The View from Meat Cove

Where in the world is the view from Meat Cove? First, this is Virtual Post Card #4 from our Road Trip North 2023, gentle reader! And, I promise to share more about Meat Cove, the northern most part of Cape Breton, here today. But first, here is information about this blog. This is a place where, each week, I share my paintings, road trip musings, and inspiration. Whether this is your first or millionth visit here, hiya, hello and a warm welcome! I choose a theme to guide my paintings each year. To read about this year’s painting theme, check the description in this link here. To subscribe and get a weekly dose of color for yourself, subscribe here. Ready for more about this week’s view? OK! Here goes!

Back Story on Our Trek

First things first! We had just arrived at Cheticamp Campground located at Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I wandered into the information center to check-in. David got out of the car to stretch his legs. As usually happens, a friendly kayaking couple walked up to him and asked him about the beautiful wooden kayaks we have on our car.

I wish I had taken a picture of this couple at that very moment. Why? Because they invited us to join them at Meat Cove to kayak with them the very next day. In fact, they had been monitoring the winds and weather for several days. The next day (last Wednesday) was the best day for kayaking. In fact the weather forecast for the rest of the week was really grim, blustery and rainy.

The only downside?

Meat Cove is located about 1 1/2 hours from our campsite and the last 8 km are pretty rugged dirt roads. But we decided to say “yes”…heck yeah!…to kayakers, Sara and Alain. David and Alain exchanged phone numbers and the plan for the next day was in the works.

Getting to the View at Meat Cove

Ya the drive to Meat Cove from Cheticamp starts along The Cabot Trail which is absolutely beautiful! There are vistas of the ocean, hills and big blue sky all along the way. We had heard that we needed to plan to have a full tank of gas and our own food and drinks. Why? Once we got past Dingwall, there would be no roadside attractions anywhere.

We continued to see woods, beautiful evergreen trees with tippy tops that looked like cathedral spires and ocean vistas. And, then the dirt road started. Wowee! Let’s just say the potholes were…uh…magnificent? And, we learned that we had (and needed) all wheel drive on our car to get down to the beach at the cove.

Time to Paddle and Paint

As David, Alain and Sara unloaded their kayaks and equipment, I wandered up a steep (steep!!!) hill to investigate painting possibilities. Holy Smokes the view was fantastic. And, there were many hardy souls who had set up camp near my painting set up. In fact, you can see a blue tent to the right of my easel. Whomever pitched that tent must sleep in one position all night long? All I could think of was…yipes…roll over a little too far and that person would roll right down the cliff! But, as usual, I digress. ;-D

Painting the View at Meat Cove

The air was warm and calm while I did a few compositional sketches and mixed up my oil paints. I loved to see the way the hills each had their own personality. And, I love how each had it’s own unique path of rocks and rubble that land in the water, too.

As I painted, many people drove up to see if there were any campsites left. The campsite manager was super friendly and had 3 kids ranging from 11 to 17 helping him get people settled in to their preferred spot. He also made a point to let everyone know the weather was going to take a turn for the worse the next day. I was surprised at the hearty campers with kids who were unfazed by this information.

Anywho, here’s the painting I finished that day. It’s 6×12 inches, painted in oils on a linen panel. And, I’m proud to say, I kept painting despite the (annoying) presence of black flies buzzing into my face, ears and eyes the entire time. Gahhhhh!

This painting is for sale for $197 + taxes + shipping = $236. But we’re away for another month or so. Meaning? Meaning I can’t ship it or get it to you till early October. If you’re thinking this painting belongs to you, be the first person to contact me here. I’ll send it to you after I varnish it and carefully package it up in October.

Paddling at Meat Cove

While I painted, the paddlers had a grand time and made it up to a super cool rock formation called the Hammer. They then found a beach, had lunch and paddled back by me at Meat Cove beach. I was finished painting, pooped and waved at them as they paddled for another hour or so. Here’s David bringing out his kayak from the surf. What a wonderful day!

We topped it off with dinner with our new found friends at a local diner in Dingwall. I am so grateful that we met Sara and Alain and got outdoors while we could. Why? Stay tuned!

Rainy Days and Camping

When we returned to our campsite around 10pm that evening, so many campers had left. And, for good reason! The forecast included rain, wind, and more of the same. Me? I was excited to have a low key day at the campground. That way, I could write postcards and chill out after several days on the road. But, persistent rain can be a bit of a bummer. Especially when hiking and other outdoor plans are in the works.

What can you do? We just decided to hunker down on Thursday morning. Here’s a quick video of our soggy rainy world inside our screen room we had set up outside our little teardrop camper.

Ya – that was a character building experience. But, by that afternoon, we decided, rain or shine, to drive up to Gampo Abbey. What’s that? It’s a Buddhist Monastery on the coast of Cape Breton, located just 20 miles from our campsite. And, my favorite spiritual inspiration, Ani Pema Chodron, lived and worked there in the mid-late 1990s. I love her books, especially “Comfortable with Uncertainty,” and her Guided Meditations and thoughts on YouTube are (IMHO) just wonderful.

Hikes and Onward

As we drove to the abbey, we stopped and did a hike. There were foundations of old, homes along the hike’s path. And, the path was marked with tales of the 5 families who had lived in those homes. Hardy and resilient men and women who fished off the coast 100+ years ago, tended gardens and raised 6-9 children each. Seeing the rugged coastline and thinking about these families from long ago made me realize that our camping in 24 hours of rain was nothing!

The Origin of The Name of the View

I realize I would be remiss if I didn’t at least try to share the origin of the name of our view. After all, I have never seen “Meat Cove” in any other place we have visited. Have you? So one website said Meat Cove got it’s name because sailors at sea could smell meat cooking from the cove. Others said it was where hunters would fix their caught game before heading home. I’m not even going to reference the websites with this information because it all seems a bit bogus to me. But here’s a reference to the hiking there at Meat Cove. I’ll leave it to your own imagination to explain the origin of this place’s name. All I can tell you is the view is fantastic and has given us some wonderful memories!

How About You

How about you gentle reader? Have you heard of Meat Cove? Or maybe you have a name of a place with a crazy unusual name you would like to share here? If so, please do! I hope you enjoyed this week’s Virtual Postcard #4. And, stay tuned for more updates as our Road Trip North 2023 continues!