Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 7/12 – 22/2015


We spent a total of ten days in two separate campgrounds in the Cape Breton National Park.  The Park is beautiful, large and has a vast variety of landscapes including ocean coastal, wooded lakes, tundra, and both hardwood and boreal forests.  We hiked every day when it did not rain including the trails: Skyline; Bog; MacIntosh Brook; Lone Shieling; Salmon Pools; Benjie’s Lake; Jack Pine; Coastal; Jigging Cove; Green Cove; and Middle Head.  (Wow, while typing them I realize that we hiked a lot!).  We heard so many birds singing and whistling on the trails, yet they were a tease and very hard to locate as was most of the wildlife.  We saw a total of two Moose, and included one picture within even though we were unable to get him to show his face.  They seemed hard to find and very, very timid when we did find them.  We saw the local Green frog (his actual name), beautiful butterflies and many dragon flies in various colors. We traveled the entire Cabot Trail and also visited Meat Cove, Bay of St. Lawrence, Cape North, Dingwall, White Point, Lakies Point, Ingonish and Cape Smokie. We put a lot of miles in our boots yet saw something different each place we explored.  We have provided a lot of pictures, hoping to display the enormous beauty here. 

While here we also visited the Whale Interruptive Center in Pleasant Bay. We were reminded of many things we learned in years past and learned some new things as well.  While we knew that whales are cetaceans we had forgotten that all cetaceans swim by moving their tail flukes up and down as opposed to sideways as in fish.  Worldwide there are 79 known species of Cetaceans with 68 of those species being toothed and 11 being baleen which strain their food from the water.  Even after the moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in 1986, it is estimated that almost 25,000 whales have been killed since the moratorium came into effect.

Whales hear their world like we see ours.  Their reliance upon hearing and for some species magnetism is key.  Scientists have tracked the sounds of Baleen whales over 1000 miles away.  Many whales use not only their ears to hear but also the vibrations through their jawbones and through the ‘melon’ which comprises their forehead.  They use their sounds to communicate with other whales often many miles away.

Their brains are 6 times the size of ours, being the largest on the planet.  They can perform tasks that require complex learning, they display elaborate social behaviors and they have substantial memories.  They also display individual temperaments, needs for play and companionship.  Many scientists believe that their intelligence may match our own.  It really makes one think more deeply about what we as humans do in places like Sea World.

We learned about the incredible respiratory systems that whales have that enable some species to dive to depths greater than 3,000 feet and stay submerged for more than 2 hours.  Their respiratory system involves not only strategic placement of organs but also a slowing of their heartrate as they dive.  They truly are incredible creatures.  We left this museum with a realization of how little we understand regarding these giants as well as a love in our hearts for these beautiful creatures.

One of the days that it rained while in Cape Breton, we drove up to Baddeck, Nova Scotia to visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.  At the museum we learned so much more about Bell than just the telephone (including his tie to Canada).

March 3, 1847 Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Both his father, Alexander Melville, and grandfather were pioneers in phonetics.  His mother was an accomplished artist and pianist despite her progressing deafness.  After a poor high school career, Alexander Graham spent the year of 1862 in London with his Grandfather.  It was that year that Alexander Graham attributed to turning his life around, becoming engrossed in the lessons that his Grandfather created for him.  In 1864, Alexander Graham Bell’s father, Alexander Melville Bell, created a phonetic alphabet that he called ‘Visible Speech’.  At the age of 21, Alexander Graham began teaching deaf students in London.  Using his father’s system of Visible Speech, he had great success at getting his deaf students to speak. 

Right after Alexander Graham began his teaching career, his young brother Ted died of tuberculosis in 1867 and then his older brother Melly died as well of the same disease in 1870.  A short time later, Alexander Graham was ill too.  In 1870, the father decided he had better move his family to a better climate.  The family then relocated to Ontario, Canada where Alexander Graham regained his health. 

In 1871, Alexander Graham traveled to Boston to teach his father’s Visual Speech at Boston’s School for Deaf Mutes. At the Boston school Alexander Graham also has many private students.  One of these students, age 15, is Mabel Hubbard.  Just three years later Alexander Graham asks his private student Mabel to marry him.  Alexander’s father provided his judgement (shown below) and her father gave his approval. 

