Birthday Week - Day 3

Day three of my birthday week started out early.  Our final destination was Dingwall and we had lots of stops we wanted to make along the way.

The Cabot Trail is 186 miles.

Our first stop was the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck.  Baddeck is the beginning and end point of the world-famous Cabot Trail.

Bell arrived in Baddeck in 1885. He developed a research laboratory and with his partner Frederick Baldwin worked not only on the telephone but many other things as well. Thier inventions included the first airplane successfully flown in Canada, several version of hydrofoils (racing boats), and a telephone system that used light waves rather than wires.  

The Silver Dart (1901)  

The first successful airplane in Canada.

Bell and Baldwin started testing their hydrofoil ideas in 1908, with an eye toward military applications.

This is a full-scale replica from the HD-4 built in 1919.

By the time the HD-4 set her speed record, the war was over.  With no commercial prospects, the HD-4 was stripped and left on the beach at Beinn Bhreagh, where it remained for many years.

This display is all that is left of the main hull.

There are many interesting displays through the museum.

After the museum we drove quite a while to the Margaree Fish Hatchery on Cape Breton Island. 

Since we have volunteered at fish hatcheries, we’re always interested in visiting other hatcheries.

The Margaree Fish Hatchery opened in 1905.

We spent some time walking around the hatchery.

We never saw anyone while we were here.

It’s a beautiful area with a few benches for sitting.

This is the oldest fish hatchery in Nova Scotia.  They raise over 250,000 Brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon per year.

Not far from the hatchery is the Margaree Salmon Museum.  The museum has been in this one-time one-room school house for over 40 years.

We spent quite a while looking at the many displays.

There were many displays showing beautifully tied Salmon flies.

There is a lot to see here.

Fly tying kit.

Split bamboo rods.

We were still a few hours away from our final destination for the night - Dingwall in Northern Cape Breton Island.

Dingwall is pretty much the end of the world as far as Nova Scotia is concerned. Next stop is Newfoundland! The red teardrop marks Dingwall on this map. Click on the map to enlarge it.

The views off the Cabot Trail road were beautiful.

You can see at the top of the picture some more of this long and winding road.

Every time we came around a corner, I wanted to take another picture!

Our cabin for the next two nights was at The Markham in Dingwall.  We had a private two-bedroom cabin in the woods.

Our cabin was very large and comfortable and also had a kitchen.

We took the time before our dinner reservations to walk down to the beach.

Next time:  Birthday Week - Day 4