June 22 thru 25, 2024, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada

Our 216-mile journey from Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, took us over the Confederation Bridge. Completed in 1997 for $1.3 billion, it spans 12.0 km (8 miles) and is the longest bridge in ice-covered waters. There is no toll going to the island only when you leave the island (2 axles were $50.25 + $4.25 for each additional axle.)

Our park, Marco Polo Land Campground in Cavendish was on the north side of the island so we traveled a number of secondary roads through farmland and along waterways. Sometimes, the farms were in the water growing mussels and clams.

The Fantasy RV Tour included a Canadian National Park Pass and we were eager to use it at Prince Edward Island National Park. The park followed the seashore and included several beaches. We did not opt for a dip in the ocean (too cold) or hike any of the trails (clouds threatening rain). Instead, we drove through most of the park and stopped at most of the overlooks.

Another day we drove to Victoria by the Sea, a small craft village. Many of the shops were in individual homes and it felt intrusive to browse through them when we had no intention of buying anything. I was able to snap a few pictures to capture the feel of the village.

Since we were close to Charlottetown and it had not started raining we visited their downtown area. Beautiful architecture and interesting shops and galleries were mixed with endless options for dining and drinking.

St. Dunstan's Basilica certainly caught our attention. It was completed in 1919 and seems to have held up pretty well for being more than a hundred years old.

I don't remember who these two were but they were certainly having an interesting discussion and did not mind my listening in.

Victoria Row was probably the most picturesque street to visit.

The Province House was closed for refurbishment so we could not enter. Below is the closest I could get for a photograph. It must be some restoration - it has been in the works since 2015!

Sometimes I just like the simplicity of an old doorway. This building housed the office of The Islander Newspaper in 1847.

Our host arranged a game night in the campground. We sat around a couple of fires and played Kubb and Washers. Kubb was based on a Viking game where each side had to knock down a target with sticks. I cannot do it justice but it was relatively easy and a lot of fun.

As the evening wore on the fire became more important to ward off the chill. It seemed very strange to be concerned about the cold at the end of June but then we were in Canada.

The weather was not as nice as it could have been, however, it certainly could have been worse. We had one day with enough rain to just keep us indoors reading.

Our last night in PEI everyone headed to the Fisherman's Wharf for a Lobster supper. Dinner included a massive salad bar, seafood chowder, and your choice of lobster or scallops. Dessert choices included several pies, soft-serve ice cream, strawberry shortcake, and cookies. Everyone left the restaurant fuller than they had been hungry.

We learned what a shy boy was and how to distinguish between a girl lobster and a boy lobster. Our hostess gave us a quick tutorial on disassembling the beasties and we all dug in. Good thing we had bibs!

 

After dinner we gathered to go over our trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the next morning. I was happy my navigator could follow the discussion - I might have been in a mild food coma.

June 2 thru 6, 2024, Pontiac State Park, MI

From Petosky, MI, we headed south to Pontiac Lake State Park Campground in Pontiac, MI. The trip was 235 miles. It was a nice campground but, unfortunately, the mosquitos were now out in earnest and hungry. I tried to stay covered as much as possible while setting up camp but whenever I exposed skin they found it. 

This park was close to our friends Loren and Sharon who were going to Canada for the Fantasy Tour with us but, sadly, had to cancel. We visited them at their nice home on Sylvan Lake about 15 miles from our campsite (almost like we planned it). We love their cottage on the lake and completely understand why they return to Michigan every summer.

They were disappointed they were not visiting the Canadian Maritime Provinces with us but were happy to show us around for a few days before we headed into Canada.

One day they took us to Frankenmuth, MI, a nicely developed tourist destination. We enjoyed a wonderful all-you-could-eat fried chicken feast at the Bavarian Inn. It was served "family style" with so much variety - fried chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberries, beans, and more followed by ice cream for dessert.

After dining we crossed the Holz-Brucke covered bridge and walked some of our meal off at the Frankenmuth River Place Shops. It was a beautiful afternoon to just sit in the sunshine and people-watch.

As we were leaving, we stopped at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. We arrived an hour before they closed or we might have spent much longer browsing the acres of Christmas decorations.

Another day they took us to the quaint small town of Holly, MI, for lunch at the Holly Cafe.  

Once again, after eating more than we should have we walked the downtown area exploring several shops. Traveling with limited space limits the temptation to load up on artsy knick-knacks. Joani was tempted but refrained.

Another day, I had cracked my head pretty good on our slide out and was concussed (according to Joani's Google research) but I fought the urge to sleep and pushed through the nausea. After a delicious bacon cheddar burger perfectly cooked at The Grill, I was on the way to recovery. 

We were pleased to spend time with our friends and sad they could not travel with us to Canada. We waved our sad goodbye's until we see them again in Arizona next Fall.

Monday, December 2, 2019, Rockhunting and More With Barry and Della, Deming, NM

Our friends, Barry and Della, who spent some time with us back in Acworth, GA, before heading south to Florida caught up with us again in Deming, NM. We talked them into staying where we were at the Dream Catcher SKP. That made it very convenient to spend time together as our plans overlapped for a couple of days.

It had dried out enough to try another trip to Rockhound State Park. The park suggested an alternate approach that was less likely to be flooded. Not far from the park was the Geolapidary Museum. A sign said it was open but with no cars on the property, I assumed it was closed and didn't even slow down. I was convinced to turn around and check even if there were no cars. 

As we exited the car an, old codger peeked out of the doorway and started a nearly continuous diatribe about his life, area history and, most importantly, rocks and minerals. He was a veritable fount of knowledge and was quite entertaining as well, although, he never mentioned his name as far as any of us could remember. I found a booklet titled "The Geode Kid" with pictures of a much younger man that we thought might be him.

As it turns out, "The Geode Kid" aka Robert Paul Colburn died in 2013. This is Christopher Blackwell, his longtime friend and business partner.

The museum was his home and he no longer drove, hence, no cars out front.

There were a lot of specimens on display but we were most interested in geodes and "thunder eggs" that could be found in the area. Many were sliced and polished in matched pairs so it was easy to see how the raw sample appeared before cutting. Most you could never guess what beauty lay hidden inside by looking at the outside. It made me wonder if finding something special was all about experience or maybe some luck was involved. 

Outside . . .


Inside . . .

As interesting as this guy was, we had to leave so we could explore Rockhound State Park a few miles further down the road. They had a relatively new welcome center where docents could show us examples of the rocks we might find in the park. They were also happy to identify any samples we brought in.

We were not planning on any serious rock hunting but we wanted to see the campground facilities and decide whether it warranted a return visit to comb the hillside for rocks. After roaming about a bit, we discovered the campsites look great and we will return to see what rocks we can find.

On the drive back into Deming, we stopped at the LesCombes Winery for some wine tasting and a bite to eat. They had some very nice wines from local vineyards - who knew you could grow grapes in New Mexico?

Back in Deming, we realized we could visit the Luna Mimbres Museum for a little while before it closed. I learned we were in Luna county and the Mimbres Indians lived in the area hence the museum's name. Everyone except the janitor was a volunteer (I learned that later from the folks at our campground) and it was apparent they loved their museum.

We were told the museum needed four hours to see it all and we had less than one until they closed. Della and Joani headed straight for the rock and mineral displays. Most of the specimens were donated by the same guy we visited earlier at the Geolapidary Museum.

We knew we didn't have time to do the museum justice. There was so much more to see but it would have to wait for another day.