Day 83: Dalhousie ( Downstream!)

Water!


Ah! We have returned to the Atlantic Ocean - well technically I
suppose it is the Baie de Chaleurs, but it looks and feels like the
Atlantic. ! A glorious day in New Brunswick, blustery and fresh
despite the rain showers. We are staying at a terrific campground in
Dalhousie right on the waterfront. It poured last night, with another
good thunderstorm, so we were grateful to have a dry common eating
area under a shelter. There is also a visitor's centre with a computer
available to folks in the campground, and Alan says they have the best
waffle cones and ice cream he has had in a long time. I plan to find
out tonight. But best of all was breakfast this morning. We woke to
rain showers, and WE WERE HUNGRY, so we decided to do the obvious and
bike about 12 km round trip to a dynamite restaurant on the highway
known for hearty meals. And we were not disappointed. How does 3 eggs,
2 toast, hashbrowns, bacon , and toast sound? OK we were still hungry
so we ordered two side orders of extra pancakes to share. And there
was not a morsel left on the plates. Ginny actually was so hungry she
ate a portion pack of peanut butter while waiting for the meal.

The most memorable part of the meal however was how friendly everyone
was. Part way through our meal, a lovely woman came over to the table
and said she had heard we were biking across the country. She asked if
we were raising money for something, or if there was any other reason
for our trip. "We are doing it as a big personal challenge for us -
and it has been great " we said. She smiled broadly and offered us the
$20 bill she had in her hand. She just wanted to support our endeavor
she said, and then she left. Slightly stunned, and moved by her
generosity, we continued our meal. What a lovely introduction to New
Brunswick.

The rest of today was quiet, while we waited out the showers, and took
a rest day. Gave me time to put my thoughts together however. Canada
is such a huge country,and this trip really helped me understand at a
deep level how important our magnificent oceans, rivers and lakes are
to us. How important they were in the founding of the country. Since
Thunder Bay we have been on the water...Lake Superior with its
magnificent cliffs, wide beaches and massive reach, then to Sault St
Marie and Lake Huron and the amazing Georgian Bay.

We took an alternate route across land to Ottawa, but could have followed various smaller rivers up from Sudbury up to the Ottawa River Then from Ottawa we were
within a stones throw of the Ottawa River until Montreal, where we met
the gently massive undeniable St Lawrence and followed that, again
most of the time with the river within view. At Quebec City we took
the southern shore, and hugged the shore until just past Rimouski.
What a gorgeous area that is. Taking a shortcut overland to New
Brunswick we did lose the ocean, but were fortunate that the road
followed the Matapedia River much of the way to Campbelton,
and out
into the delta at the Baie de Chaleur. Here in the Baie we have the
fresh maritime air, with gulls roosting on the islands in the Baie and
blustery winds - the kind Derek likes to sail in.


Literally half of the country we will have been on the water. My mind
conjured up images of the members of First Nations and "coureurs de
bois" who used the waterways for transportation many years ago. The
beautiful Matapedia would have been navigable in both directions by
any skilled canoeist. Seeing Quebec City one understands why the city
was built there at the mouth, (even though General Montcalm failed to
protect the city from an attack)

Now back on the Atlantic, I am
reminded again of the magnificence of the ocean, its power and its
allure. The courage and determination of the folks who sailed across
the Atlantic to explore this part of the globe is undeniable. People
and goods and ideas have traveled on our waterways since people lived
on this land. Being "newcomers" to most of these parts on this trip,
I can begin to imagine how travelers would have felt throughout the
course of history moving across this great land. And I understand
better how ideas travel along the waterways. It is no wonder there is
a fundamental connection between all the Eastern provinces.

We are so
fortunate to have such magnificent waterways, and this little group of
five is so fortunate to have the opportunity to be by water so much of
the time. I really missed that connection in the Prairies. Perhaps
that explains part of why the Prairies felt so different. The wide sky
is the paramount feature to the Prairies, and we are clearly connected
to that, but frankly something changed for me when we hit Thunder Bay.
This is an amazing country. The generous folks we have met along the
way perhaps were shaped by the gentle rivers, the welcoming lakes and
the dynamic oceans. That is what this trip is all about for me.

While riding yesterday I worked on a few more verses to the adaptation
of the 4 Strong Winds song by Sylvia and Ian Tyson, part of which
have been posted before.

Here is a bit more for Ontario and then Quebec. Here is also a verse
for BC because that was not done before. When we are all done, there
will be a section for each province, so the BC section should really
go first..


One Strong Wind

In BC we climbed to the sky,
And our spirits were oh so high!
The mountains there were a wonder for us to see,
We had rain and we had snow,
But the wind, it refused to blow
Our dream trip at last had become a reality!


In Ontario in the East
Every day was like a feast
We saw friends who treated us like royalty,
They served us splendid gourmet meals,
And offered friendship that was real,
We were touched by their profound generosity.

Going Eastward it got real hot,
Did we like it? No we did not!
One dread day it was thirty seven in the shade....
But the wind, it was from the West,
So for us, it passed the test,

Cause bad memories of Prairie winds will never fade.

C'etait parfait au Quebec,
La Route Verte etait chouette!

On traversait des kilometres sans souci.

Et le vent, il poussait doucement,

Au bord du gentil Saint Laurent,

On mangeait bien, surtout les fameuses patisseries!

Location:Dalhousie, New Brunswick

Amazing generous woman +4 Delicious breakfast +1
Iffy weather in the morning -1
Lovely blustery weather in the afternoon- +1

Rain again in evening and overnight -1
Delicious ice cream cone with home made waffle cone +1
Really friendly and helpful staff at the campground +1
Beautiful view of Baie de Chaleur at campground+1