The Hole in the Wall
Happy Canada Day! Despite reservations and caveats I am tremendously grateful to be a Canadian and, hey, gratitude is an essential aspect of the Christian life. This morning I am aware of the beauty of this country, from sea to sea to sea, including our backyard.
I have visited all ten provinces, at least twice, while we've been in Quebec and Atlantic Canada numerous times. We do wish we'd visited any one of the three territories to the north, but we've seen so much in places we remember with great affection.
Earlier this week I saw something about the ferry to the island of Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy, part of New Brunswick. Seeing the reference made me curious about the status of the Hole-in-the-Wall campground on Grand Manan where we have tented twice over the years. The Hole is a geological curiosity extending into the bay which we snooped around in our kayaks.
I was saddened to discover that while the main campground is still functioning the 50 cliffside campsites have been permanently closed because of the challenges of maintenance. These sites sat right on the edge of a stretch of a cliff which was 25 metres above the water at places. During the day we could watch the fishers tending the weir below us, seals and whales were visible, peregrine falcons flew past, actually below us.
Yet it was nighttime that was most remarkable. Far from light pollution, the Milky Way was not only visible it appeared three dimensional. And what seemed to be a hyperbolic website promise that we would hear whales breathing as they passed along the shore was fulfilled. In the dark the rhythmic exhalations of these creatures, along with the sound of the rushing water of the highest tides in the world gave us a sense of a living, breathing planet. It was a mystical experience which connected us to the Creator in a way beyond our imagining.
I hope you are able to conjure fond memories of the beauty of Creation in your neck of the woods today. These are gifts we can't take for granted.
Fish Weir
2 comments:
I can't think of anything I'd rather hear at night than the sound of whales passing by! I don't think I'd ever want to leave that campsite.
We made the move to a rural area on the water last year, and hearing the loons and other birds definitely beats out the sound of the 401 and noisy neighbours. Now if only we could do something about the insane mosquito population out here...
The memory of the whales was one of those experiences which will last a lifetime, Roger. We're not that far from you and the mosquitoes are wicked here as well this year. And when I say wicked, I do mean evil. Probably the damp Spring.
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