Lately, my French has been under attack, challenging my French knowledge base and storage units. Spending so much time in Quebec gave me a crash course and now… my French is being challenged in the predominately French speaking northern regions of New Brunswick on the Acadian Isles.
My time in the Isles was coming to an end and now I must head south. The plan was to travel the coastline roads from my campground on the Gulf of the Saint Laurent in Acadian country to the mighty Miramichi River and the community of Miramichi.
Waterford Green Wharf-Miramichi River
Bro.. had already traveled through the community about two months ago prior to my, snail pace, arrival. Luckily for moi, Bro got the research bug while visiting in Miramichi and went out and explored some of the major parks and trails in the region. That left me with “filling in the holes” type research.
Miramichi is a community at the junction of rivers, bays and highway routes. It is connected by two bridges connecting two main villages (one on each side of the river) – Newcastle and Waterford. Waterford has a great waterfront park with views of Miramichi and the bridge.
After a few days in the region I hit the back roads and highways making my way over to Grand Falls. It was a long drive with little company. The odd logging truck would provide some company playing cat and mouse with me on the narrow roads. They would come tumbling down long hills with a cloud of dust trailing behind them like a long cape. As they pass by, there is usually a ting bang or clunking sound from the rocks, pebbles and flying bark chunks left in their wake.
After time in seclusion I arrived, first, in the village of Plaster Rock. I stopped into their local Tourist Park (the sign said so) and asked them about things to do and they said they really do not have tourism in town and the village is more of a stopping gap… hmmm, I was confused your sign says Tourist Park.
I asked for more information. She told me that it is home to the largest pond hockey tournament ( OK, that is cool but allot that does for me now in the middle of summer ) and she asked if I saw the largest Fiddlehead statue. I nodded dumfounded, she tried, and I moved on.
Gorge Falls
Next I pulled into Grand Falls. Nice little village. Main street was done up nice with flower gardens. At the entrance to town is their “claim to fame” – a massive gorge. Unfortunately the summer hear wave, have left the water levels low, and the river was not so mighty at this time. But on the positive side the lack of water exposed the rock gorge to its fullest.
The last leg of my journey, over the last couple of days, eventually landed me in Edmundston, New Brunswick during their construction season. Lots of detours, making sightseeing interesting. The village was spread out on both sides of the river. One village was under road construction and the other half was open for research.
While researching I spotted a fort high up on the hill. I soon found out it was called a Blockhouse. A fort like lookout tower used for guarding the river in the old days. I visited the Blockhouse, took a tour to the top for some photos. I also met a red coat who agreed to have a picture taken with him. He was the tall, silent… the wooden personality type. (Main Blog Photo)