Gribblenation

Among all the nooks and crannies and all of the little surprises you can find along the quiet southwestern coast of Nova Scotia is the Sandford Drawbridge. Purported to be the world's smallest manually operated draw bridge, the Sandford Drawbridge is located in the small fishing village of Sandford, not far from Yarmouth. The bridge was constructed so fisherman and visitors could cross from one side of the wharf system to the other without having to travel out to the road and around. Boats are brought in through the narrow channel between opposite sides of the wharf in Sandford and the small drawbridge allows the boats to pass through to where they are be moored. Sources and Links: ObscurePlaces of Southwestern Nova Scotia - Smallest Drawbridge Yarmouth Acadian Shores - Sandford Drawbridge ChronicleHerald.ca - Day Tripper: Magic Awaits at the End of the Road

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...

Parts of eastern mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island have a large part of their population boasting Scottish heritage. It is evident in the local culture, with traditions such as the use of fiddling in local folk music are still widely observed in this part of the province. In Sydney, there is the World's Largest Fiddle located along the waterfront. There are also some speakers of the Gaelic language in Nova Scotia; enough where the province has decided to put up bilingual signs in English and Gaelic for the different towns that you pass along the way. Nova Scotia government encourages that the signs be posted, in honor to preserve and promote the Scottish heritage that many Nova Scotians claim. In 2006, the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Public Works started a policy that allows for community boundary signs to be posted in both the English and Gaelic languages. Some of the places on the signs may be direct translations between Gaelic and English, but o...

While I am adding some blog posts and photos about Nova Scotia, I may as well post a photo of a sign that displays some of Nova Scotia's scenic travelways. I took the photo in Yarmouth near the ferry terminal during my September 2008 visit to Nova Scotia. There are eleven scenic travelways in total in the province, including the Evangeline Trail and Lighthouse Route, which both start in Yarmouth on their way east. I've personally driven on a number of the scenic travelways and can vouch that they are memorable and scenic. Sources and Links: Novascotia-immobilien.de - Scenic Travelways Locator Map (PDF file) Come Explore Canada - Nova Scotia

If you have ever visited Nova Scotia, you probably noticed the numerous scenic auto travelways that traverse the province. Some of the scenic routes are very well known, such as the Cabot Trail that is on Cape Breton Island, or the Evangeline Trail in southwestern Nova Scotia. However, there are plenty of other scenic travelways in Nova Scotia as well, such as the Sunrise Trail. The scenic auto trails are designed to allow the traveler to explore Nova Scotia by visiting its exciting towns, picturesque scenic vistas and memorable points of interest. At 229 miles (368 kilometres) in length, the Sunrise Trail hugs the northern shore of Nova Scotia along the Northumberland Strait (which separates Prince Edward Island from Nova Scotia) from Amherst to Auld's Cove near the Canso Causeway, passing through places like Pugwash, Tatamagouche, Pictou, New Glasgow, Cape George and Antigonish on its way from east to west. The Sunrise Trail is signed with Nova Scotia Trunk Route 6 from Amh...

This week's edition of Throwback Thursday brings us to the Canadian Maritimes. In September 2008, I first stepped foot on the shores of Nova Scotia (a place I wanted to visit ever since I was a young lad) after taking a ferry from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. On this photo taken while walking around Yarmouth, I encountered some of the different types of road signs that you'll find within the province. The route shields that look similar to U.S. route shields are for Nova Scotia Trunk Routes 1 and 3, which are provincial highways. the NS 101 and NS 103 shields are for highways that are more similar to the Eisenhower Interstate System in the U.S., although Nova Scotia includes a mix of freeways and other limited access highways.

Located in Nova Scotia's picturesque Cape Breton Island, the Seal Island Bridge crosses over the Bras d'Or Lake. Built in 1961 and part of the routing of NS 105 and the Trans-Canada Highway, the 716 meter long bridge compliments the surrounding scenery quite nicely. There is a lookout where you can get a scenic view of the bridge alongside the road up Kellys Mountain. Sources and Links: Structurae - Seal Island Bridge Mapcarta - Kellys Mountain