Port Royal National Historic Site, NS 6/30/19

Link https://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/port-royal-national-historic-site/1462

The port (number 1 on the map)was built in 1605 after French explorer, Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, and his cartographer, Samuel de Champlain came to America to find a place to settle. Originally they chose an island off of Saint Croix in the river between Maine and New Brunswick. Unfortunately after the first winter there at least 1/2 of the colonist died of scurvy, de Mons knew they needed to find a more reliable source of water, farmland and wood.

The entire colony ended up relocating to Port Royal in Nova Scotia. The area got it’s name for the the French King who granted de Mons a monopoly on the fur trade in the area. It was also the first European settlement north of Florida.

In 1605 the Port was built by Jean de Biencourt. He was the expeditions leader after the de Mons returned to France. The Port was built in a rectangular shape which resembled fortified farm hamlets from France.

  • Our interpreter – he told us about the Port.
  • Dining Hall with our new friends.
  • Dining Hall with our new friends.
  • Dining Hall – original ‘Social Club’

Around the Port…

  • Refrigerator
  • The fireplace was their heating source
  • Look at the nails
  • Dining room fireplace
  • Well water
  • Common area-center courtyard
  • They still had cannons for ‘just in-case’
  • Another cannon

On this particular day we visited, there was an Indian present from the Mi’kmaq (Mic-maw…the Mic is just like Mic in Mickey) tribe. He was fascinating. He made all kinds of crafts using porcupine quills, leather, wood, antlers, feathers and all sorts of other things. He just wants to keep the traditions alive and continue to tell about his tribe.

  • Top of the wigwam-lets the smoke out
  • Mi’kmaq Indian
  • Leather clothes he made and painted
  • All the stuff he makes
  • Small box made from wood and porcupine quills
  • Childrens game
  • Lady’s fan made from Bald Eagle feathers
  • He is showing that he is not finished with the fan
  • Our new friends
  • Our new friends

Candlelight Graveyard Tour – Sat. 6/29/19

The title makes this seem a little more daunting than it really was. We met at the main house at Fort Anne just before sunset. The tour guide was dressed the part. He had lanterns ready for each pair of two. The weather was wet and cold, perfect for traipsing through a graveyard!

Before we headed off to the graveyard, the guide gave us the background history necessary to follow his stories for the night. Most occupants were the military men who were assigned to Fort Anne’s.

We couldn’t get any great photos since it was night. Here’s the few I did get!

Historic Gardens-Annapolis Royal,NS 6/29/19

These gardens are in and among the Top 5 North American Gardens worth traveling for. These gardens overlook a tidal river valley which showcase the gardening methods, designs, and materials used for more than four hundred years.

Their motto:Stop and Smell the Roses

They have a 2015 Canadian Garden of the Year Award

A fast fact- If you see a dragonfly, know it only has a life span of 24 hours.

These photos were taken BEFORE we entered the property! Already some beautiful flowers!

This is the house where all the day-to-day business occurs for the gardens. At the back of it is a cute little gift shop.

These containers are just gorgeous!

We began in the Rose Garden. The literature states they have over 270 varieties of roses! I had no idea that rose bushes could be taller than Zoom Zoom!

This house is a replica of an Acadian home back in the late 1600s, before the expulsion in 1855.

  • They had thatch roofs.

The garden had 3 ponds-an upper, middle, and lower. The ponds were surrounded by several varieties of trees. Some we had never seen. They incorporated rock gardens and sculptures to enhance the beauty of the area around these ponds, too.

These last photos are just some beautiful shots from around the gardens.

Tidal Power Generating Station – Sat. 6/29/19

Here’s what I understood. The water goes through one the huge thing that looked like a propeller. The propeller thing (turbine) turned an electromagnet. Then with a little magic – electricity happens! If you really want more details, ask Zoom Zoom!

  • “Junior” the computer that runs it all.

Outside the facility, there was a new family of osprey on top of the electrical pole.

Fort Anne National Historic Site – Sat. 6/29/19

Fort Anne is a four -star fort that was built to protect the harbor of Annapolis Royal, NS. All attacks brought on by the French in the early stages of King George’s War were repelled here. If you look at the points of the fort, this insured there were no blind spots.

The tapestry below was created by Kiyoko Grenier-Sago. It celebrates 400 years of Annapolis Royal, NS. Parks Canada had a competition, Kiyoko submitted the print. She won the contest. There were over 100 stitchers and it took 10 years to complete this project. First you had to practice on a separate piece and then when your stitches were “just right” you could stitch on the panel. The neat thing is the bus drivers in town stitched the school bus, the city officials stitched city hall, Queen Elizabeth added a few gold stitches to the Queen Mother, sailors stitched on the sailing vessels and so on. The completed piece is 8′ tall x 24′ long.

  • Kiyoko
  • Winning art piece
  • Look at the 3D detail!
  • Queen Elizabeth stitched above the pendent.
  • I love the flowers!

Fort Beause’jour- Friday, 6/28/19

Fort Beause’jour was constructed by the French. Again, this region was also fought over by the British and the French. They started to build it in 1751 and completed it in 1753. It was star shaped (easier to defend), had a gunpowder magazine, a well, 4 casements and an officers’ quarters. In June of 1755 the British had shot cannons at the fort and killed many of the soldiers until they surrendered. Because the British won, this marked the expulsion of the Acadians from this location.

After the British win, they were forcing the Acadians to sign oaths stating their allegiance to Britain.  Many would not which this is when the expulsion began.

