PEI Lighthouses - North Cape Coast Drive

June 2, 2018 was cold and VERY WINDY on Prince Edward Island.  It would have been nice to just curl up in our warm RV with a good video or book, but we had lots of exploring to do before leaving the Island.  On this day, we took the long scenic drive west to North Cape, covering the west and north coasts.

Our first stop was in Summerside, a touristy but quaint town with lots of old buildings in the historic district.  Down on the waterfront, we spotted the Summerside Range Light, tucked among quaint shacks now occupied by seaside vendors:

We stopped for lattes, then continued our drive west, and on the other side of Summerside found another range light beyond a beautiful waterfront park:

This was only the beginning of a long (8 hour) day's drive.  As we took the scenic drive along the coast, we spotted this beautiful church -- Notre Dame de Mont Carmel, in the little village of Mount Carmel:

We must say that the Acadians know how to build churches, which are always magnificant, even in the smallest of communities. Driving further along the coast from Mount Carmel, we reached a little, unnamed harbor light perched on private property where we could just see it but couldn't reach it:

Then it was on to Wellington, where we wanted to visit the famous Bottle Houses, constructed by Edouard Arsenault, the last keeper of the Cape Egmont Lighthouse (see below).  He used over 30,000 bottles to construct three striking buildings.  Below, you see the Six-Gabled House beyond a trellised garden, which was another hobby of Edouard's:

His Chapel has real pews and altars made of bottles and mortar.  According to the owners, the Chapel is regularly used for weddings:

Here you can see a model Edouard built of the Cape Egmont Lighthouse, beyond the Six-Gabled House:

And, last but not least, we had to stop in the Tavern, which reflected Edouard's sense of humor.  Inside, on the bar, are displayed a variety of very unusual liquor bottles he collected over the years.  David hoists his favorite:

After the Bottle Houses, it was on to Cape Egmont and its large lighthouse, the original one for which Edouard was the last keep.  To us, it looked a bit neglected for the prominent position it has on a southwest point of the Island:

As we drove up the westernmost coast from Cape Egmont, the wet, foggy weather and PEI's unique marshy environment created ghostly views across bays and harbors:

The prior day's storms dumped so much water into the streams and rivers of the Island that they were all running full -- and RED from the iron-rich sandy soil that is ubiquitous on the Island.  The water in this river roared over a dam near the bridge we crossed:

If that photo wasn't dramatic enough, here's a video of the red-flowing river in action!

Next, it was on to Cedar Dunes Provincial Park to examine the West Point Lighthouse.  At this stop, the weather was so cold, wet and windy that we had a hard time struggling along the boardwalk to the lighthouse:

On up the west coast we drove, eventually reaching the world-famous Seacow Pond, a fishing village not far from the North Cape.  As we crossed the harbor river, this light-hearted sea captain greeted us and showed us the proper way to salute the brave souls who leave the harbor to fish every day:

Eventually, we reached North Cape and its lighthouse, settled in near a visitor center --

-- and a HUGE windmill that dwarfed our little Jeep:

North Cape was the climax of our trip, but we had two more lighthouses to find before returning to our campground.  This was the first -- the Mimiegash Range Light, looking a little under the weather: 

Last stop:  the Cascumpec Lighthouse, but it was so far out on a spit that we couldn't drive to it, and the bitter weather prevented us from hiking out (if that had been possible).  We had to satisfy ourselves with this photo from a distance:

This was just about the end of our lighthouse drives.  We've circumnavigated Prince Edward Island, gotten glimpses of its beauties and its striking shorelines.  Oh, yes, and we made note of provincial parks perched out on capes or in coves where we might spend more time when we visit PEI again.