Our goal was to travel, slowly, around the Cabot Trail - the main road that circles Cape Breton National Park. Not far from Cheticamp was a short trail to a waterfall - MacIntosh Brook Trail. The national park has such nice facilities, we parked at the trail head and there was a building with a small kitchen, wood fire stove and restrooms. The hike was beautiful, and rainy.
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| multiple bridges cross the brook |
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| the falls |
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| kelly green mushrooms |
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| the brook |
Our next overnight stop was near Meat Cove located at the northern tip of the island. We hiked some trails along the way despite the rainy weather and ended up at the actual Meat Cove. Beaches in Nova Scotia are almost all pebbles due to the tides and cold water that prevent shells from cycling into sand. Our big surprise at the Cove were the number of dead lobsters and lobster parts scattered around the pebbles. We think these were washed ashore from the ocean depths during the hurricane. The Turk found his 'blue' lobsters right there.
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| Meat Cove |
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| Rocks at Meat Cove |
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| blue lobster claws washed ashore |
The day was cold, windy, rainy - probably the way it is MOST of the time in Meat Cove! The rock formations and hidden beaches were beautiful. The state of the roads - not so much. Few restaurants mandated the Turk to cook pasta from the local coop in our AirBnB kitchen which was fine with us.
Our next day's direction was the Ingonish (means 'remarkable place' )area while exploring small coastal towns along the way. Fishing is clearly the main business and it seems that everyone has a boat - either in the water or on the front yard, BIG boats!
We visited Neil's Harbor, a fishing village of a few hundred people. The lighthouse is an ice cream parlor but the hurricane caused them to close early for the season, so no ice cream. I have never seen as many ice cream shops as I did on this trip from Maine through Nova Scotia and parts of PEI and New Brunswick. Ice cream shops EVERYWHERE that seem to be open all year.
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| huge lobster body amid kelp on shore |
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| the no icecream lighthouse-Neil's Harbor |
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| Neils Harbor fishermen cleaning their catch from the morning |
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| Typical scene along the coastline |
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| lobster traps are everywhere. Lobster goes into hole for bait and can't leave |
South of Ingonish is the Keltic Lodge located on a rocky peninsula across from a cape. The national park's lodge is much like the grand Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite. It was built in the 1930's and 40's as a government funded work program on the summer estate of the owner of Middle Head - Henry Clay Corson who was an American industrialist. He learned of the land from Alexander Graham Bell who lived in nearby Baddeck. This property is known for the scenery, but also the golf course originally designed by Canada's best golf course designer.
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| this gives an idea of the grounds. Hiking is behind the lodge, golfing in front. |
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| one of the small coves along the hike. note the change in colors starting to happen. |
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| purple mushrooms on our hike |
After a long day of exploring and hiking, and probably some mussels for lunch, we headed south toward Indian Brook where we stayed along the water in a geodesic dome. Our other choices were yurts, a tiny house, and some conventional rooms in a lodge. Because of the hurricane, and the end of summer, we almost had the place to ourselves! It operates as a wellness facility if you wish to engage. During season, there are lost of activities including yoga retreats, speakers, arts and crafts projects. The property grows vegetables, raises chickens and you get to eat the results of these endeavors.
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| our walkway to our dome-facing water |
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| The going in/out is tricky at night |
Part of the property used to be an apple orchard and the trees are still there, bearing fruit. This made the Turk very happy as he munched around the grounds. We had an outhouse nearby, showers in a central building, wonderful breakfast in the morning. We opted for dinner the night before and were joined by one couple staying at a nearby B&B who were wonderful dinner mates. The owner sat with us and told us his story.
Ya, former American Silicon Valley marketing person who got burned out and started a nonprofit camp for kids on CBI. After time, he morphed it into profit oriented business on larger grounds with a wellness focus. He played some music for us after dinner until the Turk and I needed to go to bed...in our dome..after building a fire to stay warm.
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| Turk keeping me warm all night |
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| sitting area, deck - no window blinds |
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| bed and Important wood fire stove |
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| the wilderness around us - shared with apple orchard |
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| Beautiful full moon from our dome |
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| Pull the boat's rope to move across the canal |
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| Turk stayed on land side to save me if I couldnt get back with ropes |
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| needless to say, the Turk tried the fruit of EVERY tree in this old orchard |
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| sunrise from our dome |
This part of the island seemed to have more polished artisan shops. The might have been because of the history of the Keltic Lodge (about an hour north) drawing wealthier visitors to the area. As we left our 'dome a cil' we checked out the galleries.
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| glass blowing shop that carried local glass artists' works. |
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| beautiful things! |
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| chocolate & art gallery in a church |
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| wood working shop |
I wanted to visit the Gaelic College located in St. Annes, so off we went. The college was founded in 1938 with the purpose of preserving Scottish Highland traditions and celtic language. They teach music, dance and language. They maintain the traditional dance steps worldwide by monitoring Highland dance competitions. We had lunch and attended a ceilidh of music, poetry in Gaelic, and dance.
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| beautiful quilt on wall depicting uniqueness of Cape Breton Island |
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