Family Reunion: Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Evans family held its biannual reunion in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a multi-day celebration. Kathleen’s name was selected at the 2023 reunion in Paris (blog link. August 5, 2023 post: Paris Reunion ) and she chose Halifax for 2025. I visited the city in 1989 when one of the nuclear submarines I served on stopped here after a North Atlantic patrol—it was one of my favorite port calls while in the Navy and I was eager to return. 

Tuesday, August 19: There is usually a pre-reunion at a nearby location for those looking for extra family time and the chance to see more of the area. Kathleen picked Saint Margaret’s Bay, about 30 miles west of Halifax, which is where our adventure would begin. Fourteen of us got up early and dragged ourselves to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for a 6:00 AM flight to Philadelphia, then on to Halifax. We picked up rental cars, stopped for lunch at Oliver’s Gastropub in Fall River, then continued on to Hubbards, NS (population 390), where we checked in at the Anchorage House & Cottages. This laid-back resort was a perfect location, with cabins, a small swimming pool, playground, private dock and close proximity to the beach, restaurants, grocery store and the village. There were no formal activities planned and folks spent the evening getting caught up, greeting new arrivals, relaxing and exploring. Each cabin did their own thing for dinner—our group ate Indian takeout on our deck as the sun was setting. Map Link: Hubbards, NS

Wednesday, August 20: A morning of hiking was canceled on account of a province-wide trail ban in Nova Scotia due to wildfires. The fine for violating the restrictions was C$25,000, and we didn’t want to risk it, even though we never saw any evidence of nearby fires. Our afternoon activity went on as scheduled, and most of us drove to East Coast Outfitters in Lower Prospect to rent sea kayaks. Our group of 14 split into single and double boats and after a brief demonstration, we paddled off with three friendly guides on a two-hour tour around the stunning headlands, inlets, coves, kelp beds and tidal pools. After kayaking, we joined the rest of our family for dinner at the Shore Club, a local favorite, where most of us enjoyed their signature lobster, mussels, salad bar and blueberry dessert in the noisy and festive setting. 

Thursday, August 21:  A scheduled morning bike ride also fell victim to the wildfire trail ban, so we relaxed and packed up at our leisure before checking out of the Anchorage House. After some souvenir shopping at Lola’s Landing, we rented water bikes, kayaks, and standup paddle boards from Hubbards Cove Rentals for a short jaunt on (you guessed it) Hubbards Cove. The weather was beautiful, although a breeze and swell coming off the ocean kept most of the paddle-boarders on their knees and flipped one of the kayaks in a broadside wave/boat wake combo. 

Twelve of us ate lunch at the Trellis Cafe, then we all left Hubbards and drove to Halifax, where we checked into various hotels and Airbnbs. Our group stayed across the harbor in Dartmouth, after our original Airbnb in Halifax was sold post-booking. Dartmouth is more industrial and less touristy than Halifax, but we enjoyed our quiet neighborhood and proximity to several grocery stores. Danielle made us dinner, then we played Dutch Blitz, our favorite family card game. 

Friday, August 22: Our first reunion event in Halifax was a guided tour of the Alexander Keith Brewery. Founded in 1820 by a Scottish immigrant, Keith's flagship low-hop India Pale Ale is still the most popular beer sold in Nova Scotia. Fun fact (and not mentioned on the tour): Through a series of mergers and acquisitions the brewery is now part of the global conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev. The tour was informative and entertaining and included plenty of beer samples and even live traditional music and a sing-a-long.

Alexander Keith look-alike contest

We split up for lunch and our group opted for a picnic in the lovely 16-acre Halifax Public Gardens, established in 1867.  Halifax, population 350,000, is the provincial capital of Nova Scotia (“New Scotland” in Latin) and the largest city in the Canadian Maritimes. The Mi’kmaq (“mig-maw”) natives were the first to inhabit the region, arriving after the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago and they named this location Kjipuktuk, meaning Great Harbor. Europeans first visited in the early 17th century looking for fish and furs, recognized the value of the large natural harbor and began to settle here. Fortifications followed in the late 1700s, and the city remained an important seaport and strategic military stronghold until after World War II. Today Halifax is a modern, attractive city, with a busy and beautiful waterfront and economic drivers of government, shipping and shipbuilding, education, tourism, banking and more. Map link: Halifax, NS

