But….I am also from Alberta….hmmm what to do, what to do…..I was torn. This caused me some grief. If I voted for the Bay of Fundy, I was abandoning the province in which I had lived all my life. I always was a very proud Albertan – as a matter of fact ‘Pride’ is a pre-requisite to be Albertan. But…if I didn’t vote for the Bay of Fundy I was not truly embracing my new identity as a ‘maritimer.’

The New 7 Wonders of Nature contest announced the Bay of Fundy, which boasts the world’s highest tides, is now Canada’s entry in the global competition. Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park was disqualified for not meeting contest requirements. Hmmmm…and what are the ‘requirements’ I wonder.

The Maritimes’ iconic Bay of Fundy is back in the running to win an international natural wonders contest after a bid by Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park suddenly became extinct. Excuse the pun….

I grew up spending vacations in ‘Dinosaur National Park’ – have to admit it didn’t seem all that wondrous then, however got better once the MacDonald’s opened up across from the Tyrell museum. But then most children don’t appreciate things like that anyways. I know my son, was absolutely captivated and it jump started a life long love of fossils and everything ‘rock-jockey.’

Well to get the cold hard facts, and that is what I try to do….(don’t laugh), I went to the local papers out there in ‘Alberta land.’ No use going to my hometown paper the Edmonton Journal, as Edmontonians are still miffed that the West Edmonton Mall was not considered, although the food court there is pretty wondrous, anyhoo…I went to the Calgary Herald. According to their article this is the reason:

A spokeswoman for Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation said “The reason they gave us was that expectations were different from our end than there was on theirs of what was involved in the competition.” Well what in the heck does that mean? I suspected they did not want to really tell it like it is. So I checked out a paper from Belgium, which straight out said that the Alberta park didn’t make the cut because, well, there’s not much to do there. Wow!…nasty.

“Not much to do” kind of sounds as if “something to do” is dependant on man-made entertainment – can this really be true? I always thought experiencing nature was “something to do” – all these years I’ve been so misguided. No, there are not any amusement parks, water slides or tacky little people waiting to steal your money, however just a short drive away and you can find that. What Dinosaur National Park does have is an amazing carbon footprint in the history of creation of the earth. Located in the heart of the Badlands, Drumheller Valley has an interesting history which spans back some 70 million years to a time when the area was very different looking than it is today. White explorers did not discover the area until the 1880′s. J.B. Tyrrell, in his search for coal deposits along the river, discovered a skull of a dinosaur. That dinosaur is today known as the Albertasaurus. This marked the beginning of the collection of dinosaur remains that are sought after by museums all over the world, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum located in the Drumheller Valley.

While Dinosaur Provincial Park was knocked off the list, the places that did make the cut in Canada were Niagara Falls and New Brunswick & Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy.

Terri McCulloch, the manager of the Bay of Fundy Tourism Board, said now the bay needs votes to continue to the next stage. “I think the Bay of Fundy stands a very good chance of getting there,” McCulloch said. “If we can marshal the troops again, Maritimers were just amazing for support and now we have the whole country behind us.”

Well…probably not Alberta….

The Bay of Fundy again now joins the other 261 nominees from around the globe, a list that includes Mount Everest, whatever…you climbed one mountain you climbed them all.

The Bay of Fundy advertises a “New experience with Every Tide.” To say you have the highest tides in the world and to actual see this phenomena take place is something else.

The Bay of Fundy is a 170-mile-long (270km), straight-sided, somewhat funnel-shaped bay which splits at its northeastern head into two narrow bays, Chignecto Bay and the Minas Basin. It was formed as the continental plates parted millions of years ago. As they split, deep rift valleys formed, which quickly filled with sediment washed in from the land. The Bay of Fundy is one of these ancient rifts.

The mudflats also provide a larder of food to hungry migratory shorebirds. Each year up to two million semi-palmated sandpipers and other shorebirds stop over in the Fundy region during July and August on their annual migration from their spring breeding grounds, far to the north on the arctic tundra near Hudson Bay, to their wintering grounds along the coasts of South America. The semi-palmated sandpipers that settle in the Minas Basin and other areas represent 75-95% of the entire world’s population of this species. They build up their body fat on tiny crustaceans found only in mud of a certain consistency.

