30-31 July 2019, Tuesday and Wednesday
After another decadent breakfast at Pur and Simple, and a number of phone calls to orthopedic surgery offices in Sydney, NS to schedule a follow-up visit for my broken ankle, we are on our way to Nova Scotia. The thermometer tops 31 C as we drive. We finally arrive at Caribou-Munroes Provincial Park, very near to where the ferry from PEI docks. Happily our campsite is mostly, but not completely, shaded. It is HOT! And we are eating dinner in short sleeves. And the mosquitoes are hungry. We set up our thermacell, which wafts permethrin into the air, creating a protective “dome.” It works! We also place our battery powered fan on the table to provide a gentle cooling breeze. We are both too hot and tired to make our way to the beach, which is supposed to be beautiful. We’ll save that for Wednesday or Thursday. As we prepare for bed we place the fan in the bedding storage net and aim it directly down at the sleeping platform. The strategy works well.
It cools a bit overnight, but the forecast is for another hot day. O deploys our tarp for additional shade. After breakfast we decide to drive to Arisaig Provincial Park about an hour away. I am seeking a shady picnic table on a cliff overlooking the water with a cool breeze blowing. O thinks I am hoping for too much. But . . . here we are, on a green, grassy hillside, sitting at a shaded picnic table overlooking Arisaig Harbor and the North Umberland Strait. A friendly local couple, enjoying the shade at a neighboring picnic table inquires as to where we are from and what happened to my ankle. The man hears my story and says he’s had his eye on doing the Fundy Footpath. He tells us there are many trails here in Pictou County. He is on the committee that is marking and publicizing these paths and suggests I look up Trails of Pictou County on Facebook.
As O and I continue to enjoy the shade and the breeze and our snacks at our picnic table another two cars pull up, one from Ontario and one from Nova Scotia. They are travelling together. Buddy, a laid-back blonde colored mutt from the Nova Scotia car ambles over from the hot car to our shady picnic table. I am holding a bite of turkey jerky in my lap, about to eat it. Buddy has other plans. Before I suspect any mischief from this placid pup, he has gently taken the jerky from my hand. His owners are calling him and wondering why he won’t come back to the car . . . Buddy eventually returns to his owners – after they promise him some shade. (He was probably hoping for some jerky as well!)
O and I relax a bit longer and then proceed on our way. We discover as we exit the park that there is a shelter here with interpretive panels and a steep walk down to the beach – another activity for next year’s trip. We drive out to Cape George at the tip of the peninsula to see the lighthouse there and then return to camp.
After dinner we “hike” to the beach. It’s about a half mile each way. In the heat and on crutches that’s a major expedition! Finally back at camp we do our best to cool off. Then we retire for the night.
