Day 37: Edmundston to Fredericton

276 kilometers; 2:40 hours

Conditions were perfect for a drive through the country: crisp weather, voluptuous cloud banks, interesting scenery, smooth highway, and low traffic. The country was thickly wooded but the forest was short and scrubby.

Through that combination of background research and dumb luck that is known as serendipity, we happened upon Grand Falls Gorge. At this point the Saint John River drops more than 75 feet over a series of very rough rock ledges. In its natural state, this waterfall must have been spectacular for its great length and high spray. Unfortunately the mighty river has been dammed just before the falls, and very little water was flowing, though some did enter from a small, un-dammed tributary. The advantage of the dryness is that the extensive rock formations had their own kind of fascination.

Grand Falls Gorge

Near the falls is a visitor center. There I noticed an exceptional example of quilting: the design used a very interesting composition to tell the story of the falls. It shows the falls in the spring when water is released from the dam and the falls become full and energetic.

Grand Falls Quilt

To add to the fun, a zip-line was in use; we watched folks zip across the almost-dry river on one set of lines, then zip back on another set of lines, and I made a lot of iPad video. I imagined doing a zip-line in the spring when water is allowed to splash on the rugged formations. You would get wet from the mist. The zip-lines are also open at night under special lighting. What an idea! Thrill-seekers.

Dan's tourism objective for today was to see the world's longest covered bridge which crosses the Saint John River in Hartland, somewhat off the main route.

The covered bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick

We spent a pleasant hour in Hartland, where there is a handy park with good views of the bridge. The bridge is 1282 feet long and it officially opened in 1901. It has a wooden, shed-like cover, and a wooden road bed, but it is supported by very large concrete piers. Though it is a one-lane bridge that usually carries little traffic, at present the main highway bridge is being repaired, and the traffic is being detoured this way.

Dan walked across the bridge to shoot the views on the other side. Then we shared a beer at one of the plainest bars in the world just for the right to use the washroom.

Dan used the pedestrian walkway to cross the bridge.

When it was time to leave, we had to confront a puzzling phenomenon. Though the bridge has only one lane, there is no signal indicating which way the traffic is flowing. We observed the traffic for awhile looking for the implicit rule of courtesy, but we couldn't see it, so we got behind a car entering the tunnel-like bridge and hoped the driver knew what he was doing.

A short drive featuring blue skies, fluffy clouds, scrubby fir trees and smooth road took us the rest of the way into Fredericton. Our Best Western Hotel is near a string of shopping malls. In one of them we found Down East Mario's, which gave us a pretty decent Italian style meal.