BETTER LATE....: Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada

Where In The World Is Prince Edward Island?

This lovely island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (the world's largest estuary) is snuggly tucked between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Until the mid-nineties PEI was an island accessible only by ferry. In 1997, after much contentious debate, the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge was built. At the time it was stipulated that the Ferry and bridge tariffs would remain competitive. So, it cost almost C$60 to bring Wilbur and Charlotte on and off the island by boat or bridge. We opted for bridge.

The Edward of Prince Edward is the son of Charlotte, wife of George III of blue piss and American Revolution fame. The capital of PEI is Charlottetown. PEI is Canada's smallest province in land mass (Delaware-sized) and population, with only about 140,000 people.

The per capital income is about $34,000. Again and again we heard from older folks about how their children have moved out west to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia for the much higher wages available from the extraction industries. But we were also told that these folks, having made their money, eventually would come back to PEI.

The most memorable example was a retired couple we talked with of an evening in Linkletter outside Summerside on the western end of the island. They, themselves, had gone west and spent 17 years in the wilds of the Yukon in a company-built gold mining town; he as a heavy equipment mechanic and she as a nurse. (Her stories of gold panners living for years in isolated cabins with walls lined with million of dollars in gold nuggets stored in jelly jars are for another post.) On retiring they came back to their 45 acres in the center of the island.

The Four Regions of This Beautiful Island

The island is 140 miles long and from 4 to 40 miles wide. No point of the island is more than 10 miles from the sea by way of a bay or estuary. And the highest point is only 466 feet above sea level. The interior of the island is pastoral, gently rolling hills. These geographic and topographic features make touring PEI an endless joy. Each time you crest one of the gentle hills another breathtaking vista unfolds down a farming or river valley to the sea. And the light, oh the light. The greens of the fields, the gold of the hay, the blue of the water and the rust red of the soil are supersaturated by the light through the clean, clear air.

The road system makes touring PEI in manageable stages a breeze. Route 2 is the main route across the middle of the length of the island. There are 4 Scenic Coastal Drives around the entire perimeter.They are very well marked. A multitude of narrow paved, gravel and dirt roads weave between the main route and the scenic drives. From our base in the west and then the east we would shoot up a secondary road to the scenic drive. We would follow the coast (going down every road that had the word "wharf" in the name, to hear Fran tell it) for several hours. Then, when we felt we had best get back, we would shoot back down a secondary road to Route 2 and be home in well less than an hour.

The Points East Coastal Drive

The PEI Provincial Park system is a jewel. We stayed in Linkletter near Summerside in the west and Brudenell River near Montague in the east. We passed through 3 other parks. They are all beautifully maintained with 3 way (electric,water, and sewer), 2 way (electric and water), unserviced and tent sites. The park rangers we interacted with were as helpful as they can be.

PEI Provincial Parks

Brudenell River Where We Camped for 8 Days

After 3 weeks touring the west and central parts of PEI from Summerside, we moved over to Brudenell Provincial Park to explore the Points East Coastal region. Judge for yourself from these pictures. Not bad for 15 bucks a person a night --if you could stand it for a month in order to get the extended stay discount.

Sunrise on The Brudenell From Wilbur

Sunset on The Brudenell From Our Bedroom in Wilbur

Brudenell Point--First French Settlement But Not For Long

Looking Toward The Mouth Of The Brudenell (Panorama)

George From Quebec

A few days before we were scheduled to leave Brudenell River I noticed a fellow headed down to the river with his bucket and shovel. I eagerly followed and found him digging clams in the mud flats exposed by the receding tide. Not only were there innumerable clams judging from the piss spouts preceding out footfalls, but the entire river bed was solid mussels, bank to bank. As he dug and filled his bucket he identified for me the soft shells, cherrystones, razor and bar clams. He pried off a half dozen oysters from the rocks for his wife, who, he said had become addicted to them. A commercial clammer was working nearby. He told us where the larger clams lived and that so long as we stayed under the daily limit of 900 we were legal. With the bucket full of clams, mussels and oysters we headed back to our sites.

Strangely enough, it turns out that the etiquette seems to be that you introduce yourself only after you have a fair amount of time being and talking with someone. This has held true since we first came on the road. It is almost as if your name and handshake are gifts not to be squandered on the unworthy. Standing by his trailer, he said he was George from Quebec and his wife is Micheline. We agreed to meet the following day to fill two buckets this time, mine and his.