I recently visited North Cape, the northwestern most tip of Prince Edward Island. I went to have a look around and take some pictures of the coast around sunset.
The North Cape is home to some wonderful views. It boasts the longest natural rock reef in North America and is the primary entry point to the Black Marsh Nature Trail.
It is also the site of substantial human activity including the Wind Energy Institute of Canada, an interpretive centre, a gift shop, a restaurant and the requisite parking. There is also a lighthouse on the site although it was surrounded by a tall fence and wasn't at all accessible from what I could see.
I arrived at the cape around 7pm on a weekday to find the parking lot on the site empty. I drove down the dirt lane beside the parking lot to the back of the interpretive centre. There were a few vehicles parked near the bluffs with their owners enjoying the evening and the view.
The first thing I noticed on the north side of the cape were all of the shore birds. More sand pipers than I had ever seen in one place scurried around the beach and rocks. In the water and on the rock reef were dozens of gulls and perhaps other birds (I'm very inexperienced at bird identification).
My 250mm zoom lens wasn't nearly sufficient to capture the birds in any detail but here is a snapshot of the reef:
After admiring the birds and walking the rocky beach a little ways I made my way along one of the several two vehicle track dirt roads to some nearby bluffs down the western edge of the cape.
The bluffs along the western shore are much higher than the short ones along the northern shore. Several times my height vs about my height. A convenient vehicle-sized (if not worthy) ramp cuts through the bluffs down the beach. I walked down the ramp and found my main subject for the evening, a portal through which to view the sunset.
Here are a few photos from my trip
Window View
Ducky
The shape of the eroded bluffs from this angle made me think of a rubber ducky bath toy.
Here
A well weathered stone catches the light from the sunset while looking over the calm waters.
Silver Moment
This is my favourite photo from this trip. The silvery light is really unique. Annoyingly the horizon is slightly off level and my super tight composition makes it impossible to fix without chopping the top off the rock formation.
Windmills of the North Cape
