Star Party

As we were coming through the campground late yesterday afternoon, after driving to Moncton for the new tires, we passed an open area where someone was setting up some large tube-like device. We stopped and asked if there was a program that evening and he said that the Royal Astronomical Society of New Brunswick was holding an observation in the Park and that he hoped the sky would clear so there would be good star visibility. He was there, setting up his telescope, getting ready for the night program.

I knew that Kouchibouguac was a Dark Sky designated park, where they keep lights at night to a minimum, but we were certainly fortunate because the Royal Astronomical Society comes only once a year for a Star Party and we happened to be there on the very night they were there. 

After dinner, and after dousing ourselves with bug repellent, we walked over to the next loop where the program was. There were 4 telescopes set up ranging in size from 12 inches to one 16 inch telescope. They were all Newtonian telescopes which means that they are adjusted by hand and not by computer. 

We saw some amazing sights - the moon was especially fascinating. The best place to look was the terminator, where the moon curves from light to dark. There you could see shadows in the craters and the topography of the surface. We also saw the very faint "ring nebula", star clusters, "ET" (which really looks like a stick ET), and the second star in from the handle of the Big Dipper which is really two stars, one in front of the other.

What was equally fascinating was to listen to the Royal Astronomical Society members describing the mechanics of the telescope, and what we were seeing, in French. Two of the Members were, I'm guessing, native French speakers. What is amazing to me is that in this part of Canada, northeastern New Brunswick, there are a fair number of French speakers and most people seem to be able to converse in either French or English, and go back and forth with ease.

Oh yes, we also had two unexpected visitors. About ten o'clock, two fat little porcupines went shuffling by. They looked fat in the dark, but maybe that was just their quills fluffed out. We gave them a wide berth! 

I tried to take a picture of the gathering and the telescopes, but this was the best I could do. Even though the night was bright with moon shine, the camera just couldn't make anything out. That is not the moon in the picture above. The moon was much bigger and brighter than that.

This morning we decided that it was time to hit the trails in Kouchibouguac. There are extensive touring and mountain biking trails and 10 hiking trails. After a little early morning rain, the sun came out and we were able to get on the trails by 11:30 am. 

First trail was the Pines. These white pine are huge, straight trees that were the staple of the logging industry. In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte blockaded the shipping lanes to the Baltic which cut of England's supply of timber. As the dominant sea power, England needed straight lumber for sailing ships. British North America (a colony, later called Canada) had  abundant, untouched forests and free shipping lanes. By 1810, timber surpasses fur as the main export. White pine was the prime timber. 

A huge white pine tree.  They can reach 130 feet and be 6 1/2 feet through. In 1825 there was a fire that burned about 1/4 of New Brunswick and much white pine timber. 

Next trail was called the Beaver Trail. The main feature on this trail was an abandoned beaver lodge. It has been abandoned for about 15 years and there were lots of shrubs that had grown up around it, so I wasn't able to get a picture.

We have been seeing the beaver all over Canada because it is the symbol for Parks Canada. Now we know that it is also the National rodent.

Trail #3 was called the Mi'kmaq Cedar Trail. Cedar trees like to grow in wet conditions, including in areas where there is flowing water, but not standing water. It is disease resistant and has medicinal properties valued by the Mi'kmaq. 

This open area, adjacent to the trail, had more mosquitos per square inch than any other area of the park that we have experienced. There is a Mi'kmaq Park Interpreter, who you will meet later, but there is very little that relates to the Mi'kmaq in the park, just a brief mention in the Visitor Center and in the Park video and one interpretive panel about their birchbark canoes. 

Trail #4 is called the Salt Marsh Trail. There are views of the lagoons and the dunes in the distance. 

The Park has a little contest, "On your mark, get set, SIT".  Find the Rainbow Chairs located in 5 scenic areas of the Park. Take a "selfie" and put it on the park's Facebook page, but you are not supposed to reveal the location of the chairs. Two findings or more give you a chance to win a prize.

View of the South Kouchibouguac Dune over the marsh grass.

Trail #5 is Kellys Beach Boardwalk out to the sand dune and the beach.

This is Marilyn, the Mi'kmaq interpreter at the Park. She was at the Kellys Beach area and showed me  a little doll, Natasha, which some Park visitor had lost. Marilyn is trying to reunite the doll with the child and is posting pictures on the Park website in hopes that the child will find their doll again.  

Another Park employee at Kellys Beach that we met and spoke to was Mike LeBlanc. He was born in Gardner, MA, but his ancestors are from this area. His family moved back to New Brunswick after the furniture manufacturing business lost its luster. He is also a local elected representative so we talked a bit about the upcoming provincial elections and the big issue which is fracking. 

Here is one more plea to protect the Piping Plover. I have no doubt that they need help and protection, but it seems like every beach we go to, in Canada and in the US, there is a plea for the Piping Plover. They sure have a good lobby. 

We walked on the boardwalk out to the beach/sand dune/barrier island, and then to the north end of the south dune. See the storm clouds gathering.

The boardwalk out to the beach. It's a little over 0.5 km long.