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Published: December 4th 2015
Day 2.1
High tide at Flowerpots in Hopewell Rocks, NB CanadaToday, on the way to my destination, I planned on stopping at Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy. For those of you who don't know - Bay of Fundy has the world's highest tides. It is a funnel shaped seaway between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which is 180 miles long. So, at high tide the water starts making its way through the bay, and at low tide the water starts to recede, by the time it makes the 360 miles journey, it is high tide again and the receding water gets pushed back along with the new high tide water. There is more to it, such as Moon's and Sun's gravitational pull, but that is the simplest explanation. The high and low tides happen at 6 hour intervals, with an offset of 50 minutes every day. At low tide, you can walk "on the ocean's floor," so in order to get the full experience, you should see it at high and low tide.
Today, I wanted to get an early start, I mean really early like 5am. Well, that didn't happen! I was too tired from the drive yesterday. The reason I wanted to get an early start
Day 2.2
Stairs leading down to Flowerpots at Hopewell Rocks during high tide was because the Hopewell Rocks Park, one of the tourist spots to observe high and low tides, opens at 9am and it would be safe to walk on the ocean's floor until 9:50am. The high tide is scheduled for 12:08pm today, and floor doesn't clear for walking until 3pm again. Since I wanted to get to my destination before dark, I wanted to catch the low tide and walk around in the morning. As I said, that didn't happen. I got up and got ready, had breakfast, packed up the car and got on the road at 8:30am. It was a beautiful morning -- the morning fog was still clearing. As I was driving on the highway, it was so picturesque, that I wanted to stop and take pictures. As I wan't sure what the traffic rules were about that in Canada, and I didn't want to get a ticket on my first day, I kept going.
On Hwy 1 in New Brunswick, just few exits after Sussex, I turned off on local Rt 114. The road was bad at the beginning, about third of the way through, the road was being resurfaced, so it was nothing but gravel,
Day 2.3
Low tide at flowerpots at Hopewell Rocks with big stones. It was like this until I got to the Fundy National Part area. In Alma, I stopped at the visitor's center to get maps and confirm the high and low tides time. I reached Hopewell Rocks Park at 11:50am. There is a $9 admission fee which is good for 2 days. I bought the admission ticket and walked the trail that would take me to the well know rock formation called "flowerpots." I took photos at hide tide at various locations at the park. Then I went to the interpretive center to read all about the region and what causes the high and low tides and what is so special about this bay that causes the high tides. Had lunch and rested until 2:45pm. This was when it would be safe to walk on the ocean's floor. I walked around taking the photos at low tide, and at 3pm I joined the park ranger guided walk until 3:30pm. Since I still have about 4 hours drive, I decided to leave.
One way to get to Nova Scotia from Bay of Fundy, is to go north to Moncton, cross the bridge and then head south. The alternative
Day 2.4
Stairs leading down to flowerpots at Hopewell Rocks during low tide is to take the car ferry from Saint John to Digby, but that costs over $100, so I decided to drive. I stopped at the visitor's center as I entered Nova Scotia and finally made it to Upper Tantallon by 7:30pm. I met the family I will be staying with for the next 2 weeks.
I belong to a website called HelpX. This site lists hosts who are looking for volunteers to help them with various work, in return the volunteers get free room and board. For the most part, volunteers work about 4 - 6 hours a day, Monday thru Friday, and the rest of the time is free, depending on the type of work and the host's need. It was my first time trying it, so my co-workers were skeptical and urged me to take precaution. The family I met, Jason and Lynn, were very nice, although there was a misunderstanding on my part. I thought it was going to be a farm, but it turned out Jason runs a food truck and he grows some of the vegetables on his property. For the next 2 weeks I will help them in whatever capacity they need help.
Day 2.5
Walking on the "ocean's floor" As I came to realize, Jason is a character, but more on that later.
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