We will be in New Brunswick for 5 days, staying in the Edmundston/S. Jacques area, and Fredericton (the capital of New Brunswick). After visiting Prince Edward Island we will return to New Brunswick to stay in Moncton overnight before heading into Nova Scotia. As we entered New Brunswick we noticed that mostly French was spoken. But all the signs were bilingual and the further we got from Quebec, English was the dominant language.
Some facts on New Brunswick: In 1534 Jacques Cartier explores the coast of New Brunswick. In 1867 New Brunswick enters the Canadian Confederation. In 1969 New Brunswick becomes Canada’s first bilingual province. In 1997 The Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. New Brunswick has a population of 729,997 and is 28,150 square miles. The capital of New Brunswick is Fredericton. New Brunswick’s motto is “Hope Was Restored”. The Province Flower is Purple Violet, and Tree; Balsam Fir.
We drove into the Atlantic Time Zone when we entered New Brunswick. We lost another hour and now we are four hours ahead of California time. After 4.5 hours and 174 miles we arrived at de la Republique Provincial Park in Edmundston. We had planned to stay here for two nights.
Unfortunately, when we arrived, we were told that the Provincial Park will be closing the next day. We could only stay for the one night. So drove a short distance to Saint-Jacques and found room at Camping Panoramic.
SAINT-JACQUES / EDMUNDSTON
We will be spending two nights in this area. Saint-Jacques is on the banks of the Madawaska River and is the gateway to the Upper Saint John River Valley. The village was settled by Irish immigrants in 1834. Next door is the village of Edmundston which serves as the honorary capital of the Republic of Madawaska, a mythical region evolved from 60 years of disputes over the location of the New Brunswick and Maine, US boundary. This dispute was settled in 1842 but residents adopted the unofficial territory and they have their own dialect and flag.
CAMPING PANORAMIC
CAMPING PANORAMIC
This RV Park is poor. We were not impressed and not comfortable staying here. But it was convenient considering we were not able to stay in the Provincial Park. This place is a mobile home park with a few spaces for overnighters. Some of the permanent trailers were old and trashy. But the place was somewhat neat and very quiet. The guy that checked us in was very friendly and helpful.
CRYSTAL
The morning (Monday) we were to leave for New Brunswick, we had yet another emergency with Crystal. She started having seizures and wild behavior. We could hardly touch her. Her wild behavior started the night before and by morning she was having the seizures. We called some local vets and some in the Saint-Jacques/Edmundston area. As we were honoring Labor Day in the states on this day, Canada was too. Everything was closed. We finally found an emergency vet in Grand Falls, about 45 miles south of Saint-Jacques. By the time we got to the vet, Crystal was having seizures every 10 minutes. The doctor witnessed it.
They kept her overnight to do some tests on her and gave her some meds to calm her down and control the seizures. When we picked her up the next afternoon, she was fine. All tests showed everything was normal and she was healthy. Crystal was back to normal and stayed that way through the rest of our stay in Canada. This has been one expensive kitty and she has been getting a lot of attention from us. Now she is doing the happy dance.
NEW BRUNSWICK BOTANICAL GARDENS
This botanical garden has 12 theme gardens on 16 acres of scenic land, 8 of those acres border the beautiful Madawaska River. The gardens have topiary creatures that I think may be mythical creatures of Madawaska.
This botanical garden has 12 theme gardens on 16 acres of scenic land, 8 of those acres border the beautiful Madawaska River. The gardens have topiary creatures that I think may be mythical creatures of Madawaska.
The gardens are very picturesque and makes great pictures, even though most of the flowers are now dying off. Summer is over and fall is upon us. There are more than 80,000 annual, perennial and alpine plants. You hear Classical music as you walk through the different theme gardens (the speakers are hidden in the shrubs). It really adds to the peace you feel as you explore the gardens. Because we are here in the middle of the week, and school has started, and possibly yesterday’s rain storm; we had the garden to ourselves. We only saw about 7 other people wandering around. We were the only ones in the enclosed Butterfly Garden. It was so quiet you could hear the sound of butterfly wings flapping. Awesome! It was a wonderful, peaceful day.
GRAND FALLS
When we went to Grand Falls to pick up Crystal, we spent some time visiting the Grand Falls and Gorge. The horse shoe falls of the Saint John River are considered the largest east of Niagara Falls. The Grand Falls hydroelectric plant provides power to the provincial distribution system. 
As we stood at the railing looking over the gorge and watching these impressive falls we suddenly saw a body shoot by through the mist. What the.... Then we saw the zip lines across the gorge. As we saw the lines, we saw another body zip by....then another. Looked like fun..to watch.
