21 August 2013 Alpacas and SE North Cape Scenic Drive

Today we set out to explore the southeastern part of the North Cape Scenic Drive.

[Patrice writing.] Not far from our park was an Green Galbles Alpaca Farm at Birch Hill. We had driven by it on the way in to the park--I saw babies from the road, and had to go see them up close. To me, alpacas look like cute llamas--longer necks, smaller bodies, dainty legs, fluffy faces with nubby noses--and that describes the adults. The babies are way beyond cute.

This was a momma-baby group, and the adults had been sheared in May. A professional alpaca shearer makes the animals look like they have had salon haircuts, where if the owners did the shearing, the animals might not look so well groomed.

Sean was the daughter's boyfriend, and very much into the family business, knew all the particulars about alpaca care and wool processing. The owner Janice came out and let us into the pen with the group, and Sean even held a baby for us so we could pet her exquisitely soft wool.

Momma and baby

The male alpacas were in a pen on the other side of the barn--a couple were high quality animals that were studded out quite often, and the sires of several of the babies we saw. Sean talked about the shows that the alpacas have been entered in, and an impressive number of championship ribbons lined the walls of the gift shop.

Twins about two months old

A dust nap

The Girls (see the one head in the middle above the rest)

Munchies

[Patrice ends her bit.]

On the way we passed this beautiful St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. Churches dot the countryside--Anglican, Roman Catholic, United, Presbyterian. We've seen one Pentecostal in PEI--there were many in Newfoundland. Catholic churches came with the French, Presbyterian with the Scotts, and of course Anglican with the English. Churches held the communities together, and their history wove the cultures.

We visited Summerside again (where we watched the Highland Storm Show) to visit the Bishop Machine Shop Museum. The building that survives was one of a set of complex wooden buildings established in 1876 that housed the foundry and machine shop. Ship and mill castings, ploughs, and farm implements were made at this facility. In 1934 the it was split into a separate foundry and machine shop. Several belt-driven lathes, saws, and milling machines are on display here. The belts were attached to a motor that made the machines work. The setup reminds me of the belts attached to  a motor that ran the cement mixer in my dad's shop in Nashua, Iowa.

Bishop Machine Shop

After the museum we shopped at Sobey's (large grocery store chain in the Maritimes) and then drove west of Summerside on the beach road to Cap (French for "cape") Egmont. The West Point lighthouse is located in the Cedar Dunes Provincial Park near Cap Egmont.

West Point Lighthouse

As we walked out to the cliffs of West Point we found this eroded rock standing about 50 feet off shore. It was about 20 feet high and 30 feet long.

From this side you can't see the hole

Much more interesting and dramatic

Driving north from Cap Egmont we found the quilt shop at the Abram's Village Handicraft Co-op. This shop has operated for 44 years and displays many quilts, hand-pieced and hand-quilted. Other Acadian crafts for sale included woodworking, pottery, knitted and crocheted items, paintings, and hand-hooked mats.

After exploring the coast some more we drove across the peninsula toward home and ate dinner at Kenny's in Ellerslie. Patrice and I had "newfies" (french fries covered in turkey pieces with dressing and gravy and peas). Too much heavy food! This competed our day of site-seeing--we bought some gas and went home to the mosquitoes and our rigs.