Having lived through the airborne flood that makes up New Brunswick and Nova Scotia’s southern areas, we have won through to Cape Breton Island. This campground is super nice. Shaded sites, power hook-up, free wi-fi that we can reach from our site (though I’m typing this sitting by the laundry facilities awaiting clean underwear. Truly a momentous day), the works. If anybody wants to come visit, we’re at site 68 in Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground. We were warned by a friendly lady in the laundry area that we need to drive the Trail clockwise because otherwise we’ll burn out our brakes on the downhill. This was valuable knowledge and we will be sure to keep it in mind.
Over the past week, we have developed the following observations that ought to be kept in mind while camping. They are not necessarily universally applicable but should at least enter the back of the mind when one is living under canvas (or nylon, if you are more conventionally outfitted, these days).
- Regardless of how picturesque the view is, if someone’s tent is set up someplace, give it at least fifteen feet of distance when walking near it. Preferably more, especially if it is one of two tents in the space of 200+ feet of ocean front. Saturday night we all went to bed fairly early after a long and tiring day. Early like about 8:45 early. I was still awake and reading but everyone else was pretty well unconcious or at least not making a lot of noise. An entire family passed within about ten feet of C & B’s tent, talking and shouting to each other (which I’m sure put paid to any attempt on their part to get to sleep). We were the only two tents and we were pretty centrally located in a large empty area.
- It is 100% fine to make eye contact as one passes by people sitting out by their tents. It is alright to say ‘hello’ or ‘bonjour’ or ‘salut’ or ‘hi’ to them. They are likely to respond in kind or at least give a nod or something. It is not as okay to stare at them in a kind of unblinking, bug-eyed froggy sort of glare. It is actually kind of freaky to them. They will appreciate one’s presence more if there is a wave and then a return to one’s walk and conversation with one’s companion. Perhaps a friendship could be struck up. This is unlikely if one not only performs this bizarre stare but crane’s one’s neck to maintain it as the path curves away. If one happens to see the objects of one’s previous staring interest later on at another part of the camp, one should also refrain from giving them the proverbial hairy eyeball at this juncture. It’s frankly creepy and kind of frightening. I am speaking directly to you, couple in Fundy National Park. Directly. To. You.
- Even if a fellow camper has a really interesting or neat-looking tent and one thinks it could be a very useful investment for one’s own camping endeavours, one should refrain from going directly up to it and looking into the tent, prying with greedy eyes into its secrets. Even if there is no-one in the tent it is not a cool thing to be doing. We have a fairly unique tent (on loan from my folks) that sets up in about 5 minutes (if we’re in a particular hurry) and nearly everybody who has either a larger tent trailer or a Coleman style fold up tent thinks it’s the best idea ever. They want one but they don’t want to ask us about it, they’d prefer to get right up close and have a look at our underwear.
- This one is not camping specific but it came up while Amy was doing laundry. Do not look disparagingly at people if they don’t happen to have children. This has more-or-less been covered before but I think it bears reinforcement at every opportunity. The little eye-roll and ‘tch’ is not within your rights as a stranger or really even as a non-stranger. Get over yourself, honestly.