We continued to follow the Sunrise Trail through the North Umberland Shore area of Nova Scotia, heading to the Arms of Gold Campground, located about three miles from the ferry we will take to Newfoundland. Along the way, we drove thru Antigonish. The town has a strong Scottish heritage and the renowned Antigonish Highland Games have been held here every year since 1861. These are the largest and oldest highland games held outside Scotland. Antigonish is also home to St. Francis Xavier University which offers studies in Celtic languages, 
literature and history, and has an impressive Gaelic collection. In the Hall of Clans are hand-carved crests of the 70 founding Scottish families of Nova Scotia.
Returning back to the Trans-Canada Highway, we began driving the Ceilidh Trail
which would lead us to Cape Breton Island.
The Canso Causeway connects Cape Breton with the mainland. Before the causeway’s completion in 1955, Cape Breton was reachable only by ferry. 
The Arm of Gold campground, where we will camp for the next five days, is very scenic. It sits on a far finger of the Bras d’Or Lake and is very well kept and seems to be a very popular spot.
McKenzie found lots of friends in the campground but I think she is still pining for her little French boyfriend, Teddy, whom she met in Montreal. No one else seems to have her attention.
The Cabot Trail will be our first adventure after we’ve taken a day or so to just rest up and get the trailer ready for the ferry voyage. Scottish traditions are still very strong in these areas and the Gaelic language is still taught in many of the local schools. The Cabot Trail winds for nearly 185 miles through the beautiful highlands and plateaus of Cape Breton.
Being a loop trail, you can start or end your journey at a number of different spots.
Tuesday, we headed out early for the Cabot Trail. It is supposed to rain today and tomorrow, so we decided we’d just make the best of it and see what we could see today. Our first stop was at Lake O’Law picnic site which featured the Three Sisters mountains.
McKenzie thought we were ready to have lunch, so she just made herself at home and was patiently waiting for the food. 
I had to explain to her that we had lots of miles to travel before it was time for lunch.
Margaree Harbour is a colorful coastal village that wraps around a harbour filled with fishing boats. Everything looked very lush and green against the blue sapphire water. 
A little further down Cabot Trail at Cap Le Moine, we ran upon Joe’s Scarecrow Village. He must have had at least a hundred scarecrows dressed up in a field with cute little paper tags attached
to each, telling visitors their names and a bit of history about them. George and McKenzie decided to visit with two of the seniors at the Senior Citizen party 
and Jan later joined in a game of “ring around the rosie” with several of the scarecrow children. 
Now I have to say, this is a “first”. I don’t think we’ve ever run across a Scarecrow Village in all our travels before!
Cheticamp is a busy fishing village with a thriving Acadian culture. It is also a center for rug hooking as well as many other crafts. In one of the studios, a lady was giving a demonstration of how she does the rug hooking. First she draws the picture freehand.
Then she starts hooking the wool fibers through a burlap type backing and forms beautiful designs and pictures, making everything from coasters, rugs, and wall hangings, to bookmarkers. It was fascinating to watch how fast she could do this art.
The Cabot Trail road was very twisty and winding but overall it was a pretty good two lane road. Parts of it run through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, one of Canada’s most stunning and diverse national parks encompassing 356 square miles of beautiful highland and coastal habitats.
There are rocky shorelines, sandy beaches, mountain trails, old-growth forests, waterfalls, and highland barrens to discover. 
Moose are prevalent throughout the park. We saw two while we were viewing the beautiful bays and bogs.
I had read about a waterfall just a short distance into the forest on a gravel road. It was probably the worst road we have ever been on. We could barely creep through all the potholes, but once we arrived, we were rewarded with the beautiful Beulach Bahn Falls,
which cascades like a liquid curtain of white lace 50 feet down into a clear flowing stream.
Back on the Trail, we took a detour through Neil’s Harbour,
another ruggedly picturesque fishing village. 
Further along, at Green Cove, we explored a unique shoreline of huge blocks of pink granite, 
worn smooth by the constantly pounding surf of the open sea.
By this time, it was drizzling and the fog started rolling in.
We made several more stops at artist’s studios, some of which were located in a barn or workshop by their home. It was very interesting talking with them. One lady told us that they had been full timers for four years and then they came to Cape Breton Island on a visit and never left. She made beautiful pottery, plates, cups, bowls, etc. but we can only use so much of that. Once we got ready to leave, she asked if we’d like some fresh eggs and we bought a dozen from her.
