First Ever Canadian Camping

For want of something better to do this weekend just past, we decided to pack up the canoe and head off for an over night trip.

We settled initially on Shingle Lake, 30km west of Bridgewater, however on arrival I had a change of heart and much to Cameron’s annoyance refused to even consider canoeing here. The reason: access to the lake was via a stream, involving an upstream paddle, landing (I’m not sure where), pulling the canoe over some rapids, re-entering the canoe, and continuing to paddle upstream until lake access was achieved. Sounds tricky huh (remember I’m just a beginner)? Anyway my flat out refusal ended in a domestic, tears and my refusal to go anywhere other than home.

After heading in the wrong direction (i.e. not towards home – Cameron was driving), my curiosity got the better of me, and we decided to call a truce and continue on with the camping adventure. Next port of call was The Christopher Lakes (near Caledonia) – a succession of lakes joined by various portages.

We loaded everything into the canoe and entered the water easily via a boat ramp. We paddled the full couple of km’s to where the camp site was marked on the map and stopped for lunch.

Lunch

We snacked on homemade cider, tuna sandwiches and cookies before jumping back in the canoe to explore some more. On the way up the lake we had bumped into a couple of other canoeist who had told us about a cabin where we could stay. The journey would involve carrying the canoe up one of the portages.

View

We eventually found the portage but decided it was too long a carry and also too dangerous to come back down the connecting stream as it was pretty rocky. We decided to look around the lake and see if we couldn’t find a good camping spot where we were

Centennial Trail

Shortly before the provincial government purchased the old railway line running between Halifax and Liverpool, Bridgewater acquired the section inside its municipal boundaries. Passing through the centre of the town and following alongside the Lahave River, this trail makes for a beautiful hiking, biking or even cross-country skiing route.

Map

The centrepiece of the whole thing is the massive steel bridge that crosses the Lahave river. If you look closely you will spot the Michelin Tire logo on the side of the bridge – the company paid for the restoration of this grand structure.

Lahave River Bridge

The trail offers several different paths. Cameron and I opted for the more remote/scenic route and took a left turn after crossing the bridge. This section of trail runs high above the river and is shaded by lots of pines. It is also scattered with various plants, flowers and blossom.

Trees

Rusting Warship HMCS Fraser

Nice house, water-front view and then this…

warship

..you wouldn’t be happy. The above is the HMCS Fraser, a decommissioned warship that currently resides at Bridgewater (our local shopping town).

Location

The Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia, which also owns the Port of Bridgewater, bought the ship — the last of the St. Laurent-class destroyers — from the federal government for $1 in 1998 with plans to turn it into a floating museum. However, these plans never came about.

The HMCS Fraser has now been transferred back into the care of the Department of Defense and awaits one of three possible fates; 1) sink her to create an artificial reef, 2) scrap her, or 3) move her to preserve her for heritage purposes.

One things for sure, I bet the people of Bridgewater will be glad to see the last of this rusting warship!

Sink or swim?

The Heavens have opened!

We thought that escaping Scotland meant getting rid of the rain – we couldn’t have been more wrong. The heavens have officially open today leaving us stuck inside feeling miserable and dare I say it really missing home. We decided this called for a plan of action and hence headed to Bridgewater (our ‘shopping’ town) in search of a swimming costume – swimming being a good, wet day, activity. We returned home minus the swimming costume but with a really nice woolly jumper. Here’s hoping that wet days will become a lot more fun once we have our new jeep home. I’m looking forward to seeing just what you can do with a 4×4, big puddles and a few hours to spare…