Fickle Weather and the Dancing Boy

I was disappointed that we hadn’t heard any traditional music yet, so when we got to our campground in Cheticamp, and I heard that a fiddler was playing at a local restaurant that evening, I was thrilled. “Shall I make a reservation for you?” asked the campground manager. “Yes,” I said enthusiastically. He made it for 6.

After we set up the trailer and had lunch, we immediately headed to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Visitor’s Center. I didn’t want to waste any sunshine. I asked the ranger to recommend the best hikes. She said Skyline was the most popular trail. She said it would take about two hours, and we would see spectacular views of the ocean as well as whales and moose. “I’m so glad it’s sunny,” I said. “And tomorrow will be sunny too!” She looked at me surprised and said, “The forecast is for rain tomorrow!” I didn’t believe her. She showed me her printout. There it was in black and white. We had time to go on the hike, which was about 20 minutes away, before our dinner reservation. 

When we got there, there were quite a few cars in the parking area. In fact, other than Green Gables, this park was the first place we encountered a fair number of people, although it wasn’t really crowded. The sun was shining, but it was very cold. I donned earmuffs, hat, mittens, gloves and coat. D was less equipped. We started walking. There were a lot of dead trees. Evidently, budworm had killed them, and the moose are eating the young saplings, so the forest is still trying to recover. 

After about an hour of walking, we came to a boardwalk that descended a long way down the side of the mountain. You could see the winding road on the mountain, the steep cliffs and a majestic sweep of the  ocean. We didn’t see whales or any moose, but it was worth it. 

By the time we finished the 4.7 mile hike, it was 5:30, so we headed directly to the restaurant. From the outside it looked pretty small--a box painted bright yellow. Inside it was still pretty small but big enough to hold 30 or so people. It was crowded, but we had a small table right up front. The musicians arrived around 6:30. One played the violin and stomped his legs. His accompaniment played the piano. They played traditional Cape Breton music, which is an amalgam of Irish, Gaelic and Acadian. We enjoyed it immensely. Then, about 7:15, almost everyone left to go to a nearby concert. “I forgot there was a concert tonight,” said Mike, the fiddler. “I would have come another day.” We were glad he hadn’t. 

A little while later a family arrived--parents, grandparents and two young boys. There was a little buzz. “It’s Christopher,” said Mike. “He’s an amazing dancer.” And sure enough, after Mike played a couple more songs, 9-year-old Christopher got up, stood in front of Mike and started step dancing while the musicians played. Then he sat down and ate his dinner. A little while later, after he had finished eating, he got up and danced to another song. Awesome. 

The next day, even though I had trusted the weather forecast and had rearranged our schedule so we could be in the park when it was sunny, it rained. 

The park is part of a 185-mile scenic loop in Cape Breton called the Cabot Trail. We decided to do the part of the loop that ran through the park anyway. "It wasn't supposed to rain today," I said. "We should have stuck with my original plan and come a few days later." 
We started driving the hilly, serpentine road. It was cloudy and misty, but you could still get scenic views of the coastline under the clouds. We stopped at a few observation points and then took a short walk in the rain through a maple tree forest to see a traditional Scottish hut. By the time we got to our endpoint a few hours later and turned around, the sun had come out. Fall colors were in full force, but on the eastern side of the park facing the Atlantic ocean, they were particularly striking with more reds and oranges than on the western side. 
The sun lit up the colorful leaves and shone brightly on the ocean. All we needed were a couple of moose to complete the day, and on the drive back we saw two, standing by the side of the road. 
We took another short hike before the sun set and got back around 6. It rained that night and was windy and raw, the coldest night yet, but in the morning, the sun returned, so we decided to stay another day and go on some of the hikes we had missed the previous day. One led to a small waterfall. The Bog was a long boardwalk that wound its way through a sloped fen. Another trail ascended a ridge where plaques told the history of the Acadian families who had lived there. Their descendants still live in Cheticamp, and most residents speak both French and English. 
We had a picnic on a beach where you could still see the remnants of an old stone wharf. Green Cove was a short walk out onto a pink granite headland. The rocks shimmered with crystals and mica. 
"I'm so glad we decided to come to the park when we did," I said. "It's so much better with the sun shining." Tomorrow, it’s supposed to rain. We'll see.