Morning Views from Fordview

I had a superb dinner in Chéticamp, but didn’t get much of a chance to do anything else, as rain and winds of 80 km/h (50 mph) were forecast for the evening. Fortunately, the winds, which were less strong than the forecast, left most of the leaves intact, though I was a bit disheartened at the grey, overcast skies the following morning. It was surprisingly warm, however, and I drove off towards Northeast Margaree for breakfast at the Dancing Goat. I had the Cabot Trail to myself on the drive south so I dawdled, enjoying the scenery and the early colours, even if under grey skies. North of Belle-Côte, I noticed the sun breaking out well to the south along the Shore Road coast, which augured well for the day. In Belle-Côte, I turned onto the East Margaree Road, where the colours were fine, though still with plenty of greens. Past the village, the sun broke through the overcast and lit up the highlands on the west side of the Margaree River; I stopped in Fordview for photos, three of which are on this page.

Photo #1 looks across the Margaree River valley (the main branch of the river is on the far side) at part of a massif which separates the Margaree River from the Shore Road (Highway 219, running from Dunvegan through St Rose and Chimney Corner to Margaree Harbour); this massif is unnamed on the topographical maps and so far as I am aware, except for Duggan Mountain Road from St Rose to Coady Road, is not crossed by any roads. At the locality known as Scotch Hill north of the East Margaree Cross Road, at the far right of this photo, a road leads up into the massif, but does not cross over it.

The sun had only minutes before broken through the overcast and was not yet high enough above the eastern highlands to light up the valley itself; clouds in the way of the sun are responsible for the shadows at the base of the massif. A considerable amount of haze still hung in the air, though the views of the highlands on the west side of the valley came through surprisingly well. The Margarees were the first to peak this fall and the colours here, while well before peak, are rapidly changing. The water at the left of the photo is one of the meanders of the east side branch of the river. The white objects at the right are plastic-wrapped round bales of hay, some of which can be seen before wrapping in the foreground; the bales, left outside for later use, are unwrapped when they are needed during the winter.

Photo #2 looks at part of the massif south of that seen in photo #1; at the far right one can see the col between these two parts of the massif, with a valley carved by Gillis Brook. The houses seen at the base of the massif are along the Cabot Trail, which runs along and above the main branch of the Margaree River on the west side of the valley.

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Photo #3 shows a portion of photo #2 in greater detail, providing a better idea of the state of the colours on the highlands here. Although a significant amount of green remains, it is the colours of many hues that take the eye. What an amazing scene these beautiful highlands will display when the colours are at their peak!