We spent the afternoon at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the waterfront. Our extremely knowledgable tour guide focused on three themes of the museum: The story of the Mi’kmaq natives, the Halifax Explosion and the wreck of the Titanic. Kathleen and I observed last summer traveling through Quebec and Ontario that Canadians seem much more comfortable than Americans in dealing with the facts about how First Nations people were forcibly removed from their homelands and systematically mistreated. The Mi’kmaq exhibit was very well presented and we appreciated that the displays and our guide told the truth about the country’s history, however unpleasant at times. The Halifax Explosion occurred in 1917 when the Norwegian SS Imo collided with the French SS Mont Blanc, which was loaded with heavy explosives, and triggered the largest man-made detonation of the time, exceeded only by the atomic bombs in 1945. The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 is featured at the museum because the White Star Line, which owned the vessel, had an office in Halifax and the city was heavily involved in handling the victims—hundreds of Titanic deceased are buried in several local cemeteries.  There are many other excellent displays, including exhibits on the age of sail, small craft and the Cunard Line fleet of luxury passenger ships. Samuel Cunard was a native Nova Scotian, and his company would eventually acquire the rival White Star Line and still exists today.

Dinner was at Durty Nelly’s Irish pub, which was boisterous before we arrived with our 30+ person group, and it got even noisier when the live music began right behind our tables.

Saturday, August 23: Our first visit of the day was to the massive Halifax Citadel, begun by the British in 1749 on a hill overlooking the city and harbor. Originally constructed with earth and logs, the current star-shaped stone version was built between 1828-1856, and was an active military post until 1952, when it was transferred to Parks Canada. Even after Canadian independence in 1867, British troops remained here until 1906. The well-restored fort is staffed by costumed reenactors who portray life as it was in 1869, when Queen Victoria was on the throne and Canada was a new nation. Hourly sentry changes, drill and weapons demonstrations and the bagpipes of the 78th Highlanders were ongoing during our guided tours of this impressive fortress, which never saw combat action. 

After the Citadel, we boarded a ferry for Georges Island National Historic Site and Fort Charlotte. Originally a Mi’kmaq gathering place, this small island close to the city has a clear view of the harbor’s mouth and became another important element in Halifax’s defenses. Like the Citadel, the stout fort was never tested in battle and the site became a national park in 1965. Highlights included the incredible views of the harbor and city and a guided tour of the fort’s network of underground ammunition storage, led by a uniformed park employee dressed as a WWI soldier. One lowlight was that the tour company shorted us three pre-ordered lunches, although other family members shared what they had and nobody went hungry. Map link: Georges Island National Historic Site

A darker element of the fort’s history was its use as an internment camp for an estimated 900 French-speaking Acadians, who refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the British crown and give up their language and Catholic faith. They were imprisoned here between 1755-64 before being deported to destinations around the world, including southern Louisiana, where the local pronunciation of the French “Acadien” became “Cajun,” as those from the region are known today.

After sightseeing, we drove back to Dartmouth to shower and dress for dinner, encountering heavy traffic on the Angus MacDonald Bridge across the harbor. On our return to Halifax, we opted to take the Alderney Ferry, which dropped us off in the middle of the waterfront, which we were very fond of by now. 

Dinner was at The Auction House on Argyle Street, where we had the restaurant’s back room reserved for our 33-member group. Drinks and dinner were followed by tributes and anecdotes honoring Kathleen, with some of the speeches becoming emotional. The evening ended with Briggs drawing Paul’s name as the 2027 reunion’s future honoree, with Rachel as an alternate. Goodbyes were said to a few who were departing that evening and soon after another Evans family reunion was concluded. Many of us who grew up in different circumstances admire and envy this special set of siblings, who enthusiastically give up their time, money and energy in order to be together. It’s usually loud, sometimes chaotic, occasionally uncomfortable and always beautiful to witness this collection of close, complicated relationships that are rooted in a deep love for one another.

