Moominmama's Adventures

  Wherein Moominmama walks the mantle of the Earth, crosses from the Ordovician to the Cambrian, and hikes the boreal forests of Newfoundland... Moominmama had a largely sleepless overnight ferry ride from Sydney, Nova Scotia, but the drama of Newfoundland quickly woke me up as I traveled up the island's Northern Peninsula to arrive at Gros Morne National Park. The mountains and boreal forests of the park are thrilling. And if that wasn't enough, the geology of this area turns out to be incredibly unique. Newfoundland's west coast was shaped initially by a collision of tectonic plates. In the process, a section of the Earth's mantle slid up over the crust instead of below. This has happened in only a few places in the world, and Gros Morne is one of them. The area is called the Tablelands, and it's a rusty red color, with rocks called peridotite that discourage plant life. Apparently, this area has been studied for its similarity to the planet Mars. Peridotite is de...

  Wherein Moominmama explores the Cape Breton Highlands and goes in search of the source of a friend's stories... The last hurrahs of Tropical Storm Debby are coming across Cape Breton Island at the moment: rain last night, fierce winds today and high humidity.  Moominmama got wet weather when I arrived at the beginning of the week as well, but I did some easy hikes to start and then got one spectacular sunny day when I drove out to White Point, pictured here. Covered in windswept grass and heather, dotted with rocks and facing the deep blue ocean, the water creates endless patterns of white lace against the rocks. White Point has a small cemetery, with a marker seeking the day when loved ones will meet again on God's great shore. Because shore is surely what Cape Breton is all about! On one cloudy but otherwise good day, Moominmama hiked Mica Hill on the northern end of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. That took me up bushy hillsides full of wild blueberries (yum!), a...

In which Moominmama forgoes hiking for country walks and learns about the author of Anne of Green Gables... Here on Prince Edward Island, there are no dramatic tides, towering cliffs or epic mountains. Instead there are gentle country byways, sandy beaches and refreshing breezes. This has been a relaxing week. Rather than load up my backpack with first aid and emergency gear, I carry only my water bottle, wandering in my sandals or sneakers along easy paths that skirt the dark green potato fields or golden wheat. Views of sand dunes and ocean are never far away.  Wildflowers and raspberries grow alongside the exposed edge of these grassy paths, and I frequently startle plump brown rabbits who venture out for the clover. These turn out to be snowshoe hares and will turn white come winter! Love for the natural world is a big part of the writing of L.M. Montgomery who grew up and wrote many of her novels and stories on the island. The town of Cavendish, where I am staying on the north...

In which Moominmama sees the amazing tides in the Bay of Fundy and slips on the ocean floor... The Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is famous for its tides with a hundred billion tons of water pouring in and out of the bay with each cycle. Water can rise at high tide by as much as 56 feet, and at Hopewell Rocks, pictured above, it averages around 46 feet at high tide. According to the Mi'kmaq legend, the giant Glooscap wanted to take a bath and got Beaver to build him a dam across the mouth of the bay. A whale took objection and slapped the dam down, sending water rushing into and out of the bay with a force so strong it continues to this day. Since it pours in at about 6-feet an hour, the bay fills quickly and can be dangerous. Visitors are allowed to walk on the "ocean floor" at low tide but the staircase is closed as the tide comes in. In fact, the lower levels of the stairs flood. Moominmama joined the crowds for low tide to explore the rock features...

Wherein Moominmama goes to Le Bout du Monde (the end of the world) at the tip of the Gaspé... If the Gaspé is a peninsula, then Forillon National Park is a pointer finger at the end, with the fingernail being the Cap-Gaspé. This tip of the world, also called Land's End in English, marks the end of the Bay of Gaspé as it joins the St. Lawrence Gulf.  Unsurprisingly, Cap-Gaspé has been home to a lighthouse since 1873, but the present day lighthouse is the third of its kind (this one made of cement), as extreme weather took down previous iterations over time. But it was not enough to shine a light from this high point on the cape. Protecting ship traffic required warning them by ear when the fog grew thick. There was also a "cannon shelter," which boomed out warnings to the captains below until 1894, when guncotton cartridges replaced the older technology, which was, in turn, replaced by a modern foghorn.  The cannon shelter was moved to this location away from the cliff...

  In which Moominmama meets a Caribou... Moominmama is in the Haute Gaspésie, the northern end of the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec but on the Saint Lawrence side. I nailed a camping spot in the Parc National de la Gaspesie and much to my surprise, I'm in the mountains even though I'm half an hour's drive from the Saint Lawrence River and the ocean smells of the Atlantic! And these are impressive mountains, with lofty alpine zones at the top, complete with caribou. I had no idea... On the peaks, the ground is bushy and rocky tundra like Alaska or Alberta. But it is rare to see the caribou, and Moominmama was incredibly lucky to find one at the top of Mont Jacques-Cartier. This small but protected herd of woodland caribou are found on only a couple of the peaks. I was lucky to have an opportunity to hike one of those mountains and snagged a spot on the first bus of the day into the protected zone. This peak is only open to hikers for three months of the year, and even then, hike...

Wherein life gets in the way of blogging... Moominmama apologizes for keeping friends in the dark, but there were many distractions that got in the way of posting to this blog! Since leaving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Moominmama had other deadlines, as well as problems with internet and time! Among other things, I had to hustle to London, Ontario to get to an appointment for necessary maintenance on the trailer and to set up a Canadian phone plan. Happily, after that, I returned to Rochester, NY to see my eldest and to attend the 2024 Rochester International Jazz Festival. I had a list of friends to visit but quickly ran out of time! The photo above is of blues guitarist "Kingfish" Ingram, one of many performers I was fortunate enough to see. He had a remarkable way of playing single notes on his electric guitar. These solo notes could call up the sound of a whale's underwater cry; others sounded like taps on a pair of bongos and still others sent sound waves forth ...