We have been to seven National Parks since we left seventeen days ago and I had never heard of a single one of them. The only one I’ve ever heard of, so I’m assuming the most famous one, is Fundy Bay National Park, and we arrive today. I’m expecting dramatic cliffs that run right up to the ocean covered in pine forests. 

My expectations have met reality and as usual we arrive around noon so Amy forces everyone to have lunch before we gallivant around. This area is a UNESCO Geological site, and even though I have no idea what that means I do know Amy is going to be wide-eyed and excited. I imagine we will all learn a thing or two about the area as well. This coast went through a catastrophic event during the tearing apart of Pangea.  This very coast once fit together with Northwestern Africa like a puzzle piece. The mountain range here formed before the rip and so continues over there across the ocean. Some hiking extremists choose to go on past the well known Appalachian Trail and continue their hike both here in Canada and in Morocco along, technically, the same mountain range. This split gave us the gorgeous and unique views today. At the visitor center, Amy falls in love with a book about the geology of this area and now each day is a race to see if she can download all of the information about a spot before we arrive. I love her passion. What a nerd. 

After unnecessary lunch we decided to drive down to Wolfe Point and do some hikes along the route. Our first is to the beautiful Dickson waterfall but the moss covered paths and rocks stole the show. Everest mentioned it felt like being in the place at the beginning of Lord of The Rings. He’s right, the Shire vibes are undeniable. My feet are so hairy I might be mistaken for a hobbit. 

After our waterfall we head to Wolfe Point, the entire Fundy Bay is known for having one of the largest tide changes in the world due to some unique circumstances. The tides themselves are so drastic that it enables one to walk right on the ocean floor. Our gps thinks we are drowning. Our arrival fits right with low tide, otherwise we might have left this for tomorrow. I turn a corner and immediately see a beautiful picturesque covered bridge, what a disappointment, we are too tall for these, it’s happened before, but we notice this one’s actually huge, looks built for trucks, so Amy climbs out and watches the bus closely, we fit with plenty of room on every side. The bus has finally completed a red covered bridge. We arrive about an hour before the peak and all decide on a hike along the cliffs around a loop that was recommended. These are the cliffs of my expectations, they meet right up to the ocean and are covered in life. We hike along the cliff edge and cut back through the forest arriving back in time to descend to the shore and explore the ocean floor without scuba gear. More of this to come, before we leave the area and we will also eventually cross the straight in front of us on our final ferry of the summer in about two months. 

Today appears to mark an interesting progression in Canada, on this day it seems to be the first official opening weekend of Summer and the crowds are finally arriving. This also means that certain activities begin and certain amenities open. We find out that there is a giant heated salt water pool overlooking the Bay opening today, and after an exhausting hike to Matthew’s Head we decide it’s the perfect way to spend the afternoon. In the evening, we bake potatoes in the fire early so we can make it to the community campfire. Tonight kicks off the season with songs and story telling. I love ranger programs and am excited to see these going strong here after watching them slowly dissolving in America in recent years. The show had top quality production value and the way they juggled a bilingual show was amazing. It’s hard to explain how they shared their stories without ever precisely translating each word, instead the banter back and forth between a French speaking and English speaking ranger was excellent quality, right out of a well rehearsed broadway musical. The way they communicated to the audience by going back and forth always ensured we somehow knew what each person was meaning. Their timing and word choice was perfect. We learned all about the nocturnal animals of the park. They surprised us with hot chocolate in the end before we all headed back to camp for bed. I was assigned a stupid star on a stick while Fitz got to be a freaking Lynx and Maple was a Porcupine with spines! I killed no less than 750 mosquitos during this time. 

Question for a friend, not us: if you showed up to a national park salt water swimming pool and there was a sign on the door that said “Due to water fouling Pool will reopen in one hour.” Would you wait it out and go in or walk away because ewwww? I’ll let our friends know your thoughts.