Labour Day weekend in Margaree

Labour Day; the final long weekend of the summer and one that I try to go all out for since I have nine months of fall, winter and spring to go through before the weather gets nice enough to do things comfortably outdoors again. 

Usually, Labour Day is spent with friends in Margaree and that's exactly where I headed on the Labour Day long weekend this past September. 

I didn't take the long way there this time because it was the only day that was supposed to be nice enough to go swimming all weekend and I wanted to get there in time to have lunch, stop at the house to change into my swimsuit and make the 40-minute drive to Inverness Beach.  

We arrived at the house with the incredible views of the sea in the early afternoon and after settling in and getting beach-ready, we headed to Inverness.  

While my friend wasn't in the least bit interested in going in the water, I couldn't wait to get in!  Even this late in the season, the water was still warm and the air was warm too.  I listened in amusement as some middle-aged men swimming nearby teased a tourist from a more southern destination.  They thought the water was warm like I did but the tourist just stood there shivering and refusing to get ducked.  

When I finally got out of the water, my friend was a long ways down the beach searching for sea glass.  I sat in my chair with a book and enjoyed the relaxing sounds of the gentle waves and seagulls above.  After I read a chapter and was dried off, I started down the beach.  I caught up with my friend who, by that time, had a baggie filled with colourful beach glass.  I stopped for a quick chat and continued down the beach for another long time.  I never realized how long that beach is.  When I turned back, I still hadn't reached the end!

We decided on Wabo's Pizza for supper  We left Inverness just before dark and stopped at the house to change out of our beach clothes.  By the time we were ready to head to Cheticamp, it was dark and we were hungry.  We still had another 30-minute drive before we reached the pizza shop.  We ordered just before we left and got there just as the shop was closing!  

That evening, we sat in the living room with the big windows overlooking the deck.  The air was cool but after a while of staring at this deck and being enticed to step outside and admire that night sky with all those stars, I decided to step outside for a bit. 

The air was crisp but there wasn't a cloud in sight!  The night sky in the country sure is something to see!  I took a few pictures to see if they would come out and was surprised to see something I wasn't expecting in some of them.  Some pink and purple strips were visible to the north.  I checked my Northern Lights finder app and sure enough, there was a good chance of spotting them that night and several of my friends who were camped out nearby already had pictures posted.  We don't usually see the Northern Lights this far south but they've been appearing in the night sky over Cape Breton quite a bit this past year!

The next day wasn't as warm and sunny as the day before but we set out early to make the most of it.  We started the day by driving to the Dancing Goat to pick up some sweets as we knew it would be closed on the way home the next day.  I hoped to see the giant sunflowers in Margaree along the way but we were too late; they had already bloomed and withered away for the season.  

We next headed to Cheticamp to attempt a hike along the Salmon Pools Trail.  We tried the trail a few years ago but turned around when it started to rain.  A few years before that we did hike quite a ways in but had to turn around when we ran out of time.  We didn't make it all the way to the end this time either but we got a little further than before and got to enjoy the late summer air and the peace of the river and forest sounds. 

I always hate leaving the country to go home.  I always said if I could find a way to make a living in a place like Cheticamp, Inverness or Ingonish, I would move there in a flash.  I guess there's always retirement! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Day Trip to Jersey Cove with some Detours to Ingonish, Wreck Cove and Tarbotvale

It's well into October and the weather is still beautiful here in Cape Breton! I certainly picked a good week to use up some of that vacation time I have left and I've been using that time wisely.  Swimming in the ocean, enjoying sunsets and moon rises and embarking on mini road trips whenever I can.  I went on one such fall road trip the other day. 

Jersey Cove is only about an hour away from home which means I get a nice drive to the country without spending a lot of time to get there.  However, when I arrived, my friend who has her trailer set up there for the summer had other things in mind when I stopped in for a visit. "Get in my car.  We are going for a drive to Ingonish". As I'm sure you know by now if you've been reading this blog for a while, I'm not one to turn down a drive anywhere let alone one to one of my favourite places in the whole world!

We did eventually make it to Ingonish but not before making a few stops along the way.  Some coffee and delicious crepes at the Dancing Moose Cafe and a visit to a new-to-me remote beach  in Wreck Cove.  I love exploring places I've never been to and it amazes me how many places I have yet to explore on this little island!

In Ingonish, we hit all the usual stops; Ingonish Beach, The Point, Broad Cove Campground (I was interested in seeing how many tenters were still around in case I wanted to embark on one last solo camping mission before winter) and a drive around the grounds of the Keltic Lodge.  

