We left Bar Harbor, Maine, this morning and made our way up Hwy 1 along the Maine coast, enjoying some water views but not enjoying bumpy sections of highway. We crossed the 45th parallel, and we are now closer to the North Pole than the equator. We crossed into New Brunswick at Calais and drove up to Monckton, N.B., near the Bay of Fundy. We will spend at least a day checking out the Bay, which has the largest tides (40′) in the world.
Along the way, a good sized moose crossed the highway just ahead of a long haul truck ahead of us. We admire speed combined with grace and strength in America. Think football tailback, Indy 500, running, skiing, drag racing, you name it. We love to see speed in all its forms and evaluate the measures of coordination, grace, strength, endurance, etc., that accompany it. So when I saw a bull moose trot across the highway at a steady clip just ahead of a long haul truck ahead of us, I had one foot on the brake, not knowing what the truck was going to do, but not to worry. It was a beautiful combination of steady and amazing speed combined with a grace you look for in the great athletic events! The hooves and long legs flashed along, and the back and head didn’t move any direction except straight ahead. It was steadier than a horse with no wasted motion. It had to be going around thirty miles per hour, not top speed but just enough to cross the highway in between long haulers without being road kill and without expending huge energy. It was a green machine, fuel efficient, all parts working together in a display of perfect coordination and grace. (Jan was so worried about the trucker’s reaction, that she couldn’t move! Consequently, no photos!) So, why did he cross the road? Because he’s a bull moose, he’s in his playing field, the highway cuts across his own back yard, and what a bull moose wants, he gets!
We are visiting the three Canadian Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The big attraction in New Brunswick is the Bay of Fundy, then we will visit Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia, and then we will visit beautiful Prince Edward Island. Of course, when we get to Cape Breton, we will run out of continent, so it will be time to turn around and head back!
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