We arrived home about 5:30 p.m. George was exhausted from driving all those twisty roads, but we certainly saw some awesome scenery, gorgeous homemade crafts, and even a few unusual attractions. What more could you ask for? We’re not sure yet whether we will head out to the Fortress of Louisburg tomorrow or stay around the trailer and get a few things done. George would like to get the oil changed in the truck as we are racking up the mileage really quickly, so we’ll just see what the day brings. If we don’t go to Louisburg tomorrow, we will probably go on Thursday as that is one of attractions we had on our list of things to see and our days here in Nova Scotia are rapidly decreasing. Hope you enjoyed Cabot’s Trail as much as we did!
literature and history, and has an impressive Gaelic collection. In the Hall of Clans are hand-carved crests of the 70 founding Scottish families of Nova Scotia.Returning back to the Trans-Canada Highway, we began driving the Ceilidh Trail
which would lead us to Cape Breton Island. The Canso Causeway connects Cape Breton with the mainland. Before the causeway’s completion in 1955, Cape Breton was reachable only by ferry. The Arm of Gold campground, where we will camp for the next five days, is very scenic. It sits on a far finger of the Bras d’Or Lake and is very well kept and seems to be a very popular spot. McKenzie found lots of friends in the campground but I think she is still pining for her little French boyfriend, Teddy, whom she met in Montreal. No one else seems to have her attention.The Cabot Trail will be our first adventure after we’ve taken a day or so to just rest up and get the trailer ready for the ferry voyage. Scottish traditions are still very strong in these areas and the Gaelic language is still taught in many of the local schools. The Cabot Trail winds for nearly 185 miles through the beautiful highlands and plateaus of Cape Breton.
Being a loop trail, you can start or end your journey at a number of different spots.Tuesday, we headed out early for the Cabot Trail. It is supposed to rain today and tomorrow, so we decided we’d just make the best of it and see what we could see today. Our first stop was at Lake O’Law picnic site which featured the Three Sisters mountains.
McKenzie thought we were ready to have lunch, so she just made herself at home and was patiently waiting for the food. I had to explain to her that we had lots of miles to travel before it was time for lunch. Margaree Harbour is a colorful coastal village that wraps around a harbour filled with fishing boats. Everything looked very lush and green against the blue sapphire water. A little further down Cabot Trail at Cap Le Moine, we ran upon Joe’s Scarecrow Village. He must have had at least a hundred scarecrows dressed up in a field with cute little paper tags attached to each, telling visitors their names and a bit of history about them. George and McKenzie decided to visit with two of the seniors at the Senior Citizen party and Jan later joined in a game of “ring around the rosie” with several of the scarecrow children. Now I have to say, this is a “first”. I don’t think we’ve ever run across a Scarecrow Village in all our travels before!Cheticamp is a busy fishing village with a thriving Acadian culture. It is also a center for rug hooking as well as many other crafts. In one of the studios, a lady was giving a demonstration of how she does the rug hooking. First she draws the picture freehand.
Then she starts hooking the wool fibers through a burlap type backing and forms beautiful designs and pictures, making everything from coasters, rugs, and wall hangings, to bookmarkers. It was fascinating to watch how fast she could do this art.The Cabot Trail road was very twisty and winding but overall it was a pretty good two lane road. Parts of it run through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, one of Canada’s most stunning and diverse national parks encompassing 356 square miles of beautiful highland and coastal habitats.
There are rocky shorelines, sandy beaches, mountain trails, old-growth forests, waterfalls, and highland barrens to discover. Moose are prevalent throughout the park. We saw two while we were viewing the beautiful bays and bogs.I had read about a waterfall just a short distance into the forest on a gravel road. It was probably the worst road we have ever been on. We could barely creep through all the potholes, but once we arrived, we were rewarded with the beautiful Beulach Bahn Falls,
which cascades like a liquid curtain of white lace 50 feet down into a clear flowing stream.Back on the Trail, we took a detour through Neil’s Harbour,
another ruggedly picturesque fishing village. Further along, at Green Cove, we explored a unique shoreline of huge blocks of pink granite, worn smooth by the constantly pounding surf of the open sea.By this time, it was drizzling and the fog started rolling in.
We made several more stops at artist’s studios, some of which were located in a barn or workshop by their home. It was very interesting talking with them. One lady told us that they had been full timers for four years and then they came to Cape Breton Island on a visit and never left. She made beautiful pottery, plates, cups, bowls, etc. but we can only use so much of that. Once we got ready to leave, she asked if we’d like some fresh eggs and we bought a dozen from her.We arrived home about 5:30 p.m. George was exhausted from driving all those twisty roads, but we certainly saw some awesome scenery, gorgeous homemade crafts, and even a few unusual attractions. What more could you ask for? We’re not sure yet whether we will head out to the Fortress of Louisburg tomorrow or stay around the trailer and get a few things done. George would like to get the oil changed in the truck as we are racking up the mileage really quickly, so we’ll just see what the day brings. If we don’t go to Louisburg tomorrow, we will probably go on Thursday as that is one of attractions we had on our list of things to see and our days here in Nova Scotia are rapidly decreasing. Hope you enjoyed Cabot’s Trail as much as we did!
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