Flowerpot Rocks

Every six hours, twice a day–give or take a few minutes, depending on the tidal charts–the Bay of Fundy empties into the Atlantic Ocean,

and exposes the ocean floor.

When the tide rolls out,

the effect at the harbor is dramatic enough to leave fishing vessels resting on their laurels.

And peculiar things happen on the Saint John River…

on its way to the Bay of Fundy.

When the Saint John River drains into the Bay of Fundy at the Reversing Falls Bridge…

it triggers a phenomena seen nowhere else: water being pushed up the channel to create an inverted waterfall.

At its highest, the Bay of Fundy’s tide reaches 56 ft.–equivalent to a 5-story building…or boat.

But when the bay recedes, what’s revealed is often surprising and stunning.

Consider the rocky reef at Cape Enrage,

which supports a pop-up sculpture park…

overseen by the Cape Enrage Lighthouse–still protecting New Brunswick’s coastline since 1870.

However, there’s a different phenomena to behold during low tide at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park,

that’s absolutely enchanting.

Tidal erosion has sculpted these magnificent cliff remnants into distinctive shapes, with sizes ranging from 40 to 70 feet high.

Scientists have nicknamed these formations Flowerpot Rocks for obvious reasons.

The cape is vast,

with so much to explore,

but time for roaming the ocean floor is strictly regulated, and closely monitored by security,

lest a tourist get pinned to the rocks by the surging tide,

and get swept away by unexpected beauty.

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Catching Up to Real Time*

For the past two months, Leah and I have been coasting along the coastlines of Maine,

Denning Brook–Mt. Desert, ME
Hadley Point Beach–Bar Harbor, ME

and the Canadian Provinces of Nova Scotia,

Cabot Trail–Cape Breton, NS
Hector Heritage Quay–Pictou, NS

New Brunswick,

Île-Aux-Foins Park–Neguac, NB
Hopewell Rocks–Hopewell Cape, NB

and Prince Edward Island…

MacKenzies Brook–Cavendish Beach, PEI
Greenwich Trailhead–Saint Peters Bay, PEI

in our Airstream Globetrotter,

Beach Rose RV Park–Salisbury, MA

with a stopover in Grand Falls, NB…

Grand Falls Gorge–Grand Falls, NB
Grand Falls Gorge Trail–Grand Falls, NB

before following the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City…

Saint Lawrence River–Quebec City, QC
Montmorency Falls–Quebec City, QC

to Montreal.

Mont Royal Park–Montreal, QC
Biosphere, Parc Jean-Drapeau–Montreal, QC

Yet all the while, I’ve been reporting on our epic, 2-week adventure in Iceland. Needless to say, it’s been a bit disorienting with my body in Canada and my mind’s eye in Iceland.

Dynjandi–Arnarfjörður, Iceland

And to further complicate the blog timeline, Leah and I recently bid ‘adieu‘ to Canada, without posting from our Canadian exploits.

Currently, we are spending the week in Lake Placid,

Lake Placid from Whiteface Mountain summit,–Wilmington, NY
AuSable Chasm–Wilmington, NY

where once again, I find myself struggling to regain my geographical balance within the space-time continuum.

Which presents a new dilemma: do I recreate my travel chronology (starting with Acadia National Park) and continue reliving the past, or do I write about where I am, here and now?

I’ve given it lots of thought, and have come to the conclusion that writing about faraway places is far easier when I’m not so far away–in space and time.

Of course, I reserve the right to blog about past Canadian adventures, but only from a distance.

*All photography taken with my Samsung GS20 Plus 5G smartphone.