Graves Island PP to Salsman Prov Park NS

Overcast and 19C at 8am. We fueled up in Dartmouth, and paid $1 toll to cross MacKay Bridge over Halifax Harbour. Then on to the Lawrencetown area, stopping for a picnic breakfast at a free Prov Park picnic area nearby.

After heading across #207 through Seaforth and beyond, we stumbled across the famous Hope for Wildlife site. This is an animal rescue/rehab operation that is the subject of a well-known reality TV show that we have watched off and on over the years.

We parked out front and walked in for a tour. It was really nice to see it in person after watching a number of episodes of the show. It’s just the same as on the show, it really is accurate reality TV. They were quite busy preparing for their annual Open House this weekend, apparently that is a major fundraiser for them. They run completely on donations, no government money. We did see Hope but didn't get to talk to her, she was very busy supervising the Open House preparations.

It’s a very pretty site, well-treed, gardens, and waterfront:

Carrying on, we stopped in Sheet Harbour for a seafood lunch (chowder, lobster roll, strawberry shake). It got up to an overcast 21C by 2pm, with no rain yet.

A bit later on we stopped at St Mary’s Smoke House, where they smoke their own fish. After a taste test we had to buy some! Tough choices, but we bought a package of the maple (a surprise, since we don’t usually like maple-flavored) and one of the peppered, along with a couple of ginger beers. Such a nice combination of flavours!

Continuing the tour of less-travelled roads on this gorgeous 22C and sunny day, we headed up #7 to Country Harbour Rd, then down #316 to Salsman Prov park, overlooking the Country Harbour River. It wasn’t easy finding this place, as the GPS search by park name was way off the mark. However, the GPS coordinates given in the park book got us to the right spot in the end. A nice park, not fancy but clean washrooms and quiet.

We were camped early so had a good choice of sites, picking this nice grassy site right along the river. We were able to pick some wild blackberries nearby:

The afternoon was still nice so we got the chairs out, and took turns going for a shower. Before Cath was back it had clouded over and started to rain, so put things away and sat in the van instead. We were able to mostly keep the sliding door open despite the light rain, very pleasant.

Today's route: