Wednesday 6/15/2022 - Day 4 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

Today is the day we traveled from St Andrews to St John. The Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground offers beautiful views of the bay, especially during sunrise! As we departed the campground, we passed under the Algonquin Hotel arch.

The hotel is a looming feature of St Andrew, as it sits atop the hill facing the Bay and overlooking the town. It has a rich history, steeped with fame, fortune, hardship and naturally a few ghosts! In 1889, The Algonquin Resort opens in Canada’s first seaside resort town, the cost of a room ranged between $3 and $5 per day. By 1894, the Algonquin Golf Course is opened. Construction of Painter Wing, named after Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Chief Architect, Walter S. Painter, is completed in 1908, this added 100 rooms and 60 bathrooms. Four years later, the six-story “kitchen wing” is completed adding an additional 33 rooms and new kitchens. They added a building known as the Casino, featuring a ballroom, bowling alley, billiards and pool tables. Sadly, in 1914 a fire destroys most of the original hotel’s wooden structure, with the exception of the Painter Wing, Kitchen Wing and iconic tower. The resort had to close, but re-opens in 1915 after being rebuilt featuring the now familiar Tudor-style exterior and red roof. For the first time, all of the resort’s rooms featured telephone and electricity! The cost of a room at the new and improved resort ranged between $4 and $7 per day. The Algonquin Resort closed for two years during World War II.

In 1958, the last train to drop off guests to the Algonquin leaves the station after CPR discontinues rail service to St Andrews. In 1991, another expansion adds a new convention center and roof-top garden to the property.  The Algonquin is named Canada’s Resort of the Year by The Canadian Travel and Tourism Industry Association. Two years later, the Prince of Wales (it is across Prince of Wales St from the rest of the hotel) wing is built adding an additional fifty-four rooms and suites. The winter holiday seasons were celebrated for the first time at the Resort during the 1997-98 season. It marked the first time the Algonquin remained open all year round.

The hotel closed its doors for two years to make over $30 million in renovations. In 2014, The Algonquin Resort re-opens as the first Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel in Canada; Included in the renovation is the addition of an indoor pool and waterslide, balcony suites, and outdoor pavilion. Many dignitaries stayed here, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife, Margaret pay an informal visit to the Algonquin during their vacation in New Brunswick. They hosted Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their 1983 visit to Canada.

We passed by the home of the Atlantic Salmon Federation. They are dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon and the ecosystems on which their well-being and survival depend. They work wherever there are Atlantic salmon in North America, out at sea, and internationally. The Atlantic Salmon has for centuries been named the king of fish for its power and grace. 

It is a symbol of all that is wild and beautiful to millions of people. This king fish is an important part of rural economies along the rivers where it spawns. It also carries an important bond between the culture of First Nations and all others who share its heritage. The conservation requires an international commitment and determination to see that numbers of North Atlantic Salmon are restored to historic levels, despite the obstacles of dams, acid rain, bad forestry practices and other abuses of our environment.

Located west of Saint John, NB in one of the most biologically productive natural settings in Atlantic Canada, Musquash is one of the last fully functioning estuaries in the Bay of Fundy. For generations, the stunning scenery surrounding the lower Bay of Fundy has drawn vacationers to its coastal islands and cobble beaches. The Nature Conservancy of Canada has been working at the Musquash Estuary since 2001 and has protected over 4,000 acres by conserving 21 properties through purchase or donation.

Located near the Estuary is the Musquash Marsh. It maintains much of its original physical and ecological features; it has no industry on its shores (although there is a thermal power plant on adjacent land), and there is very little residential development. Thus there are few sources of contamination to the area; those that do exist could be easily eliminated. Considering the dismal results of habitat assessment, and the critical role of supporting marine productivity and health, CCNB launched a campaign in 1998 to have the Musquash permanently protected from development or alteration through an MPA designation under the federal Oceans Act administered by the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans. In 2006 the Musquash Marine Protected Area was formally designated.

Our first view of Saint John was of the harbor and all of its industry.

We arrived at Rockwood Park Campgrounds and worked together to get the whole caravan parked. Rockwood Park is a public park with over 2,200 acres. You can get back to nature in the heart of the city. The park offers many freshwater lakes for fishing, swimming, boating and skating. Rockwood is the hub of outdoor activities year round.