  • Grinding stones
  • Disciplining horse
  • Their shoes back then
  • Women’s wear
  • Ice skates
  • Casemant
  • Casement
  • This casement had storage and a few fireplaces. probably used to keep out of the elements
  • Steep sides-hard to climb or sneak up on them

Grand Pre’ – Thurs. 6/27/19

Grand Pre’ is located on the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Basin in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.

It was a farming settlement created in the 1680s by the Acadians in the intertidal area. The Acadians used dykes, aboideaux (wooden sluices) a drainage network, and a community-based network that is still in use today. They farmed the land, and fished in the bay. After they dyked off a section of land it took 3 years to be able to work the land – to desalinate the soil. Overall, they were a peaceful community.

  • Looking over the dykes.
  • Mill.
  • Snowshoes – they weighed about 3 lbs. each!
  • Well water using a lever.
  • Looking over the field where the gardens would be.
  • Same – this is where the gardens would be.
  • This church was added so they had a place to gather.
  • The gardens can be seen easier here.
  • This is the site where the deportation took place.
  • This is the remaines of an elm tree that was there during the deportation. It was struck by lightning.
  • The reminents of the dock at the deportation site.
  • Look closely you can see a dyke.
  • The bay.

Grand Pre’ became a place of contention between the British and the French. Both wanted it for their own. Eventually, the British ended up with the land and between the years 1755 and 1763 nearly 10,000 Acadians,who originally came from France, were deported to the lower lands (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and even Louisiana) and some were sent back to England. Some ships sank on their voyages. It was a really sad time in history.

 Grand Pre’ is a place of remembrance for the Acadians of their deportation and expulsion in the second half of the 18th century.  Grand Pre’ reminds the people that the Acadians lived in peace and harmony with the Mi’kmaq Indians.

Parks Canada had a competition for a 6-panel depiction of the life of the Acadians. Claude T. Picard won the contest and painted the 6 panels. These panels are probably 4’x3’. Unfortunately, Mr. Picard passed in 2012.

  • Early Acadia 1635-1755
  • Oath of Allegiance 1730
  • Deportation Order 1755
  • Ships take Acadians into Exile 1755
  • Settlements are Burned 1755
  • Migration and Return 1755-1800

 Archeologist have found several lasting items on different digs from the Acadians. It amazes me how they lived.

  • These were found in the 2 cast iron pots wrapped in towels.
  • The pot the glassware was found in.
  • Money
  • Brick and a Key
  • Comfy shoe
  • Just some of those deported.

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick, 6/25-6/26

The other major attraction we wanted to see in the area was the Hopewell Rocks. 

We were provided a private tour guide for our adventure walking along the ocean floor during low tide.  Our guide Sean was very knowledgeable having been on the park staff for 5 seasons and he was very entertaining and humorous as well. 

The tides around Hopewell Cape rise and fall between 32’ and 46’.  The severity of the tides is very noticeable here due to the visual of the tide’s rise and fall on the sides of the “flowerpot” rocks and the shape of the coves around the “flowerpot” rocks.  Sean shared a humorous time lapse video with us showing the rise of the tide on three of his co-workers with the clock imposed on the screen. These are pictures taken during the video. Unfortunately we don’t have the complete video. The tide moves very quickly even when it isn’t very noticeable when it is still hundreds of yards offshore.  When it gets into the coves and around the rocks you see that the tide moves horizontally 1 foot every 60 seconds and 1 foot vertically every 5 minutes. 

These conglomerate rock formations are unique in the world.  They are called “flowerpot” rocks, so named by none other than Robert Ripley of ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not fame”.  These rocks were formed over 330 million years ago and have been shaped by the tides in the Bay of Fundy. 

  • Cove at the Main Staircase
  • And at low tide
  • A different angle
  • And at low tide
  • Named “Jay Leno” Rock
  • Baby Elephant
  • Also, Baby Elephant
  • One of the rocks in the Diamond Cove

The other staff we encountered were the wranglers that are responsible for rounding up the folks on the “beach” as the tide begins to roll back in.  The staff use a specific rock near the far end of the explorable area called the “6 minute” rock.  It is their indicator to start herding visitors from the furthest cove back to the main staircase as the tide gets to the “6 minute rock”. The “6 minute” rock is 6 feet away from the outcropping of rocks that would cut off visitors from leaving the furthest cove.  If you get stranded in the furthest cove than you get to climb the emergency tower and patiently wait for the tide to recede in 2 to 4 hours.  We were told that this never happens during the season because the staff herds everyone off the ocean floor.  It does happen occasionally during the off season when people are on their own and get distracted taking pictures and loose track of time.  We were also told the tide is not otherwise dangerous as it won’t sweep you away.  It just forces you higher until the tide recedes. 

  • The “6 minute” rock
  • Staff passing time
  • The tide will knock them down
  • Emergency escape tower
Time to walk back before the tide roles in. It was a very interesting tour for sure.

Moncton, New Brunswick – Tidal Bore Park, 6/25

After we got situated in the Ponderosa Pines Campground, we made a quick run up to Moncton to try and catch a phenomenon called a Tidal Bore.  As the high tide comes in, the water is forced up the river and it forms a wave as it gets compressed by the narrowing banks of the river.  The city of Moncton has a small amphitheater for spectators to sit while they wait for the Tidal Bore to arrive.  We got lucky to arrive just as the Tidal Bore arrived. We were told that under the right conditions, people will come out and surf the Tidal Bore as it proceeds up river. Wish we could have seen that.

Alongside the amphitheater, in Bore Park, is a statue of Joseph Salter who was an entrepreneur, ship builder, and the first Mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick.  The other mayors of Moncton from over the years are also honored on the display.