Keji

 Location: Shelburn, Nova Scotia, Canada

Kejimkujik National Park, known affectionately as "Keji", is a real gem. We spent three days there and had a wonderful time. We pretty much did all of the activities as they all sounded interesting and we wanted to learn about the indigenous people in this area.

 On arrival, we checked into the park and got assigned a campsite (the last one available!!?!) for the next two nights. Our first stop is always the visitor center to get acclimated and decide what we want to do. An easy decision since it turns out that the trails along the creek around the visitor center are pretty nice! Along the way we found two really comfy red Adirondack chairs where we sat for some time, contemplating the flow of the water over the rocks. Apparently, the park service places these red chairs in various locations throughout the entire national park system. Pretty nice find!

 Then it was off to the beach where Todd Labrador, a Mi'kmaq (pronounced "MIG-maw") native American is building a birch bark canoe. Todd is one of the last, perhaps the only person currently building canoes in the Mi'kmaq way. Quite a process. He and Mark hit it off right away and chatted for quite a while, discussing arcane things like tumblehome, gunnels, and willow root stitching.

Then it was back to the campground where we took on the difficult decision of whether or not to stay up late to go to the "theater" from 9:30pm until 10:30pm – way past our usual bedtime. Being the adventurous types you all know and love, we opted for the theater. On arrival, we were greeted by a woman dressed up in man-drag with a penciled in moustache. "Welcome to lumber camp!" she shouts in her sort-of deep voice, hands on her hips in a manly stance. "You folks look like crosscuts. Go on over there and sit down on those benches. The cook will get you settled in." (S)he then returns and greets the others as they arrive, assigning everyone to one of three groups.

Apparently we are all in an 1887 lumber camp. The boss tells us all about the pay (not much), the work day (long), the expectations (high), the sleeping arrangements (not comfortable), the food (not so great), etc. It's dinner time, so they offer us some authentic 1887 vegan beans and gluten-free bread, butter, and molasses. Each group has to growl loudly to find their place in line – ours was the loudest, so we got served first. We were each given a flimsy coffee stiring stick as a fork, so had to eat our dinner one bean at a time. Many bad puns ensue during their talk. Everyone is having fun. After a particularly painful series of puns involving butter, the boss and the cook are collapsed in tears and Mark pipes up "You deserve a pat on the back for that one, sir.", eliciting more groans and tears from both actors and audience. Wonderful time, and we're really glad we pushed ourselves to stay up so late.

 On day two we did a really nice hike through a stand of virgin hemlocks, one of the most popular hikes in the park. We got there at about 7:30am and had it to ourselves for the entire walk until right at the very end. The trail was interspersed with boardwalks, to preserve the roots and fragile undergrowth. Fantastic!

Then it was off to a session on Mi'kmaq heritage, where we met Jill and Donna, an actor in last night's skit. Then back to see Todd at the canoe again, where we met Ashley, who played the boss. She looks a lot different with her hair out and no moustache! Small world, this park <grin>. We finished the day off back home at the campsite with dinner and a nice, quiet campfire.

Our third and last day started out with yet more hiking, followed by a particularly pleasant petroglyph presentation (alliteration, anyone?). We met the presenter (who turned out to be the cook from lumber camp) at a parking lot. She introduced herself as Ursula or Little Bear, a Mi'kmaq from up in Cape Breton and proceeded to enthrall us with her storytelling. "When I was a little girl this old white man came to visit my grandfather with a great, big book full of pictures to ask him about the petroglyphs. I was only 7 and couldn't speak English yet, so I said to my grandfather <a long paragraph of Mi'kmaq none of us understood> Grandfather, Who is this man? What are these pictures? Who drew them? Why is he showing you his book?"

It was great. She'd tell us part of the story in Mi'kmaq, then translate for us into English. While she told it, she really was the little girl. We absolutely loved it – she showed us by example that the art of story telling is still very, very much alive and well in her culture. On our walk back to the start, Mark told her how much we liked the lumber camp a couple of nights ago. She said "Was that you that said the boss deserved a pat on the back?" "Yes", I'm afraid so" he replied. She said "That was really funny." So nice to be appreciated.

One last trip back to Todd to check on his progress with the canoe, and we were done. Some of the best three days on our trip to date. Keji was full of surprises for us and we are really grateful for our experiences there.

Mark & Julie