Grand Falls was a French settlement that became a British military post in 1790. More than 80% of its citizens are bilingual and this is the only town in the Atlantic Provinces with an official name in both languages; the French version is Grand-Sault. The town is a major shipping point for New Brunswick’s seed potato-growing industry. The area farmers supply potatoes to the McCain frozen food plant in Grand Falls. They produce 10 tons of French fries per hour.
Our next stop is Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick. We will be staying here for three nights.
Our next stop is Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick. We will be staying here for three nights.
FREDERICTON
Fredericton is one of North America’s oldest settlements. Named St. Anne by its French fur-trading founders, the settlement was burned in 1760 by the British. Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution revived the settlement in 1783 and renamed it Frederick’s Town for the second son of King George III. Fredericton is regarded as the pewter capital of Canada because of its many pewter smiths. Quilters, potters and weavers also are well represented in the area’s shops. The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design is located in the downtown Historic Garrison District.
After 4.25 hours and 169 miles, we arrived at Hartt Island RV Park in Fredericton.
HARTT ISLAND RV PARK
This RV park is a dump. It is a beach front RV park along St. John River and a summer destination during the hot summer months. It has a water slide and a large pool as well as canoes to rent on the river. All the sites along the beach front are taken by permanent residents or seasonal residents who have trailers parked there full time, but only come on the weekends in the summer months. There is a loop of sites in the front of the park next to the busy road for overnighters. The restrooms are horrible, small, dirty looking and in need of repair and updating. The laundry room is a row of washers and dryers lined up on the outside of the building where the bathrooms and showers are. However, there is a lot of construction going on and there are plans for new buildings (including restrooms) and campsites. So this place will be very nice in a year or so.
HISTORIC GARRISON DISTRICT
In the historic section of Fredericton we visited the Beaverbrook Art Gallery were we saw local artwork; some were over 300 years old. We saw the Legislative Building across the street, but did not go inside. We found a very nice place to have lunch that was recommended to us called The Palate. They served fresh organic food. We visited the Barracks Fine Craft Shops that were housed in the barracks of the historic garrison. The crafts were done by local artists. I also found a bead shop called “beadin” where I bought some unique beads.
In the historic section of Fredericton we visited the Beaverbrook Art Gallery were we saw local artwork; some were over 300 years old. We saw the Legislative Building across the street, but did not go inside. We found a very nice place to have lunch that was recommended to us called The Palate. They served fresh organic food. We visited the Barracks Fine Craft Shops that were housed in the barracks of the historic garrison. The crafts were done by local artists. I also found a bead shop called “beadin” where I bought some unique beads.
KINGS LANDING HISTORICAL SETTLEMENT
In 1783, 15,000 United Empire Loyalists were granted land along the river based on their rank in the British army. They were among the first settlers to this region. The original Kings Landing was a settlement from 1790 to 1890 that was located further up the river. The buildings were moved to this site to allow construction of a hydro electric dam on the original site. The current site was restored and created in the late 1960’s
We spent the whole day exploring this settlement. It is located along the St. John River and the restored homes and shops have people in period costumes playing the role that go with the home or shop; such as printer, blacksmith, baker, etc. Each home and trade area at Kings Landing has been restored to a different time period. You will see differences in style of clothing, technology, cooking utensils, etc. You visit each building and the costumed person introduces him/her self and describes what he/she does, who their family is and where they live (from that period). It is nicely done. The homes are furnished with period furniture and the women in the homes are cooking something or doing a craft (knitting, weaving) from that period. You walk into some of the homes and you smell delicious food cooking. There are also farm animals included in this settlement as there would be in the 1800’s.
Had a delicious lunch here
Our next stop will be Prince Edward Island. We had a very nice stay in New Brunswick. We found the people to be very friendly. People passing us would nod and greet us and we received lots of smiles. One guy riding a bicycle rode by then stopped and chatted with us. He told us about some sights to see in the area and a good place to have lunch in Fredericton. We are always asked where we are from and they are very impressed that we have come from so far away.
There are two ways to get to Prince Edward Island, by ferry or drive over the Confederation Bridge. You can also fly. There is a small airport in Charlottetown. We drove over the bridge.
CONFEDERATION BRIDGE
The Confederation Bridge goes over the Gulf of St. Lawrence of the Atlantic Ocean and connects New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. Construction of The Confederation Bridge started in October 1993 and was completed in May 1997. It connects New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island replacing the ferry service which was the only way to get to Prince Edward Island. It is 8 miles long and the world’s longest bridge that goes over ice covered waters.
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