My trip by train across Canada was a long time coming, but it more than met my expectations. What stands out above all is the courtesy, kindness. and generous spirit of Canadians at every turn. This has been the longest visit I have had with Karl since he was a kid at home and Karl, having become a Canadian citizen, mirrors the character of his adopted country.
Karl and Stephi, Summer 2025.
Foregoing a return by train, I’ll get on a flight tomorrow morning and be back home in Eugene tomorrow night. I have had a wonderful time in Nova Scotia, but there is much that awaits me back home. I am looking forward as always to what lies ahead.
Clouds will bring rain tomorrow, but this evening there was a sunset that looked like the interior of the island was on fire, and a full moon rose in a wonderfully synchronous moment at virtually the same time across the harbor. I interpreted it as a good omen. I spotted the moonrise on the horizon because a tour ship passing in front of Karl’s house caught my attention just as a slice of moon appeared over the water to the east. See if you can spot it . [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Sunset.From Karl’s living room.Luna rising from the sea.
Karl and I visited the Maritime Museum on the downtown waterfront today. It has indoor and outdoor exhibits covering virtually every aspect of travel on the water, from the birch bark canoes made by the indigenous Mi’kmaq people long before the arrival of Europeans, up to and including a scale model of an experimental, armed hydrofoil ship built in Halifax for the Canadian navy. (All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Max and Karl at the Maritime Museum.Decommissioned Canadian Navy Corvette, K181, the fastest class of ships in the fleet, after which the Chevrolet sports car was named.
Inside, there are full size examples of small, wood, pleasure and working boats that illustrate differences related purpose and evolution over time.
Wooden boats.
There are also exquisitely detailed, scale models of ships that served Halifax, like the White Star Lines, Mauritania, that plied the North Atlantic in peace and war. It was built for display in the company’s offices. The model is approx. 6 feet long.
White Star Lines, Mauritania.Detail of the Mauritania.
Halifax has a historic connection to the RMS Titanic. Although the ship was built in Belfast, Ireland, when she sank on her maiden voyage, rescue ships from Halifax went out to search for survivors. There are two cemeteries in the city where drowning victims from the disaster are interred. Her sister ship, the RMS Olympic, ferried thousands of Canadian and American troops from Halifax to Europe during WW I using the shortest route across the North Atlantic.
Reading the letters and journal entries of young adventurer and lover of wild places, Everett Ruess, I can relate to his efforts to reconcile himself with the civilized world around him. Camped on the side of Navajo Mountain in the desert Southwest on June 7, 1934, he wrote this: “I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly. Why muck and conceal one’s true longings and loves, when by speaking of them one might find someone to understand them, and by acting on them one might discover one’s self. It is true that in the world such lack of reserve usually meets with hostility, misunderstanding, and scorn. Here in isolation I need not fear on that score, though the strangers I do encounter usually judge me wrongly. But I was never one to be content with less than the most from life, and shall go on reaching, and leaving my soul defenseless to attacks. I seldom retaliate, for I perceive too well the ultimate futility.”
The south shore of Nova Scotia is known for its picturesque small towns where fishing is still an important part of local economies, and for its historic buildings, artist galleries, restaurants, surfing beaches and resorts. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Le Have galleries along the waterfront.Westcote Bell Pottery in Le HaveLarge ceramic jar with iconic images of Nova ScotiaArtwork, Le Have
On Sunday, Karl, Stephi and I had dinner at the historic White Point Inn. Beaches there and nearby attract surfers from as far away as Halifax when the waves are good.
Karl and his surfboard at Stephi’s house in Le HaveWhite Point Inn dates from 1928.Karl and Stephi checking out the surf (??) at White Point.
I stayed in the Dockside Hotel in Lunenberg Sunday night with a room overlooking the harbor. Lunenberg was founded in 1753 by German immigrants and is known for its lobster fishery and its colorful historic Old Town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sunrise over Lunenberg Harbor from my room at the Dockside Hotel.Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic (right) and the side trawler, Cape Sable (center), from my room.Lunenberg lodges and restaurants on the waterfront.Lunenberg waterfront.The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. The racing schooner, Bluenose II, moored on the left.Power and sail exist side by side in this working port.Steel hull 3-master.Lobster traps on the dock..Life is better on a boat. Is it?
