A Fall Walk On The Dobson Trail

This time of year usually gets me back into running and my favourite place to go is the Dobson. The trees light up like they’re putting on a show! 

On Saturday, I went out for a Thanksgiving walk with some friends. It was a BEAUTIFUL day - I wish I’d worn shorts! One thing to remember out East is that September doesn’t mean the end of summer; we still have so many nice days before we have to brace for winter!

If you’re in the Moncton area, make sure you take the time to get out to see the colours before it’s too late! AKA - in the next three days, pretty much. 

And I’ll leave you with these . . . 

Fall Brook Falls

The tallest (or maybe second to Walton Glen Falls) waterfall in NB? Yeah, I’m checking that out! 

A few weeks ago my friend Kate was home for a bit and we decided this would be our day trip adventure. After a 2 1/2 drive through some (kinda weird) back roads and a wrong turn (of course), we found the most beautiful waterfall! 

Considering how big it is, it was weird that you couldn’t hear it from very far away. It was like a big surprise in the middle of the forest! And the forest was beautiful too! I bet it will be amazing in a week or two with the fall colours!

We brought a picnic lunch and had the whole place to ourselves. 

It wasn’t super hot out, but I can’t resist a fresh water swim, especially in a new place, so I went for a freeeezzzinnnggg dip! 

There are a few places to park coming down the road and the hike in is only about 20 minutes, depending on where you end up parking. The road brings you down by this beautiful river. 

You take a right at the bottom of the road (at the sign pictured below) and the trail takes you right to the falls. It's pretty steep coming down that road, which is fine, but makes it slightly annoying to come back out. 

There are great directions and more at Hiking NB here. Check it out for important info like bringing 10$ to get through a gate! The only thing I would reiterate is that near the end of your drive there, the road naturally curves right (as stated) and the road you are supposed to go on (straight, or left) has a sign that says it's a dead end or "no exit". You take that one! ;) 

Can't wait to see your fall adventure pics here! 

Kellys Beach

I wouldn’t say that I’m a “beach person”, but NB has a lot of beautiful beaches, so I think a few deserve a feature here! And since I love swimming, I think the beach is pretty cool. 

I’ve been to Kellys Beach a few times, and it is one of my favourites. It was one of my good friend’s birthday, so we thought a trip to Kellys Beach in Kouchibouguac National Park was in order! It has beautiful sand, beautiful dunes, and some of the warmest salt water in the country! This summer was also a good time to go, with the National Parks being free for Canada 150! 

The boardwalk to get to the beach is beautiful. It’s a short walk (1/2 km), but nothing too major. There are lots of interpretive signs along the way to explain the evolution of barrier island dunes, which are a pretty cool natural phenomenon, and they are teeming with life! So, yeah, you’re on your own little island, with a 25 km beach!

It’s also supervised within the swimming area from late June to late August - sweet! 

And there’s a canteen to get treats, washrooms, change rooms, and showers! Everything you could need. :) 

The lagoon. 

If you love beaches, you should check this one out! Leave your furry friends at home though, as dogs are not permitted. 

Memel Falls

I forgot how fun it is to go to new places! I had so much fun EXPLORING Memel Falls. No adventure is complete without going the wrong way for at least 10 minutes, right? We'll get to that later. 

One of my favourite friends was home for a visit; so after a squishy sleepover at her cottage and a yummy breakfast, we hit the road for Memel! I had heard about Memel Falls quite a few times, and I have been trying to get there for two summers now! I am so glad we did. 

It's about 20 minutes down a semi-rough road, but our Honda Civic made it, so I think you should be ok! Another thing I really like about Memel is the short and fairly easy hike to get there. It's only about 10 minutes to get to this beautiful view. 

From what I could see, the swimming hole is deep all around so there are lots of jumping options. I'm not saying it doesn't require common sense though. :)

There are ropes to climb up and a little bridge to cross to get up on the cliffs. 

This is where you'll find some good views of the three-tiered waterfall. 

And I love this view: 

The trail is a little hard to find and navigate, but if you go on a weekend, you can likely find people to guide you. We had to ask a couple of people. There is an opening before the wooden bridge that you go down:

Cross the river:

(but this view is on the way out!)

Follow some pink ribbons for about 5 minutes: 

(Also on the way out.)

until you get to the ropes to follow down to the falls. 

It was pretty busy the day we went, but we still had an awesome time.

I love my friends and I love Albert County. 

Oh, I guess I should mention that it was kind of gross in some places because people, unfortunately, don't clean up after themselves. Please leave it cleaner than you found it! FYI - no service out there! 

