Newfoundland Aug 27 - 31

Aug 27 - we continued southwest on the T.C.H. to Stephenville, once again we dropped the trailer off and drove to the Port au Port Peninsula. This small peninsula has a couple dozen tiny fishing villages, the population are descendants of Acadian settlers. The weather was very windy (again) and a bit rainy so we only made a couple stops. We were driving along this rustic coast and came over a rise and there's a huge mining operation, it's a limestone/dolomite mine. They load the product on to ships right there. Back in Stephenville we drove around town, it was a US Air Force base until 1961. There are acres of tarmac going to waste, the local airport does use one runway. There are also several hangars and other buildings only a few in use and maintained. Denis has been looking for back tires for the trailer and a small OK Tire had them so we'll do that in the morning.



Wild waves, Port au Port Peninsula

Aug 28 - took the trailer to the tire shop and true to their word we had two new tires and  were on the road by 8:30. We went directly to JT Cheesman campground about 10 km from Port aux Basque, we'll stay here for 3 nights. We have the luxury of wifi in the trailer but not cell coverage. We toured around Port aux Basque, the terrain really defines the town, there are pockets of development inlets and  bays. We then drove east along the south coast to the end of the road, about 40 km. There is a very unique lighthouse at Rose Blanche. It is a granite house and light tower, it's been completely rebuilt. The tower was still standing but the house was in ruins. On our way back through Port aux Basque, Denis gave in and bought a bottle of screech.

Rose Blanche Lighthouse

Yards are small and not level, note the clothes line over the trampoline net....

Sharing our Screech

Aug 29 - we headed north and explored a couple side roads that we'd passed up on the way here. We went to a couple more lighthouses at Cape Ray and Cape Anguille. Denis visited a small museum/collectible shed that we happened upon on a side road. The terrain changes very quickly here, if you go 10 km to the south and then east it's all rock, 10 km north it's heavily forested slopes. The highlight of the day for me was garden beets and carrots we bought along the way, Denis finally got his 'blue' potatoes but they are actually purple. Along with salmon we had a very tasty supper.

Great old Ford at museum

Newfoundland Aug 24 - 26

Aug 24 – the ferry ride back to Newfoundland was uneventful, oh we did see a few dolphins/porpoises to liven up the trip. We stopped in at Port au Choix National Historic site, four different native cultures inhabited the area over the centuries. The land is limestone barrens and very little grows there and what does grow is quite rare but the sea provided abundance for the natives and still provides a good living for the shrimp and snow crab sea harvesters. We camped for the night at Shallow Bay and had the luxury of a good wifi connection right at our campsite and acceptable showers near at hand.

Aug 25 – heading south, we haven’t had cell phone coverage for a few days, we’re feeling out of touch! We took a boat trip on Western Brook Pond, which is a fjord but over the eons it has been separated from the coast and only has the brook outflow to the sea. First step on the tour is a hike over bog/marsh and moose pasture, we chose the 4 km route because we had time to spare. We learned a new term – a slow, barely flowing body of water is called a steady (at least in Newfoundland). The boat trip is two hours through the spectacular glacier carved valleys of Gros Morne Park. We took the shorter 3 km hike on the way back because the weather was less than perfect, but we were glad that we hadn’t waited until later because the fog and drizzle settled in. On the road again early in the afternoon, we explored around Rocky Harbour and then continued to Wiltondale where we headed west. We left the trailer at Lomond River campground and continued on to Woody Point, where we visited the Discovery Centre, Denis took in the exhibits and I enjoyed an art exhibit. We continued on to Trout River, quaint fishing village where in April of this year a dead blue whale was washed up on the beach.  It has been removed to Ontario but we aren’t sure what the final plan is for the skeleton. We had dinner at the Seaside Restaurant, where David Suzuki has eaten, and that’s where we learned the whale tale.

These red chairs are scattered around the province in Federal parks, this was at the Western Brook Pond

Aug 26 – we left Gros Morne Park and continued south to Deer Lake and on to Cornerbrook. We dropped off the trailer and drove west along the Humber Arm to the end of the road at Little Harbour. We stopped at Bottle Cove and hiked to Captain James Cook’s lookout, beautiful warm sunny day but still very windy out there. I guess that’s why the park and some other places are called ‘Blow Me Down’. On the way back to Cornerbrook we visited the Woods Island Re-Settlement House Museum, I can’t get over the fact that all this re-settlement happened in the 50’s and 60’s, I thought it was longer ago. The lady at the museum said her family was relocated in 1961, when she was 6 years old. We came back to Cornerbrook and toured around and are we be leaving for Stephenville in the morning. We have a reservation from Port aux Basques to Sydney on August 31.

Here I am on Sunset Rock but it's not sunset and I didn't let the wind 'blow me down'

 

Captain James Cook Lookout

I changed the color to red so our route shows a bit better

Newfoundland & Labrador - Aug 19 - 23

We've been having issues finding a wifi spot, even some campgrounds that advertise it have very poor signals.

