PREPARING FOR RISING SEA LEVELS?

Now these people have their work cut out for them. This boat is in rough shape, but perhaps it is a boat builder's delight o take on this challenge.

HEARTS & ANCHOR FOR THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST

Out in the "middle of nowhere" you come across these gems. Makes you want to come back and spend more time -- maybe next year.

AMERICANS WATCH THE TIDE RACE IN

Almost all the people who watched the tide roll in up the river were from the USA -- New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida and Maryland. With charts and tables on hand they figured the tide was set to roll in in about 10 minutes.

OOPS!

PICTURESQUE ROLLING COUNTRYSIDE

This represents the typical rolling countryside along Hwy 236; a treat for cars, motorcyclists and cyclists but a little harder for walkers. The beating sun made for a more gruelling walk on the Windsor-Truro leg.

TOPOGRAPHY OF HWY 236 A MOTORCYCLISTS DELIGHT

On Highway 236 many types of vehicles shared the road with cars and trucks, including motorcycles, cyclists, and tandem cyclists.

THE LEGACY OF WORLD CHAMPION GIANT PUMPKIN GROWER HOWARD DILL

Dill giant pumpkin seeds are known to be the source of giant pumpkin growers worldwide. The iconic statue of the late Howard Dill stands on Water Street in Windsor along the annual giant pumpkin parade route and on to the giant pumpkin boat regatta across Lake Pisiquid in mid-October.

TOURISM PHOTOGRAPHER ON ASSIGNMENT

Travelling from Halifax, this professional photographer was placed on a travel assignment to take tourism-related seasonal photos in the Annapolis Valley. Here she views one of the many spectacular fields of sunflowers.

ROAD BED PREFERRED OVER RAILROAD BED

This photo illustrates why the railroad track between Wolfville-Windsor was avoided. Experience near New Minas indicated that this leg would have taken way too long if the railbed was followed. Not only are the tracks and ties still in place they are covered in tangles of bush.

BLOMIDON LANDMARK SEEN ALONG THIS LEG OF THE TRAIL

Blomidon Peninsula dominates the landscape along the Wolfville-Windsor leg of the walk, as seen from the dual-bridges on Hwy 101 near Avonport. This was the busiest section of roadway walked to date.

PAINTING A RURAL LIFESTYLE

Creatives dot the landscape in these rural environments; enjoying the lifestyle that helps stimulate creative juices. Long time resident artists here converted the home of what was, one time, a vibrant publisher of books, Lancelot Press, that was sold to another successful publisher in Nova Scotia.

QUIET, SERENE AND JUST PLAIN STUNNING

Some scenes just take your breath away. This is one. In one month's time these trees will be in full colour -- worth the trip to Hantsport this fall.

A SUNNY DAY IN FARM COUNTRY

Farmers prepare for winter as shown in these neatly stacked bales. This is not only wine country. The rolling hills in this area made for a pleasant walk.

HUNTERS. DUCK DECOYS FOR SALE

At first these looked like the real thing until all the ducks appeared to face into the prevailing wind. What an interesting way to display decoys for sale! In any case these were scrutinized for any ducks trying to blend incognito. Adjacent to the duck pond were two trees laden with home-made christmas tree baubles, weather vanes and whirligigs -- creative rural at its folksy-art best.

TRACKS DISAPPEAR INTO THE DISTANCE NEAR WOLFVILLE

A trail was built for walkers and bikers adjacent to the yet-to-be-removed train tracks in Wolfville. Thank goodness the two or so kilometres into Wolfville did not require having to walk the rails. Note the coffee cup placed ON the garbage bin and not IN the bin.

A TOUGH SECTION TO WALK

Not all sections of the Waterville-Wolfville leg were easy to navigate. Along this section tracks were not yet removed and bush covered much of the railbed. Raspberry and blackberry canes often reached out and grabbed a hold. This resulted in scratched arms and legs. A machete would have helped here.

APPLE AND PUMPKIN SEASON IN THE ANNAPOLIS VALLEY

Annapolis Valley prepares for the annual harvest of apples as shown by stacks of large apple crates, ready to be filled and shipped to processing plants. LOVE apple juice!

