August 23, 2014 Going in circles

Saturday August 23, 2014

 On training my humans... when I want attention, I make eye contact- good eye contact, then run my claws on a piece of furniture.  OOOOh, watch the humans jump!

 After my walk, we packed us some lunch food and headed to explore the Cabot Trail.  This trail circles around the tip of the north part of Cape Breton.  It is probably about a 200 mile ride all told.  There are no roads across, thus no shortcuts.  So to see the trail, you essentially need to do the whole trail at one time.  (Unless you plan on staying at motels along the way, but Rudy would take issue with that!)  We start going north on the lee side of the island.  Here, it is heavily wooded.  There are tiny towns, a bakery to die for, and a variety of artisans here and there.  Quilts, glass, wood.  The buildings are quite far apart, often miles so even though there may be a town on the map, there might only be one building on the trail.  And all along, the ocean and its inlets are to our right.  It started out kind of rainy, but the clouds are breaking up and the sun is coming through.  It is still cool and quite beautiful.

 

 

 

At one point, we go from sea level up 750 meters (over 2100 feet).  Ultimately we cross into the National Park.  Our first stop is at the Highland Links golf course.  It is gorgeous!  Ocean views galore and the holes look quite challenging.  A man was showing me a picture of a moose he saw on the 4th hole while playing yesterday.   Aye, a few more brogues!

 

 

 

 

 

We continue on.  Each turn is eye candy.  Pink granite walls, the ocean is calm.  We stop at a scenic overlook (like there is any other kind of overlook!).  We take the road to Meat Cove, which is at the very tippy top of the island.  It is a windy road, and the last 5 miles are on a dirt road.  There is hardly any traffic, it is quite a pleasure.  I am driving and, of course, Spouse is squirming as I might step on the brake instead of using the gears.  When he told me to stop, I told him my foot isn't on the brake.  I was good from that point on!  From Meat Cove, we can see the Newfoundland coastline.

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing on, we hit the high grounds.  The road follows the mountain ridges.  Keep in mind, these are not mountains like the Sierras or Rockies.  These are between 1000 and 2500 feet and the road runs along the tops looking down at a fault below with all the wooded moutainsides converging.  With the ocean in the background, it looks fake. 

 Back to the windward side with its stark beauty, and then back to home.  No bald eagles this time.  But it was a day of sensory overload and made the trip to Nova Scotia well worthwhile.