Fundy Trail

The White Village

Our roommate was moving out... but... moving was the operative and inconvenient word. He was still there. I looked out the window and noticed that it was a clear. A clear morning in Saint John is a rare thing, but a thing that could work to our advantage. It was still early, and in the back of my mind I knew that low tide was around 9:30 am. We had already shrugged off the idea of making it to Duck Pond at low tide because it would be too foggy and we would not be able to see anything... like last time... but this time, it was clear.

In minutes we were up and in Jerusalem. It was record turnaround time for us, and before we knew it we were headed down the highway with Mc D's in our hands.

It was about low tide when we reached Duck Pond. Last time it was very foggy and the first thing we were confronted with was a warning sign telling us not to eat the shellfish for fear of becoming paralyzed. Last time the sign was ominously sticking out in front of a wall of fog... this time it was clear and... well... far more impressive.

Two Signs

Duck Pond was certainly as beautiful as I had been told...

Duck Pond - Panorama

One of the key features of Duck Pond is something called "Split Rock." This is where a giant part of the cliff has been separated from the rest of the cliff by a zillion years of erosion and it looks like it just broke off from the mainland. This is the "Split Rock."

Erosion

Split Rock

I had been told that at low tide you could actually hike out to the split rock to take a look. That was our goal. We were very fortunate to see some other amazing things on the way there. The tide sure has a way of eating away the land and making everything look beautiful.

Cliffs

Beside the Split Rock

I had also been told that it was possible to hike to the split rock during low tide, and then to camp there until the next low tide. This seemed to me like a very interesting idea, so when we got to the rock we tried to find a place where you could camp. Unfortunately this was not as easy as we were led to believe as the split rock is cliff on all sides, and the water looks like it goes all the way to the top. The only way to camp there would be to climb on top of the rock... awesome.

We were running out of time so I took a quick look and then turned back. I will ask my informants how to get atop the rock and we will return with camping gear... if we can.

Climbing Split Rock

Being chased out by the tide we made our way back to Jerusalem. Last time we were in the area we stopped at the Caves at St. Martins and then returned home. Evidently there is a National Park called the Fundy Trail where the road goes along the cliffs of New Brunswick. Evidently this park is gorgeous, and since we missed it before it was time for us to take a look.

Fundy Trail

I was told (by the guy who told us about Duck Pond actually) that on the Fundy Trail, every turn is like a postcard picture. I thought it would be beautiful, but a postcard? C'mon... Well... I think that he may very well have been right. It started out as just plain ol' forest and then we got to the first pull out. We hopped out of the Holy Vehicle and walked to the edge of the cliff.

Wow.

If only my camera has panoramic photo capabilities, then you could see what I am talking about. It was a full 360 of gorgeous scenes. We stood atop a high red cliff looking out over the Bay of Fundy. It was a long way down to the water below and we could see a great distance up and down the coast. One way was the cliffs towards St. Martins, and the other way was the white beaches of the Fundy Trail. Straight across the water we could see the silhouette of the rocky Nova Scotia.

Flower Pot

Flower Pot - Zoom Zoom

We returned to the car and drove to the next pull out. And the next. At one we saw a flower pot (which is a pillar of rock with vegetation living atop it), and at another we were able to climb down to the beach. It was a long hike down, but we found ourselves standing on a gorgeous beach at the bottom of the cliffs. There was another cave here that we took a look at before returning to find a way back up. There was a stream coming down with a little waterfall above it. We climbed up a bit to get a better photo, and then up a bit more to get an even better photo. Eventually we found ourselves lookup up at a beautiful little waterfall and up above that a lookout with tourists on it. We managed to climb up there and then return to the car (after a looooonnnnggggg hot walk).

Red Caves

Summer Icicles

Falls

Continuing on our way we were confronted by vista after vista. We arrived at the Interpretive Centre which told us that there used to be a settlement there back in the logging days. 24 Families once lived where that Interpretive Centre stands, but when the logging died down, so did the settlement. We could still see bits of the wharf at Big Salmon River where the men build barges and would load the lumber to be shipped to Maine.

We walked around a bit and noticed several people (presumably locals) enjoying the nice day. There were some young girls heading towards the river in bikinis, and as they made their was passed the "Swimming Not Authorized" sign we heard some French tourists freaking out. Evidently they thought swimming was a bad idea. It was about then that we noticed more and more people in bathing suits appearing. It actually looked like the entire town of St. Martins was on their way to Big Salmon River for a dip. Before we knew it one of the girls was already across the river, and another was on the way. We have now learned our lesson, and will always keep towels and bathing suits in the car... I can't believe we missed out on that one...

Big Salmon Bikinis

We continued the rest of the way down Fundy Trail and hit the end. Eventually the Fundy Trail is expected to connect with the Fundy National Park, but for now it only goes half way.

Looking Down at the Interpretive Centre

With bazillions of amazing photos we turned Jerusalem around and headed home... On our way home we noticed that it was about high tide. On our way through St. Martins we stopped to take one more photo...

Highest Tides in the World!!! Yee-Haw!!!