Road Trip TwoGether: 9/10/13 Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton Island area.

Tuesday 9/10/13

This morning was a low overcast with a light breeze but not uncomfortable. It did look like it could rain so we hurried though breakfast, and headed east on route 104, part of the Trans-Canada Highway through Nova Scotia. The area around Amherst is a flat plane stretching to the horizon. Heading east it soon becomes long climbs and descents through the hilly country side. The poor van did quite a bit of downshifting from overdrive and tried to maintain its speed with cruise control, but you can only ask so much.

One of the first mountains we encountered was the Cobequid Mountains. In the late 1990’s the new highway called the Cobequid Pass was built to replace the earlier highway across the mountain that saw so many accidents it was nicknamed the Valley of Death. The new highway has a long climb to an elevation of 272 meters (890 Ft.).

As we came into the town of Aulds Cove we saw a McD’s sign advertising “McLobster”. Unfortunately the road we took from there didn’t pass the McD’s it was talking about.

Also at Aulds Cove we saw a freighter loading stone from a mining operation that covered the side of the mountain. The causeway led to Port Hastings which is the first town we went through in the Breton Island section of Nova Scotia. We now changed to route 105, the “Mable and Alexander Graham Bell Way”.

Lighthouse on Bras d'Or Lake

Route 105 started winding along the mountains that skirt the west side of Bras d’Or Lake. The lake is over 55miles long and no one picture could capture the enormity of it. We stopped in Whycocomagh for gas. Whycocomagh means “Head of the waters” in the language of the Mi’maq (pronounced and now spelled Micmac) members of what Canadians refer to as “First Nation” or our term for Native American. Everyone in the gas station/store was First Nation including the local policeman.

Ready to make the evening voyage

When we arrived in North Sydney we went straight to the ferry terminal and reserved passage for tomorrow morning.

From there we found Arm of Gold Campgrounds. This campground has the most spotless washrooms we have ever found in a campground. The campground is located on a farm and there are paths cut around the field to a tree lined walkway that has a crossing over the railroad tracks down to the water’s edge where the owner has created a small park.

We were given a "Time-out".

Profound Wisdom.

I think that's quite believable!

The church behind the campgrounds.

Just across the water from the campgrounds was a rather picturesque area with an Ice Cream Caboose and General Store. One could fall in love with Cape Breton Island in a heartbeat.