Day 25 - Canadian Martimes 2026 - Sea Glass Beach - Leaving Canada into USA in Maine

Early morning on Sea Glass Beach in Black's Harbor, New Brunswick. It was like waking up in a different world! 

The misty fog was slowly rolling out and we could see a little bit across the bay. The foghorn was sounding ominously, as it was all night long. Every few minutes it would sound it's mournful cry. But we got used to it after a couple hours and we were able to sleep all night.

I stepped outside for a little bit, and I could hear off in the distance the yelping and barking of sea lions out on one of these islands near the lighthouse. There were also clusters of birds squawking in the distance. It was amazing how the sounds could travel across the calm water.

The night before it had been windy, so we couldn't hear a lot over the waves. But this morning was pretty calm and there was a heaviness to the air, we knew it was going to be raining soon. 

You can see the birds all huddled along the ledges of the rock on this island.  The markers help guide the ferry in and out among the protrusions of the water by these rugged rocky shores.

I tried to zoom in to get some of the sea lions that we could hear making so much noise in the distance. It was hard to tell them from the same dark color as the rocks surrounding them.

The tide had gone out, which is huge in this part of the Bay of Fundy. It actually goes down 28 ft from high tide to low tide!  It is the most vast tidal change in the entire world, from high to low.

Last night when we arrived, the water was up to the top of the marks on these rocks.  As we walked along the edge of the beach before breakfast, the water was still moving outwards into the ocean.  We didn't want to walk too close to the edge yet because it was pretty mushy from being submerged underneath the open water. Best to be safe than sorry.

Instead, we walked around along the shoreline and noticed some of the beautiful flowers growing by the edges of the woods.  For late fall, it was nice to see some beautiful blossoms and little bits of color tucked in amongst the rocks.

Tiny pale yellow petals of these little flowers were glistening with drops of the morning mist. I don't know how some flowers can grow near the salty sea air. I think they still get their moisture from the roots and groundwater down below? I can't imagine them growing from the receding saltwater? 

In the early morning hours, the ferry going out to Grand Manan Island was preparing to leave. Some large semi trucks had been stationed overnight in a parking lot near us. Now they were getting ready to board the ferry and set sail. Once all of the passenger cars were loaded in the lower berths below, then the semi trucks got on to the main deck. We watched them load up a little bit and then headed back to the motorhome to make some breakfast.

Some of the large rocky shores around the ferry looked pretty steep now that the tide had gone out. One section of rock was split completely from the top to the bottom and you could peek through and see the Bay of Fundy on the other side.

We walked back over to where we had the motorhome parked for the night. It's really nice that the property where the ferry launch is allows overnight RV parking in this corner. We found it protected from the wind and safe knowing there is a gate nearby that you can't get down into this area unless the toll booth operator allows you in.

Parked nearby in the same lot was a motorhome and a fifth wheel. We didn't see anybody around either RV. There was no truck attached to the fifth wheel trailer. Maybe they had been out sightseeing? But nobody came back overnight or in the morning either. Maybe they were out on the island staying at a bed and breakfast and will come back on another ferry? They must feel comfortable leaving their RV unattended in this lot, so I guess it was comfortable for us to spend the night here too.

We cooked up some breakfast, and checked the weather report. It was going to rain rain rain and it was going to be raining buckets soon in this area. So we rushed our breakfast a little bit and got some containers to go down and see what we could find on Sea Glass Beach. 

From what we understand, many many years of people dumping their trash out in the ocean has led to this phenomenon of sea glass. It's actually people's garbage broken glass and bottles that are washed up on shore. Rolling back and forth and back and forth with the wave action has softened the edges of the glass just like in a rock tumbler. I don't know how many communities that still go out and dump their trash into the ocean? It seems like an awful thing to do!!!

This beach is literally covered with millions and millions of pieces of broken glass! I had no idea how much glass could show up in just one spot when there's very few towns nearby? Could it be the big cities dump their garbage out in the area between this and Grand Manan Island? Does it all drift in this direction because of the tidal flow?

Look here in this screenshot of just a few square inches of beach. There are at least 25 pieces of glass in this photo. Some are sharper, and others are ground down more smoothly.

I cannot believe that this many 7Up bottles have been broken over the years into this part of the ocean to make this much green glass? There was at least two or three pieces in every square foot of beach with green glass...  Who drinks that much 7up, Sprite, or maybe green bottles of Heineken beer?

We also found some pieces of blue glass, and some pieces shards of pottery that had been ground down. There was a lot of dark brown, presumably from beer bottles. We started picking some up and being more selective on sharpness or being worn down from the waves. 