Over 55 trails and footpaths will guide you through the Park’s unspoiled charm, with its unusual topography and geography. A Stonehammer Geopark site, Rockwood’s billion years of history can be seen in unique rock formations, caves and waterfalls. Stonehammer is all about geology, but it is also about people, society and culture. You can discover all the fascinating treasures in New Brunswick’s all season natural amusement park at Rockwood Park.

We caravanned in cars to see the reversing falls at high tide. The reversing falls is framed by two bridges at one side, the paper plant in the middle and the beautiful countryside at the other side. The phenomenon of the Reversing Falls is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of the tides of the Bay of Fundy. The tide rises and falls once about every 12 and a half hours. To best appreciate the Reversing Falls, you should try to view them at least twice on a given day - near low tide and near high tide. A good water level vantage point from which to view the Falls is Fallsview Park, not far from the Reversing Falls Information Center.

As the bay tides begin to rise, they slow the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow completely. This short period of complete calm is called slack tide. It is only at this time that boats are able to navigate the Falls. Shortly after this slack tide the bay tides become higher than the river level and slowly, at first, the river begins to flow upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow gradually increases and the rapids begin to form, reaching their peak at high tide. The effect of this reversal is felt upstream as far as Fredericton, more than 80 miles inland. At this point the tidal waters are actually 14 ½ feet higher than the river.

After our first trip to the falls, we headed to the City Market. At one time the City of Saint John controlled six markets; a fish market and wharf on Water Street, a cluster of sheds on Market Street called the Country Market, Sydney Market that served Lowe Cove, a Hay Market on King Street and a cattle market in King Square.  As Saint John grew not only in size but also in power the public came to realize that there was no need for six markets and they were centralized.

The first market building in Saint John was built in 1830 at Market Square at the head of Market Slip.  The building was made out of wood and ended up burning down in 1837.  Thus the city decided to recreate the building in 1839 making it out of brick but yet again it was destroyed in 1841. During the time that the market was in use, it served many different purposes:  the lower half of the basement was used as a general store.  The main floor which you could enter from King Street was used for the actual market and the upper floor was where they held court and where council had their chambers.

The market's distinctive design was selected in a competition among local architects, and constructed by the city's skilled tradesmen of the day. The Market Committee offered two prizes to architects for a Market design competition, and the Saint John City Market on Charlotte Street officially opened in 1876. In the nineteenth century Saint John was one of the world's leading shipbuilding centers, so it is no surprise that the roof of the City Market resembles the inverted keel of a ship. Hand-hewn timbers and dove-tailed joints that have stood fast for more than century attest to the skill and experience of the builders. Fortunately, the Great Fire of 1877 left the market building undamaged. Today the market is more vital and productive than in any time in its history. A full city block in length, the Market runs downhill from the “head of the Market” on Charlotte Street, gently sloping to the Germain Street entrance, a full 10 feet below. At both entrances hang the same gates that have swung closed at the end of each business day since 1880. Crafted from heavy wrought iron, their graceful design is a tribute to the skill and artistry of the local blacksmith who created them. The City Market, the oldest continuing farmer's market in Canada, forms the historic centerpiece of a revitalized city center.

We took a second tour the reversing falls again, at low tide. After high tide the bay tides begin to fall and the upstream flow of the river gradually lowers until the bay tides fall to the level of the river - once again resulting in another slack tide. The river then resumes its normal course and begins to flow back out of the bay. The bay tides continue to fall below the level of the river until at low tide the rapids are again at their peak, flowing down stream. At this point the tidal waters are 14 feet lower than the river level. In Saint John, the bay tides rise 28 feet. When the tide is low, the St. John River, 450 miles long, empties into the bay. Between Fallsview Park and the Pulp Mill, the full flow of the river thunders through a narrow gorge. An underwater ledge, 36 feet below the surface causes the water in the river to tumble downward into a 175-200 foot deep pool. Below the mill and under the bridge. The water then boils in a series of rapids and whirlpools.

We capped off this awesome day by chatting it up with our new found friends at Rockwood Park.