along the coast; the road home

And so as all travels must, ours came to an end Sunday morning, arriving back to the Farm at 4:30am after about 18 hours in the car on Saturday/Sunday. TSO suggested as we drive along the coast we try and go see the Hopewell Rocks; the huge rocks that at low tide stand as flower pots protruding from the sea, and at high tide are flower pots whose bottoms are covered by 50 feet or so of water. We got to the little town of Alma, where there is an entry to the Park, but were unable to find it, trying to follow these lighthouse signs, which we finally figured out weren't infact leading us to a lighthouse on the coast, but rather mark the Fundy Drive, the route that follows the coast. (Yes, it took us all day to figure this out--I just kept thinking that there were lighthouses tucked away out of our sight!!)

We were dissapointed to have missed the Hopewell Rocks, getting so close and not finding them, but I felt a little better today after looking at the website and realizing that the Park was already closed by the time we got there anyway. At least the drive all along the coast out to Moncton was AMAZING! There were some particularly gorgeous spots along the drive where the view was gorgeous and breathtaking, and as I told TSO, maybe the drive out there was also so that we could catch the awe inspiring sunset over the mountainous road back to New Brunswick.

Doing some reading today about the Hopewell Rocks, I felt I should share this cool little info:

• The tides at Hopewell Rocks "result from a combination of the gravitational force of the moon and the particular dimensions of the Bay of Fundy. Together, these factors influence the mighty tides of Fundy, creating the highest tides in the world."
• "At the Hopewell Rocks, sea levels rise, on average, between 32 and 46 feet (10 and 14 metres). The highest tide recorded was in the upper reaches of the bay (near Burnt Coat Head in Nova Scotia) where the tides can rise and fall over 50 feet (16 meters) in extreme circumstances. This is the average height of a four story apartment building.
  To compare, elsewhere in the world, an average tidal range is about 3 feet (one metre) or less."
• "This area was once a dry rift valley, but after the Ice Age, the valley filled with water, creating the Bay of Fundy. While rain and ice continue to erode from the top, the daily tidal action wears away at the bases of the cliffs and rock formations. One can clearly see how high the tides rise by looking at the narrow curved bases of the formations."
• "The native Mi'kmaq, who first knew the tides of the Bay of Fundy better than any, acknowledged and honoured this uniqueness by creating and passing on colourful legends to explain its mysteries. In ancient times, there were unfortunate Mi'kmaq who were enslaved by angry Whales living in the Bay. There came a time when some tried to escape their captors. They managed to flee as far as the beach, but were captured by the angry Whales, and turned to stone. Their images remain today, encased in rock."

This info was found at the above Hopewell Rocks link. Cool site. I feel like a bad Librarian for not researching Nova Scotia and PEI better before we went, but it felt kinda fun to fly by the seat of our pants on this vacation. PEI and Nova Scotia were beautiful, and I would like to go back and see those Hopewell Rocks one day, especially as they weren't too far away from the Farm!

More pics from the trip to follow...