SUMMER UPDATE

SUMMER UPDATE

Well!  The best laid plans….blah blah blah…something about mice and men….according to Wiktionary: A proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain.

That’s us.  The crew of RED II has been benched…scuttled……ship wrecked.  At least our first year plans to travel and camp…even if simply locally.  From my last post I have had several requests for an explanation about the accident

Monsieur F has fallen from his ‘bicyclette’.  He was out with friends on a bike trail (thankfully not the highway), hit a patch of loose gravel and wiped out, narrowly missing a twenty foot drop down an embankment.  He ‘hopped’ back on his bicyclette and rode back to the reconnaissance point where his friend did his best at fixing a sling and driving him to the nearest hospital.

Visit #1

Examination and X-ray ensued.  Looks bloody awful doesn’t it?

Xray

The bicyclette survived but the helmet cracked in pieces as well as F’s left clavicle..a couple of pieces with a few bone chips and cracked ribs, in fact.

Protection

My two grandsons, never having experienced anything broken on a human body, rushed to check out Papa’s injury, offering their most precious Pokemon card of power to aid in healing, which stayed carefully tucked inside the sling.

Papa’s Power

Relegated to backyard relaxing and occasional walks,  we spent the next few days just getting by. Most positions, either sitting, standing or especially sleeping were uncomfortable. He did manage a right arm point to show you the iconic Bluenose, entering St Margaret’s Bay.

‘Exercising’

As our next two scheduled camping trips had to be cancelled, including a much anticipated family reunion to Ontario, we enjoyed a good deal of down time in our little home on wheels, parked in the driveway.

Chillaxing

One momentous night, shortly after midnight, F awoke in a great deal of pain.  Not knowing what was wrong nor comfortable in driving him 45 minutes to the nearest hospital, I called an ambulance.  Within five minutes they arrived, applied heart monitor and started an IV just incase and ferried him off to Bridgewater.

After several hours in the emergency department and following visit to our family doctor it was determined he had a fractured rib on his right side…note, that the broken clavicle and cracked ribs were left side.  We figured this latest injury was due to a hit from his bicycle saddle during the fall.

The appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon went well and good advice from the physiotherapist to remove the sling gave the injured one a healthy plan to follow for recovery.

Model Building

As of the writing of this post, we have had our sixth hospital visit, this time to the Orthopaedic Clinic for a follow-up xray and examination.  F has been cleared for most restrictions with a promise to ‘respect the symptoms’, which I guess means don’t do anything stupid.

We have a much anticipated camping trip coming up soon so with great care, much caution and a whole lot of anticipation, we prepare our little home on wheels for another adventure.

Thanks for stopping by.

…peach and love…

FALLS LAKE

FALLS LAKE

So here we are on our third ‘camping’ outing of the season, but this time we left the home on wheels turtle life behind for a family weekend in a rustic cabin in the Annapolis Valley.

We have become accustomed to having everything we need close at hand in RED II, and it felt very inconvenient having to pack personal needs and food for meals in the car.  To date we have lived in our camper since mid-May so we felt slightly out of our element deciding what to take and leaving her behind parked sadly in our yard.

The Athabaska

Once arriving and settling in though it had the makings of a most wonderful memorable long weekend with nothing to do but relax and enjoy the fabulous weather.

#18

And because of that fabulous weather we spent the entire time outdoors…..

Canoeing

Exploring

SUP’ing

Hockey-ing

Evening activities were centred around shared meals and catching up on family news…

Conversing

Camp fires were lit (wet wood meant toilet paper starters)…

Camp Firing

Marshmallows were toasted…

Roasting

….and eaten in great quanties…

Marshmallow Eating

Once the weekend was over my family from away came home for one more day of visiting. Papa gave a guided tour of his prized garden while providing details of our local feathered friends.

Exploring

We don’t have a lot of visitors in our little camper so it was especially nice having an enthusiastic guest.

Camper Visiting

Our next camping reservation was supposed to have been next week but for now will be staying close to home….VERY close to home.  F was out on a cycling expedition with friends the other day and had a wee accident…broken clavicle, cracked ribs is all…and maybe a bruised ego. For now we are on a self-imposed holiday.  Camping and so many other things will have to take a back seat while ‘we’ heal.

My French Patient

We have reservations for activities next month but that will depend on if’s, when’s and what’s.  As you can see, ‘adventures’ don’t end for us just because we are no longer on the water.  Back soon for an update…

…peace and love…

FIVE ISLANDS

FIVE ISLANDS

Our second camping adventure was even more enjoyable that the first, if that’s possible.  After seeing the amazing rock formations and sea caves of the Ovens Nature Park, F bought himself a book on local geology.  As it turned out this new location at Five Islands Provincial Park had so much more to offer.

Site #25

Stories of  Mi’kmaq lore , combined with the world’s highest tides and rocks formed when dinosaurs roamed the earth made this trip an adventure to remember.

Five Islands

Firstly, a little background about the legendary Wabanaki god-like figure, Glooscap, who  made his home in the Minas Basin of Cobequid Bay. As the story goes, when he slept, Nova Scotia was his bed and Prince Edward Island was his pillow. He lived here, admiring the beauty of the lands, until one day he found his medicine garden destroyed. The culprit? A Canadian beaver! Glooscap was understandably upset, and threw giant clods of mud at the mischievous and disrespectful beaver. The dam was smashed, and water began to flow freely. The mud, sticks, and stones created five islands that emerged in the rapidly rising tides. As for the beaver? He was trapped on one of the islands, and turned into gold.

Next, a little about this unique area, geologically speaking. Nova Scotia was once part of northern African and northern Europe  on the super-continent Pangea. If you like, here is a short but fairly complete article about the geological origins: Origins of Nova Scotia.

Walking the Ocean Floor

Impressive thirteen metre tides with up to three kilometres of retreating waters meant we could walk the ocean floor and  explore the shoreline safely for  several of hours.

From the Days of the Dinosaurs

Retreating Tides

Jurassic Period Formations

This imposing formation of eroded basalt lava flow caps and exposed orange-red sandstone  divided by a distinct fault line is only visible by land when the tide is out. And what a great vantage spot for us…on top of that cliff was our camping spot.

The Old Wife formation

The Old Wife appears to be a mere bump in the water when tides are in but at low tide we could walk her perimeter.

Hiking

As usual we explored up and down country roads, visiting tiny villages and local attractions.

Geological Museum

Five Island Light House

Down the road from the park we found a small general store…always fun to stop at country stores isn’t it?  You never know what treasures you will find.  Cooked freshly caught lobster and a local award-winning cheese called Dragon’s Breath (Dutchman Cheese) created a few kilometres from here with some freshly baked bread made for the perfect supper.

Evening Feast

Another day of rock-hounding led us to Wosson Bluff, yet another geo site of the UNESCO designated Fundy Geoparks.

Wosson Bluff

At 8:21 on our last evening we toasted the summer solstice with a tot of rum for F…mine, Irish whiskey, lit a blazing camp fire, ate far too many toasted marshmallows and watched the sun set over Cobequid Bay.

Sunset on the Bay 2021.21.2021

In a short while we should be able to tell you about our next trip which may even take us to a different shore of our Nova Scotia home…another new adventure for the crew of RED II.

…Peace and love…