Ken, Sue, Stewart & Jessie's Eastern Canada Tour

Nova Scotia Log

Day 60 Digby Nova Scotia to Annapolis Royal 38.3 km July 9/02 Tuesday

Well I hate to be fixated on the weather, but it rained again this morning just as we were going to get up. Stew and Jes were fast and got over to one of the shelters, but guess what... they leak!... so some gear got a tad damp. Ken also got caught in the downpour and I sat packed in the wet tent! No harm done we dripped off and went to visit a friend of Mac's in Digby... Richard and Monica Treleaven at the Coastal Inn Kingfisher. Three years ago they left Toronto for this quiet little town.. Gorgeous place to live. They treated us to breakfast and great conversation and we were off towards Annapolis Royal. We didn't go to Bear River which is "little Switzerland" apparently, must leave some things for another time.

The route is moderately hilly with ups and downs to sealevel thru the towns. We stopped at Smith Cove where a group of women (maybe 40) were "hooking"... rug hooking in an old church. (some locals and some summer residents) It was like walking back in time to a work bee. They were talking and working and eating snacks. Hardly room to walk about. There was a quilt on the wall that is 150 years old. I don't know what they used for fabric dye in those days, but it was tea colored on the white, but the blue was still dark. One girl was from Calgary (she was born here), so comes every summer with her family to stay in the old family home. We were riding along past old home all pretty well kept up and more flowers. Not much sign of veggie gardens.

Annapolis Royal is only a town of 250 residents now, but from the grand old homes (which are B&B/Inns) it was really a bustling place. It must survive now on the tourist dollar. We went out for a nice dinner (Stew once again tried the seafood, Catfish) and then on a tour that started after dark... not an ordinary tour.... it was of the grave yard! We had been to Fort Ann and Richard had recommended this tour .... well worth the effort to stay up past dark!

This gentleman has been doing these tours for the historic society for 11 years. I couldn't begin to repeat even a fraction of what he had to say, but if one ever gets a chance to go .. you should. They have the oldest headstone in Canada here.. not the oldest buried person. He was Acadian and had such a pride for his home ... headstones tell much more than who lies there.... the artwork depicts different times in history and different cultures... ie the old 1800 stones have sculls with wings or hands which point towards heaven. One really interesting thing was the solders were not buried in the graveyard because the other side (English/French) would think they were weakening (loosing members) so they were buried at the high tide level... in fact one remains was found recently from the 1800 in the mud and they were able to discover who it was.... they buried him in the grave yard.... also if a person was a convict they were not in the grave yard so they are not sure if this soldier was in good standing or not, but he is now in the yard. One would have thought this would be a greusome tour, but it was not. Very unique, and takes a special type of character to pull it off, but to get 75 people walking in a grave yard at 1030 at night says it all. The lights were candles in lantern boxes that we carried. One other interesting thing was they had "foot" stones also.... I don't know if that was to steak out how much room you had or not! The earliest inhabitants have no stones as the wooden crosses have long since rotted.

Well walked home with star studed sky, so hoping for a warm day tomorrow. Ken and Stew went in the tidal powered generator plant today... only comment I could get was I don't think we will be using that power in the too near future to heat our homes.

38.3 km +8.42km about town M 49.9 A 15.7 T2h 26 min TD 3208.23 km

Day 61 Annapolis Royal to Middleton 45.87 km July 10/02 Wednesday

Rained overnight , but by 0830 we are in sunshine! Yippe!

Left Annapolis Royal rolling hills with slight wind to our backs on hwy 1 which is the scenic route....supposidly the fruit belt,but only orchard we saw was very old and another newer plant (~10yrs) but poorly trimed. Past farms that have been more active in years gone by... saw a round barn built 150 years ago. Bridgetown gave us a 50 year pin to commemorate the Queens rein. ... huge old houses... in need of paint... I think the weather is very hard on the paint as everyone is out touching up. Asked why did they cover the bridges? Knowone can tell me so I will have another project to research on the net... maybe to save the bridge surface... keep snow off... deck freezing? Who knows. Stewart had a flight on Sunday early am so they decided to head for Halifax... we will set off for Lunnenburg tomorrow. We stayed in Middleton at a Motel and campground... had a pool and hot tub... Nice afternoon. Time and energy made the decision to spit and meet again in Halifax. Stewart did amazingly for his first loaded trip of this difficulty. ...not too bad for an old crow! I did try to check him in at a Special Care home at one point today... he flaked out on the grass at a pit stop! Jessie is tired too, so she will have a couple of days to rest in Halifax. Travel with 4 is more complex... 4 schedules to consider... but 4 interesting conversations and interpretations. Saw kids last nite on a Van assisted 300mi trip with some sort of camp from the USA. The grass here is dying due to lack of rain!! Where have they been for the past month!

