The Tidal Bore

As I mentioned in yesterday’s posting, the power adapter for my Mac laptop was only working off and on, mostly off, and Carol Ann had volunteered the services of her Dell until we could get to an Apple Store next week in Halifax, NS.  This was bothering me more than it should, but I just wouldn’t know what to do without the use of MY computer.

And then today my prayers were answered!  On the way to the Elm River Campground near Truro (we are now in Nova Scotia) we went through Moncton (back in New Brunswick) where I spotted a big familiar sign that read, “STAPLES”.  It was only 9:05AM and there were only two cars in their parking lot so I was afraid that the store might not open until 10:00AM.  I pulled into the parking lot, jumped out, and headed for the door.  I held my breath until I reached it and saw that the store was indeed open.  Oh, sweet salvation!  Now, did they have what I so desperately needed?  YES!  They did!  An 85W Power Adapter (charger) for my MacBook Pro.  I didn’t care that it cost $78 Canadian, it was going to be MINE.  I returned to the motorhome with my new power adapter a changed person.

We continued East on Trans Canada Highway 2. Just before entering Nova Scotia we turned off for a little side trip to see the remains of Fort Beausejour, a Canadian National Historic Site.  It was star-shaped and built by the French in 1751 to maintain the land route between Louisbourg and Quebec.  No buildings remain, but there are stone foundations and underground rooms where their gunpowder was stored.  The earthen walls encircled by a mote still remain, which gives you a pretty good idea of what it may have looked like back in the 1750’s.  The British besieged the garrison in 1755 and after two weeks the fort’s French commander surrendered to the British who renamed it Fort Cumberland.  It was then used as a major hub for the expulsion of the Acadians by the British.  Many of the Acadians returned to France, but there was also a large number that settled in Louisiana, where their descendants are known as the “Cajuns”.

We passed (literally, no pun intended) on the Nova Scotia Anne Murray Center (or Centre as they spell it up here).  I don’t think I would have been able to listen to “Snowbird” one more time.

We arrived at the Elm River Campground a little past noon, setup the RV, and had lunch.  At 2:00PM our group car-pooled to Truro to watch the tidal bore come up the Salmon River.  It was scheduled to pass our viewing location at 3:10PM.  We set up our chairs and tripods along the bank of the river and eagerly waited for almost 45 minutes until someone yelled, “Here it comes!”  You are probably wondering, “What in the Sam Hill is a tidal bore?”  Well, it is a rare natural phenomenon occurring on several rivers that empty into the Bay of Fundy.  As I have mentioned previously, the highest tides in the world are in the Bay of Fundy and the surge of the incoming tide reverses the flow of these rivers, one being the Salmon River in Truro.  The reversal appears as a wave, or crest of water, traveling upriver. 

So there we were, 50 or 60 people lining the riverbank with cameras in anticipation of this very rare event (it occurs about every twelve hours but in only a very few locations).  When I heard the shout announcing its arrival I turned on my camera and placed it in video mode because I suspected a video of this advancing wave would be much more dramatic and spectacular than still shots.  When I looked through the viewfinder to focus the camera I could not see the wave at first.  Traveling at about the speed of a fast walk, a small ripple of water made its way around the bend in the river and started towards us.  It may have been a rare phenomenon but it was not very dramatic!  We all watched this little wave as it passed by us and continued up the river.  However, the water level was rising at a rapid rate and within a few minutes had risen several feet and completely covered a sand bar in the middle of the river.  Once the "bore" had gone past and the sand bar was covered we folded our tents (well, our chairs) and drove back to the campground.

Tonight we are having a group hot dog supper and tomorrow we will continue our Canadian adventure by driving to Annapolis Royal, NS.  At 165 miles, this will be our longest one-day drive since we have been in Canada.  We will be there for two nights before traveling to Lunenburg, NS.