Dave and I have heard so much about the Maritimes, especially Nova Scotia, we were very excited to visit. However, we had one last stop in Quebec before arriving in the Maritimes. The town of Saint-Roch-des-Aulmaies. As we both love to cycle, Dave found part of the Trans Canada multi-use trail right outside our campground. It was a gorgeous ride – half paved road (along the town) and half packed gravel (along the St.Lawrence river). Murphy and I also found a 1-mile gravel trail to jog on. It was beautiful weather for outdoor activities with highs in the upper 70’s. And, we actually had neighbors in the campground who spoke English. Win win!
Our first stop in the Maritimes was in Grand Falls, New Brunswick (NB). New Brunswick, located northeast of Maine, is one of three Maritime provinces. New Brunswick is the only Canadian province with both English and French as their official language, so everything we read was stated in both. All the signs, publications, menus, etc. were written in both French and English. As our first stop was so close to Quebec, we still heard almost everyone speaking French. I don’t know if that will change as we head further away from Quebec.
Guess what our stop in Grand Falls had? Yep, very grand falls. Since it is summer, the run off was much less than what it is during the spring thaw. We saw pictures of it in the spring and the entire width was full of cascading water. It would be way too cold for these Floridians to visit in the spring as the average highs are in the 40’s. Brrrr. The falls flowed into a very deep gorge of which our campground was sitting on top of. We had a gorgeous view of the gorge and rushing water right from our campsite. We hiked the area and Dave found another section of the Trans Canada trail to bike on. All in all, a great stop. Oh, and we finally stopped at Canada’s largest fast-food chain, Tim Hortons, selling Canada’s favorite coffee along with doughnuts, muffins and other fast-food items. Sorry Timmie’s (one of its nicknames), Dave and I were underwhelmed. We are sticking to bakeries for better donuts.
As we made our way east to Nova Scotia, we stopped in Campbellton, NB and the campground was located right next to the Restigouche River. Dave found a beautiful waterfall hike across the river. Murphy was one happy doggy, traipsing through the stream and finding a big stick in which to drag along the trail with him. About 83% of New Brunswick is forested and its northern half is occupied by the Applachians. Dave said it smells like a Christmas Tree lot whenever we get out of the truck. So refreshing!
We hiked two days near the northern border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We came upon a warming cabin, complete with an outhouse, used primarily in the winter by those snowshoeing and skiing on the trails.
Next stop is Prince Edward Island! Thanks for following along on the Merch 2022 Summer Adventures.
Brenda, Dave, and the best hiker/swimmer – Murphy.
Such exciting experiences you are having! ♥️
Yes… but have you found butter tarts??
With all that falling water, you know you’re not in FL anymore 😉
It looks like Mr. Murphy doesn’t mind the cold water ?
Seeing your pics and waterfalls sure helps while enduring Florida swelter.
Thanks!