45.87km M 49.8 A 16.9 T2h 42 min TD3254.10 km

Day 62Middleton to Lunnenburg 114.89 km July 11/02 Thursday

Middleton to Nictaux Falls no services... 10km flat the 3k up up up but not too steep. 20km of moderate hills. Worn houses , old farms, no services! Waterloo Lk at a bridge crossing on the left side is a pull out perfect to camp otherwise there is no camping on this route. Could buy a large decent old home in Middleton for $60 thousand! But I think the work prospects are pretty sparce. First store on this route over to the other side of Nova Scotia, is at 48km in Springfield. Ken got good fudge (and shared it too!) 66km brought us to New Germany which has a store and the traffic increased. This route has no shoulder, but as soon as we entered Lunnenburg County the road surface improved. The wind was at our backs or from the right shoulder .. 22C... gas 75.9..oh we don't need any!.... N.S. is difficult to find work for several generations we learned. Along #10 we see only the pensioners or baby boomers. Not prosperous farms, but chicken and a cow or 2. 0 bikes on the roads and minimal traffic... couple of loggers as we got closer to Lunnenberg. Flowers in the ditch are gorgeous. Lots of small lakes with cottages. Mom and Pop flowers are everywhere. There is another spot you could stay at a provincial picnic site at 88km if desperate... pit toilets. We arrived at Bridgewater and the info center had internet access and also phoned the Lunnenburg site to make sure we could get in.... 19km later we arrived at the campsite after a long day... we walked down town to check out the wharf and plan for Fridays stop over.

114.89 km M 49.5 A 18.2 T 6h 18 min TD 3368.99 km

Day 63 Lunnenburg 0 kmby bike July 12/02 Friday

We had a lazy day in the sac until 0830!! Today is a craft fair in town so we walked about. We went to the Lunnenberg Marine Museum which is really interesting. This is another area steeped in history just walking the streets and looking at the neat old houses... first place we have seen skate board ramps!! Neat mix of old and new life! We had a great day wondering and playing the tourist... it is cool here at night.. 10C... hazy during the day at 25C... bikers tan is getting dark!

Another tourer came in camp from Oregon... only on a week tour from Main. Very adventursome.. woman, on her own! We will be off towards Halifax tomorrow....email in the library here. Internet cafes just are non existant out this way.

Thankyou cards sent to Rita/WJ and Lise Malony

0 km M A Th min TD 3368.99 km

Day 64 Lunnenburg to Indian Harbour 110.27 km July 13/02 Saturday

Didn't rush out of camp as needed to assess my gear as I will be downsizing to go on the Cabot Trail if we are still up for it.... it is very hard to keep up the day after day and we have a very busy last 15 days planned...but they are only plans... and I can change my mind on the turn of a dime! As many of you know!!

Anyways Did you know? That you can refill a toothpaste tube? especially when you cann't buy the little ones anywhere here!! (just put them end to end and squeeze!) We get very used to "our" conveniences of home... ie. we have paved roads and shoulders some even 3 -4 feet wide... They have very patchy roads... never resurfaced the entire road, even side to side at the same time. Shoulders are almost all gravel and there is a drop from the road surface of sometimes up to 4 inches.... very dangerous on a loaded bike.

