07/20/05: Fundy Park
We checked out late from the Econo-Lodge in St. John, NB. The deep, chilling fog of the night before had lifted, and we could see where we were. Not much to see, really. At noon, we again got lost in the labyrinth of street construction, and finally found our way to Maple Leaf 1 (The Trans-Canadian Highway) and headed east and north to Fundy National Park. It was a warm, sunny day. I'd dressed for the night before in jeans and flannel shirt. Karen changed to shorts just as we reached the park.
Avian greeters at Fundy National Park.
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Once we headed down to the coast, the fog rolled in! We wore our hooded sweat jackets to walk the shortest and easiest trail at Wolf Point. Nothing to see.
Fog from the Bay of Fundy creeps as far as it can onto the land
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I had to rest a couple of times. My ailment has taken a lot out of me. At 4, we decided to find a room in Alma, just outside of the park. The tide was nearly out, and the fishing boats in dock sat on the sea floor.
Low tide in Alma, NB on the Bay of Fundy. We walk ¾ mile straight out from town to find the low tide water line.
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Who needs a dry dock when the tide drops 35' every 12 hours?
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We stopped in up the hill at the Trails End B&B, and got an affordable room. We had some fish and chips at 5, and then walked out along the beach. It was about ¾ mile of barnacle encrusted rocks, sand, and mud flats out to the low tide mark. I needed a nap when we got back. By 8:00 Karen just had to go out, so we walked out to the half-tide sea, and walked it in.
Tide coming in, lobster boats waiting out in the bay for the channel to the docks (marked by the poles) to get deep enough.
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The tide rises along the Alma beach at a leisurely walk. Leisurely, but unstoppable! It was fun to pick a spot a few feet ahead of the flow and stand on a rock. Then wait a minute or so for the water to surround me, and then jump to the next rock, and walk a bit ahead of it, again. When we got back nearly to the pier, I heard one of the lobster boats that had been waiting offshore start up.
The first boat, with the shallowest draught, roars in to the dock.
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We watched it race in along the channel, dock, and unload boxes of lobsters in a flurry of activity. Then a couple of others came in, as each decided that the channel was deep enough. After unloading, they tied up, placed the square frameworks under their gunwales (sides?), and shut down for the night. The frameworks are to keep the boats from tipping when they drop to their keels at the next low tide, around 6:00a.m. in this case.
I slept pretty soundly, except for a freaky light fixture that came on at 1:00 a.m. and a coughing fit at 4:00 (I took more cough syrup before Karen could tell me to).
Same boat, same dock, morning and evening tides.
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