Sunday, August 24: We left our Airbnb, said goodbye to Danielle, Amy and Jay, who drove back to Boston, then ten of the remaining extended family met for brunch at Bliss Caffeine Bar near the Halifax Public Gardens. Then it was off to the airport, where 16 of us were on the same flights back to Minnesota, again connecting through Philly. After landing about 20 minutes late at 10:00 PM, we caught an Uber home and quickly fell asleep, happy to be back in our own bed. 

Bonus Question: How did the following entertainment awards get their nicknames? Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy (answer at end of post).

Heads up to our faithful DragonflyBoating readers: Kathleen and I plan to be back on the Illinois River after Labor Day to finish cruising from Chicago to Grafton, IL. You may recall that we bailed out in late June due to hot, muggy weather (post link: June 29, 2025: Stick a fork in us, we’re done!). The weather forecast for next week looks much better!

Photo Album: 

Bonus Question Answers: 

Tony—named for Antoinette Perry, actor, producer, director and co-founder of the American Theater Wing, who had recently passed away prior to the first awards ceremony in 1947. The official name of the honor is the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre.

Oscar—while there are multiple versions of this origin story, the most commonly cited for the Academy Award of Merit, as it’s officially known, is that academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick commented that the 8.5-pound statue resembled her Uncle Oscar. The first Academy Awards ceremony was in 1929, although the nickname wasn’t popularized until it first appeared in print in a 1934 newspaper article.

Emmy—named after the image orthicon tube, known by engineers as an “immy,” an important component of early television cameras. First awarded in 1949, the term was feminized to Emmy to better suit the statuette of a winged woman holding an atom.

Grammy—first given in 1959, the award for outstanding achievement in music was named for the gold-plated trophy in the shape of a gramophone, an early record player. The 5-pound awards are handmade from a patented zinc and aluminum alloy called Grammium.

 

Road Trip: Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota

Monday, August 11: I had such a great time on my last road trip that I decided to take another. My main destination for this adventure was North Dakota, a state that I’ve only ever traveled through as quickly as possible on my way to somewhere else (and the interstate speed limit is 80 mph).

I found several new points of interest heading out of Minnesota—the first was author Sinclair Lewis’ birthplace and boyhood home in Sauk Centre. When he was born in 1885, Sauk Centre was a tiny prairie town of only five or six blocks in length. Lewis began to write at age 15, graduated from Yale, and became the first American author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote popular novels such as Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith and It Can’t Happen Here, his 1935 story about the election of a fascist U.S. president that is eerily prescient. Map link: Sauk Centre, MN

Next I visited Alexandria, MN, home of Big Ole, America’s largest viking statue and the Kensington Runestone. The runestone is a 200-pound stone slab found in a farm field in 1898 near Kensington, MN, and the translated carvings suggest a visit by Scandinavian explorers in 1362. The original stone is on display at the town’s Runestone Museum, and while most scholars believe that it is a hoax, the official community belief is that it’s authentic. A 16-foot, 18-ton replica of the runestone stands at one of the highway entrances to the city. Map link: Alexandria, MN

In Moorhead, MN, I saw the Hjemkomst, a 76-foot, 16-ton sailing ship built by Roger Asp, a local junior high guidance counselor, who had dreamed of building and sailing a viking ship. Sadly, he passed away from leukemia a few months after overseeing the vessel’s 1980 maiden voyage on Lake Superior. In the summer of 1982, a crew of 13 sailed the Hjemkomst (“homecoming” in Norwegian) 6,100 miles from Duluth, MN to Bergen, Norway. Map link: Moorehead, MN

Troll carvings

After crossing the Red River into Fargo, ND, I first stopped at the Roger Maris museum, dedicated to the baseball slugger who set a single-season home run record of 61 in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth’s mark that had stood for 34 years. Born in Hibbing, MN, the Maris family moved to Fargo when Roger was 10. He always considered Fargo to be his hometown and insisted that any museum honoring him had to be in a public place, accessible and free to all. Following his wishes, the museum is located in the West Acres Mall in the center of town.

My other stop in Fargo was at the I-94 visitors center, where the wood chipper from the movie Fargo is on display. The Coen brothers’ 1996 film won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with the wood chipper scene at the climax becoming a cult classic. No part of the movie was actually filmed in Fargo and only the first scene was set here, with the rest of the plot unfolding in Minneapolis and Brainerd, MN. The Coen brothers chose the name Fargo because they thought it was catchy, memorable and invoked the entire frigid Midwestern region that they wanted to portray. 

