Summerside

It was a very blustery night which made sleeping difficult. Lawn chairs flew, campers' gazebo tents toppled. I got up during the night to close our two window awnings. It did make for more pleasant temperatures, reaching 22º under mainly sunny skies.

Our first stop of the day was in O'Leary at the Canadian Potato Museum, The building also houses a community museum full of artifacts. The price of admission ($16 for 2 seniors) covered both museums. The potato  museum was SO interesting, literally  anything and everything there is to know about  the spud, its history, cultivation, harvesting and many fun facts. It was information overload. We even got to sample potato fudge... delicious.

We drove directly to Linkletter Provincial Park on the Northumberland Strait with a view of the Confederation bridge off in the distance. We were able to get a full service drive through site for an easier return at night.

   We were only a few km from Summerside where we stopped at           Spinnakers' Landing on Summerside Harbour. We browsed through the shops. Kathy walked along the boardwalk. We had takeout fish (haddock) and chips from Jolly Rogers Seafood for supper. 

The highlight of the day was "A Summerside Saturday Night" at the Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada. The show was fantastic  and included performances by the Encore step dance group, Shane Cook (a fiddler) and the Woodchippers on  bass, guitar and keyboard. The finale included all of the performers.

We had no difficulty returning to our site at 10:00. It was another short driving day, 106 km.

The North Cape

We had a short drive, 30 km along coastal Rte 12 to the tip of the North Cape where the North Cape Wind Energy Interpretative Centre is located. The Wind Farm has 16 turbines which provide  approximately 25% of the province's energy. The location on the cape is ideal with  a 300º exposure to the coast..The North Cape Lighthouse is an octagonal tower 62 ft tall built in 1865. It has been moved several times due to erosion. The Cape also has the longest natural rock reef in North America, approximately 2 km.

The highlight for us was the Black Marsh Nature Trail, a 5.5 km trail , much of it a boardwalk that passes through forest, a bog  and along the ridge of the cliffs. There are 25 interpretive panels that detail the ecology, unique plants and wildlife as well as other points of interest. It took us two hours to complete the trail as we stopped to read the panels and take pictures. It was very informative and the scenery along the cliffs was stunning. 

the end

We ate lunch before making the turn to continue south on Rte 14 along the west

coast of the Cape to Cedar Dunes Provincial Park overlooking the Northumberland  Strait. The campground was under a "Do not drink water order" due to the elevated levels of manganese.

The park is very near the West Point Lighthouse, constructed in 1875. It added a museum in 1984. It is the island's tallest lighthouse, 67 ft 8 in. 

It was another hot day, 30º, "felt like" 35º but tolerable in the park with winds off the Strait. We drove 103 km.

PEI National Park

 PEI National Park was established in 1937 and extends along the Gulf of St. Lawrence for nearly 40 km. with red cliffs and sandy dunes. It covers an area of 18 sq. km. It was hit by post-tropical storm Dorian in September 2019 and sustained considerable damage. The park has many scenic hiking and biking trails.

We biked the Cavendish Dunelands  Trail and made several stops for photos and to read the information panels. The scenery was spectacular. I was content to bike about 3 km while Kathy biked farther.

Before leaving the area, we drove into Cavendish and the Green Gables Shore and were appalled to see how commercialized, tacky it had become with theme  parks,  go carts, etc It was obscene. L.M. Montgomery would not be impressed!

We did stop at Mariner's Cove to have the famous PEI Handpie for lunch. We learned about them in the "PEI Food & Great Experiences Guide." There was a variety but each "packed with 1/2 lb. of the best local meats, wheats and other treats." The chef who created it in 2017 wanted a hearty, nutritious grab-and-go meal. They were delicious and very filling. 

 We continued west on Rte 2 up the North Cape to Rte 12 into Alberton on the coast and checked into Jacques Cartier Provincial Park overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is said that Jacques Cartier landed here briefly in 1534 during his initial voyage to the Americas. 

It was the hottest day of our trip so far, reaching 28º, "feeling like" 35º. We drove only 108 km; it was nice to stop early at 2:00.

Points West Coastal Drive

PEI way of selling firewood

Cozy cg laundromat

After a very long day yesterday, Shadow let us sleep in. We had a later start to our drive  through scenic rolling countryside in a light rain to Rte 6 known as the Points West Coastal Drive. When we reached the coast along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we stopped to see the Covehead Harbour Lighthouse, a heritage lighthouse constructed in wood, 27 feet tall. It is the 2nd lighthouse on the site built in 1975.

  

 Next we stopped in the community of  Brackley Beach at The Dunes Studio Gallery & Café. 

 There were Canadian crafts by 50 artists, paintings, pottery, wood carvings.

 

We stopped in North Rustico at a Food Market for groceries before entering PEI National Park and checking into Cavendish Beach Campground. (Our national parks passes from last summer were still good.)

We returned to North Rustico to the famous Fisherman's Wharf     Lobster Suppers which has the longest all-you-can-eat salad  bar. The 60 ft. bar features PEI mussels, seafood chowder, desserts.. You can order a main dish to supplement the bar. I ordered the scallops; Kathy was fine with the salad bar with mussels. It was a real feast and delicious.

We motored 115 km. It reached 24º under clearing skies.