Aug 19 - from the campground we headed to Lewisporte for a brief look around, in the rain, and then continued on to Gander. Denis, being an aviation buff, has been looking to visiting there. He toured the aviation museum, which was smaller than expected but good all the same. We went to the airport but it was a quiet day. Then we headed out on the T.C.H. (Trans Canada Highway) for a long drive to Deer Lake, having decided that we would have to miss the Baie Verte Peninsula. The periods of heavy rain made driving less than ideal but Denis persevered and we arrived safe in Deer Lake for the night. 

One more place off Denis' bucket list

Aug 20 - Our plan was to head to St. Anthony's, at the extreme northern end of the peninsula, as quickly as possible and then take our time coming back, but the sun was shining and we just had to stop and enjoy the beautiful sights a bit. We camped for the night near St. Anthony's.

And here we are on the Viking Trail

Arches Park

Aug 21 - We made our way about 30 km to L'Anse aux Meadows, a National Historic Site and UNESCO Heritage site, where the Norse, wrongly called Vikings, arrived in North America 500 years before Columbus' discovery. Very interesting site with replicas of some of the buildings that were there and very good re-enactors. The archaeologists discovered the site in the 1960's, previously it was thought to be a native village site. The weather was not cooperative - cold, wind and a bit of rain or we could have spent all day there. Denis comment - L'Anse aux Meadows is the apogee of our trip!

Denis about to enter the Viking lair

In the bay at St. Luniare there was a smallish ice berg so we walked down for a closer look. Denis retrieved a piece of ice from the floaties near shore. As we were watching a large chunk broke off (calved) and then as we were leaving a kayaker paddled between the two upright pieces which were still joined under the water.

This one floated into the bay from ice berg alley

We went to St. Anthony's and Denis toured the Grenfell museum and I toured the Grenfell house, remarkable man who did wonderful work in this part of the world.

Aug 22 – we drove to St. Barbe, weather still foggy and rainy, we got on the ferry to Blanc Sablon, Quebec. We had a quick look around the town, got some essentials (wine & lobster) and then headed to Labrador. The weather improved and we actually saw the sun. At L’anse au Clair we stopped at the information centre, they had a quilt embroidered with scenes from the past. There was one of a woman carrying two pails of water, the caption was ‘lugging water’ and I thought how apt the term lugging was in that situation. Another interesting piece of information, prior to joining Canada Newfoundland tried to sell Labrador three times. Denis visited the lighthouse at Point Amour, it’s the tallest one in the province. We continued on to Pinware River campground and had a nice site with a view of the river flowing into the bay right outside our door. And three mosquito coils kept the black flies at bay.


Never thought I'd be in Labrador!

Aug 23 – we headed down the road again through some beautiful scenery on our way to Red Bay National Historic site, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site last year. In the 1970’s, as a result of investigating archives in Spain, archaeologists started excavations and discovered 500 year old evidence of Basque whaling operations here. In the bay they found the wreck of a ship and several smaller boats. These wrecks were very well preserved because of the cold water and being under layers of sand.  The afternoon was very pleasant, sunny and quite warm, we drove back to Blanc Sablon and camped beside the beach. We replenished our stock of lobster and wine and also bought shrimp and scallops. We’ll be taking the ferry back to Newfoundland in the morning.

Newfoundland Aug 15 - 18

Aug 15 – drove around rest of the Burin Peninsula ending the circle at Marysville, where we had been on the previous Tuesday. I’m sad to be missing the Blues Festival this weekend, all the awesome music and good times with old friends! We headed north and made it as far as Clarenville, where we camped at Walmart with 14 others.

Aug 16 – we drove to Charleston and left the trailer at the campsite while we continued on up the Bonavista Peninsula. First stop was Trinity, it is the most picturesque Newfoundland village, there are few new buildings and all the old buildings are beautifully restored. I could have stayed there for the whole day. We went to Bonaventure but didn’t have for time to hike to Old Bonaventure, where to series Random Passage was filmed. I did pick some blueberries but we left because we had parked by a church and there was a wedding about to begin and they needed the parking space.

 Then we headed to Cape Bonavista, where John Cabot landed in 1497. There is a lighthouse as well and we saw puffins also, but no cannons. After that we went back to the town of Bonavista and toured the Ryan Premises (National Historic Site). It is a group of 5 original buildings with exhibits that tell the story of the fishing industry and way of life in this area for hundreds of years. We feel that we know enough about salting and drying cod fish that we could do it ourselves. Not that we are tempted to try that way of life! Bonavista has many other historic buildings and a replica of the Matthew, Cabot’s ship but we just ran out of time. That evening at the campground there was a campfire and live music, very amateur but very enjoyable.

