Miguasha

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This Canadian world heritage site reveals the age of fishes, the Devonian Period of evolution around 400 million years ago, when sharks and cod invented themselves. In 1938 in South Africa, a fishing captain showed a local museum curator a weird looking fish they caught, and it was identified as a coelacanth, despite being presumed extinct some 65 million years ago. That ‘living fossil’ also dates back to the Devonian Period, as does another fish you may have heard of, the African lungfish.

In evolution, we see the development of vertebrae and lungs as important, as we inherited them from fish. But obviously, we didn’t descend directly from cod, coelacanths, lungfish or sharks—except maybe lawyers. Paleontologists, or fossil folk, figure out such distant ancestry. And Miguasha is a good place to look for fossils, as it lies in the Canadian Appalachian Mountains. Americans may believe the trail ends in Maine, but the International Appalachian Trail continues into Canada, up to the Gaspé Peninsula and continues on Newfoundland. The Appalachians are much older than the Rockies, and they were a defining land feature during the age of fishes.

Miguasha is on the south side of the Gaspé, with high sedimentary cliffs, lots of pretty rocks, and many fossils, often well preserved in large flat layered rocks, like in the photo. Around 15 years ago, a visitor apparently found a rock at the water’s edge that had split, revealing a large fish tail. They did the right thing and left it for the local fossil experts to examine. Shortly thereafter, the experts found more pieces, fit them together with the earlier find, and put together a 5’ 3” fish fossil puzzle. While the site had been producing Devonian fossil finds for decades, this one was the King.

Not only was this a complete Epistostegalian, it also had the bone structure of a Tetrapod. In common words, that means it had vertebrae, lungs, and a bone structure resembling not just our arms, but our wrists and fingers as well. That put it within the strict definition of a tetrapod, previously believed not to include fish. This big guy used his fingery fins to climb up out of the water and breathe. Most of the animals you can think of have arms, wrists, and fingers bones, although they may appear very different on the surface: frogs, turtles, bats and horses. Oh, and whales too, although their ancestors decided life on land too hectic and returned to the sea trading in hooves for flukes. The fish fossil found here may have been our ancestor. Exciting evolution!

I learned (or relearned) a lot in the museum from the informative exhibits, and a bilingual guide was kind enough to answer a whole bunch of questions without throwing me off the cliff. Tours are mostly in French. There’s a 2 mile hiking trail on the bluff for exercise, but when the site is open, you can access the beach by stairs from the beginning of the trail. If you visit, note that the park is on Quebec time, not Atlantic, although most cell phones still show the latter. I used my unexpected extra hour to charge my car on the Flo-compatible J1772 charger, while I hiked around on my own.

Hell or High Water

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Flooding has always been a problem, but climate change means it will get worse. Since the Industrial Revolution, the oceans have risen at least a foot already and are on track for another three feet sometime this century. The atmospheric changes that we’re causing with our carbon pollution are unprecedented, making it difficult to predict. Heat makes water expand. Maybe the oceans will rise six feet, more or maybe less, maybe sooner or maybe later. Since the US has currently decided not to be part of the solution, then flooding will become worse than any human has ever experienced.

This means most of our current beaches will disappear in several decades, along with many lowland areas and even whole island countries. Oceanfront property—stable for centuries—will be inundated. Productive farms and ranches will be ruined by salt water intrusion. Some large populated areas, including several cities, will become uninhabitable. Bird habitats and coastal ecosystems will be devastated. Since the process has been slow and gradual so far, many folks assume that we will adapt easily. But since we’re not solving the problem, the flooding will continue to accelerate.

Even inland, flooding is becoming increasingly more deadly, a trend that will also accelerate. Our hotter atmosphere is evaporating more water more quickly, resulting in destructive downpours, flash floods and broken levees. Flooding events are increasing globally, killing people, making them homeless, and spreading diseases. Again, having put more carbon into the air than any other country, we’re the biggest part of the problem. We’re unwilling to try to fix it, and we are unprepared for how bad it will get.

March is American Red Cross month. Clara Barton, who founded the Red Cross after providing battlefield and prisoner aid during the Civil War, began their flood relief efforts at Johnstown. That terrible flood killed 2,200 people, and it was entirely preventable. Future floods will be even more deadly, and many of those deaths are also entirely preventable by reducing our carbon emissions today. We just need to make better choices.