Then it was north about 50 miles to see the KRDK-TV antenna, which at 2,060 feet is the tallest structure in North America and the fifth-tallest in the world. Map link: KRDK TV antenna

Bonus Question: What is the tallest man-made structure in the world? (answer at end of post). 

Finally, I arrived at my destination for the night, Lakeside Campground in Jamestown, ND, a locally run facility on the east side of the Jamestown Reservoir. I was able to snag one of their four rustic cabins and arrived with just enough time to unload my gear and make dinner before a round of thunderstorms hit.

Tuesday, August 12: I awoke at 5:45 AM, but eventually fall back asleep and got up at 8:00 AM. There was no rush, since the tourist spots that I wanted to visit in Jamestown didn’t open until 10:00 AM. First was Fort Seward, an 1870s outpost where U.S. troops were garrisoned to provide security for supply routes, telegraph lines and railroad workers. Next I visited the National Buffalo Museum, an informative display on our country’s national mammal, but a sad reminder of how these magnificent animals were hunted nearly to extinction. Outside there is an active herd pastured and inside are the remains of White Cloud, a rare albino buffalo that lived with the herd until her passing in 2016. The white buffalo is sacred to natives, and symbolizes hope, peace, unity and good fortune. Fun fact: Media entrepreneur Ted Turner manages more than 50,000 head of buffalo on 15 ranches in seven states and was inducted into the National Buffalo Foundation’s Hall of Fame. Next to the museum are Dakota Thunder, the world’s largest buffalo statue and Frontier Village, a replica of a 19th-century pioneer town. 

Next it was off to Bismarck to tour the North Dakota State Capitol, my seventh statehouse this summer. The second-most populous city in the state (after Fargo), the town was named in honor of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1873 in an attempt to attract German settlers and investors to the area. The art-deco style capitol was completed in 1934 and has an 18th-floor observation deck with beautiful views of Bismarck and Mandan, which lies directly across the Missouri River. On the riverfront, there are plenty of parks and trails, and a replica of Lewis and Clark’s 55-foot keelboat.

I picked up some provisions at Target, then crossed the Missouri into Mandan, headed for Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, the oldest state park in North Dakota (1907), where I had a reservation. The visitors center and hands-on exhibits throughout the park offer an excellent view into native and U.S. military history in the region. The On-a-Slant Village is an amazing recreation of Mandan earth lodges. There are multiple military outposts, barracks and a replica of the Commanding Officer’s Quarters inhabited by Lt. Col. George Custer. It was from here that he and the 7th Cavalry rode off to meet their demise against the Sioux at Little Bighorn. 

After touring the park by car, I pitched my truck tent at a lovely campsite at the confluence of the Missouri and Heart Rivers, then took a bike ride to explore more of this attractive park. It was a perfect evening, with clear skies, a light breeze, a comfortable temperature and low humidity. A large group of late-arriving youths briefly spoiled the peace and quiet, but they were respectful and quiet once they got their tents set up and settled in. 

Map link: Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, Mandan, ND

Wednesday, August 13: I reluctantly left my campsite and headed north to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, ND, dedicated to the Corps of Discovery and the local Mandan and Hidatsa natives whose hospitality was vital to the expedition’s success. Two miles away I visited Fort Mandan, a replica of the Corps’ winter quarters in 1804-05 along the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark arrived here looking for a place to spend the cold northern winter and were welcomed by the native people. For more than 300 years, the area was a major population center and a crossroads of culture and commerce. Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Shoshone, Lakota, Yanktonai, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Metis, French, British and Americans all met here and it was a logical place for Lewis and Clark to set up camp. They constructed a small fort out of cottonwood, which included living quarters, storerooms and a smokehouse and maintained a strict military lifestyle. It was here that the Captains met Toussaint Charbonneau and his teenaged wife, Sacagawea, who were hired as guides and interpreters. Originally a Shoshone from Idaho, Sacagawea was captured in a Hidatsa raid when she was 11 or 12 years old and her Shoshone roots would prove invaluable when the expedition crossed the Rocky Mountains the following year. 

