Cape Breton instead of the Brickyard

July 26-27, 2015 – Day 41-42

Brickyard Sunday is not normally a day we’d be travelling, and this is only the second time in the history of the Brickyard that we haven’t been at the race. We missed the Brickyard for the first time two years ago while we were in Alaska, and we missed it again this year, day 41 of our 48 day tour.  But, at least someone we knew was there! 

Instead, we were travelling the Cabot Trail which is one of the most scenic drives in North America.  It is 185 miles of twisty roads in a loop around the island of Cape Breton, which is the eastern tip of Nova Scotia.  We did the whole loop, up mountains and down the other side, taking in the views across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and then passing through Cape Breton National Park, to the other side of the island where the Atlantic Ocean greeted us with spectacular views.  We wished we could have hiked the Skyline Trail which runs along the top of French Mountain overlooking the Gulf.  (There are really people along the top of the ridge in this picture! )

We learned a lot about the area, which has relied on fishing, farming, forestry and tourism.  Fishing is mostly lobster and crab since the cod has been mostly fished out.  The fishermen are given a quota and can have no more than 275 lobster traps, for about a month-long period.  Farming is mostly root vegetables and sheep.  Forestry is the soft wood-spruce and fir for the paper mills, and birch and maple for hardwood floors.  They export 30 million Xmas trees each year!  There used to be mining in the area, but it is gone, so now, it’s mostly tourists, like us, getting to take in the beauty of these natural landscapes.  Moose hunting is allowed, but licenses are given by a lottery system.  200 licenses are issued for 1 week. It seems like it would be very difficult to make a good living here, but the payoff is the beauty and peacefulness of the area.

We stopped by St. Peter’s church…St. Peter is the the patron of fishermen, so it made sense this grand church was named after him!  you could see the spires from several viewpoints along the trail.  It was a beautiful church, and one of our group led a chorus of Amazing Grace so that we could hear the beautiful acoustics.  Jim finally made it inside the confessional—but no hope for him!

We also stopped by a museum which focuses on the work of Elizabeth LeFort, a ledgendary artist and rug maker from this area.  She did portraits in rugs and presented them to important world figures.  She hooked rugs until 6 months before she died at the age of 93.  There were some unbelievable rugs on display—including this amazing one featuring the presidents of the US.

The lighthouse was a big hit because there was an ice cream store inside!  We all were treated to an ice cream cone by the wagonmasters!

There is a large Gaelic population in the area (presumably from the days when miners and fishermen came over), and you can see the influence in the accent of the locals, the stores, hotels including The Keltic Lodge which had this welcome stone in the entryway. It says something about a hundred thousand welcomes!  Street signs had both english and gaelic names.  There is even a Gaelic college devoted to preserving the Gaelic language, arts and culture.

There were breathtaking views on both sides of the Cabot Trail.  The Gulf side featured sandy beaches, and sandstone rock while the ocean side had high cliffs of granite overlooking the sea.  …Just beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to watch the race when we got home, and realized we should have been there to bring the #24 team some good luck…darn, what a day.  But, it was a fun race to watch with friends, and we got to see Tom a few times on tv. 

We are beginning to wind up our last week of the tour.  Today is our last day in Nova Scotia…a “free day” until dinner this evening.   I’ve decided to take it easy to try to get my voice back.  I have noise today, but not much volume, so am going to be quiet (ha ha!)