I would have loved to spend a couple hours on the beach and keep collecting more rocks and glass. But it started raining! Actually it started pouring!!!

So we headed back up to the motorhome with the small amount of beach glass that we had collected. Oh well, it would be enough to bring back and give a few pieces to my friend Vicky, and then let the grandchildren explore and examine the rest of it.  It's very interesting that someone's mishandling of garbage and refuse can turn into something so beautiful that we would now collect and treasure? 

The ferry blew it's horn and headed on out to cross the channel to the island.  Bye!

It was time for us to pull in the slides and get the motorhome roadworthy for another day of traveling. If it was going to be pouring rain we decided we didn't want to stay at the beach any longer.  

The tide would soon be coming back in and we wouldn't be able to go exploring for more Beach Glass anyhow. But a local person did stop by to let us know that when the tide is at its lowest level, you can walk around the end of the point and reach another beach that has even more glass and a lot of the locals go there to collect it. How nice was that for him to let us in on the location?

So if you come here, wait for the tide to go low and go around those big rocks to find more treasures!  We left them behind for you.

Today's travel plan involved crossing over the border back into the United States! We would drive from Black's Harbor down through St Stephen and crossover into Maine.  From there, we are going to head West into maybe New Hampshire. 

We got all prepared for our border crossing. We had the CDC form filled out and printed for Nicholas. It is required now for bringing your pet back into the United States. We also had his current vaccination records and documentation with his implanted microchip number which is also required now. 

We had already eaten the last of our eggs and we had no root vegetables on board. Especially things like potatoes or carrots or onions that could possibly carry contaminants in the soil on the skins. We also did not have any raw chicken or uncooked chicken in the refrigerator or the freezer. There are different rules at different times for crossing the border. 

It is best to check the Canadian and US websites--- the official government ones---  to see what is allowed or not allowed. Don't just go by hearsay or what someone might post in a social media group. Look at what is on the actual websites because it changes from time to time. Best to be prepared...

So with our paperwork and passports in hand we got ready to cross the border. 

As we drove up there were only two booths open. One had a green light above it but it had a red cone in the middle of it and nobody in the booth seating area. 

The other lane had a green light, but above it, the lit marquee said clearly "NO RVs OR BUSES".  

What do we do?? 

We pulled the nose of the motorhome ahead slowly towards the one that had the red cone in the middle of the lane. We stopped there and waited. The attendant in the other booth with the "NO RVS OR BUSES" light waved us to come over but we were too far ahead to be able to turn into his lane.  

Suddenly a second attendant emerged from the building and came into the toll booth in our own lane and removed the red cone. We pulled forward and apologized, saying that the other guy's sign still says "No RVs or buses". We think he might have been taking a bathroom break??? 

Oh well, he seemed irritated with us because we didn't go into the other lane. He asked a few basic questions and then he asked to come on board!! Of course, we said yes. He came in the side entry door while I held Nick on the leash. Nicholas was barking at him. He wanted to eat him up! So the guy came in, walked four steps to the back of the rig, turned around and said "Just The Two of You?" And we said "Yes, and our dog". Then he left. That was it. He didn't even look in the bathroom, or the closet, and of course he did not open any cabinets or our refrigerator.

He got back in the booth and took a little square box on a long cord and aimed it at both of us and said "Look my way." He snapped photos of both of us with that little box, handed us back our passports and said we were free to go. So we did. 

As we pulled forward, we realized their big overhead xray detection machine was out of order and had workmen and a work van parked inside of it and they were working on the electronics on the side. So we couldn't go through where we were supposed to pass through it so we could get looked at with x-rays I guess. There was no sign saying what to do or where to go, so we just kind of pulled to one side and drove around it and kept going. 

That was it. We were back in the USA! It was kind of confusing....  

We did a Google search and looked up why the agent would have taken our picture. It's a new thing for facial recognition. It's meant to make sure that your face matches the one that is on your passport. He never told us what he was doing or why. He just did it. So I guess now we are in the system with our facial recognition pictures. Hope it makes it easier next time we cross the border. 

As we went further west through Maine, it was still raining. Even around the Bangor area it was pretty dark and dreary all morning.   

It was getting more colorful the more that we traveled West. We could see that this was just about prime for fall colors in the New England area. What a great time to be traveling through New England!!!

We put on some miles, and then stopped to make a little lunch.  I really think that we stopped at the most beautiful spot ever in the state of Maine to make our lunch. It was off on a little side road of a wayside and we were absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of the leaves and the water and the sound of the little rippling brook.

My photos just don't do it justice!!!

