GJ and Annie's Big Trip

And a fitting conclusion to our trip....... Our grandson Dennis kept a record of every road and hiway we travelled on, plus kept the postcards we sent him during the trip. We can't wait to see it in person. Thanks, Dennis!

DeSoto State Park, AL

Couldn't resist a picture of the back yard at the home of Dick's son James, and his wife Julie, in Jackson, MS.


The trees at DeSoto State Park were about midway in their autumn change. Our hike was very pretty, and the weather was blessedly cool. But it was beginning to warm up again when we left on Friday. We hope to go back again, and stay longer.

Many of the structures in Desoto State Park were constructed by the CCC in the 1930's; including the lodge and restaurant, and the cabins, and one of the entrances. We took the hike down to the quarry where they carved out the stones to be used in the buildings. Dick is standing overlooking the quarry. I appreciated the remembrances they gave to the CCC at the quarry.

Our Campsite at DeSoto State Park.

This is the canyon dug by Little River, just outside Desoto State Park, in a National Preserve (Department of Interior). The canyon averages 400 ft deep, with it's deepest being 700 ft. It's the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi River, and the scenery is spectacular. Who'd figure Northern Alabama could be so beautiful? There are some full time bald eagles there, and migrating golden eagles; as well as several endangered species of animals.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Downtown Bar Harbor, ME.

This is a beautiful 4 masted schooner, which we got to sail the following day.

Bar Harbor, ME; and the Schooner Ride

The weather wasn't gorgeous, but considering it had been a huge thunder/lightening storm just an hour earlier, we considered ourselves lucky that we were able to go. You can tell it was VERY chilly.

They were chanting, "1, 2, 3, 4." And with that, they would pull!

Dick raised his hand when they asked for volunteers to help raise the sails.

One of the high points of our stay in Bar Harbor, the ride on the 4 masted schooner.

The beautiful resort right on the harbor.

Leaving Nova Scotia and Arriving Bar Harbor, ME, USA

A Princess Cruise ship in the harbor. The town was packed the next day!!!

And this is the beautiful 4 masted sailing schooner which we got to ride in the next day.

Kayakers in Bar Harbor. They were actually checking out that boat you see in the upper corner, and trying to figure out if they could beat him into the harbor, or if they needed to wait to avoid getting run over.

Beautiful Bar Harbor, ME. When we get rich, we're going to come back and stay at this resort.

;-)

Acadia National Park. This is on top of Cadillac Mountain. The highest peak in the NE USA,

and at certain times of year, it's where the sunrise is first seen on the east coast.

More scenes from Acadia National Park.

Very cool weather in Acadia National park. This is the beach, in the Park.

Scenes from Acadia National Park, ME. This is the beach in the park.

Scenery from our ferry ride; including a lighthouse.

We're going away from the ferry landing, through this passage, and out into the Bay of Fundy, where the waters were much rougher.

And this is our ferry.

On the way to the ferry landing (at 6:30 AM) we saw this salmon far. it's where they put the baby salmon they're raising commercially, and let them grow up to 'eating size.'

We opted to pay the exorbitant ferry fee to shorten the triptime out of Nova Scotia, rather than

driving way back west nearly to Halifax, and then north up to New Brunswick, and then back east to Maine. The ferry ride was, in and of itself, quite an experience. It cut about a day of driving time out of our trip. There were probably 5 other RV's on the ferry, and several 18 wheelers, besides all the cars. The next few pics are of the ferry ride. We were not allowed to stay in our cars, but came inside to a very comfortable big room. On one end, they showed a full length movie, and the other end was just all comfortable chairs, and windows all around. It was misty and cold outside. Dick and I read our books. Spot had to stay in the rig. (regulations). The ferry ride was about 3 1/2 hours long, from Digby, Nova Scotia, to St. John's, New Brunswick.

And our last meal out in little Digby, Nova Scotia. Seafood, of course.

We went down to the docks in Digby, Nova Scotia, and the pictures are to try to show you how extreme the tide changes are in this area. The high tide goes up to the top of those docks. many of the boats just rest on dry land at low tide.

Digby, Annapolis Historic Gardens, and Fort Annapolis/Royal

Dick had to have this pic. This is the Queen Ann B & B. Any takers?

The fishing Annapolis Royal, which is the same as Port Royal, depending on which nation possessed it at any given time in the 1700's - Britain or France. And across the Alain River.

This area has such a rich history, that everyone from the original Miq'mic Indians (First Nation in Canada) to the Scotch, French, and British, had a hand in forming its heritage. The picture to the left, as well as the 3 other below, are actually needle points. They are awesome, and, as my mother knows, are TONS of work. And actually, Queen Elizabeth did part of the actual needlepoint work. They are scenes from time periods of the area.

Sorry the pics are so fuzzy, but I wasn't allowed to use my flash, so I had to hold the camera still (???) while it collected light. There is a windmill at the bottom of the needlepoint below and to the left.

And this is an aerial shot of what the actual fort looks like, with its earthen works. It was actually very nearly impregnable, if the French had ever gone to the trouble to also guard the mouth of the Annapolis River. But the British laid seige in 1710, and after 11 days the French surrendered, and never re-occupied the fort. The fort changed hands 8 different times in all between the French and British.

A view from inside the fort. You can see the earthenworks.

This is the Historic Gardens in Annapolis, Royal, Nova Scotia. Absolutely breathtaking. I want my flowers to look like THIS!

These are the remaining dikes of the elaborate dike system the Acadiens built to reclaim the tital areas, like the Dutch people did. They also had windmills for pumps, as well as water mills. Remember that the tides are nearkly 50' in this area. In fact, although we didn't go visit it, the Nova Scotians have built a tidal power generation plant just a few miles from here.

This is the outside and inside of a replica very early Acadien 1 room house, along with outside fireplace/oven.