As for things to do; kayaking, canoeing, caving, whale watching, camping, sailing, birdwatching, climbing, beaches, golfing, museums, arts & crafts, dinning, beer drinking, and…whales…oh I mentioned the whales.

But enough said. VOTE! And vote often…all of this country of ours is truly AMAZING!! That is why we are so lucky to be Canadian. www.new7wonders.com

Til later

Some of you (all 3 of you at least) may have noticed that I did not post yesterday. This was because I was off doing “couplesy things“. Yes, hubby hauled me out from where I have taken root in a cold dank dark corner, mushrooms and moss forming on my north side and dragged me into the sunshine. (no! no! the light – it hurts my eyes!) .

Anyhow hubby being the rabid – no I did not say avid – I said RABID photographer that he is, wanted to tromp around Saint John taking advantage of it’s photographic opportunities and it seems my presence was required for this adventure. I was wary of this for the last time I accompanied him I slipped and fell amongst some rocks and found out what a tidal pool looked like from the bottom up. I laid there in the water for sometime before hubby noticed I was missing and returned for me. But ever the little trooper…..

His choice yesterday was the Fernhill cemetery. Now the last time I was at Fernhill was when I had just moved to Saint John and when on my way to the mall, turned too soon and ended up in the cemetery. Wandered for hours and could not find my way out. Not what I had been planning, but I must say I saved quite a bit of money that day.

Now anyone who has ever taken a trip through Fernhill knows that it is a huge place. I mean if you are going thru Fernhill without following an organized funeral cortège, I suggest you take along a compass, water, extra food and perhaps a flare gun to attract the search party.

I got in trouble from hubby who accused me of not being respectful enough and walking on graves. Yeesh!!! They have been interring people here since 1848 – it was hard not to walk on someone’s grave…

I must say however, I do recommend taking a tour through it. It is a wonderful spot in Saint John, covering acres of beautifully groomed hills and valleys, which wind through some very old gardens and trees. There is even a small brook running down one side of it and the sound of the bubbling water as you walk along the trees and foot paths in tranquility and quite, is relaxing and reflective.

“Resting here are heroes and heroines of two world wars, clergy, poets, politicians, princes, paupers, friends and family.” (taken from the Fernhill Cemetary web-site)

It is almost a museum of sorts. Monuments which themselves are absolute works of art and are never seen these days. Marble sculptures and carvings dotting small rises and valleys. Many of the graves are those of very famous city founders and of course their families and sadly many of their small children, infant mortality being what it was then.

JOHN FREDERICK YOUNG died at 19 years of age on Oct. 13, 1890 and is buried in this here. A public memorial is erected in King’s Square to recognize his heroism in giving his life in the rescue of Frederick E. Mundee from drowning in Courtenay Bay. A story of selflessness and heroism which never fails to affect me.

Two Fathers of Confederation, Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, and William Henry Steeves are buried here. Also, George Frederick Phillips who is one of the very few Canadians to have been awarded the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor.

Then there is the poignant story of the murder of Maggie Vail and her little one at Black River, and if you want to see the villain’s grave site – John Munroe hung for the crime, is buried here as well. For many years following his burial, a white scarf was tied to a nearby tree to mark the spot, but there is no scarf today, so you’ll have to look carefully on Snowdrop Path.

William Pugsley whom Pugsley wharf is named after, member of parliament and once Premier of New Brunswick lies under an impressive monument. One of our cats is named Pugsley after the great man himself and now I know where he will be resting when the time comes. (the other cat’s name is Fundy – so its into the bay with him)

We stumbled upon the family plot of the company which hubby works for and I swear that the emotion of that moment would make any employer proud. I even found the grave of the original owner of our home – now I know where to go when I want to complain about our plumbing…

We basically strolled through and found interesting plots and monuments as we went along, however a very useful walking map can be downloaded from their web-site.

Just another wonderful day in Saint John. We have found that even after two years we still manage to discover new and interesting things about this great city.

Til later