This place was breathtakingly beautiful!!! It is the epitome of exactly what fall in New England represents in my mind and in my heart.

I snapped photo after photo of the same scene. Then I also took the time to video it. If you look at the YouTube link down below at the bottom of this post you can see how absolutely gorgeous this place was. The birds were singing in the background and the gurgling sounds of the water. Watching the leaves float on the surface of the water as they slowly drifted by from the left to the right. It was very magical to say the least...

I know I'm piling you up with photos of it but 

 the lighting was just perfect

 and

 the colors were just perfect 

and 

the sound was just perfect 

and

 the place was just perfect

(There's nothing retouched or filtered or AI about my photos) 

We made our lunch, and came back out to walk around again one more time before we needed to leave. This was a place that will hang forever in my memory, and in my mind it is titled "Fall in New England".

West of Bangor, Maine we hopped onto US 2. This route is particularly fond to us because it is also the same highway that passes through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and all the way out to the state of Washington. It passes through my hometown of Iron River, Michigan.  Our childhood lives revolved around everyone referring to West US 2, or East US 2 to get somewhere, or advertisements on the radio or TV of all the businesses grouped along US 2. So there was a little sense of comfort or nostalgia by seeing this road sign. We would now see it for the next few hundred miles as we are heading on across through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and into New York - all while traveling on US 2.

Two years ago, we tried to take route US 2 all the way out west to Washington. We made it as far as Montana and the wildfire smoke drove us back home again. It was in the autumn and the fires were at their worst. If you look back in my blog posts you will find the fall of 2024 a series of posts called "Westbound on US 2".

Well, at least we did the eastbound US 2 now and completed that portion of the route. Someday maybe we will get out west again and finish that part from Montana across to Washington.

We were now entering the White Mountain range. The hills were getting higher and we were dipping up and down and twisting and turning through some of the most beautiful countryside.

The colors were gorgeous as we were winding our way through the high hills and the craggy cliffs. I kept snapping picture after picture after picture and I could fill this up with about 10 zillion more.

By later afternoon we were crossing into New Hampshire. The colors just kept going and going and going. 

The picturesque countryside unfolded across our windshield as we traveled mile after mile. We passed through so many little towns and picturesque villages. Everything was so quaint and aesthetically "New England-ish".

We went past zillions of old houses and buildings with unique architecture and design. We like to imagine what they could have been. Perhaps this one was a roadside Inn back when travelers were on horseback or in a buggy. Seeing an Inn like this amongst the hills, must have been a welcome sight for the weary traveler. 

We drove along until about dinner time, and decided to pull into a Walmart in Gorham, New Hampshire.  We needed to grab a couple items in the store and decided this would be a good spot to rest for the night. It was a very pretty Walmart that been recently remodeled or updated on the outside, and inside it was pretty nice too. We lagged around a little bit longer and picked up a few more things. 

We decided to treat ourselves with a rotisserie chicken and some potato wedges so we didn't have to cook for the evening. Rotisserie chicken is always nice, because we pick apart the leftovers and use it for chicken salad or soup or a casserole later. So for $5.99, we get two meals out of one chicken.

As we went to the checkout, the poor clerk could barely speak and had such a raspy voice. She had a bottle of throat spray and a box of kleenex. That should have been our warning sign...  She told us how miserable she was and almost at the end of her shift.

Little did we know, we were now exposed to the newest strain of Covid!!! 

Here is the video that goes along with today's blog: 

296 miles traveled today

3,316 miles traveled so far 

Day 23 - Canadian Maritimes 2026 - St John, New Brunswick - Reversing Falls - Sea Glass Beach

Actually we had a very quiet night at the casino parking lot at Moncton, New Brunswick.  It was nice to have a place to park after a long day of driving. But we really don't see the need to do it again. I suppose some people would take advantage of The Players Club and being a new visitor you get free play money, but we just wanted a spot to sleep and then head on again. Honestly, it was better than a Walmart though. And much quieter. 

I took some video footage in the morning of the casino lot, but it turned out that the camera was stuck on slow motion and I couldn't speed it up or get still shots from it. So you'll just have to take our word for it that we were in a casino parking lot for the night. 

It was time to hit the road and we actually had a beautiful clear blue sky to travel through the gorgeous colors of the changing trees.

Our intended route today would be heading West from Moncton and going towards St John.  We learned that it's important to not add an "s" to St John, as to not confuse it with St Johns of Newfoundland. Two different cities, in two different provinces. But I guess the locals get upset if you don't identify it correctly.

