Saturday, July 12

Tour day at Saint John. We left the campground for a tour of the Reversing Falls and the city of Saint John. The Reversing Falls is the result of the extreme tides in the Bay of Fundy and the rock formations at the mouth of the Saint John River. The tide fluctuates some 28 feet from high to low. Under the water some 36 feet is a solid rock formation. At high tide, the ocean water overpowers the water of the river and great amounts go up stream, thus creating a rapids moving up river. As the tide moves lower, it reaches slack tide. There the river and ocean are at equal levels and forces. The water is smooth, and vessels can traverse the area. As the tide moves to low tide, lower than the river, the water rushes from the river into the ocean. Again this causes extreme rapids going into the ocean or bay. It is not really a falls but more of a class 6 rapids. There are many kayaks playing in the rapids. Vessels are forbidden to traverse this area except at slack tide. Saint John is a very old city. Some of the houses date back to the 1700's. They get about 10 feet of snow and 3 feet of ice every winter. (lots of freezing rain)
Our campground is a city park. It is some 2200 acres with several lakes. The lakes were hand dug by the prisoners over several years. There are hiking, biking trails, a zoo, several athletic areas and a campground for some 200 RV"s.