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Published: October 5th 2015
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This morning we drove to Magnetic Hill, a gravity hill which is a type of optical illusion created by rising and descending terrain.
Stories about this place have been around since the early 1800s. In the 30s, it was noticed that at one point near the base of a hill, motorists had to accelerate to prevent their car from rolling back uphill.
We drove our car to the bottom of the hill to try it out. Tim put the car in neutral, took his foot off the brake, and sure enough, we started rolling back uphill. What?! Our brains were so confused. When we reached the crest of the hill, the car stopped. We tried it again with the same results. All we could do was scratch our heads.
Both of us were finding that we were slightly queasy because of the optical illusion messing with our heads. After driving down the road a ways, we stopped, got out and walked around. A little fresh air fixed us right up and we felt much better. On we continued as we had so much more to see.
We stopped at the world's longest covered bridge which can be
found in Hartland. It crosses the St. John River and is 1,283 feet long.
Next, we went to Fundy National Park which consists of more than 206 sq.km. of lush river valleys mixed with coastal vistas and trails leading from the Bay of Fundy to high viewpoints. The first place we stopped was at Point Wolfe which has trails, a covered bridge, Point Wolfe Beach, and beautiful views.
Originally built in 1910, the Point Wolfe covered bridge has the distinction of being the only bridge in NB accidentally destroyed by workers during a botched attempt with dynamite to remove an adjacent unstable boulder. It was re-built in 1992. It's also the only completely painted bridge and only red bridge in the province. We walked the trail there which was lovely, lined with yellow and white birch. From the top, we had a spectacular view of the Point Wolfe River estuary. As we descended, flying squirrels ran by. They were incredibly fast - so much so that we couldn't get a good look at them.
Next we went on the trail to Dickson Falls which is cool and lush and has a hidden micro-climate created by the waterfall
at Dickson Brook. The gorge is carpeted with vibrant mosses, lichens and ferns. We were wowed by the beauty of the tiered falls dropping each level to a sparkling clear pool of water before the overflow cascaded down again.
Cape Enrage was next. It is surrounded by jagged sea cliffs and is separated from the mainland by a narrow tidal creek. It gets its name from the large reef that extends south into the bay and causes the water off the point to become extremely violent, particularly at half tide when the reef is partially exposed and the water is moving quickly. The oldest lighthouse on the New Brunswick mainland, dating from 1847, is located here. The lighthouse itself has been automated and unmanned since the 1880s. The staff here are mostly volunteers who are knowledgable and very friendly and worked ardently to restore the lighthouse. They are passionate about the site.
On we continued to Hopewell Rocks where the extended, delta-like shape of the bay intensifies the tides. Over time, the ocean has carved a dramatic coastline that features hidden caves, sea stacks, and sandy beaches.
At low tide, we walked out on the ocean
floor to see the naturally carved shapes towering above us, some topped with trees and vegetation. Small rocks are embedded in the stacks and I wondered how many billions of years they had been around, how much time it took for the forces of nature to grind them down to this size and how they got there. I felt very tiny in the continuum of time. At high tide, the columns disappeared and only the green tops of the "Flowerpot Rocks" remained visible.
The day was getting late and we wanted to see the tidal bore in Moncton so we rushed back as it was scheduled to happen around 8:00 pm that night. The bore is due to the high tides of the Bay of Fundy, which are a remarkable phenomenon. The bay, which is 270 km long and 80 km at its mouth, narrows to 56 km, where it divides into a basin and a smaller bay. At high tide, the water is forced forward into the river where it can reach a height over 16 m above low-tide in its narrowest extremities. As we watched in awe, the tidal bore come rolling down the Petticodiac River, one
lone, long wave. We could hear its progress and watch as it passed by us. Nature continues to amaze us in so many ways.
We returned home to visit with Hugh a bit before hitting the sack.
Tomorrow we leave the Maritimes and hit Quebec City.
(Scroll to bottom of page for more photos.)
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