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Art
07-06-2009, 07:17 PM
Caution: Lengthy Post.

This is one road trip that we will be talking about for a while. We started out from our hometown of Red Deer, Alberta and, with many impromptu stops along the way, we will eventually make it to our final destination, that being Newfoundland. We've managed to log over 6,000 km so far.

We wasted no time as we blazed through Western, Central and parts of Eastern Canada with the sole purpose of extending our stay in the Atlantic Provinces.

Stop along the shoreline of Lake Superior.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/P6211510.jpg

Overnighter in Old Montreal. The rear cargo is crammed with our boats, gear, food, clothing, etc.,for the 40 day trip.
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From Quebec City, we took the ferry across the St Lawrence to Levis.
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One last look at Le Chateau Frontenac from the ferry. Au Revoir Quebec!
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Our arrival in New Brunswick was marked with a trip to Hartland, home of the longest covered bridge in the world.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/P6251529.jpg
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View over looking the Bay of Fundy
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The Bay of Fundy has the reputation of having the highest tides in the world. The Hopewell Rocks (http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/English/index.htm) located in Fundy National Park are a prime example of this. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to paddle in and amongst the renowned 'Flowerpots' during high tide. Hard to believe we walked around the same area just a few hours before launching our boats.
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It's off to PEI, the 'Gentle Island'. Views of the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_0454.jpg
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Images of Summerside, PEI.
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We managed to hook up with a bunch of local paddlers in Charlottetown, PEI who took us on a tour of their fine harbor.
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One of Charlottetown's quaint side streets
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Definitely not yer run-of-the-mill mailboxes. :D
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Obligatory pic of our rig and boats.
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Misc. images of PEI.
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Departing PEI for Nova Scotia on the Woods Island/Caribou Ferry.
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Following an overnight stay in Baddeck, NS, we would hit the road once again, this time along the famous Cabot Trail.
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2nd night on the Trail – The town of Cheticamp and calm conditions made for a pleasant evening paddle.
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Paddling into the harbor of Cheticamp, one has a great view of the church that looms over the rest of the town.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_0876.jpg

More shots of the Cabot Trail the following day. Periods of fog and rain dogged us most of the way. Next stop, Dingwall, NS.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_0895.jpg
Same road 48 hours later.
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The small fishing village of Pleasant Bay.
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A couple of quirky, cute homes that we passed along the way.
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More time on the water. Here we are at Aspy Bay near near the town of Dingwall.
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Surf's UP! :eek:
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Side trip to Meat Cove, Cape Breton – The most northerly settlement in Nova Scotia. Quite spectacular views despite the gloomy weather.
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That concludes this portion of our road trip to the Atlantic Provinces. We leave for NewFoundland in a couple of days so I’ll be sure to provide more detailed updates with respect to our progress. Thanks for your time and hope that you enjoyed the photo journal! :)

PJ810
07-07-2009, 01:52 AM
Loved every photo. Thanks so much for posting. I'm inspired to visit Canada!

Are they folding kayaks? I note half way through you switched from having them collapsed to carrying them assembled. What are the advantages of collapsing them vs keeping them on the roof extended? I haven't paddled a folding kayak. Wouldn't mind to hear your opinions of travelling with folding vs solid as well as your views on using them.

Keep the photos coming and have a very safe and enjoyable holiday!

r-p
07-07-2009, 03:16 AM
God, I love this... makes me go queezy with longing for my holiday... And 40 days :eek:

What's the black bar on one of the pics?

And I looooove Canada!!! (But never been to the east-coast though... Did get lost with my wife and our one year old in logging country on Vancouver Island though=> half an hour trip took us 6 hours, with roads just stopping in the middle of nowhere [mad2] Turned out the sign for the correct road was placed 100 meters AFTER the junction [cussing] and just driving straight on led you the wrong way...)

Miliceman
07-07-2009, 06:13 AM
Hope you loved Quebec City! Thanks for coming! I want to drive all the way to the Western Coast, but I'm arguing with my wife about this every time we speak about vacation...

John@CdnRockies
07-07-2009, 11:23 AM
Awesome photos Art/Sai. Too bad you seem to have hit cloudy and overcast conditions. I've traveled those roads several times and the scenery is unbelievable when the sea and sun collide. I particularly liked your shots of the Bay of Fundy from both a land lubber and sea wolf perspective. :)

Btw, your new oversize wheels/tires fill those cavities very nicely. I've only taken the XC-70 across Canada once and it was beautifully suited to the ride with a ton of space (every inch of which you seem to be taking advantage of).

