The Ups & Downs of Fundy Fun Days

Hopewell Rocks at low tide

Coming from Winnipeg, where the Red River fluctuates annually with the melting snow and ice breakup, it’s fascinating to see the radical daily fluctuations in water levels in the Bay of Fundy.  With the highest tides in the world, the water in the bay – with a shoreline of 174 miles – can rise up to 16 meters (53 feet) over the course of 6 hours!  That’s about the height of a 5 storey building! Roughly twice every 24 hour period, the water level rises and falls dramatically.

It’s just difficult to capture the full effect of these fluctuations with a still camera, unless I were to set up time lapse photography & post the results

Getting the picture at Hopewell Rocks

on this blog. True confession: I also know that my Nikon shoots videos, but haven’t figured out how to use it yet, and I’m concerned about the amount of data that takes. As I wrote this, I received a message from Telus that our monthly allotment of shared data is 90% used up, so that is another reason to be cautious…

The Smart is on the left in the distance, about to back up the Magnetic Hill, in neutral!

Anyway, back to the main focus of this post.  Betty & I have spent the past week visiting the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy, from the Magnetic Hill in Moncton, to Fundy National Park near Alma, to the Reversing Falls in Saint John, to New River Beach Provincial Park, approximately an hour away from the U.S. border.  Tomorrow we cross the border into Maine, so this will be our last post from New Brunswick – and from Canada – for awhile!

 

Betty & the Smart back up the Magnetic Hill, with the car in neutral.

 

 

Betty at the top (or is it the bottom?) of the Magnetic Hill near Moncton, New Brunswick.
Betty & I had a seafood lunch on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. A half hour later, the spot where we were sitting was submerged…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More strange shapes at low tide at Hopewell Rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Smart, about to enter one of New Brunswick’s 58 iconic covered bridges.

 

About to cross a covered bridge at Fundy National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing boats stranded at low tide in Alma, New Brunswick.

 

 

 

Higher tide, or whatever floats their boats. LOL

This eastern Canadian leg of our overlandish odyssey has been a real treat! Betty & I have thoroughly enjoyed what the right half of our fair country has to offer, and realize that three months isn’t near enough time to get the full effect.  While we look forward to exploring the left half of our vast nation in future, we leave the east coast with a desire to return, both to visit favorite spots from this adventure, and to explore the many communities and regions missed this time. As we witness the ebb and flow of great oceans, we recognize the ebbs and flows of our lives as well, and hope that a future tide will lift our boat to these shores once again!

Cheers!

Detailed dormers on an historic Saint John home, featured in their Victorian Stroll.
The elegant gothic arches of the long-abandoned Centenary Methodist Church in Saint John, NB.
Weeds grow through the pavement at the side door of this once-beautiful Saint John church.
A broad expanse of fine sand can be found at New River Beach Provincial Park.
Betty & I found the perfect table for brunch, as we watched the Saint John river flowing backwards at high tide.
A few hours later, the river is flowing in the opposite direction!
The Sawmill Creek covered bridge, built in 1908.
On the rocks at Hopewell. We hope all is well with you also! Cheers!

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