Anyways on the mornings ride we ran into some really neat yuppie towns ie. Chester and Mahoney Bay That are like travelling in California.. lots of veggie type shops, little capicchino bars, opposite of what we have seen so far. Nice rolling ride along the bays... really gorgeous. We were following another group of tourers (who were B&B travellers) kept our average up at 18.5 for the first 2 hours! Need to have a pacesetter like that every morning! We stopped for a nice coffee and smoothie in Chester and lost our speeders. From Chester we skipped onto Hwy 3 to save a few Km. This was a little more hilly and so was the next 20 km as it pulled away from the water a bit. There are no groceries to be had from Chester on so had to do a side trip to Hwy 3 from 333 (5km) Disappointed that the last 20km down to Indian Harbour was into the wind and seemed hillier, but our legs were tired. The campsite was right on the bay... once again lots of tents. The one beside us must have slept 10 with a cathedral ceiling of 10feet! The sunset was gorgeous!

110.27 km M 49.1 A16.8 T6h 32 min TD 3479.26 km

Day 66 Halifax to Calgary 26.92 km July 15/02 Monday

We got up to a goreous morning and had contact with Jessie. Decision made to head off to the airport and see if we could change our tickets for home. Many reasons... rain for the next week one of them... tired of the bumpy no shoulder roads.... just time.

We were lucky to get all on the same flight, but unlucky to miss our flight from Calgary to Kelowna so overnighted at the Delta... on AirCanada. Long long day... up at 7 Halifax time... into bed 0100 Calgary time. Megan drew the short straw and came to get Jessie at the Airport... thanks Meg.

It's hard to say the trip is over... time went too fast for me. Everyday had it's good points. I for one learned a lot about Eastern Canada... people and the land. A wonderful way to travel and hope I have many more trips in me!

Note: we bagged our bikes (pedals taped to the rear rack, handlebars turned) and bagged our bike panniers and they traveled just fine, so there is really no need to go to the trouble of finding a box.

26.92 km M 38.92 A 16.9 T1h 35 min TD 3566.03 km

Day 67 Calgary to Kelowna 13k km July 16/02 Tuesday

Lazy day as the first Air Canada into Kelowna is 1300. Arrived to 39C sunny day... we are home!

Much easier to strip the plastic off the bikes and get on the road than with a box. All arrived safely. Interesting feelings pedalling back into Kelowna after 10weeks away... it's summer for one thing... we have paved shoulders for another!... what no pot holes to avoid! We are really really spoiled out here!

Thanks to Lynda so much for keeping my plants and flowers alive! Really nice to come home to flowers on the deck.

13 km M A T h min TD 3579.03 km

Home in Kelowna July 17 Wednesday

Home just for one day to clean up the deck from the reroofing job , set up drip irrigation for my deck planters, check the mail, wash clothes and repack

Kelowna to Calgary via car July 18 Thursday

Travel day by car

Calgary to Cochrane Alberta 70.68km July 19/02 Friday

As my holidays are not over I decided to check out the roads in Alberta for a comparison! Ken works out of Calgary so I tagged along. First day I cycled Hwy 1A out to Cochrane and back. What a treat! Rolling hills 28C Mountains in the distance and nice wide shoulder... took me more time to find my way out of town.

Took my friend Charlene Caldwell out for lunch at the Blue Dog Cafe... wonderful to be able to visit with her and get some decent food! They make a great Portabello Mushroom dish! Charlene is looking well and still dealing with an arm injury. She remains a great optomistic gal and I'm so glad we are friends! She and John have a lovely home in Cochrane and would love any of her "old" Westside buddies to drop by!

Keith came to work and visit...and skate... unreal he is going to be 22 next week! (he is the one on the little hill in the center!)

Man oh man where is my hairdresser!!

70.78 km M 44.3 A 16.9 T4h 10 min

Calgary to Innisfail Albert 137.24km July 20/02 Saturday

Ken's sister is the United Church minister in Innisfail so we took 2A up for the weekend. It was a very long day as the wind was unusually from the north west! What luck we have! Anyways it was a challenge.... and don't let anyone tell you Albert is flat! Gradual rolling hills all the way. Small shoulder on 2A with little to no traffic and no potholes! We had to detour off 2A at Carstairs due to road construction (8km of gravel) and from Bowden to Innisfail Hwy 2A disappears and you end up on a gravel road... no fun for maybe 4km. We were running from the rain all day... just got a couple of sprinkles.

