New Brunswick

Since we already spent some time in New Brunswick (including going to Murray Corner where my grandfather came from), we didn’t spend much more time in that province, after leaving Nova Scotia. However, what we experienced in those short days was wonderful.

We spent a couple of days along the shores of the Bay of Fundy. This bay is world-famous for its tremendous difference between high and low tide. We saw a

fantastic demonstration of this at the mushroom-shaped ‘flower pot’ formations of Hopewell Rocks. First we strolled along the ocean floor while the tide was out. The way that the ocean has eroded the rocks there is very picturesque, but one doesn’t get the full effect of it unless the tide is low. We took several photos of the neat formation. Then, to understand the significance of the tide, we returned at high tide. We discovered that while we were there, for some reason, the tide was even more extreme than usual, raising an astounding 44 feet!

Why are there such extreme tidal differences in the Bay of Fundy? Well, apparently it is because of the gradual funneling of the shorelines from the bay’s mouth to its end, and also due to the bay becoming gradually shallower at the same time. It is somewhat like the high water one can make when sloshing water from one end of the bathtub to the other.

We drove through Fundy National Park and then headed toward Fredericton. We camped at Mactaquac Provincial Park, near a dammed lake. The next day we drove a few more miles to a place called Kings Landing. It is a town made up of many of the old homes that were relocated before the dam flooded them. The resulting historic settlement is wonderful. We strolled through the homes, and listened to the historical interpreters explain the history of the houses. They also gave us many demonstrations of weaving, spinning, dying wool, grinding grain at the grist mill, and sawing logs with a water-powered saw. One thing that also made the day special was meeting a very friendly and encouraging family from Maine. Special people are a real blessing on this trip.