We were pretty excited to have a clear day with blue skies. After having spent the last few days in wind and rain and fog with dull gray scenery, we were really appreciating these gorgeous colors. Of course, I snapped about 50 gazillion pictures. But I will only post a few of them here. 

The scenery was unfolding in front of us and we were enjoying the miles and the smooth roads as well as the gorgeous colors and the sunshine. These are the travel days that we will remember the most.

Zooming along in the motor home, being comfortable and cozy as we were working our way further west. We just love traveling this way.

We took a little break at a roadside stop to work on some breakfast. It's kind of nice to just be able to stop on a whim, whip out a fry pan and some eggs and bacon etc. 

We sat down with a second cup of coffee and went over our bills. Even though we are out traveling, it was still "payday" on the 1st of the month and we needed to take care of everything from back home too. So once the light bill, the phone bill, the Starlink bill,  and the house and car insurance etc etc were all taken care of, we could close down the websites and hit the road again.  It is so convenient to be able to take care of things online and not rush back home to pay bills that arrive in the mail. 

Years ago, we used to make a family member go get our mail, open it all up and read it to us over the phone out loud what the totals were. And then leave them a series of blank signed checks to fill in the amount and mail them off for us. Boy have times changed?

Now, we do have our granddaughter going over our physical mail that does arrive at the house, and she scans it in and sends it to us via email if there's something important.  But so far, there was nothing that needed any immediate attention. 

As we got closer and closer to St John, it was clouding up and getting misty as we are descending down closer to the Bay of Fundy. 

It was like the town was surrounded by swirls of clouds as we got closer to the water levels in the middle of the city.  Up overhead, we could see the blue sky. But all around us was a misty fog with a funny tinge of gold because of the sunlight shining down through the haze.

We had heard of an interesting phenomenon that we wanted to go and look at. Fellow YouTubers Terry and Cindy O'Keefe, along with their Sheltie Ranger, from True North RVing Channel had done a segment about these "reversing falls" in the middle of St John. So we had to go see them for ourselves. 

We found a little spot in the city parking lot further away from the viewing platform. There really isn't any parking for large RVs in the main area, so we snuck down on the far end of the second lot and snuggled into the corner. The rest of the lot was empty except for one car. But we didn't know if other people would be arriving and we didn't want to go crossways and take up four or five spots! We don't want to be selfish that way... 

We made up some lunch and got a few things ready to bring the cameras down to the viewing platforms.  I charge batteries while we are driving, and then I have to get everything reloaded and set up to go walk down by the viewing platforms.

One part of the main platform was closed for construction! That was the one we plan to walk out on. Instead, we were rerouted down a flight of over a hundred stairs!

I opted to not take the stairs, due to my torn meniscus in my knee. It's torn completely free and that means at the tightest bend I don't have anything to help straighten it back again. Also it means when I'm at the straightest extension, I don't have anything to pull it back up. Which essentially, is the most you use when walking up and down stairs. 

So the next best thing was to hand Steve the camera and tell him "go at it"!! 

So he walked all the way down the stairs only to come face to face with a large group of people. He tried to get some video footage but all they did was talk, talk, talk in the background. They were actually talking about how to swing themselves off to the side of the platform to urinate? So I had to delete all the audio on the footage! Geez! 

The view from down there really wasn't all that good either. I stayed up on the top and walked along the railing of the parking lot. The views up from the top were a lot better. (Through the foggy haze). 

The river is clearly going from right to left. That is UPstream! It is running up over the rocks technically being a reversing waterfall. We were told that if we go on the other side of the river and further up on the other bank you can see it even more clearly with more rapids and more rocks.

Now the reason for this phenomenon is because the Bay of Fundy has the highest and lowest tides of anywhere in the entire world!!! It has a range of 28 ft from high tide to low tide. 

Twice a day, the massive incoming tide from the Bay of Fundy overpowers the Saint John River, causing the river to reverse its flow upstream.

So here we worked our way over onto the other side of the river. Here the water is flowing from the left to the right this time, which is also UP steam.  You can even see the waves...

We stayed there for a while and watched it, and then we decided it was time to move on and head towards our next stop. 

Steve decided to find a gas station to fuel up. The New Brunswick prices are a little bit better now. We fueled up at $2.68 a liter which converts over to $7.14 a gallon in US funds. We are averaging about 12 and a half MPG with all the hills and rough travel over this last tankful. Our next tank will probably be a bit better? 

When we were done fueling up, Steve spotted this sign on the corner at the gas station. Hmmmmm?  He wanted to get rid of all the filthy grime and mud that had accumulated on the motorhome over the last few days.