Prince Edward Island

   

We were up at 4:30 a.m.  and out of the campground at 5:25 for the short drive to the ferry terminal. There were not as many vehicles for this crossing so the ferry loaded quickly. We set sail at 6:25, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. It was interesting to see a tugboat helping the ferry leave the wharf. I asked. It was because the current and winds can make the maneuvering tricky.

It was now "high season". This crossing cost $72.66 more and took a little less than 5 hours. The Gulf wasn't as calm. We docked at 11:30 in Souris.

We stopped at an Irving station for gas @ $1.46.2, approximately 17 cents cheaper per litre than on Les Iles. Next stop before we left Souris was at a roadside parkette to have lunch. 

 Our first destination was St. Peters Bay. We checked into St. Peters Community Campground next to the  Confederation Trail. P.E.I. railway  was decommissioned  in 1989 and in its place a walking and cycling trail was developed.  It runs from "tip to tip" from Tignish to Elmira, a total of  273 km. There are branch trails throughout the island making it 449 km in total. The trail along Peters Bay is  flat, ideal for us. 

Kathy biked 20 km while I did about 9 km with several photo stops. The   trail has interpretive panels, some historical, some about the flora, bird life. There are rest stops (benches). It was very scenic. Thankfully the trail is sheltered mostly by trees. There was a stiff wind broadsiding us.

We capped off a most pleasant afternoon with bbqed spareribs, mushroom fried rice and carrots for dinner. We left Les Iles under cloudy skies and arrived back in P.E.I. in the sun. It reached 22º. We drove 39 km, 33 of them in P.E.I.

Iles de la Madeleine: Day 4

 

Dune du Sud beach at campground

   It as another beautiful sunny day as we made our turn on Les       Iles and headed south back to Ile du Cap aux  Meules for the        return ferry crossing on Tuesday. It reached 19º, our warmest        day on Les Iles

But first we drove to Sentier du Cap Rouge

 to hike the 2.6 km trail. The trail was  through small shrubs and near a lagoon. Les moustiques were terrible so Shadow and I turned back within the first 10 minutes. Kathy persevered and went farther but also turned back because the trail was not well marked....not a place one would want to get lost! Shadow and |I did find a shorter path down to the shoreline to view Cap Rouge.

  We returned to Pointe Basse where Kathy visited Les Cultures du Large, an interpretation centre  about shellfish farming, aquaculture and lobster fishing which opened in 2018. Kathy said it was most interesting and finished with an oyster tasting. I wish I had gone, for the tour that is!

We stopped for lunch at the same fish market, la Poissonnière. This time kathy had her cooked lobster dinner  while I cooked my seafood crèpes on Harvee Too. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

Kathy checked out a couple more boutiques in Cap aux Meules. With our sightseeing done, we had time to stop at  L'Ami du Campeur, a RV repair garage near our chosen campground for our last night on Les Iles.  We were most fortunate . Le monsieur  had time to diagnose our problem, a weak, aging water pump. He replaced the pump. The Fresh water diverter valve was not closing completely which was allowing the water leakage into the water tank. 

He did not have a replacement valve but did remove about  12" of piping behind it and install a shut off valve to supplement the defective one. Voilà! Problem solved in less than two hours. The bill including labour, parts and HST only $388.58 ... very reasonable.

We checked into Camping Le Motel Pleuvier just down the road. We have full hook-ups and no water issues..... hallelujah! 

 

Iles de la Madeleine: Day 3

Dune du Nord Beach

 
Today under sunny skies we continued north on Rte 199 to see the last three islands. Pointe aux Loups is the smallest inhabited island with a fishing port, about 50 homes and the Dune du Nord Beach. 

We stopped at the Dune du Nord Wind Farm.. Surprisingly we could get very close to the two wind turbines that went into operation in 2021. They supply more than 15% of the island's energy needs.

Grosse Ile and Grande Entrée have the best preserved natural environments of Les Iles. Pointe de l'Est National Wildlife Area connects the two islands. Grosse Ile is populated by Anglophones of Scottish descent. They work as fishermen. 

Another point of interest was the Salt Mine.  Huge salt dunes are part of the base of the islands. In 1983 Mines Seleine began excavating the salt which is mined at a  300 metre depth in tunnels.

We were very pleased to find a large enough parking area to accommodate us so we could walk one of the trails in the  684 hectares ecosystem. We chose L'Echouerie   and would have walked more than the 1.2 km if most of the trail was not  deep dune sand which made walking extra difficult. What we did see was very impressive.... so many photo ops for me  as Kathy powered along.

We drove through some very foggy stretches along the highway.

We ate a  delicious seafood lunch at Cap Dauphin's Fish Shack  sitting outside on a deck overlooking the Grosse Ile wharf. The restaurant was very busy; the  long wait was worth it.

Grand Entrée was the last island to be permanently inhabited in approximately 1870. It has a vital fishing port.  In 1994 it was designated Quebec's "Lobster Capital." There are over 100 lobster fishing boats. 

We drove literally to the end of Rte 199 and can now say we drove the entire length of the archipelago, 85 km  southern tip to northern tip. 

On the way back to our campground we stopped in Old- Harry where the Grande Echouerie Beach dominates the shoreline. We walked the short distance over the dune. Unfortunately fog obscured the view.

We arrived back at the campground around 3:30 having motored 121 km. It was another great day of sightseeing,  on Les Iles.