This park was designated a National Historic site because of the 4,000 year history of Mi’kmaw people in this area. Artifacts and petroglyphs attest to a vibrant culture here long before European settlement.

I wanted to see this park from the water like so many others have over the centuries. The canoe rental place was open at 9. We were there at 8:30, taking a walk and then getting the PFDs on. The woman helping us was very pleasant. She recommended going up the Mersey River for about 1 km. Then I could return and head over to Kejimkujik Lake. I rented it for 2 hours.

Eve was anxious at first, as she always is. But the quiet, peacful river had a calming affect on her. I finally found a balance for the canoe. Eve at the front to provide weight. Raisin in the middle – she doesn’t move. Greta likes to stay close and found that, under my seat, is perfect.

We were the only ones on the river. There were no ripples on the water – flat. You could see the forest reflection in the water.

I paddled up to a point where there was a big bend, about half an hour, then turned back.

We headed out in the other direction to get to the lake. The river widened but I kept close to the shore. I found I had 2 bars on the cell phone so did a live Facebook feed – that was unexpected. I did this video for the blog.

By the time we got back the 2 hours were about done. When asked I told them it was a perfect paddle. I really enjoyed the river stillness.

Back at the site, we had lunch and a nap. Near our campsite was a trail – called Slapfoot – the led to the beach. I got Raisin and Greta in the stroller and off we headed. Before the trail, there was a platform overlooking a marsh. It turns out that the species Water – pennywort is endangered and only grows in two places in Canada – and we were looking at one.

We headed down the trail. It was multi-use so I knew it would be easy. We did have to move to the side if a bicycle came along. But everyone was thrilled to see the two little pug heads sticking out of the stroller.

There were some great views of Jeremy’s Bay. That was the body of water located next to our campgrounds.

We got to the beach and there was a No Dogs sign. There were families swimming so I was fine with not going down. If it were empty I would have taken a picture.

However, something caught my eye through the trees. There was a large dog, off leash, on the beach. He was a muscular, Staffordshire type and caught sight of Eve. He started to cross the sand toward the path. He had a predatory gait and didn’t take his eyes off of Eve. I put Eve behind me. The owner was a young kid. Started calling after the dog but there was no recall happeing.

The dog came up to us but kept a distance and stared at Eve. I think because I was between him and Eve that he stayed where he was. As the owner came up, with leash in hand, I asked – is her friendly? Yes, he is was the response. As soon as he held the collar to attach the leash, the dog reared up on its hind legs and started a vicious grow.

I said that is not friendly, That is aggressive. Your dog want to attack mine. The kid says “Oh, he is usually not like this”. I then told him you have a serious problem that will end sadly some day.

I hope that stuck. He dragged the dog away and I managed to get the stroller turned around.

The rest of the evening was sitting by the campfire. I had kept the wood in the car so it did not get wet from the previous night. Did some more reading from Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw. The chapter entitled “Lust” is pure food porn. All I had was a chicken sandwich. Tomorrow we head for Blomidon Provincial Park and the amazing red, tidal cliffs.