Friday, September 3, 2010

Woolastook, Nashwaak and Hurricane Earl…

Attempting to beat the heat, we set off early from Saint Andrews before stopping at Saint Stephens, which borders the state of Maine and was the subject of a W-5 program I saw a year or so ago. It was about Canadian kids smuggling crack cocaine into the small town of Calais, Maine, right across the river. The Americans were frustrated because Canada’s penalties were so lame and the problem was growing. I would guess they’re still struggling with the same issue but you sure couldn’t tell from looking at such a serene little town by day.
Pictured: Saint Andrews, NB with Calais, Maine across the river.








We had only made it an hour or so up the road when we saw a nice looking campsite at a place called, yes, Woolastook, on the Saint John River - which resembled a lake more than a river due to the hydro-electric dam which we discovered later. We spent most of the afternoon swimming off the wharf at our campsite at Woolastook, in what was pretty soupy-warm water. It was there that Janice re-learned, from her new nine-year-old girlfriends, how to do a forward summersault off the wharf.

Because we weren’t so fond of the overly warm water at Woolastook, we headed up the road to Hart Island Park on the same river, but past the dam, where the water wasn’t so warm. The campsite included a water park that was free to campers between ten and eleven a.m., so Janice also got to re-live a ten-year-old waterslide experience. The site also has a driving range, a bunch of basketball hoops, tennis courts and kayak and canoe rentals.
Pictured is Janice barreling down the waterslide like a speeding bullet. I wonder if the real Superwoman plugs her nose.






We walked around downtown Fredericton later in the morning. Because it’s a university town as well as the provincial capital, and situated alongside the Saint John River, it’s a scenic enough place. Abnormally but hellishly hot when we were there though. Returning to camp, overheated, we spent the next couple of hours swimming in the river and sitting in the shade reading. Because of the heat we probably dunked another four or five times throughout the afternoon and evening. There’s a province-wide campfire ban on but, for some reason our campsite allowed them, so we had a ripping fire overlooking the river while we counted sputniks.
Pictured is the Saint John River in front of our campsite at Hart Island Park.





The heat was still pretty oppressive when we got up but we rode our bikes along the river for a half hour or so before going for our first dunk of the day. Deciding to take an exploratory drive, trying to discover somewhere new to have lunch along the river, the only place we could find with adequate shade was under a bridge on the Nashwaak River.
Pictured below is Indiana Jones about to cross the Nashwaak River his own way.


Tomorrow we’re heading north in an effort to out-maneuver Hurricane Earl, and then on to Maine in the next few days…

2 comments:

  1. Hello again and wishing you happy trails.
    It looks like you are continuing to enjoy your travels. Keep Safe. cousin Lois.

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  2. Hi Janice and Tim, Just got caught up on the blog. Back on line. Love the pictures and sure bring back fond memories of our trip to the Maritimes. Did you try clam strips in Halifax? Has Earl effected your travels? " Auntie" was from Digby. Mom and the Andersons went to St. Andrews for summer vacations so we also visited there when we were back.

    Miss you Mom

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