Funday Fundy

July 13

Funday Fundy

It turns out that the three of us are fairly efficient campers. We were packed up and had the vehicle loaded within about a 30 minute window so that we could head toward Fundy national Park. Because of the time for high tide, we decided to make a trip into Saint John on our way. We all were quite amazed at just how different the rapids and the river appear at each of the tide times.

We took our time driving to Fundy national park. We made several stops along the way including more than one hardware or home improvement store. We were on the hunt for both a table lamp that could be used with our extension cord and the adaptor that would allow us to use our extension cord on any camping site. Eventually we located an adaptor at Canadian tire and eventually, we located a lamp at the thrift store. We picked up some groceries and decided to forgo seeing several sites that we had planned to visit. We were looking for a bit of a down day and some thing a little easier.

So, what could be more relaxing than to enjoy the tastes and offerings of a local distillery. Both Doug and I found some liquid energy and we once again loaded the car to head on to Fundy national Park.

We were completely amazed at The size of the park. It is absolutely massive. Our first stop was at the visitor center. We had an opportunity to sign up for an evening guided walk and a storytelling session.

It was not difficult to find our campsite and we had our trailer and tent set up in short order. We had a fairly quick dinner and then Emma and I set off for the guided walk. We were very grateful to Doug who stayed back at the site and washed up dishes and probably, enjoyed some quiet time himself.

Emma and I enjoyed the 90 minute session. We walked a relatively easy trail through the park, specifically Point Wolfe park. Our guide told us a number of stories and legends of the area. We heard about the re-introduction of peregrine Falcons to the area, we also heard about how different places in the park gained their names.

One of the most interesting things that I learned on the tour, was about the expropriation of land in the 1940s to form the national park. The federal government and Parks Canada have now granted life memberships to the Canadian parks to the families that had their properties expropriated. I’m not sure that a park pass quite is what those families had in mind at the time, but it certainly is a first step toward reconciliation with those families and it is good that the parks/government have recognized their initial mistake.

When the park was formed in the 1950s it was designed to be a destination resort park. It has a golf course, tennis courts, a cricket field, hotels, chalet and even a heated saltwater pool. Our plan is to go and check out the pool sometime before we leave the park.