International Bridge Crossing

 Yesterday morning we drove over Sault Saint Marie International bridge to reenter the United States. We pulled up in the car lane at Customs.

Border Guard (BG): Whazzup?

Offspring #2 (O2): We are traveling home.

BG: Where is home?

O2: We live in Minnesota.

BG: Where have you been?

O2: We went camping in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. We have a dog in the back seat.

BG: Please lower your rear window. (BG looks at dog who looks back).

BG: Did you bring back any goods from Canada?

O2: No.

BG: Any alcohol, drugs, weapons?

O2: No

BG: Any eggs, chicken or oranges?

O2: No

BG: Are you two related?

O2: She is my Mom.

BG: (handing over id) Have a safe trip.

O2: Thank you!

As we drive away in upper Michigan, enjoying the speed limit signs without having to convert from kph, we wonder why he questioned eggs, chicken and oranges. We heard no questions about milk, beef nor apples. Did he name three food items at random or is the United States specifically concerned with eggs, chicken and oranges? In any case, this was my fourth trip to Canada and the easiest border crossings I have ever experienced.

Sault Saint Marie

 

Today we drove west from Nipissing Lake to Sault Saint Marie. We skirted the north side of the Saint Lawrence seaway as we drove for 5 hours. We hiked to the Sault Saint Marie Canal National Historic site but it was closed. 

Today is our last full day in Canada

Nipissing

We drove west from Montreal to North Bay on lake Nipissing. Along the way we saw a fox and a bald eagle as we drove through Algonquin Provincial Park. I could have gone inside to relax and stretch out but instead I sat outside on a picnic table and watched a storm approach from across the lake. Rain fell most of the day but it was sunny when we arrived. When the storm clouds covered the sun the temperature dropped five degrees. When the storm clouds were directly overhead the wind kicked up and the temperature dropped another 15 degrees.

Storm clouds over Lake Nipissing.

 

Montreal.2

Here is a picture of the cross atop Mount Royal in Montreal. We had a nice hike to the summit.

This is a view of the city from the parking lot near the area where Expo 67 was held. Only a few remnants remain from Expo 67.

Here is a statue on a corner of the old port city of Montreal.

 

Montreal

 

We are in Montreal today. We parked in a parking lot near the old port of the city to view the port, the shops and the restaurants. As I got out of the car I heard what I thought was a grackle right near my head. Then I felt a blow to the back of my  head. The bird fluttered around my head while I yelled.  Before the bird could strike me a second time I moved away toward the trunk of a car. There, in the tree in a parking lot sat a red winged blackbird with his red epaulettes flashing in the sun. The red winged blackbird nest is located about a third of the way up the tree. Dang blackbird hit me in the head! I thought red winged blackbirds built their nests in the rushes along a lake. I guess urban Montreal blackbirds are different, Aside from the bird attack we did have a nice morning exploring old town Montreal.

After lunch we drove to Mount Royal. We walked up to the top. Here is the view of Montreal from the chalet.

Montreal is located on the Saint Lawrence River - the same river that brings the ships to Duluth. In the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the traffic signs and advertisements are in both the French and English language. In Quebec, everything is in French which puts me at a disadvantage.

Nova Scotia

 Nova Scotia is one of the 13 Canadian provinces. Bordered by the state of Maine, the bay of Fundy, the Atlantic Ocean and Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia is a beautiful section named after "New Scotland." When we were there we saw lots of coast line, light houses, Christmas tree farms, resorts and lobster traps. We saw some graffiti but it was polite graffiti such as "Wash your hands." As we left Nova Scotia and drove into the province of New Brunswick, we started seeing higher mountains and great river valleys. We spent the night in Grand Falls, New Brunswick. The surprising thing for me is that other than two turkey vultures and hearing two barred owls, I saw no birds of prey - no hawks, no kestrels, and no eagles.

Land Of The Fairies

 

We are staying at Kejumsjik National Park in Nova Scotia which is directly east of Arcadia State Park in Maine. We had to drive north to get to the top of the bay of Fundy and then south again to get here. The bay of Fundy is geographically situated in such a way that it experiences the highest tide in the world (about 12 feet). We found a pink lady slipper on our hike called Hemlock and Hard Woods. Kejumsjik is a native word for "Land of the Fairies"

Kejumsjik is a beautiful part just like Nova Scotia.

We hiked along the river.

This is the largest hemlock tree in the park. At this park we heard a pair of barred owls calling, a pair of loons calling, ovenbirds, least fly catchers, veery and wood thrush.

Today we took down the tent only to find a big spider had made a home under the rain flap. With much encouragement and physical nudging, the spider left.

Border Crossing

 

 After driving north on Maine's coastal highway #1 we approached the border of Canada with passport, enhanced driving license, and vet papers in hand. The border guard wore a mask over his whiskered face. He asked us where we were going (Fundy National Park). He asked what states we drove through to get here and Offspring #2 did an amazing job of accurately recounting our trip. Then he asked our travel plans and again she knew all the provinces we planned to travel. He asked if we had guns, mace or bear spray. We did not. He asked how we planned to defend ourselves. We responded we planned to avoid trouble. He asked us to lower the back seat window. He didn't want to see the papers on the dog but he did say we had a calm dog. He asked if we planned to make any deliveries in Canada. We didn't. He asked if we planned to visit anyone in Canada. We didn't. Soon we were on our way motoring in a foreign country trying to convert kph into mph. High fences paralleled the freeway and I wondered if they really kept the deer out. I didn't see any dead deer on the road so maybe they do work. Several times we saw moose crossing signs instead of deer crossing signs. We had lunch in St. John's and are now on our way to a Canadian adventure