Anticosti

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This windswept island in the Gulf of St Lawrence is larger than the state of Delaware and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rich in early fossils from the Ordovician-Silurian extinction era when mollusks and arthropods thrived and land plants first emerged. With shallow shoals and terraced ledges, the island was known for shipwrecks, contributing to its isolation. In 1895, a French chocolate magnate, Henri Menier, bought the whole island as a private hunting and fishing game preserve. In 1974, Canada bought the island from loggers and set aside about 1/3 of the island for hunters, fishers and tourists. In 2023 the coastline and several deep river canyons were preserved for fossils as a WHS, with the north coast being the oldest. With 24 salmon rivers, canyons, waterfalls, fossils, shipwrecks, cliffs, an undeveloped coastline known for lobsters, and forests stocked with deer, the island is unique.

Now with a long wharf and an airport, the island is more accessible, although the most famous site, Chute Vauréal—the 250’ waterfall below—, is over 100 miles away from town over an unpaved but decent road. Most summer tourists take cruise ships or fly in on upscale package tours. Deer hunting is big business with off grid lodges; one offers a week with a personal guide, ATV driver, 3 meals per day, including a 5 course dinner of ‘renowned cuisine’, and all your game and fish packed up for you to take home. With about 1,000 deer per winter resident, it’s easy to find deer, who often show up at your door looking for handouts. And there are large, mixed-color foxes roaming around town too.

Yet Anticosti Island is so off-grid, off-radar and ‘off the beaten path’ that I couldn’t figure out how to visit, especially due to my lack of French and preferring DIY EV travel over hotel + flight package tours. But there is a boat on the north coast where roads are scarce with regularly scheduled stops at seaway ports up to Labrador. On the way upstream, the M/V Bella Descagnés goes from Havre Saint Pierre to Port-Menier on Anticosti, and it reverses the trip downstream a couple days later.

Though cabins are often booked months in advance, it occurred to me that they must take walk-on passengers between the closest two ports. Without a Canadian address, I couldn’t book my ticket online, and the hold times were depressing. So I just drove up the coast and arrived barely 10 minutes before they left. (The boat had gained almost an hour on its schedule overnight.) I parked on the wharf, walked on, paid my fare at the desk, and they welcomed me aboard! Some folks thought I was crazy and others thought I was a worker commuting cheaply to the mainland, but I had a pleasant time relaxing in the lounge and eating in both the cafeteria and the dining room. Optimistically, I had booked a B&B with an island day tour, and the everything worked out well. While the waterfall is less impressive in the autumn, it’s still taller than Niagara Falls, and the weather and foliage were lovely. On the way back, I even got a bunk for the overnight trip.

All UNESCO Sites in Ontario

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Ontario is Canada’s most populous and prosperous province, with over 1/3 of the population. Both the country’s capital, Ottawa, and its largest city, Toronto, are here. 1/2 the residents of Toronto were born abroad, making it one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Ontario borders Great Lakes Erie, Huron, Ontario, and Superior, plus Hudson Bay to the North.

Ontario has a World Heritage Site that is fascinating to explore. The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operating canal system in North America, and its quaint villages along the route connecting Lake Ontario to Ottawa are delightful, with treat shops, friendly restaurants and charming historic hotels.

Four UNESCO Biospheres protect the unique ecosystems defined by the Great Lakes ice age landscape.

  • Frontenac Arch is the geologic bridge to the Adirondacks that holds back Lake Ontario, best seen where the St Lawrence River cuts through the Thousand Islands area. Bitterns, Eagles, Heron, Loons and Osprey live here.
  • Georgian Bay, off Lake Huron, is almost as big as Lake Ontario, and it protects many rare birds, reptiles, butterflies and other species amidst First Nations land.
  • Long Point is on the north shore of Lake Erie, and it has birding, boating, hiking and more to enjoy.
  • Niagara Escarpment is a massive geologic formation that forms the northeast shore of Lake Huron, stretching from Buffalo NY on Lake Erie to Green Bay WI on Lake Michigan. Its forests and coastlines contain more species than any other Biosphere in Canada.

Red Bay

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500 years ago Basque whalers set up whaling operations here in Labrador for 600 whalers on 15 ships per year for about 100 years. They rendered the blubber of right and bowhead whales into oil, barreled it and returned it to ports in what is now France and Spain. Be sure to take a small boat out to Saddle Island to see where the whalers worked. Over 100 Basque whalers are buried on the island, and several shipwrecks have revealed the sophisticated marine designs they employed. The visitor center has a chalupa, a small whaling boat they used.

