Halifax: August 27, 1912 <<< >>> Victoria: October 17, 1912
| Today's Statistics: | Travelling from Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Grand Falls, New Brunswick | |||
| Distance: 266 km | Driving Hours: 6 h | Fuel: 71 l | Weather Cloudy | Temperature: Min. 12 Max. 20 |
The 1997 pathfinders spent this day journeying along the St. John River. The St. John was once the major waterway of the Maliseet People. Their swift canoes carried them up and down the river each year. Today this is farm country. A major crop in the area is potatoes. An interesting sight is a potato barn which has been "buried" by building up the ground around it to prevent freezing in the winter months.
Highlights along the way included the longest covered bridge in the world, at Hartland. The Bridge is 1282 ft (395 m) long. Once through the bridge the Reo was spotted by a local wedding party and quickly became the object of official wedding photos. The bride and groom enjoyed a quick ride in the Reo before it was time to hit the road again.
The day finished in Grand Falls, a 23 m (75 ft) gorge in the rocks along the river. Grand Falls, like all of New Brunswick, is bilingual, but the Findlays are noticing that the towns they visit are becoming more and more french as they approach the province of Quebec. The people of Grand Falls were very interested in the car and welcomed the travellers warmly. Several members of the local car club came out to greet the Findlays and John Nicol and helped them get established for the night.
This day also featured the first major problem of the trip - a broken trailer hitch of the motorhome. There was a delay of several hours while the hitch was welded in Woodstock before the motorhome was able to continue on.
The longest covered bridge in the world - at Hartland
On this day in 1912 ...