2016/08 Newf'land trip - Salsman |
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With no boat trip to keep us busy, we were going to drive on and camp on the mainland. The road along the north coast stayed mostly away from the sea, pleasant farming and forest country but nothing special. The names of places reflect the Europeans that came to Nova Scotia, first the French and then the Scots, displaced by the Scottish Highland clearances in the 1800s. Some signs are bilingual: English and Gaelic. The Canso Causeway links the island to mainland Nova Scotia, with some special locks to allow ships to pass between two different tidal zones.
Once on the mainland, the road became a freeway and we made good time to Antigonish. What’s with all these “gonishes”? I think it’s a Mi’kmaq Indian word that means “place”; or at least it’s what got written down after being interpreted by some Gaelic listener.
We found our way to Beaver Mountain park, but despite having a sign showing where the campground was, there was no campground, just a field. Just as I was about to camp there anyway a maintenance team drove in. “There’s no camping anymore. That’s on old sign. We do have a bike trail though.” I must have looked unimpressed as he added “There’s camping at Country Harbour.” This didn’t match our literature but there was a town of that name on the south coast, so off we went as the sun went down. Our GPS sent us down an interesting single track forest road and then we were passing through green hills and past lakes and large country houses, a step up from the usual cabin or cottage.
We passed through the town and were getting a bit concerned when we came to Salsman park. To get a campsite I had to use the big telephone and make a reservation and pay by credit card. The random campsite I picked turned out to be on an island, accessed by a causeway. It had been quite a day.
Wednesday August 24th
We had a bright and sunny morning. Note the wheels on the picnic table; great idea but never seen it before. 
We were camped in a gorgeous spot, our island in the middle of a natural harbor, a great place for boating or fishing.