Day Five (August 10)

Lake Utopia. What a beautiful lake, and what hospitality from our friends the Steepers, who not only provided us with their home in Moncton, but invited us down for a visit to their summer retreat. Jonathan did say, though, that living on this lake would be primitive, including the voyage out to the campground. The roads are impassable, and the only way out, apparently, is by ski.

Fortunately, I had brought along my slalom ski, and so I was prepared.

That evening, we headed into the town of St George, to meet with Norm Barrio. Norm is the same Norm who provided contact information for Marcel Barrio, who gave us the Rogersville lead. Norm is an outdoorsman, through and through, and his hospitality is true Acadian. He also offered us the last of his moose steaks, and that was an exceptional treat and a huge honour.

But his command of the dancing wood puppets is what entranced us the most. The Acadian culture is both warm and unique.

On our way back to the camp, we encountered several more Acadian gatherings of folk musicians, some in parks, and some on the front porches of people's homes, but as time was getting late, we couldn’t stop for these.

We got to the camp in time to get a campfire going, and then be drenched by a sudden passing thundershower.

But sleeping in Utopia is, well, it's utopia.

Thank you Jon, Trish and Ben Steeper!!