Had a great evening visiting with Monty and Chantel (Bruce & Marg's grandchildren), Glenn and Dagny (Ken's parents) James and his friend Kendra...we were still on bike travel bed time so off to bed at sunset!

Note: get Calibrachoa (yellow or purple) for flower boxes it's a great trailing plant that loves full sun. Was at the Olds City hall rest stop on their steps!

137.24 km M 49.2 A 16.8 T 8 h 08 min

Innisfail to Calgary Albert 131.80km July 21/02 Sunday

Well we spent the morning visiting and thank goodness the wind didn't change to it's usual from the west, so we had a tail wind all the way back to Calgary.... 2 hours less in the saddle! It's interesting to do a return trip and see the difference

Innisfail is a growing small town. This is a really nice ride up thru Airdrie, Carstairs, Didsbury and Bowden. Calgary has nice bike trails (we got the Coop bike map), but the signage needs to be improved. The trail all along the Deerfoot is great, but if your not from Calgary you don't know which exits you are going under. They don't have on the street bike markings, but have some streets on the map as bike routes... with the ocassional bike sign on the route. People were generally courteous, but I think they are too used to the bike couriers who dipsy doodle in the traffic. Don't get me on their traffic! Wow...where are they all going?

131.80 km M 50.1 A 21.0 T 6 h 15 min

Hike Yumnuska July 22/02 Monday

Well biking is fun, but life has other joys.

Jessie and I went out towards Banff to a mountain called Yumnuska. We spent the day hiking up. It is really a beautiful area. Calgary is a great spot as you have lots of hiking, biking and skiing close by. And just to mention there are no bugs!

We had a fun evening going to a facial massage clinic! You gals won't even recognize me! The wrinkles will all be gone! What do they mean by taking all the dead cells off... I worked hard for this tan!!

Cochrane Albert west via 1A 49.76 km July 23/02 Tuesday 30C

Ken and I went jogging for the first time in probably 4months for me... I was babying my back before the trip. Felt good to get out there pounding the pavement instead of rolling over it.

Jessie and I cycled out to her friends (MaryGail's) just west of Cochrane. Wind decided today to come from the east. Now how can one plan a trip with the wind always changing it's mind...worse than a woman! Nice sunny day with good shoulder just this far then it's down to a narrow 2 lane road and the campers travel here so it's narrow. The grasshoppers are thick! They just fly around the wheels it's weird!

Went out and bought more planters and plants for on our deck at home.... hope the drip irrigation isn't flooding the front doors!

49.76 km M 48.6 A 20.3 T 2 h 27 min

Calgary tour via bike trails 33.38km July 24/02 Wednesday

Day 2 of jogging!

Finally a day to lay in the sun! Very hot! Vary nice! Tried to even out my bikers tan!

Did an evening ride on the bike trails going along the river both sides thru downtown and the zoo. Amazing numbers of people using the trail... walking, jogging, rollerblading, biking, they cann't say these trails are not a benifit to the city. Really nice to see mostly locals I'm sure getting out there.

33.38km M 33.7 A 18.5 T 1h 48 min

Another lazy day in Calgary then thru to Kelowna TRIPS END

Two days in a row of fun in the sun! And jogging too! Life is good, but sadly time to head off home, clean the bikes, clean the house as I had a punk band stay there for 10 days! No they even washed the towels... can you get better company than that! It's been a marvelous holiday with family, friends and lots to see and do. (the black flies we won't remember with time!) We drove like mad with the tandem trucks to arrive home at 0130 it's like the cows heading in from the pasture... once they get the scent of the barn you cann't stop them! Thanks to all for helping make this trip happen especially those who Mom was so lucky to have been able to visit and a big thanks to Megan who kept the home fires burning so Jessie and I could head off so early. Looking forward to our next adventure!!

Really nice to be home... things we noticed different . we build fences and lots of trees, shrubs about our houses Is this to keep the neighbors out, or us in. Lot of dogs...most tided up...and those not chase bikers! ..some of our homes are bright colors, but not many ...we have better roads for cycling on, but we are not as bike friendly as NB drivers ....we have no bugs! but don't tell them or they will want to move here! .....most everyone we met we would take as a neighbor, so I think Canada is a pretty special place to live!