Fort Clark Trading Post displays the remains of native villages and two fur trading posts from the 1830s. Archaeologists also discovered a large cemetery here, a reminder of how smallpox and cholera outbreaks decimated native populations, who had no natural immunity to European diseases.

At Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, an excellent museum and reconstructed, fully-furnished earth lodge and garden offered another look into the lives of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara peoples. A 1.3-mile trail winds past several sites where native earth lodge communities once stood, including where Sacagawea was believed to have lived before and after her journey with Lewis and Clark. Much debate surrounds the “correct” spelling of Sacagawea, which means “bird woman” in Hidatsa. The truth is that nobody really knows, mainly since Hidatsa—like most indigenous languages—were not traditionally written down. Even Lewis and Clark didn’t seem certain, as they used more than a dozen different spellings of her name in their journals. Most contemporary Hidatsa use Sacagawea, although the official North Dakota spelling is Sakakawea. I set up camp on a bluff overlooking Lake Sakakawea, an enormous 368,000-acre body of water that is the nation’s third-largest man-made reservoir. Lake Sakakawea State Park is the western terminus of the North Country Trail, which stretches 4,800 miles to the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. It was super windy day, and I opted not to set up my truck tent’s outer vestibule, after my experience in high winds last month on Lake Oahe in Pierre, SD with Amy. The wind was welcome however, since it kept me cool on the warm afternoon and evening and kept the mosquitos and biting flies at bay. I took a late afternoon hike along the lake, ate dinner and read until bedtime, when the wind settled down enough to get a good night’s sleep. Map link: Lake Sakakawea State Park, ND

Thursday, August 14: It was a hazy, overcast morning while I showered, ate and packed up. After a brief stop in New Salem, ND (see below), I visited Fort Yates on the Standing Rock Reservation to see the Sitting Bull Burial Site. Sitting Bull, a Lakota chief who became a prominent political leader and a vocal critic of government policies towards natives, was killed here in 1890 by Indian agency police supported by U.S. Marshals and soldiers attempting to arrest him. Sitting Bull had foreseen and was present at the 1876 victory over the 7th Cavalry at Little Bighorn and escaped with his band to Saskatchewan to avoid capture. He eventually returned to the Dakotas and starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show before retiring to the Standing Rock Reservation until his death. In 1953, relatives secretly exhumed what they believed to be his remains and moved them to a site near Mobridge, SD, closer to his birthplace, although some question whether the remains were actually his. Map Link: Fort Yates, ND

In Mobridge, I visited the second Sitting Bull Burial Site, then went for a short bike ride on the beautiful new riverfront trail, parking near a curious statue called “Walleye Up,” depicting a cowboy riding the state fish. Mobridge got its name when the Milwaukee Railroad was building a bridge across the Missouri River in the early 1900s. Telegraph operators used the abbreviation for Missouri in their messages, referring to the “Mo. Bridge” and this became the town’s name. Map link: Mobridge, SD

I turned onto U.S. Highway 12, which runs from the Pacific Ocean to Detroit, MI, and passes   through the Twin Cities. When I got to Aberdeen, SD (fun coincidence—Hwy 12 ends in Aberdeen, WA) I decided that I’d done enough sightseeing for the week and was close enough to make it home at a reasonable hour. I opted to stay on the smaller, slower highway rather than take the interstate in order to see more of the area, traveling through many Minnesota communities that I’ve heard about for years but never visited. Willmar, Kandiyohi, Litchfield, Darwin, Dassel, Cokato, Waverly, Delano and Independence all came and went, as did a beautiful sunset in my rearview mirror, and I arrived home around 10:30 PM. 

Beautiful sunflower fields were a regular sight

Here’s a photo gallery of the “world’s largest things” that I saw this week:

Salem Sue, largest holstein, New Salem, ND

Dakota Thunder, largest buffalo, Jamestown, ND

Sandy, largest sandhill crane, Steele, ND

Otto, largest otter, Fergus Falls, MN

Largest prairie chicken, Rothsay, MN (unnamed)

Bonus Question Answer: At 2,722 feet, the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the tallest man-made structure in the world. Opened in 2010, it was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, who also designed the Sears Tower, a previous record holder for world’s tallest building. 

Source: Wikipedia