Canada Day

  July 1 is Canada day, and since we've all been residents of the great nation for approximately a month, Canadian patriotic fervor was running high (although quickly waxed by the patriotism that came out for our on-island fireworks celebration for July 4th). We traveled around the island seeing all the great sites Grand Manan has to offer and a few of us competed in the Greasy Pole competition, wherein one straddles a barrel that is slid along a soaped up piling pole and tries to grab a Canadian flag affixed to the end of the pole. The three of us that tried it had no success but enjoyed the thorough soaking that is inevitable in the competition whether you can grab the flag or not. Those that succeed in the competition are usually quite tall and heavy, and none of us really had the requisite qualities. Also, about half the population of Grand Manan seemed to be watching which was a little unnerving, especially since they know immediately that we're not from Grand Manan (One of those three islandahs up theyah...).

Southern head of Grand Manan. These cliffs are absolutely huge, made of basalt. Grand Manan has two distinct geographical parts - the flat eastern edge of Precambrian rock where almost the entire population lives and the rugged central and western portion of Jurassic basalt where only a small hamlet, Dark Harbor, lies

For your viewing pleasure a failed attempt at the greasy pole

The famous hole-in-the-wall on the northern end of Grand Manan

Pretty much the entire Bowdoin/Kenyon/Guelph/Queens crew minus 2