The Maritime Provinces of Canada - Part 1

     This is where I am going; what they are called. I never realized I really wanted to visit them so badly until about a year ago. I started making a "bucket list" -- or "wish list" for those of you who do not want to hear it (you know who you are!) :) Shortened it to manageable must-sees.
     I was attracted by the sheer beauty and history of the Maritimes. It is driveable distance. So it is first on my list. Here is a quick map of the area where I will be traveling.

     Canada’s Maritime Provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island – are dominated by the sea, with a long, jagged coastline punctured by picturesque bays, sandy beaches and towering cliffs. The ocean was crucial to the development of the Maritimes, bringing in waves of settlers and  accounting for its greatest industries: ship-building and fishing. Forestry became important in the 19th century, and even today a large part of it remains intractable wilderness.
     After Saint John (mammoth bones!!), I head to Nova Scotia for 3 days. Likely explore the west coast first, and the Bay of Fundy. I have printed the tidal charts. It is home to the world's highest tides -- as high as 11 feet, tides in the Minas Basin can reach 43 feet!! The tides are so strong they actually reverse the flow of several local rivers.
     The Bay of Fundy was formed due to continental drift millions of years ago. They estimate 100 billion TONS of water flow through the bay every tidal shift.
     That is some awesome powerful force of Mother Nature.

      Of course I will be doing some touristy things along the way, and there are things I do want to see and do. But I have also left a good portion of my trip open for random and unexpected experiences.
     After all, is that not what the journey is about?

My Upcoming Trip To Canada

In two weeks I leave for my 11-day trip to Canada. Originally I was going to take a week. After re-thinking all I wanted to do and see, and with a bit of my brother's urging, I added some extra days to the front end of my trip.

I am driving there. Yes, it is a lot of miles on an older (but extremely reliable!) Mustang GT, and I have had her checked out six ways to Sunday. My excellent mechanic assures me she will make the trip safely and soundly. All that remains is a quick oil change.

I leave early Wed., June 8. It will take about 7 1/2 hours to arrive in Saint John, New Brunswick. And as soon as I cross the border, there is a time zone change to Atlantic Time.

Hooray. Not only will I be tired from the long drive, but I also get to switch to an earlier time zone :)

I chose to stay in Saint John for a reason, and not just because it is at the limits of my drive-time behind the wheel for a day! They have a Museum with mammoth bones. I have a weird fascination for dinosaur bones and have never seen mammoth bones close up. I want to. I must! Perusing the museum's website, it fascinates me to no end.

Figure a few hours at the Museum, then I continue on to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, about 3 1/2 hours from Saint John, where I will stay for 3 days.

More on the itinerary later. Here are a few pics from the Saint John Museum. Is this not cool or what?!