After some grim weather in Newfoundland, the sun came out in Labrador. On a pretty day, this UNESCO world heritage site is a particularly beautiful spot with lingonberries or partridge berries growing on the rocky island. On a bad day, I imagine it is inhospitable, as the crew of the pictured 1965 wreck knew too well. While walking around, I spotted a minke whale feeding in the harbor, splashing and putting on a show. I’m glad whaling is almost entirely a thing of the past.

National Parks to Visit in March

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First Saturday of the month, so here are the three National Parks best visited in March. See January and February for more.

March is a tricky month for parks, as many parks are still in winter or are too cold and wet to enjoy. But in the west at higher elevation, spring comes earlier and a few parks are fairly dry year round. Arches, Joshua Tree and Pinnacles are my March park picks.

Let’s be honest, an enjoyable experience at Arches is all about parking. Ideally, you want to stop at each arch spot, hike a bit, take photos and then move on to the next. If it’s overly crowded, that can be difficult, even with timed entry or arriving at sunrise. Since it’s too hot in summer, the shoulder seasons are crowded. Winter is too cold, and slick rock trails are dangerous when there’s ice. The solution is March. Snow is rare, but it makes a better photo if you see any on or through an arch. Temperatures are fine, with most daytime highs in the 70° F range. There will still be plenty of people, but not nearly as many as Spring Break. Sure, fall is fine too, but you could say that about most of the parks.

Joshua Tree is a great spot for hiking and camping, but the campgrounds are mostly at ~4,000 feet. So winter is uncomfortable, and as the park is in the Colorado and Mojave deserts, summer is uncomfortable too. I prefer March, when you can see wildflowers. The trees and rocks are great, but it’s even better to find a pretty little flower unexpectedly blooming off some rough trail. Like Arches, the park is popular and crowded at Spring Break.

Pinnacles similarly is high, relatively dry, and has limited trail side parking, so I like March there before Spring Break. But there’s a special reason to go in March (or maybe October), as the entire Bear Gulch cave is open. My favorite part of Pinnacles are the caves, but due to bats raising their young, many underground areas are off limits for months of the year. The weather is fine for hiking too, and you can see wildflowers.

Hope this series helps you plan your next national park adventure!

Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve

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Georgian Bay is almost as big as Lake Ontario, but it’s still just considered a bay of Lake Huron. The Niagara Escarpment separates the bay in the form of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. Above are the Recollet Falls on the French River at the north end of the biosphere. Most of the famous explorers of Canada passed this way: Brûlé who lived with the Huron as a teen around 1610, Champlain and Mackenzie, among others. Radisson and his brother-in-law may have been the most consequential, as they realized the economic potential of Ojibwa fur trading canoe routes. Unlike the licensed voyageurs, the pair were outlaw traders, known as coureur des bois, ‘runners of the woods’. When the French declined to support their venture, they turned to the English and formed the Hudson Bay Company.

The south end of the biosphere is at the Severn River, where there’s an impressive canal/ boat-railway system for transiting small craft between Lakes Huron and Ontario. Much of the biosphere belongs to the Anishinaabek people, who call it the Mnidoo-gamii, the ‘spirit of the lake’. The lakeshore is well protected, remote and home to a great many species. As ages ago, boat is still the best way to explore this ‘30,000 islands’ area. Still, I managed to spot two black bears just outside the park where I hiked to the falls above. Fortunately I didn’t see any of their rare local rattlesnakes. Northwest of Georgian Bay, on Manitoulin Island, I saw a bald eagle, six sand hill cranes, and a variety of smaller birds. Georgian Bay is a lovely area, and I’m glad it’s protected.

L’Anse aux Meadows

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If you visit Fort Raleigh, you’ll see a monument to the first English child born in America, but there’s no monument at Castillo de San Marco about the first African American child born 50 years earlier in Florida. In any case, some 600 years before those colonies began, the Norse established this base camp on the north coast of Newfoundland, and here they recorded the birth of Snorri Thorrfinnsson around 1000 CE. And of course the first people here were Native Americans whose ancestors left their mark on the land thousands of years ago, long before history began in the Americas.