Enjoy! 

Saint Andrews

Saint Andrews holds a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of going there as a kid with the family. It really is a great place for a day trip with a family or without. I thought this would be a good adventure for my mom and me to do together; so on Monday, we headed out on the 2 1/2 hour drive to Saint Andrews. 

We started the day off right with "take out" from Clam Digger. Now, if I haven't already stated on here, I don't like seafood (I know, I lose MAJOR maritime points - I'm working on it), but my mom got the fish and really enjoyed it. I actually loved what I'm pretty sure was home-battered chicken fingers. From what I've gathered as a non-seafood lover, this is the place to go for some fresh, deep-fried seafood goodness.

After an extremely filling lunch, we head to the aquarium. I remember coming here as a kid and loving to touch all the creatures in the touch pool. It's a pretty cool experience! 

But since I was a kid, they made an entirely new facility that has a lot to offer: touch pools, huge tanks with seals and other underwater animals, a visual of the highest tides in the world, daily feedings of seahorses, seals, and salmon, and more! Check out all they have to offer on your trip here. 

One thing I love about Saint Andrews is the beauty of the waterfront shops and pier. Before whale watching, we did a quick tour of some local shops. I managed not to buy another beautiful mug and just came away with an underwater phone case. :) 

And now for our adventure of the day! This was only my second time going whale watching so I was pretty excited! After a final trip to the bathroom (no bathrooms on board), we headed to Fundy Tide Runners for our trip! 

We got suited up in these sweet flotation suits that I actually loved. The last time I went whale watching, I was super cold, so it was nice to be warm out on the water. Feeling like an astronaut was pretty cool, too.  After a safety talk from witty Captain Dave, we were on our way! 

We traveled on a 24 foot Zodiac. This made the journey out to the whales quick and intimate. You're really quite close to the water/whales. It was a full boat with 12 passengers - two families of four and my mom and me. It's cool being in an environment like that where you become friends with strangers for 3 hours. Dave made it easy to do so, remembering almost everyone's names and giving each kid a chance to steer the boat as we cheered them on! 

Between jokes and driving, Dave pointed out a few key landmarks. This was our "haul": 

A million (ok, like 100) seals! 

A lot of porpoises (they were hard to capture): 

East Quoddy Lighthouse: 

And a whale!! 

We saw a minke whale, affectionately called Rudolph because of his bent dorsal fin. It's so cool/impressive that Dave knows many of the whales they see, because many of them have been traveling there for over a decade. Fundy Tide Runners has been in the business for 23 years now, so they're experts! 

Even though the weather wasn't great, and we didn't see as many whales as I would have liked, it was awesome to be out on the water and see Saint Andrews and the Bay of Fundy from that vantage point. It was a really great experience hanging out with fellow travellers and seeing all kinds of wildlife. Although they don't guarantee a whale sighting, their record is almost perfect during peak season. The Friday before our trip, they saw a couple of right whales, which is one of the rarest whales in the world!  

After our whale watching adventure, we raced to Ministers Island to get there before low tide was over! Yeah, you read that right - you can only get to the island during low tide, when you can drive across the ocean floor! It's a pretty neat experience. The island is named after one of the first owners, a minister, and it has SO MUCH interesting history to take in, but I won't get into a lot of it here. 

The extremely impressive buildings on the island were owned by Sir William Van Horne, an American responsible for building the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). It was expected to take ten years to build; but under Van Horne's leadership, it was completed in five. The multi-talented man, had Covenhoven built - a 50-room summer home with walls constructed from sandstone cut from the shore, a windmill, leading edge gas plant, carriage house, garage, circular bath house and farm buildings. The centrepiece of the agricultural buildings is the livestock barn, a massive two-story timber structure with a hipped gable roof, which was home to Van Horne's thoroughbred horses and prized herd of Dutch belted cattle" (MinistersIsland.net).

Covenhoven

The living room. 

The billiard room.

The Bathhouse. 

There are also hiking trails to explore on the island, but we didn't have time to get to those today. We did see some wildlife though - horses and a deer! 

I didn't plan out my day very well, but all the timing ended working out great. I would highly recommend planning your day around the tide, feedings at the aquarium, and availability for whale watching! Or, stay overnight and you can take your time. :) 

There's really so much to do and see in Saint Andrews! You've got your quaint town, history, science, adventure, and shopping! We didn't even make it to the block house or the Kingsbrae Garden! Will have to go back again soon . . . 

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own! 

BYE GUYS! See you next time!