Discovering the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck, then camping in Meat Cove, Nova Scotia

Upon arriving at Port Aux Basques late in the afternoon, we stayed in the North Sydney KOA just off the Bras d'Or (snicker) lake. This campground is on a site that has been carved out of a hillside, so the campbround is backed by a several-story-high shelf of reddish rock.

We found the start of the Cabot Trail near Baddeck,



then we made a pitstop at the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck, to learn about Bell's work in teaching the deaf, inventing the telephone, finding new ways to build strong and lightweight structures, refining propeller profiles, and perfecting the hydrofoil.









Outside the museum, we met an older lady who had crossed the US solo by motorcycle... pretty neat. I wish I'd asked her name, but somehow it seemed rude to ask. Mr Advrydr did tell the gentleman with her, who hailed from New Zealand, that he has a 'British accent' -- that went over like a lead balloon.



It was very gloomy and extremely windy as we headed north up the eastern side of Cape Breton. As long as we were moving, the wind was very manageable, but at times it was challenging to keep the bike shiny-side-up when we pulled off at overlooks to take photos.





Enough salt spray on one's camera can make any photo look ethereal:



We stopped at the Chowder House for some seafood chowder, which was excellent, and some very tasty fish-and-chips, which was just way too heavy after our big bowls of chowder. I just about got blown off my bike trying to leave the parking lot, though.



Next, we decided to head for Meat Cove. Well, mostly, Kenny decided, and Kristy went along with it while dreading that three miles or so of gravel that lay between her and the cove... which of course would have to be retraced on the way out too!

This road was in really good shape, though. Just a little windy in spots, we'd come around a corner and really get thwacked by a good gust!











Once we got there and saw how spectacular the campsites are, we decided to pitch a tent for the night. Pitching the tent was something of a trick, one side of the tent had to be staked down, and remain staked, from the moment we pulled it from the bag, because the wind gusts were whipping down over the mountains and threatening to push us right off the cliff.



Our tent did really well throughout the night even with the winds, although one of the tents in a neighboring campsite collapsed and had to be bungeed to their SUV.



We had a full moon, and spent an evening at the campfire with a young couple who were traveling around Nova Scotia by truck and camping. You don't want to drink too much when you're set up that close to a cliff, though.



Leaving Meat Cove, we found another wooden bridge.