The Old Town streets rise steeply from the waterfront. Homes facing the harbor date from the 1700’s and 1800’s. There is no shortage of churches including St. John’s Anglican Church of Canada, founded along with the town in 1753, and built in the second half of the 18th century.
Steeper than it looks!Spotted in a gallery window.Bright colors prevail.Entry doors receive a lot of attention.Hilltop home built in the 1700’s with two interior chimneys serving four fireplaces on the 1st and 2nd floors for heat.Side entrance.Fine old homes dating from the earliest years built for ship’s captains and Lunenberg’s prosperous families.St. John’s Anglican Church of Canada.Founded in 1953, built within the first quarter century of Lunenberg’s settlement.The La Cloche Jessen bell in front of St. John’s.A reminder that shipbuilding and seafaring have been a part of Lunenberg for going on 300 years.A walking path down to the harborBlack granite pillars on the dock at the waterfront bear the names of ships and their crew members, based in Lunenberg, lost to the sea. The first name recorded is from 1898, but no doubt unknown others preceded him. The losses drop dramatically after the 1970’s with modern boats and communications. The last local crewman lost at sea was in 2016.
We lost Stan Rogers, Canadian singer songwriter, in 1983 at age 34, but not before he left us memorable songs from the Maritimes. A Stan Rogers music festival is held each year in Halifax in his honor.
Drove over to the east shore beaches north of Dartmouth where Karl surfs. Good waves but too much wind, so we stopped at the Rose & Rooster for coffee and brownies. Went a little further to the tiny village of Musquodoboit Harbour (“Musket-dob-it”) about 45 km. from Halifax to turn around and grab some fresh, locally grown produce at Uprooted, the local grocery store. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Uprooting Grocery, Musquodobit, N.S.Fresh, local produce. Lots of apple varieties to choose!Everything you really need. Veggies, fruits, meat, seafood.
On the way back to Halifax we stopped at the Herrick Cove Volunteer Fire Station where my son Karl is the Captain. The station has five salaried career firefighters who are on call 24-7 and twenty four volunteer firefighters who respond to calls as needed.
Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency, Station 60, Herrick Cove.Karl beside the brand new Engine 60 which can carry approx. 550 gallons of water.
Engine 60 is only 3~4 months old, cost approx. $750,000, and is the workhorse with the pump that feeds up to four hoses. The captain rides in the right front seat with a driver who does not leave the truck. Four additional firefighters ride in the crew cab where they gear up on the way to a fire. Engine 60 carries oxygen tanks for crew, fire hose, and specialty tools like chain saws, “jaws of life,” etc.
Cab with computer, communication gear, etc.Crew cab holds four on Engine 60.Pump, the heart of Engine 60.
Tanker 60 carries approx. 1200 gal. of water, 1.5 km. of fire hose, and a two ladders, one of which is a 2-flight ladder that will support a fireman in full gear carrying a second person in the case of rescues from upper stories.
Pumper 60 carries approx. 1200 gallons of water, ladders, and other gear.Truck for non-fire emergency calls.
Bunks, bathrooms, kitchen, break room, gym, and Karl’s office are on the 2nd floor. There is a traditional fire pole for firefighters to descend quickly from the 2nd floor. You see the Canadian flag along with one with the star, crescent, and red cross that is the Mi’kmaq flag of the indigenous people. Here’s a good place to mention that the Acadians have their own flag which is the French Tricolor with a yellow star in the upper left corner. I see it flown on homes of those who identify as Acadians.
Traditional fire pole for crew to quickly descend from the 2nd floor crew quarters.Gym.Acadian flag.
In the Spring of 2023, I traveled to SE Utah and Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument for the express purpose of traveling the Hole-In-The-Rock road south of Escalante, UT. The road leaves scenic Utah Highway 12 and traces the torturous route originally blazed by Mormon pioneer families in 1878-1879 on their way to found a new settlement on the San Juan River. Their short lived agricultural settlement became the small, present day outpost of Bluff, UT. My ultimate goal was to find and hike from the Willow Gulch trailhead down a sandstone canyon to Broken Bow Arch which had only recently emerged from the waters of Lake Powell after the reservoir level fell dramatically following years of drought. The trailhead is near the end of Hole-In-The-Rock road, some 50+ miles of rough road from where it begins, requiring 4WD and speeds of 15~25 mph. Thanks to an early start, I reached Willow Gulch by mid-morning in time to start the descent.