Over in the back corner of the lot was another sign, and this one is situated near a little garden shed building. Next to the shed is a line of cars waiting to get washed. Two gentlemen are outside with long brushes and a hose and they are washing each car in line. 

Their garden shed has a hose running over to the back of the gas station faucet. In the garden shed is a generator and a propane on demand water heater. They have buckets with soap and long-handled brushes. It's a self-contained car wash in a little movable garden shed!!! 

Steve walked over to ask "Jed" how much it would be to wash both our motorhome and our cargo trailer? He looked at it and said probably $45 or $50. That sounded good to us and we had Canadian cash on hand, so we got in line.

When it was our turn, Jed and his partner went right to work. They soaped us up and scrubbed us down. They said the cargo trailer was so dirty it needed work four times of getting scrubbed! 

They worked quickly but thoroughly and made sure everything was wetted down, scrubbed thoroughly with soap, and then rinsed free. 

Jed went round and around, removing all the grime and even some of the bugs that we've had with us ever since we left Wisconsin. This other guy was able to reach way up over the front windshield to the eyebrow of the motorhome. With his long handle he scrubbed and scrubbed until he got all of the bugs off.

When they were all done, everything was spic and span. It was amazing how much dirt came off, and how much lighter the motorhome looked.  It was really bothering Steve how grubby it was looking over the last few days. He takes a sense of pride in keeping it in good shape.

Steve had tucked three Canadian $20 bills in his pocket. Because he was quoted between $45 or $50 he thought he would have enough then for a little tip. But who knows how much it was going to cost? 

So he went over to talk to the guys while I was taking some pictures. They looked at him and said only $35!!  Well well well, for the good job that they did, and actually charging less than what they quoted, Steve gave them all three of the $20 bills and told them to keep the change. I think it made their day...

I went over on their side to take a picture of their setup.  I asked their permission to put the picture here on the blog and on YOUTUBE. They said *YES* because they want to become famous!!! 

Notice the one guy, putting all of his tip money into a plastic Ziploc bag for stowing in his sweatshirt. That's because they get so wet doing their work that I am sure his money would be soggy by the end of the day. Smart guy. 

Well, we found our way out of St John, and wound our way further to the West. Things were still pretty foggy on the highway, and we were potentially missing out on some beautiful views. We worked our way along the Bay of Fundy, sometimes seeing the edge of the water, but other times driving more inland.

Our next place on our agenda was something pretty special too. We worked our way back through some tiny crossroads and rural roads until we reached a place called Black's Harbor. This is where the ferry boat leaves to cross over to Grand Manan Island. 

Right next to the ferry harbor, is a special little place called Sea Glass Beach. We had to bypass the ferry toll booth, and explain we weren't actually going on the ferry, but we wanted to go to Sea Glass Beach. The very sweet attendant inside not only waved us through for free, she told us exactly where we could go and where we could park for the night too! 

Remember, I said the tide can raise as high as 28 ft.??? Here it is at it's highest point. The waves are right up to the shoreline and this is as high as it's going to get.

Even though it was only about 4:00 p.m., things were dark and hazy and it felt very late. We watched some of the vehicles load up onto the ferry boat that was going to depart at 5:30 p.m. The foghorn was plaintively sounding it's sad sound every few minutes. It was something we would have to get used to if we were spending the night here...

There was such a rugged beauty to this area. There weren't any houses nearby, and of course it really isn't a tourist spot or a vacation destination. But the local people know about the sea glass, and that's why they come here. 

Actually, as we were out walking with the dog, a local came by in a car and stopped to talk to us. He wanted to be sure we knew that we were at the famous Sea Glass Beach! And he said when the tide goes down you can even go around a loop of the harbor and find a second beach with even more sea glass! 

Ahead of us was a little gravel parking spot full of potholes. We didn't want to drive in there. Right ahead of this area was the sea glass beach.

But, for the evening, we were parked in the paved parking slots along with another motorhome and a fifth wheel. This would do for the night, especially since it was free!

We looked out over the surface of the water, not really sure what we were going to see tomorrow morning when the tide was out...

(I'll give you a little hint right here:)

WOWSERS!!!!!

Go back to the night before. We started to get used to the sounds of the foghorn every few minutes. That's a necessary thing when you have such craggy rocks and cliffs. The ferry left and went on it's way out to Grand Manan Island. One or two semi trucks joined us in the parking lot further over in the loop. But we were fine in the little corner that we were tucked away into. Nick did not like the sound of the foghorn, so he decided he needed to cuddle up tight with his little reindeer and get ready for bed.

Yup, that sounded good to us, too!

Here is the YouTube video post that goes along with today's blog:

141 miles traveled today

3,023 miles traveled so far