On the way home, we made a last-minute detour before arriving back at the trailer.  Instead of going straight to the campground, we turned right towards St. Anne's and then made another right onto the gravel road to Tarbotvale.  Years ago, as I was exploring the back roads of Cape Breton, I drove up an old wood road and found some amazing scenery but was never able to find the road again.  After searching all summer for that road, I had a feeling it might be this one so we took a chance and drove up it.  I immediately recognized the views and knew that this was the road I had taken years ago.  A sense of nostalgia came over me but also relief as I had often wondered over the years if I dreamed about finding that place or if I simply couldn't remember where it was. 

It was almost dark when I headed home across the channel on the little car ferry, over Kelly's mountain, across the Seal Island Bridge and along that long stretch of highway that led me home again. 

  

An Early Spring Hike Along Belfry Beach and an Adventure to a new-to-me Lake

It was a disappointing winter for me.  In November, I placed my snowshoes in the back of my car and they didn't move once.  Believe it or not, although I live in Atlantic Canada in a region known for usually getting a lot of snow, hardly anything more than a thin layer fell at any given time.  When a substantial amount did fall, it was easily whisked away by a steady stream of cold rain that quickly turned ground into a skating rink.Now that it's spring, I'm betting that my snowshoes will be of no use this year at all and my hiking shoes are already out.

I'm definitely not getting outdoors as much as I usually do in the winter and spring months but late last week, I did finally get out for a hike in one of my favorite areas of Cape Breton. I left fairly early on a Friday morning and headed toward Belfry Beach.  It was a nice day but it was quite windy so my intention was to check the beach out and see what it would be like for hiking.  It looked fine so I left the car At the bottom of MacKay Road and started the long hike along Belfry Beach to Fourchu.

The first leg of the journey went quite well.  The sun was shining, the temperature was comfortable and the waves rolling ashore lulled me into a state of relaxation that can only be found on a remote, deserted beach.  I walked for about 45 minutes before reaching a nice sheltered area surrounded by trees and bushes beneath a cliff.  Not a breath of wind could be felt there so I sat in the sand and enjoyed my homemade lunch and a beer.  I could hear the wind howling on the other side of the cliff and dreaded rounding that bend to continue up the beach with that breeze whipping me in the face.

Once I bundled up again and rounded that bend, that howling wind only battered me for a few minutes before I got used to it.  The long walk to Forchu wasn't so bad and all the walking overheated me to the point that I had to remove my jacket!  I saw no wildlife that day on the beach and that is strange in that area.  Usually I see some bald eagles or seals or sometimes even a deer but nothing was seen that day.

My next stop was at a new-to-me trail to a lake I had never been to before.  I drove for about twenty minutes towards the Framboise area until I reached an old wood road on the right hand side.  I parked the car off the road and started into the woods.  It was a nice change to be among the trees.  There was hardly any wind and it was much warmer than it was near the ocean.  I love a variety of terrain in my days and that day I spend one half of it listening to the sounds of waves hitting the shore and the other half listening to trees rustling in a soft gentle breeze.

I was told by others who had recently hiked to this lake that it was only about a kilometre hike in.  I walked and walked and walked for what seemed like a long time.  A glance at the activity tracker on my phone indicated I had long passed the one kilometre mark.  I hiked just over two kilometres before the lake came into view.

I was surprised by how large the lake was and even more surprised at the fact that I didn't even know it existed until recently.  It was still covered in a tick layer of ice.  I walked along the edge just a little, consciously not venturing too far for fear of falling through the ice into the freezing cold water. I could see some weak spots in the centre, an indication that the day's mild temperatures and sunny skies had quickened the thawing process.

Darkness was approaching quickly and when I finally decided to start hiking back toward my car, the sun was starting it's slow descent into the horizon.  At one point I thought I heard something in the distance.  A howl or some sort of yell.  I stopped.  Nothing.  I heard it again and stopped.  Nothing.  The third time I stopped and listened, there was a distinct sound coming from the area of the lake where I had just been; coyotes.  I'm not afraid of coyotes while hiking as I've never had any issues with them but I still have a preference to keep my distance.  I picked up the pace a bit and in no time I was back at the car.  It always seems quicker going back for some reason, doesn't it?  A total of four more kilometres to add to the day's total of 15 kilometres.

I hate to go straight home after a wonderful day spent in the wilderness.  I like to drag the adventure on as long as possible.  Instead of backtracking home the same way I came, I took the long way back through Grand River and instead of turning right onto Route 4, I turned left and made a little detour the pretty village of St. Peter's where I stopped for a coffee and a muffin before heading home along the Bras d'Or Lakes.