Before taking this trip, I had read Hole-in-the-Rock: An Epic in the Colonization of the Great American West by David E. Miller, first published in 1962. His book is drawn from first person diaries and Mormon archives that document the hardships suffered and incredible endurance shown by the settlers who crossed the rocky plateaus and canyons in winter, on foot and in their covered wagons.
I did not realize it until today (!!) after reading Everett Ruess, A Vagabond for Beauty, edited by W. L. Rusho, but over much of the way to the trailhead I traveled the same route that Everett Ruess, a 20 year old Mormon artist, writer, explorer, and seeker of natural beauty, traveled on foot with his two burros on his way to to Davis Gulch in 1934 where he disappeared. The mystery endured until 2008 when a body discovered on nearby Comb Ridge was identified by DNA analysis as that of Ruess who had been murdered and his body buried to avoid discovery. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
The road in to Willow Gulch trailhead. Kaiparowits Plateau in the background.At the Willow Gulch trailhead.Ready to go.
At the start of the trail, I descended a very soft, red dirt bank to where the beginning of the gulch is a small drainage ditch. From there the natural drainage of the gulch deepens as it wends its way to the Escalante River, itself a tributary of the Colorado River.
Soft dirt bank down to the gulch.Dry stream bed, clear evidence of erosion during high water.
Cottonwoods find enough water in the soil to establish themselves as the stream descends toward the river. The day I hiked the trail was overcast so the red sandstone color was subdued.
Cottonwood tree.Cottonwoods shaped by the desert climate.
The trail to the arch alternately followed the dry stream bed, or led over the tops of high banks.
The gulch widened as I got closer to the arch and the river.
By the time I was in sight of the arch, a trickle of water was visible in the stream bed. To get to this point took several hours and I was cognizant of the time it would take me to retrace my route before nightfall on the shorter Spring days.
Broken Bow Arch lives up to its name.The Arch and the stream bed that carries the water that sculpts Willow Gulch.
Karl’s house in Duncans Cove is about 20 minutes from Halifax and adjoins a Provincial Nature Reserve. Fox, bobcat, lynx, mink, weasel, and deer are all native to the area and will occasionally cross the lawn. In the winter months he has the wood stove to supplement electric heat, which makes for a cozy living room. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
The house faces east.Warming my feet in the living room.Karl in the kitchen.
Spruce trees are sparse on the thin soil and the vegetation is buffeted by strong winds most days of the year.
Looking to the south.Looking to the north and the lighthouse. Halifax on the distant horizon.
I hiked across the reserve to the lighthouse in 50 degree weather and then followed the rocks along the shoreline back to the house. Waves were modest today, October 30, but the effects of hurricane Melissa will bring heavy rain, strong winds, and high surf over the next two days, with the peak of the storm expected on Friday.
Granite boulders.Breaking waves down below the house. This is where the harbor meets the Atlantic Ocean.The message? Your guess is as good as mine.Low to the ground Fall color.Subtle leaf colors at shoe top level.Gull feather.
YESTERDAY, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29
Karl and I rode the “Harbor Hopper,” a converted WW II amphibious vehicle that took us sightseeing around downtown Halifax and then, being amphibious, drove into the harbor so we could see the city from the water.
Harbor HopperSold out!Halifax waterfront and the Dartmouth ferry from the water.
I made this trip by train on VIA Rail from Vancouver, BC, to Halifax, NS, to visit my son Karl. For the first two nights, I stayed in the Samsun Hostel in downtown Vancouver. It was affordable, efficiently laid out with individual rooms ( 4 or 8 beds), plus shower rooms and bathrooms on all four floors. Everything was kept very clean by staff and guests. Free, all-you-can-eat breakfast was a healthy mix of fresh fruits, cereals, and bagels with butter and jam. Staff provided the food, but guests bussed and washed all their own plates, bowls, cups, etc. in the kitchen area at the back of the main floor. [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Breakfast at Samsun Hostel
I stayed in a 4-bed room and got a good night’s sleep both nights. Four metal lockers on rollers for personal belongings slid under the bottom bunks. Each bed also had a lamp and an outlet against its back wall to charge a phone, and a privacy curtain. While it was not supposed to happen, I ended up with a young woman for a roommate. Fortunately she wasn’t bothered.
