highlands Motel and Chalets in the park where we stayed in a chalet on the hill with a distant view of the bay. It was very quiet and comfortable with kitchenette. The next day we took two hikes. The first was to Dickson Falls, just a short hike with steps down and then stairs back up to the trail loop. As we were about to ascend a younger couple with their dog came down and we started chatting about what to see. They had just arrived as well. When we returned to the car park, there they were trying to figure out how to get into their car. The locks weren’t working and they hoped we had a coat hangar. After much dithering and repeated attempts, they thought they would have to call a locksmith so we headed out for our next hike.

Dickson Falls

It turned out to be more strenuous and longer than originally planned. The coastal path was forested and steep going up and down. We didn’t really get to see the coastline until we intersected the trail I had originally wanted to do. There was a wide open view from the top of the cliff and lo and behold, the locked out couple and their dog were sitting there admiring the view! After we had left them they had tried the lock one more time and it decided to work. Phew! They told us about their experience with Newfoundland, our next destination. They were on a two month road trip from British Colombia to see aging grandparents. We met them a couple more times on the loop trail and then lost them as they were walking at a faster pace. A few kilometers later after hiking a more moderate trail and then a kilometer on the road, we were back at our parking lot and there they were again! They had another destination suggestion for us, this time in Nova Scotia. We wished them well and headed back to the chalet.

The next morning we had two hikes in mind. The first one was from Laverty Lake to Tracey Lake, but when we arrived it was much too windy and cold. The trail was to have a few wet spots so we opted to move on to Laverty Falls, just up the road. This trail was about 2.5 kilometers descending through the woods. Along the way we walked around two areas of moose droppings but never saw the moose. This trail also had wet spots but there were always short detours. About an hour later we found the top of the falls in a beautiful setting. Another trail took us to the bottom where we could see why they are called “curtain falls”. While we were standing there I noticed a couple at the top of the falls and suspected they were our friends from yesterday. Eventually she turned around to head our way and yes, it was she! Her husband and dog all met us down below where we spent more time chatting about the area and the awful number of ticks they had in Nova Scotia! Good to know as we had not read about that and they had been surprised as well. We left them there to eat lunch and we returned to the car. They must hike uphill more quickly than we do as just after we arrived at the parking lot, so did they! More chatting revealed he has a portable sawmill and can make $100 Canadian dollars an hour/$1,000 a week! That’s about $750 US per week. Winter is quiet, obviously, but it explained how they could take two months off.

That was our final meeting as they were needing to get on the road towards Quebec. They suggested a couple of places we could see today so after a rest and lunch back at the chalet, we drove to Herring Cove. The tide was out revealing an expansive beach. There we learned Fundy Bay was created about 12,000 years ago when the ocean flooded the channel created by receding glaciers which raised the land and changed the shorelines. At high tide the depth is four stories!! The second place they suggested is on the other side of the town of Alma, about six miles. At low tide the beach is certainly enormous but we opted not to walk it as Bill had a blister and it didn’t look very interesting.

Fundy was a good spot to see a bit of nature and it was rather fun to keep running into the same younger couple and their laid back dog. A couple of times the dog chased after a thrown frisbee and that dog can certainly leap high high high in the air!