What do you do when your long weekend hike is a complete bust? You find some craft beer and a donair, check out the local sites, and make the most of a glorious fall day.

This Thanksgiving, we had the privilege of being deep in the New Brunswick wilderness, at a rustic cottage on the shore of the Saint John River, somewhere between Fredericton and Nackawic.

We had the best of intentions of checking out a nearby hiking trail, a trail that Hiking NB refers to as the Flattop Mountain Trail. It was close by, and a nice length. We thought the advertised look-off points would be the perfect place to take in the fall colours (which are now in their full glory in the Saint John River Region).

We missed the fine print. Or more accurately, the bright-red-medium-sized print.

We followed the map. We used the GPS. We drove 20 minutes on a normal road, then 20 minutes down a narrow, bumpy dirt road. We parked. We traipsed through the woods for half an hour, pushing our way through the thick underbrush. We could not find this trail. 

But you know what? Dallas had a blast. She’s a pro at navigating through the woods. Hiking fail, yes. Fun fail, definitely not.

Plus, this meant the apres-hike could take center stage.  We picked up a growler at Big Axe Brewery (this beer is delicious).

We got donairs at Pizza Twice (this food is the best).

We checked out the Nackawic Walking Trail (this was Dal’s favourite part).

… And we saw the biggest axe in the world.

Oh, and we hung out at this beautiful park by the Saint John River.

Our visit to Nackawic, N.B. was an awesome way to kick-off our Thanksgiving long weekend. And this was just the beginning.

I hope you had lots to be thankful for last weekend. I know I did.