Cape Breton Island

Leaving the comfort of our hotel after breakfast we followed the coast going clockwise around the island from Auld’s Cove before ending in Ingonish. A full day on the island of exploring and photographing – what more could you ask for? 

After making a quick pitstop to visit a friend of Nigel’s we drove to Cheticamp, a small island on the north-west side of Cape Breton. Cheitcamp is small enough to drive from end to end in about 20 minutes at very slow speeds. The gravel roads and the road blocks – aka a herd of cows, were the reason for the slow speed. We stumbled across a fishing area with sheds, boats, lobster traps,etc.

Fishing Sheds

Fishing Sheds

Leaving Cheticamp we discovered a small parking area along the rocky shoreline. Everywhere you looked along this strip of beach were piles of rocks deliberately built into small cairns and even a few inukshuks.

Stacked

Stacked

The best part of the drive were the windy roads.

Cheticamp

Cheticamp

Cabot Trail

Cabot Trail

I’m in love with Cape Breton and will be back again to explore her for longer. Tomorrow however, its time to leave on the ferry for Newfoundland. My other favourite province here on the eastern shores.

Mysterious Ship

Roy Ramsay of Outdoor Photography Canada and I planned a late evening of astrophotography tonight but we were to be thwarted by the weather. It was clear skies at my place but as I headed into Brampton to pick up Roy a light fog seemed to have settled in. In the car we discussed whether this fog would roll out or if we could find a spot that wasn’t affected by it. We were headed towards the Niagara region and it looked as though the fog was not going to let go. Rather it just got thicker and thicker as we headed south. Deciding that this would be a bust for star photography we decided that we would work with the fog instead.

Off the highway down by Jordan, Ontario there is a ship that is scuttled very close to shore so we thought that would be a fun place to stop and get some shots. Here is the full view of ship surrounded by thick fog in the background. The orange/brown glow is from the city lights and the breaker wall.

Jordan Harbour Ship 2

Jordan Harbour Ship 2

We tried out many different angles, along with playing with some light painting techniques. Below is a close up and processed in black and white.

Jordan Harbour Ship

Jordan Harbour Ship

We had a great time playing with the challenges of the fog. Hopefully next time we’ll get out and see the stars.

Salem’s Odd History

Leaving my campsite behind I headed east to visit the historic site of Salem. How could I pass up the opportunity to visit Salem while in Massachusetts? I couldn’t, so it was time to put on my touristy hat and see the sites. Getting into town in the early morning I went to see if I could get into Winter Island Marine Park, a campground and historic site. The park is located on the former site of the Fort Pickering Coast Guard Base.

Winter Island Lighthouse

Winter Island Lighthouse

The harsh light of the day made it difficult to get great shots of the park lighthouse so I decided to head into the town and see what I could find. While checking out the Tourist Information area I decided to do a tour of Grey House, the house that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about in his novel  The House of the Seven Gables.

House of Seven Gables

House of Seven Gables

I had a great time learning about the history of the house and the area and not to mention that I was able to use a secret passage in the house. It was pretty cool. One interesting takeaway from the morning was that none of the hangings (and pressings?!) were done in Salem but were committed in the neighbouring town of Ipswich. There are, however, memorials in the Salem graveyard.

Pressed

Salem Witchtrial Victim

Salem Witchtrial Victim

This pressing business does not sound pleasant at all. It seems a pretty nasty business but then again the whole thing was a little weird in my books. After doing the touristy thing around town, filling up the tummy with a lobster roll and picking up some authentic Salem gear I had to back on the road and finally get myself into Maine.