We spent the better part of day in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We drove the Cabot Trail, a very scenic road, very similar to Highway 1 in CA with a little bit of AK thrown in.
Stopping midway, we took the Skyline trail to the viewpoint. We did not do the traditional out-and-back on the same route, but opted for the more strenuous and longer loop trail. This is the trail leading to the viewpoint.
This is Cathy preparing to make the final decent, down the hill and across the ridge to the viewing area.
That is the viewpoint, many, many steps down the hillside.
This is the optional return trail. It was full of tripping hazards; roots, rocks and crevices and was significantly steeper and rougher that the trail in, but the views were different and pretty good.
We came across this experimental section of a highland meadow. An area had been fenced off to keep the moose from eating and changing the landscape. We were thinking, what moose?
Then we turned around and saw this gal behind us. There was a hiker unaware of her and walked right past. She trotted toward him and he disappeared quickly down the trail.
On the way back to camp we saw this (rocky) beach area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
We parked in a wide spot with a good view and made the hike down to the beach.
Cathy had to frolic in the gulf. Typical beach outfit?
On the way out, I took a couple of shots down the beach and played with some B&W.
Since we still had some time, we continued on to the Inverness area where we visited this distillery. It is the first distillery in North America to produce single malt (scotch) whiskey. It legally cannot be called scotch but it is made by Scots, using Scottish recipes, fixtures and techniques so I will call it “Scotch”. We purchased a bottle of 14-year-old and will be saving it for something special.
Leaving he distillery (and a local barber shop, as I was getting swarthy) we came across this gal. She was pretty sleek and we got very close to her (I was using a 17mm lens).
Traveling the back road back to Baddeck, we came across this site. It is the birthplace of Angus MacDonald, the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1933-1940 and 1945-1954. In the 1940s, he was Canadian Minister of National Defense.
We arrived back in Baddeck in time to see the boat arriving back from their annual Mako Shark Derby. There was a fairly eclectic crowd there for the festivities. As soon as they started unloading the sharks we left.
In the morning we went to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Bell had a summer “cottage” in Baddeck. It was really a mansion and located across an arm of Bras d’ Or Lake. We previously had no idea of what Bell had accomplished; including the first powered airplane in Canada, many medical devices/machines, gramaphones, and hydrofoil boats (one setting a world speed record of 114 KPH in 1919 on this lake). What is amazing is that the boat was huge. Once the record was set, WWI was over and the Navy no longer had a need for fast boats so the boat just rotted away on the rocks below his home.
This is one of Bell’s airplanes. In the bottom right is the actual speed record boat that was salvaged from the rocks in the early 1950s.
This is a vintage photo of the boat at speed on the lake.
And this is the interior of the actual boat on display.
A detail of the hydrofoils on the tail of the full size reconstructed boat.
After visiting the Bell site, we made our way over to Louisbourg, on the Atlantic coast of NS. On this site France erected the first lighthouse in North America in 1733. The foundation for the original building is right next to this lighthouse, erected in the early 1840s. Across the bay is the Historic Fort Louisbourg and the historic town of Louisbourg. We came here to tour the fort, which is much larger than the Citadel in Halifax.
Across the bay is the new town of Louisbourg.
In my case, “touring the fort” was done with the “Travel Through Time 8 Mile Run” hosted by the Run Nova Scotia club. Before the race, sporting my new haircut. The officer looks a little “twitchy fingered” though…
After the start, this is during the first mile through the current town of Louisbourge.
A short time later, after running out beyond the fort, then back through it and back into town, we made the turn to the finish line.
A lot of runners made a quick pit stop at the vintage tavern in the fort for a spot of rum. The water stop in the fort was done by persons in period costumes, and there were similarly costumed drummers on the walls by the cannons as we left the fort. Only runners were allowed access to the facilities during this run, making it very enjoyable. After leaving the fort, it was still almost four miles back to the finish. This is the trail from the Historic Fort/Old Town to New Town in the distance.
Travelling with the Schinglers 