Boats that don't float, and other strange tales on the Bay of Fundy

"This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers, --
Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,
Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?"
- Evangeline, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lines 7 -11

Thursday afternoon we headed up to see part of the Bay of Fundy! So here are some pictures, and a few short descriptions of what happened out there...

The poem I started with is from Evangeline, an epic poem about the Acadians - whose land we were going into -- Grand Pre, Wolfville, Blomidon and Cape Split.

To be fair to Martin and Emily, I'm posting pictures more or less, of just Steph and I. They can tell you about Maria's first camping experience...

This first picture is us at a lookout overlooking the Minas Basin, near Grand Pre. I, of course, am wearing the hat Steph said I could ONLY wear to work. But I think the hat looks good...? Oh, and the view was nice, too.

In Grand Pre, we visited a National Historic Park which was set up on near the church that now symbolizes the deportation of les Acadiens, by the British (1755 - 1763). Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the dramatic presentation was closed for the day, and they still wanted $8 a person for admission. We opted for the tourist booth instead, where I picked up the book "Evangeline" which shows promise as a good read....
We also stopped at a Winery and toured their 'vineyards' on our own. Here's a pic' of Maria getting close to the grapes.

On our way up to the campground at Blomidon, we had a view of some boats that don't float. "Apparently", the tides here are quite severe...

We spent the night at Blomidon Provincial Park. The campground was pretty empty, and the wood they gave us was pretty wet. It was hard to get a good fire. But I think Maria didn't mind.

We had hamburgers/sloppy joe's for dinner.

And smoke for dessert.

Unfortunately, we were limited by a firepit that only allowed a view of the fire from one side -- also the side where all the smoke travelled to. We didn't plan this picture - we were breathing fine just before it, but as soon as the timer was set to go, our seats were consumed by smoke.

All night - it rained. So when I (foolishly) tried to defy nature and start wet wood on fire, well, breakfast was consumed by smoke as well...

This is the beach at Blomidon, at low tide. At high tide, we'd probably be under water. Or at least IN the water.

Finally, we visited Cape Split. Take a good look at the second picture below -- those are clams that, apparently grow in every groove in the rocks Steph and I are standing on in the first picture. Hence, we discovered that we were actually at Clam Cove - an appropriate name.

The water at high tide would reach about 3/4 of the height of this wharf that is quite obviously useless during low tide...