Eric Stendal

Date: Thursday, 17 September 2026

City / Region: Edmunston, NB

Weather: 17° to 20° today cloudy skies, but bright very little wind nice pleasant day for driving.

Morning Summary

We left our cottage this morning at 8:30 in the morning and made our way towards the Confederation Bridge, which would take us from Prince Edward Island to the mainland of New Brunswick. We really enjoyed our stay at the cottage; one of four identical cottages on their piece of land.

Just before 11 o’clock, and we stopped off the road of the highway to get a Starbucks coffee, use the washrooms, and have a little bite to eat before we continued on our travels west towards Edmunston. Maggie was able to beg for a few nuggets of breakfast sausage and egg from Shelley’s wrap.

Afternoon Summary

We were about 47 km close to Edmunston when we felt Maggie needed a little stretch, so we went off the highway about 5 km and ended up in Four Falls. We found a little spot by a bridge, and pulled over to let Maggie walk around a little bit. We went to the start of this trail where I was able to snap a couple of photos.

Evening Summary

Driving through New Brunswick a little further into the province, we noticed that the colour of the trees were more vibrant in colour than when we were coming this way through last week. We noticed quite a difference of colour in only a week’s time with the reds and oranges popping in contrast against the green of the Evergreen trees. It was also nice to see a whole bunch of birch trees on our travels. We don’t see very many of those in Ottawa.

After a long drive today, we finally arrived in Edmunston about 4 o’clock, and after settling into our room, we made our way to Boston Pizza for greasy round sustenance and yeasty libations.

After supper, we felt like a little stroll before heading back to the hotel. We ended up at this nice boardwalk in town at the Petit-Sault Park. Maggie walked a good distance of it before resolutely planting herself firmly between us.

Daily Highlights

• Our best moment was coming across the random spot where we went to let Maggie walk around (Four Falls). It was spontaneous and turned out to be quite the nice little location for her to get some business completed.
• Nothing sticks out today as being super funny; I did have a chuckle when I went to post some postcards in the letterbox at the gas station in PEI. Another customer was coming towards the door as I was about to slip them in. “People still send postcards?!” he said. “Yup…believe it or not, they do!” I replied.
• We couldn’t believe how much the colour of the leaves had changed in just a week’s time – that was a big surprise. We love the autumn time.
• Something I learned: In the 1830s, the border between Maine and New Brunswick was fiercely disputed. During the Aroostook War (1838–39), both sides mobilized troops over the territory around the Madawaska/Aroostook region.
  
  The conflict became so serious that thousands of troops were sent to the area, but remarkably, almost nobody was actually killed in combat. It became known as the “Bloodless War.”
  
  The dispute was eventually settled by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which established much of the modern Maine–New Brunswick boundary.
  
  And there’s an even more local wrinkle: Madawaska’s French-speaking settlers developed a distinct identity that eventually became associated with the term “Brayon.” Edmundston remains one of the principal centres of that unique Franco-American/Acadian culture.

Logistics

• We drove 602 kms today taking just under eight hours of very comfortable driving. It was long, but with just the right amount of stops and driver switches.
• We filled up in Edmunston at the Petro Canada: 48.161L @ $1.888/L for a total of $90.93. We also bought some sandwiches and coffees ‘n treats today in addition to enjoying a quick supper at Boston Pizza.
• We are soooo tempted to drive past Québec City tomorrow and just make the push home. We’ll decide tomorrow morning, however, just to see how we feel. It is three and half hours from here to where we’re staying in Québec City, and four and a half hours from there to home. That’s eight hours of driving in one day….hmmmm…….

Closing Thoughts

One of our longer days of driving today. The drive through PEI towards the Confederation Bridge was beautiful with the rolling landscapes, farm land, and lakes. New Brunswick is getting a head start on the trees changing colour. We hope that trend is carrying on towards home in the Ottawa Valley region.

This was a good day today – long driving – but good to have arrived safe ‘n sound to rest up for tomorrow’s adventures.