Cape Breton Island

We spent most of the next three days, October 4-6, driving and hiking on Cape Breton Island. It really is an island, separated from the mainland by a narrow channel and joined by a low bridge. We spent the night of the 4th in an actual campground, at Cape Breton Island Highlands National Park.

Vicki by a fallen giant burl at the campground 

Automated weather station at the campgound

Driving the NP highway which passes through much of the island

Nice views

Road work--two construction workers, belayed, spraying water on a cliff high
over the repaved highway

Views from our hike on the Skyline Trail

Apart from the ferns, not much sign of autumn here

Dangerous country

North side of island

One of our better wild camping sites, near Neil's Cove on the Atlantic side

But for the fog horn on this buoy, half a mile off shore...

Everywhere we drove, there were lobster traps piled in front yards, some for sale,
and many fishing boats

On the NP's Cove Loop

Note lobster traps and boats; turns out lobster season was over July 31st

Typical

Another quirk of CBI...nearly every house had a box like this out front, some 
nicely painted...turns out they were for trash pick-up

At the glass-blowers federation coop

Very Scottish part of the island; saidto have m ore fiddlers per
capita than anywhere else

Autumn beginning to show

Glenora Distillery

After spending the night near Halifax and a memorable lunch next day at the Costco (yes, the $1.50 (Canadian) Polish dog deal; also weirdly crispy fries, served with brown gravy; we passed on that; the Costco was otherwise pretty much like in the States), we drove on in the direction of Cape Breton Island, stopping at the Glenora Distillery. The folks there have been making whiskey since the 1990s and have even been sued by the Scotch Whiskey Association for use of the name "Glenora," which, the Scots thought, suggested it might be Scotch that Glenora is distilling. Duh. Evidently they did not prevail. But Glenora is careful not to call it scotch.

But first, a word about Nova Scotia wines: yes, there are Nova Scotia wines, plenty
of them; above is one side of an aisle of them at a liquor store in Amherst

And a giant line-up of other Canadian wines; I surmise this is global warming in
action, again

The Glenora Distillery; I passed on the tour and tasting, partly because the stuff
is ridiculously pricey and partly because of my loyalty to the Scottish version;
we get to Scotland far more often than Canada

Instead we opted for lunch, with music; the local bitter I had with my fish and
chips was fine

More of Glenora; a beautiful setting, with a hotel and restaurant part of the resort
complex; did I mention that this is all in the heavily Scottish region of Nova Scotia?

Through which runs a creek

Thus; no sign of autumn here

Peggy's Cove

We drove on up the coast toward Halifax, stopping at one of Canada's more-photographed sites, Peggy's Cove, named for a young woman who washed up there after a ship-wreck; see below. It's one of those places best viewed in light wind and rain and fog, we thought.

The story...

Glacial erratics everywhere; we're not accustomed to seeing them on shorelines

Mahon Bay, Nova Scotia

I'm sure there are many things of interest and note in Mahon Bay, which is around the bend from Lunenburg. It is a pretty place, despite the rain. But we drove through during the annual town-wide scarecrow festival, in full swing, and had to take pix. They need no description...

Best in show, we thought

Many of these pix taken for grand-daughter P

Gotta like Mahon Bay!