The fine film in the visitor center explains the even greater significance of this Norse settlement. Here the circle of humanity’s exploration of the world completed the circle. Modern humans began in Africa roughly 1/4 of a million years ago, populating Eurasia next, the Polynesians spread humanity into the Pacific, and humans crossed the ice to North America some 25,000 years ago. The Vikings, meaning the seafaring raiders of the Norse people, explored the North Atlantic a thousand years ago. Although they did not settle permanently, the Norse left their foundations here. They traded cloth and milk with natives for furs, and they explored at least as far as New Brunswick on the border of what is now the US. That meeting reintroduced two distant branches of humanity for the first time since our common ancestors left Africa 100,000 years ago.

Apparently the meeting did not go well enough for the Norse to remain. The expeditionary camp was established primarily to provide wood for the colony in Greenland, but it was a long way away from Scandinavia. Outnumbered and without significantly superior weaponry, the Norse eventually packed up the sporadically used camp after a single generation. Then they mostly forgot about Vinland, leaving it for scholars to speculate without evidence about the Norse having visited North America centuries before Columbus. Until a Norwegian researcher started digging around some square foundations here with his family in the summer in the 1960s. And they found proof.

L’Anse aux Meadows, or Meadows Cove, is now a UNESCO world heritage site with living history interpreters, and the reconstructed longhouse village is an excellent place to visit, photograph and ask questions. There is a statue of Leif Ericsson at the small harbor and various Viking themed tourist attractions nearby.

I dropped off the Tesla supercharger network in Nova Scotia, and PlugShare has poor coverage up here. So I switched to ChargeHub to find CCS chargers and made good use of my CCS adapter in Newfoundland. Some road construction unfortunately had cut off power for most of the day both to the park and to a crucial fast charger on the way, but since I often plan to skip a charger if needed, I made it anyway. By the time I arrived at the visitor center, the power had been restored, and while chatting with docents in the wood framed peat-sod house above, I charged at the free Tesla destination chargers (at the second entrance). Canada has a reliable EV charging network coast to coast, including helpful chargers at sites like these, and they’re stretching it northwards too.

Long Point Biosphere Reserve

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The Canadian side of Lake Erie is prettier. The spit of sand above goes 25 miles eastward into the lake, and around behind to the left are wetlands with many birds. I wasn’t really paying attention, but I saw doves, ducks, geese, grackle, gulls, a Harrier, a Great Blue Heron, sparrow, swallow, and several other species I couldn’t identify. I should have popped into the Bird Observatory, which is the oldest continuously operating one in North America, but the birders there looked much more serious than I. There are also wetland trails, campgrounds, unhealthy snack shacks, and many ‘cuts’ for small boats to runabout, go fishing and explore. The dunes are quite healthy, and there are a surprising number of different types of trees all mixed together. Unlike the US, Canada seems to do a better job of protecting, developing and promoting its Biospheres, so that regular people can learn and enjoy too.

Gros Morne

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Gros Morne, a world heritage site in Newfoundland, has three must sees: Gros Morne Mountain, the Tablelands, and Western Brook Pond. The first can be seen easily from many viewpoints, and the approach trail is reasonably flat. The whole park is famous for its geology, with rocky coves, pond marked plateaus, deep fjords, dark, magnesium rich cliffs and the lonely mountain of Gros Morne itself, with pinkish quartzite on top. The views from the top are supposedly stunning, but it’s an all day steep hike.

The second must see above is unique and has an easy guided hike. The Tablelands is one of maybe three places in the world where you can walk on the earth’s mantle. Left over from a temporary overlap and receding of the North American and Asian tectonic plates, this mountain of mantle cooled, dried and had its crust removed by glaciers and erosion. The Table Mountains are studied by geologists—including those who developed the theory of plate tectonics—, and it is easy to see soapstone, serpentine, and other interesting rocks here. But most of the rock above is peridotite, an iron rich igneous rock from the mantle.

I took the ‘easy’ Tablelands hike with a guide who explained about the tough creatures who live up here, including the local humans. The forecast was clear all morning, so naturally it hailed and rained for much of the hike. Still, the clouds occasionally parted and revealed some of the muted yet dramatic scenery.

And the third must see also has an easy hike, but then you need to take a boat to see the rest. Western Brook Pond is actually a deep lake in the middle of a landlocked fjord, with high thin waterfalls cascading down massive cliffs. Glaciers carved many fjords, arms and valleys in the park, and this spot offers a great view of the ancient Appalachian landscape. On a good day, it is spectacular, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate.

I would recommend scheduling more time than usual for Newfoundland, as the pace is slow, weather is changeable, and delays are common. I will have to return to see a couple places that I missed due to a ferry cancelation. On the other hand, I’ve been forced to slow down my typical hectic schedule, which is good.