In 1876 he receives the patent for the telephone. One year later, in 1877 Alexander Graham at the age of 30 is married to his private student Mabel Hubbard, age 19.  As a wedding gift to Mabel he gave her all but 10 shares of the Bell Telephone Company. In 1878 their first daughter is born, Elsie May. Two years later they have a second daughter, Marian.  In 1881 they lost their first son to breathing difficulties at birth.  In 1883 they lost yet another son at premature birth.

In 1881, Alexander Graham experiments with Edison’s phonograph, creating his own invention the graphaphone.  He sells his interest to this invention for $200,000 which he uses to establish Voltra Bureau, a repository for information on the deaf.

Eight years after getting married, the new Bell family visits Baddeck, Nova Scotia for the first time.  Alexander says it reminds him of Scotland and in 1886 they purchase 50 acres with a cottage.

In 1887, Alexander Graham begins working with Helen Keller.  She has given Alexander Graham much credit for her ability to both speak and write.

In 1895 Alexander began experimenting with kites.  From these experiments he developed in 1902 the principal of tetrahedral construction.  In 1905 he developed the 1300 celled tetrahedral kite that supported Neil MacDermid on a rope……and he begins dreaming of aviation.

In 1909, Alexander with the AEA (Aeronautic Exploration Association) developed the Silver Dart.  It becomes the first powered flight in Canada.  One of its amazing features was a water cooled radiator for it's engine.

Not as well-known and/or appreciated was the HD-4, a hydrofoil water craft.  It was first launched in 1918 and set her world water speed record run at 114 KPH in 1919.  She was originally developed to support the US Navy, but when the war ended in 1918, her original intentions were gone.  We remain convinced that these inventions were precursors to other inventions by others.

In the museum there were also some personal videos to share.  One that comes to mind were the Bell children, now elderly, that talked of playing as children….playing atoms, bouncing off one another, and others just not understanding them.  Another was a worker that remained thankful that Bell paid off his house in full.  From what we learned, he was a generous man.  Of all the many things that we learned about Alexander Graham Bell, the biggest takeaway was that he loved to invent and explore and quickly sold off inventions, with no interest in following to commercial development.  And, his real love was his work with the deaf.  While Alexander is gone now, James Grosvenor Watson, the Great-Great-Grandson of Alexander Graham Bell continues to carry on developing advanced methods of working with the deaf today. 

Beautiful Butterflies
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Whistling Bird
(they even whistle whistle while they are flying)
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Gillemont Birds (related to the Puffin)
Middle Head
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Seagull Chicks
Middle Head
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Partial Moose Shot
Skyline Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Gopher Snake
Salmon Pools Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Green Frog
Bog Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Colors of the Rainbow
Dragon Flies
Colors of the Rainbow
Dragon Flies
Colors of the Rainbow
Dragon Flies
Skyline Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Skyline Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Skyline Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Bog Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Pitcher Plant (Captures Insects in it's
Fluid Filled Pods)
Bog Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Pitcher Plant (Captures Insects in it's
Fluid Filled Pods)
Bog Trail
Cape Breton Nova Scotia
Cotton Grass
Bog Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
National Park's Red Chair Program
(a sort of find and post your picture)
Bob Relaxing in Cape Breton
Along the Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Along the Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Cape North Beach
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
MacIntosh Brook
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Crofter's Hut Along Lone Shieling Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Salmon Pools
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Salmon Pools
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Salmon Pools
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
300 Year Old Sugar Maple Forest
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Meat Cove
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Sacred Heart Church 1893
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Benji Lake
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Green Cove
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Green Cove
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Jigging Lake
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
 Coastal Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Jack Pine Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Middle Head Trail
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
 St. Peters Church 1913
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
St. Patrick
St. Peters Church 1913
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Visual Speech Reader
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Alexander Graham's Father to Mabel
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
The Silver Dart
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Silver Dart Raditor
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Silver Dart Fuel Tank 1909
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
The HD4 in Action
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Salvaged HD4
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Model of HD4 built by Casey, Bell's co-worker
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Home Again, on Maybe the world's shortest Ferry
Englishtown, Nova Scotia


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