Roaming to a local rail trail and Nova Scotia, part I

I have rarely explored my own "backyard", but I went to Rutland MA State Forest and found a rail trail that I explored further in Holden, MA. 




Hard to read when reduced. Says in part: "One of the most famous commuters was Calvin Coolidge, who regularly traveled through Coldbrook Springs from his home in Northampton to his governor's office in Boston. - Trains continued to pass through Coldbrook Springs until 1938, when extensive hurricane damage provided the final blow to the Central Massachusetts Railway."











LP





My, what big eyes you have!


Which way is it heading, north or south?









Swirling water creating air bubbles which join together forming foam. 










Beaver and turtle enjoying the sunny day


Uh-oh, toll bunny. "Honey, did you bring the lettuce?"






Have you hugged a favorite companion today?




Look up near the top, a rock climbing newt!  Oh, you can't see it in the reduced photo. 


A little closer. 


What do beavers do when the dam is finished?


Build another...









This pad is taken. 


Beaver stump








Mother herding the kids...


Finally!  Nap time...




Time for a sightseeing trip to Canada; two days travel and we're here. 



Otherwise known as New Scotland, Nouvelle-Ecosse in French, Alba Nuadh in Scottish Gaelic, Mi'kma'ki by the indigenous Mi'kmaq. Nova Scotia has a complex history of different cultures and many wars, including the Great Expulsion of Acadians. 

1702 map



Our first stop was the Information Center. Flag at half mast in honor of a local police officer accidently killed while helping a motorist.


We stayed at two different campgrounds in Highlands National Park on Cape Breton Island. Broad Cove campground was smaller and quieter with a path down to a beach. 


Cheticamp campground was larger and busier with an Information Center. 


Imagine that, the land in Nova Scotia used to be in the tropics near the equator in the supercontinent Pangaea. 


Some of the incredible travels of marine animals. 












Skyline trail and boardwalk. Every evening around sunset there is an interpreter led walk. 



































A beautiful day fades away. 




Starts from Cheticamp campground. 






Looking over town of Cheticamp. 














Looks like a moose track to me. Also saw moose and coyote scat; sorry, no photos. 










The eviction of Highlanders from their homes peaked in the 1840s and early 1850s as the Highland economy had collapsed, while the population still rose. When the earnings from kelp production and black cattle dried up, the landlords saw sheep as a more profitable alternative. The introduction of sheep meant the removal of people, known as ‘the Clearances’. Combined with the prospect of starvation faced by much of the crofting population when the potato crop failed in the late 1830s and again in the late 1840s, emigration seemed the only option.

Those affected by the evictions of the 1840s and 1850s generally refused to move to Lowland Scotland. They opted to settle in places such as Ontario and Nova Scotia (New Scotland) in Canada where they could work on the land and continue their style of life.

From:  "A brief history of emigration & immigration in Scotland: research guide 2", found on a website. 
















Crossing across the Park from one coast to the other is like a rollercoaster ride dipping back and forth between the highlands and the valleys. 


Moving over to the east side now. Time for dining out and enjoying the grounds. 














I should have ordered this one...




Almost better than dessert...


Now this is a campground with a view (Meat Cove)




Wouldn't you like to live here?




Neil's Harbor


Lobster trapping season is over. 


White Point








The white cross at the far point marks a cemetery which includes a memorial for an unknown sailer who washed ashore. 




In a group picture there's always one goofball looking the wrong way. 






Beach at John Cabot Provincial Park picnic area. 











See the bird?




Found the mica. 





Note:  Due to a data limit on the thread, the photos continue in a second thread under the same title, part II in the Travel/Trips/Pics section.