Cabot Trail - Day 2 in Nova Scotia

The day started out with a plan to drive around Cape Breton Island, which includes the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the Cabot Trail, which completely encircles the northern most parts of Nova Scotia.

Our starting  spot for the Cabot Trail

We had a good omen for the day.  We saw an eagle take off from a tree.

Can you see the eagle on the top of the conifer?

A shot of him flying away

There were many beautiful views of the coastline.

And there were many fishing boats out setting traps, probably for lobster or crabs.

Bob counted 15 boats in this one area

This side of the island is heavily influenced but it's Scottish heritage and traditions.  They teach Gaelic in the schools and all of the road signs were in both languages.  Never thought we'd need to know Gaelic for this trip.

A little Gaelic lesson

While in the Highlands we saw our first and only moose, even though we'd been seeing warning signs all the while we've been in the Maritime Provinces. She was grazing on some tidbits by the side of the road.  There was still patches of snow everywhere.  She must have found something green in the ditch.  Bob called to her and she looked up to see who was calling, completely unconcerned with us.

Lady moose out for lunch

An interesting stop was for a "Lone Sheiling," again reflecting the Scottish Heritage of this area. It's a sample of dwelling built by the shepherds who would be tending sheep in the Highlands of Scotland.  It was built in 1942 to recognize the similarities between this land and Scotland.

Lone Sheiling, room for the shepherd and some of his animals

We continued on to the west side of the island (which feels a lot like a peninsula), where the coast line and continuing road looked like this. Had lunch in Cheticamp, where the landmarks reflect the Acadian (French) influence on this side of the island.

West Coast view on a beautiful, sunny day for a drive