As for our guest comments thus far: (a) our daughter Steph is touring Australia as we speak - we've been to Sydney 3 times and thoroughly enjoyed it every single time, (b) I'm Dutch myself and am intimately aware of Vancouver Island road signage as we have a place on one of the islands there - I've taken to relying on a GPS to get me out of trouble, and (c) for our Quebec contributor - we lived in Montreal for several years and it remains my favourite province. Both our gals speak fluent French and my wife still has her hair dresser located there.:eek:

Thanks for the pictures and the reminder of the international friends who inhabit this site.[thumbup]

Art
07-07-2009, 08:09 PM
Are they folding kayaks? I note half way through you switched from having them collapsed to carrying them assembled. What are the advantages of collapsing them vs keeping them on the roof extended? I haven't paddled a folding kayak. Wouldn't mind to hear your opinions of travelling with folding vs solid as well as your views on using them.

Patrick,

Spot on regarding the boats. They're folding alright…Feathercraft Khatsalanos to be exact. We stowed both kayak packs in the rear of the XC and used a roof basket to car top all of our camping gear and clothes. When we arrived in New Brunswick, we made the switch. The boats went up and the basket and gear went into the back of the car.

The boats travelled well on the saddles. Naturally they tend to flex a bit in the wind but otherwise were very stable. The Khatsalano is Greenland inspired with a fair degree of rocker. It's likely the fastest boat I've ever paddled and possesses good-excellent primary and secondary stability. It tracks extremely straight into the wind but it can be touch and go in following seas. Feathercraft also offers the Kat S which is slightly beamier.

Hope that helps.


What's the black bar on one of the pics?

Hmmm…which pic are you referring to? It's possible that one of the wiper arms/blades got in the way when it was raining.


Hope you loved Quebec City! Thanks for coming! I want to drive all the way to the Western Coast, but I'm arguing with my wife about this every time we speak about vacation...

J'aime Quebec!! Even though we only stayed a night in Old Quebec, we plan on visiting again. The day we arrived there was a celebration of sorts occurring….was it Fete Nationale? Anyway, the streets were buzzing with activity and everyone was in a festive mood.


Awesome photos Art/Sai. Too bad you seem to have hit cloudy and overcast conditions. I've traveled those roads several times and the scenery is unbelievable when the sea and sun collide. I particularly liked your shots of the Bay of Fundy from both a land lubber and sea wolf perspective.

John,

Conditions were great today and it looks like it will stay that way for the remainder of the week. We walked the Skyline trail which offered up a superb panoramic view of the ocean, the valley below and the Cabot Trail. Even came upon a moose along the way.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_1043.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_1041.jpg

Here a couple of more shots of the Cabot Trail taken today.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_1091.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_1156.jpg

r-p
07-08-2009, 04:28 AM
Hmmm…which pic are you referring to? It's possible that one of the wiper arms/blades got in the way when it was raining.



http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b249/Batstar/IMG_0906.jpg

There was a distinct black bar, very clearly outlined (no smudged edges or anything) on this pic. I scrolled down and up and may even have reloaded the page to see if it was a glitch that would disappear, but it didn't. Now it's gone.[sly]:confused:

Whatever...

Thanks for the pics!

and :D at the GPS comment of Vancouver Island. No one told us...and we didn't own one in 2004...
There were some guys working on the road (part of the road was gone, they were fixing it with cobblestones) and they looked funny at us. So when we reappeared almost 6 hours later, one said: I was wondering where you were going, as it's a dead end :p

Miliceman
07-08-2009, 06:11 AM
The day we arrived there was a celebration of sorts occurring….was it Fete Nationale? Anyway, the streets were buzzing with activity and everyone was in a festive mood.

If you were there on June 23rd, yes, it was the "St-Jean-Baptiste" evening. The day after, June 24th, it is our "Fête Nationale" day, but in Quebec City, we love to celebrate and rest a bit on the holiday (more when this day is right in the middle of the week!)

sydneyv70xc
07-16-2009, 11:50 PM
Thanks for the pics. Awesome scenery. Even better than our coastal drive along the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne, Victoria. And your XC looks great too!!!

rosco
07-17-2009, 07:58 PM
Nice photos and great scenery: makes me very keen to visit North America sometime.

KanataXC
08-13-2009, 08:43 AM
Looking forward to the Nfld pics as well. I'm from NB and have been to a lot of the places you showed (albeit spread over many years).

I think you will really love Nfld, especially if you go through Gros Mourne Nat Park, it's kind of like a combo of the Cabot Trail and Banff. No doubt you will see some more moose, I saw 5 during our week there up the western arm.

Art
08-18-2009, 07:47 PM
Hope to have the Nfld portion of our trip posted on the site over the next few days. We spent two awesome weeks on the Rock and would loved to have stayed longer. Took in Gros Morne, Cape St. Mary's, Lanse Aux Meadows and so much more.

The Newfoundland pics have now been uploaded to the following thread:

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14498

MGC
09-12-2009, 08:01 AM
Art

WOW - What a trip.. Love the photos.
Keep in touch
Morrie

Seamus
11-07-2010, 09:09 PM
Wow, Canada looks amazing. I've always wanted to roadtrip there. But it must be a long drive from Rhode Island. What a great looking XC btw, i couldn't think of a better car to do it in. The small towns in your photos remind me much of Ireland, as well as the coastline. Thanks for sharing, it was amazing! :D