WELL-USED SECTION OF THE WALKING TRAIL

Looking back on Kentville shows how the town greets those walking on a very groomed trail. Many people were met along this section, including those from Vancouver, Montreal and St John's.

LOOK-OFF A TREAT FOR TREKKERS

Few places catered to the trail-trekker like the Waterville-Kentville leg as with this small look-off into the Cornwallis River valley below. With so many kilometres to walk little time was left to enjoy such pleasures.

A TRAIL KIOSK WORTHY OF A STANDING OVATION

Tourism destination guru, Roger A. Brooks, wrote in his book "The 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism" that 'movie credits tell the real story'. The Sentier de Clare Kiosk tells a truly remarkable story about a 'supporting cast' that went out of their way to create something special -- to create something "worthy of a standing ovation", as Brooks would say.

GREAT KIOSK GREETS TREKKERS

A wealth of information is posted at this well-built kiosk on the Yarmouth-Hectanooga leg of our trek. Not only are we presented with flora and fauna expected to be seen in the area, we are treated to the area`s railway history and to the many contributions that went into making this trail special.

SPECTACULAR COASTAL SCENERY

The Yarmouth-Hectanooga leg provided some spectacular scenery, almost 500 km from our final destination of Georgetown, PEI.

SAULNIERVILLE STATION

Though there are some roads along the Hectanooga-LittleBrook leg, Google Street View lacks coverage here. We have some access points to the Sentier de Clare photographed.

SENTIER DE CLARE IN THE ACADIAN FORESTS OF NOVA SCOTIA

Sentier de Clare passes through Acadian forest that stretches 44 km from the Yarmouth County Line in Beaver River to the Weymouth Bridge -- connecting trails at each end.

SCOTIAPRIDE TOLLERS STORY

We had been on the trail from S. Ohio to Norwood when we came to a
section that said "Quiet zone" and we thought maybe we were nearing a
bird sanctuary, or were near hospital grounds we walked quietly along
and saw someone ahead of us coming our way with what looked like a lot
of dogs. We leashed up Bodhi our trusty sheltie/german shepherd and
shouted that our dog was friendly but the group steadily came forward
and we saw that there were three duck tollers on a lead and two other
lab/dogs behind.
The dog walker rushed past us and into a driveway. I was curious so I
followed her in and Bob took Bodhi down the trail. Once Barbara
Blauvelt (Scotiapride rollers) settled the dogs we talked about life
along the trail. She walked the dogs to Brazil Lake regularly but had
some complaints about ATVs travelling too fast past where her dogs
were. She also had problems with dog owners who don't leash their dogs
when they come past the kenneI. I found out that she had one of the
remaining lines of Duck Tollers from the original stock and that
breeding these dogs were an important part of her income. When I
mentioned Road to Georgetown and the reason we were making this trek
she was familiar with this conference and said that Yarmouth was
sending 3 delegates and she hoped that something would come out of it.
We talked a bit about the challenges in rural communities and I
continued along the trail to the end of the Quiet Zone where Bob was
waiting with Bodhi. LINK: http://www.scotiapridetollers.com/
-- Heather Stewart

ADULT SERVICE CENTRE

This Adult Service Centre provides jobs in the service sector. Service, construction and farming are the predominant sectors found so far on our trek. These support a resilient rural community.

WORKING THE LAND IS A COMMON THEME ALONG OUR TREK

RAIN OR SHINE ON OUR WAY TO GEORGETOWN

A rainy September morning portends the coming of fall. The early morning myriad of pools of water had to be navigated along the Greenwood-Waterville leg, increasing the length of the trip. Rain gear kept our upper bodies fairly dry. Footwear was soaked.

A QUIET RESTING PLACE WITH A GREAT VIEW

A serene scene of a small family burial plot sits aside our trail, overlooking the Annapolis River. The plot is maintained by the Historical Association of Annapolis Royal.

OBSTACLES AND HAZARDS

Abandoned railway lines present hazards, such as this old bridge along the Annapolis Royal-Bridgetown leg. One slip on the rotting timbers and Heather could fall into the river below.