Just before 7h30, I got up well-rested and recovered from Celtic Colours. It was an overcast morning with a strong, raw wind out of the north. After breakfast, I drove out to Red River on a road that looked to have been newly replaced; it was in top notch shape and even had bright new yellow lines! I continued on slowly to the north end of the Red River Road at Archies Brook, the Polletts Cove trail head, stopping frequently for photos at several points along this gorgeous drive: even if the day’s grey skies and poor lighting left much to be desired, it was just much too beautiful not to get out of the car and admire the scenery. Yellows, oranges, and greens predominated on the slopes, with the red trees very few in number. I returned just as slowly on the way back to Pleasant Bay, again admiring the views, which differ considerably from those on the way north, and drove down to the harbour for more photos there.
from the Red River Road south of the Gampo Abbey
seen from the Red River Road south of the Gampo Abbey
at Archies Brook at the end of the Red River Road
it’s a riot of colours which didn’t come out very well in this photo
from the Red River Road in Red River—the gash on MacKenzies Mountain is the Cabot Trail
from the end of the Pleasant Bay Harbour Road; Baldy Mountain is at the far right
Once done looking around the harbour, I drove east on the Cabot Trail, again with many stops for photos along the way. Some sun deigned to brighten up spots on the landscape, but the skies remained resolutely cloudy. Even without the sun, the colours were glorious, but again the reds were few and far between. I discovered a small waterfall I hadn’t known about on the side of North Mountain beside the uppermost left pull-off on the Cabot Trail when descending; it was singing cheerily as it tumbled down. Yellows and oranges with some seasoning of dark greens from the evergreens were the predominant hues, with the terrain looking yellower on the Pleasant Bay side of North Mountain and much oranger in the Aspy Valley and on South Mountain. From the always glorious pull-off in Sunrise, I was surprised that the visibility was good enough I could see St Paul Island in the Cabot Strait. I then turned down Blaze Road, where the reds are normally brilliant in the short stretch between the Cabot Trail and South Ridge Road, and found none at all! South Ridge Road was in slightly better shape than I had last found it, its views were as grand as always even though I encountered some mist/light rain briefly, and it even offered a stunning red tree, albeit a small one, beside the South Aspy River at the bridge.
with Andrews Mountain at the right in the sun
from the uppermost look-off on the Cabot Trail on North Mountain
from the uppermost look-off on the Cabot Trail on North Mountain
South Mountain at the far right with North Harbour near the centre in the distance
beside the uppermost left pull-off on the Cabot Trail when descending
with St Paul Island in the Cabot Strait to the right of Cape North and
North Harbour at the far right in the distance, seen from the pull-off at Sunrise
North Mountain and the Cape North Massif are in the distance
I continued on through Cape North Village to Bay St Lawrence and thence to Meat Cove, taking photos at several points along the stunning Meat Cove Road, and then dropping in for an impromptu visit with a good friend in the village. When I set out yesterday, I had planned on staying in Cape North Village tonight, but I received a message from Robert Deveaux last night that he and Kenneth MacKenzie were to play at the Doryman tonight and I didn’t want to miss out on that: music on a weekday after the end of Celtic Colours is almost unheard of and I wanted to do everything I could to encourage it! It is amazing how fast restaurants and motels close at the end of Celtic Colours, though there was some improvement this year with more staying open through the end of October, as they should—I was not alone staying on after Celtic Colours, as I counted over 150 vehicles on the Cabot Trail the short time I was on it this day and many did not have Nova Scotia license plates. So, I drove back to Chéticamp, being surprised to have to stop at an RCMP checkpoint outside Sunrise: it was a sobriety and seatbelt check with a friendly officer curious as to why I was still in Cape Breton. The sun finally made it out on my way up North Mountain, but I had no time to stop for more photos; I ran into long construction delays descending French Mountain and again at Corney Brook.
from the Meat Cove Road above the village
Cape North is in the far distance behind Black Point
[this looked fairly good on the iPhone, but it is badly blurred on the big screen—apologies]
seen from the Meat Cove Mountain Road in the village
Cove at the left
Harbour
seen from the middle look-off on the way up North Mountain
I was shut out of three of the reasonably priced motels I normally stay at in Chéticamp because they had already closed for the season, but found a room at l’Auberge Doucet, where I changed into good clothes and went back to the Doryman for dinner (chowder, salad, and haddock, all excellent). Kenneth MacKenzie on fiddle and Robert Deveaux on keyboard provided the music for the night and it was fantastic; I didn’t get much pub music during Celtic Colours as I was mostly at concerts, so it was an extra-special treat. The music just flowed off Kenneth’s bow and I very much liked Robert’s accompaniments: lovely tunes impeccably played. Kenneth also did a fine bagpipe set, which I captured on my iPhone. Alas, there weren’t many in attendance that evening, but one lady did get up to step dance. It was a fine evening of music I thoroughly enjoyed, especially as it’s been too rare these last few years for me to hear Robert playing in any capacity. I was back at the motel and in bed at 23h15 after another great day in Cape Breton.