My room.
I had a full day to explore a little of the downtown and to walk along the seawall to Stanley Park, a preserve with an old growth forest of cedars, firs and maples on a promontory west of the city center.
Downtown Vancouver high rise apartment buildings, with the seawall to the left.Seawall and walking/cycling path out to Stanley Park.Path by giant Western red cedar.Cedar, firs, ferns.Vine maple.The Inukshuk, traditional welcoming sign of the Inuit people along the coast, created by native artist Alvin Kanak out of grey granite. The Inukshuk stands along the seawall facing the open sea.
I boarded the Canadian, VIA Rail’s premier scenic run from Vancouver, BC, to Toronto, Ontario, on Sunday afternoon, 10/20. The entire train including my sleeper is vintage 1955, venerable but well maintained, with lots of solid stainless steel and aluminum trim and a few genuine leather details. I had my cabin, meant for two, to myself and appreciated the quiet comfort.
My room.My room with private bathroom.
Meals are included in the sleeper fare and are served in the dining car by reservation. Tables for four meant that I met people from Germany, France, and Japan. The real surprise was how many of my fellow passengers, couples and singles, young and old, were Canadians (the majority) and many of them French speaking. Few were from the U.S. which was fine with me. Dinners included rack of lamb, beef tenderloin, and salmon, all excellent.
I took advantage of the surprisingly roomy shower room at one end of the sleeping car each morning at around 6:00 a.m. and then took a seat in the dome car to watch the day begin before breakfast.
First morning. Cloe, French graduate student, on the right.The train follows the Fraser River to its source in the Canadian Rockies.
Our longest stop on day two was in Jasper, BC, a jumping off place for Jasper National Park.
Stopped in Jasper, BC. There were over a dozen cars, at least four of which were dome cars.Happy traveler.
Jasper National Park does not disappoint and is the reason many people ride the Canadian.
East of Jasper. Jasper N.P.Early snow. Jasper N.P.Canadian Rockies. Jasper N.P.Late afternoon, day 2. Jasper N.P.
The next morning dawned over the plains of Alberta and, yes, it is very flat. Saskatchewan is pretty much the same, perfect for growing wheat, barley, and oats for export.
Dawn over Alberta.
By late afternoon on the third day, we were crossing the what’s know as the Canadian Shield, a region north of Lake Superior with the oldest exposed bedrock in the world. Something like 50 million years old. The climate is moderately wet and there were small bodies of water, like potholes, across the terrain all the way to Toronto, Ontario. From Toronto, I took a separate train to Montreal, Quebec, where I spent a day and two nights before boarding the VIA Rail Ocean to Halifax, NS.
The Ocean follows the St. Lawrence River through Quebec until it turns south into New Brunswick, the land of the Acadians. The story of Acadia and the 1755 Expulsion has not been forgotten locally. French and Acadian culture is still a big part of local life. Homes in small communities along the river were uniformly well maintained and small by U.S. standards.
Along the St. Lawrence River.Along the St. Lawrence River.
When we turned south toward Halifax , we entered Mount Carleton Provincial Park and the forest was a mix of birch, eastern larch (bright yellow), spruce, pine, and fir.
Mount Carleton Provincial Park.
My train ride ended in Halifax, three hours late which is typical of VIA Rail, where Karl picked me up. After eleven days traveling, I was more than ready for a hot shower and a long night’s sleep, a full four time zones away from Oregon. Karl’s house in Duncans Cove sits atop a rock face overlooking Halifax Harbor and is built on concrete footings set deep in solid granite and once held a shore battery to protect the harbor during WW I and WW II. Halifax and Dartmouth, NS, are on the horizon to the north.
View from Karl’s living room overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbor. Lighthouse on the left.
Truly engaging in reality, however it presents itself, is far more interesting than any fantasy which smooths out the wrinkles. Embrace the moment that will never return, and experience life’s mysteies. [Click on the image to enlarge]
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly… this is my way. (Anonymous)