Posing with our buddy John Cabot

Someone still dries cod but not the traditional way on round beach stones or platforms with spruce branches to lay the fish on

Aug 17 – we continued on our way along the west side of Bonavista Bay past Terra Nova Park and many the small towns. Some days I feel like Hank Snow – I’ve Been Everywhere’- Lethbridge, Bloomfield, Musgravetown, Port Blanford, Glovertown, Gambo, Hare Bay, Dover, Centreville, Lumsden, Musgrave Harbour, Carmanville, Clarke’s Head, Wing’s Point, Victoria, Dorman’s and Rodger’s Coves.

 We stopped to see the Dover Fault, apparently geologists have determined that one side of the narrow channel used to be attached to Europe. Several million years ago it broke off, floated here and became part of Newfoundland. We had hoped to stop at Lumsden, there is a beautiful beach there but the wind was blowing gale force and a sprinkle of rain so we carried on to Dildo Run Park campground.

Just an aside, I think every second house in Newfoundland has a ‘Nanny & Poppy’ sign, and they are all the same, maybe government issue!

 

Aug 18 – we headed towards Twillingate but at the tourist info they told us an ice berg had been spotted near Herring Neck. We climbed to a rustic (use at your own risk) lookout at Green Cove and saw four ice bergs and several bergy bits. We did continue on to Herring Neck and saw one berg up quite close. After that Twillingate and Long Point just couldn’t compare, but we did get some wine from the Auk Island Winery. And there were lots of blueberries to pick while Denis toured the museum.

Friendly? Giant on the Doorstep

Berg with 'bergy bit' trailing along

 

Newfoundland & France - Aug 12 - 15

Aug 12 – Good news! Denis thought we needed to replace a front wheel bearing so we stayed an extra day in Green’s Harbour. They took the truck in at 8:30 in the morning and by 9:30 they had rotated the tires and pronounced it roadworthy. After a short visit to Come By Chance, we headed south through Swift Current. Denis visited Vernon’s Antique Toy Shop, a car museum. He was very impressed with the quality, the number and the rare special production models. At Boat Harbour we toured a fisherman’s house that was floated from one of the islands during resettlement and we had a nice chat with the ladies in the craft shop. We booked tickets to St. Pierre, in the morning we’re off to France for a couple days.

Just a few of the world class 'toys'

Aug 13 - 15 - We got on the ferry at 9:30, a foggy rainy morning but by the time we arrived in St. Pierre the weather was much improved. We checked into the hotel and started exploring up hill and down.  It's very picturesque, colourful homes and business built on the hills surrounding the harbour. The downside is there is no industry besides a bit of fishing and tourism and they have to import everything! The island is 10 sq. miles with 90% of the population in the town of the same name. There are 6000 people, 5000 cars and 25 km of street/roads, and no trees. We were there during the Basque Festival, the majority of residents are of Basque heritage. They play a game similar to racquetball, against a huge outdoor wall. We watched a few games and had lunch at a booth there, confit de canard (duck). Then it was time to catch the ferry back to Fortune. It was a bit of a rough ride for awhile.

Double happiness, cannons & a lighthouse

The Wall

Just waiting for the duck

Tomorrow it's on to the Bonavista Peninsula.

August is half over and we still have a lot of this province to see!





Denis' Post -Newfoundland Aug 8 - 11

 Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy...it’s my turn! Geez, I thought I would never get my turn to tell everyone the REAL  story! I had to rip the computer out of Judy’s hands!

So far it’s been an eye opening  journey. There is so much to see and experience that it’s hard to decide what to miss and carry on.  I can remember a lot of Canadian history from school but until you experience some of the National Historic Sites it really brings those lessons to reality. Our National Park Discovery Pass has more than paid for itself already. On top of that there is local highlights and history everywhere you go!



There are pictures of Canada that you see as advertisements and wish you could see those places...well, we’re doing that and then some.  Ottawa’s July 1^st celebration, Montreal’s old downtown, Quebec  City’s  Citadel Fortress and old town. The drive up the north coast of the St. Lawrence and then the Gaspe...the Gaspe was awesome. We followed the Acadian route through New Brunswick and continued it on PEI. We have experienced some of Cape Breton and will do more on the way back.

After 9 days on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula and St. John’s...it’s been postcard views at every turn of the road. Beautiful, so are the people. We did make back up to Cabot Tower on Signal Hill and the weather cooperated so we had a good view and tour of the tower. We wandered back down to George Street for lunch @ Bridie Malloy’s...clam chouder and jig’s dinner! Judy picked enough saskatoons to make a delicious pie for our supper dessert. Delicious!

Cabot Tower, Signal Hill

 

Cannon on Signal, fired every day at noon

The next day we attended the Brigus Blueberry Festival, parade, craft, souvenir and food booths. The blueberry crisp was very good! A sunny walk around town and a tour of the National Historic home of Robert Bartlett...famous sea captain. Camped out in Green’s Harbour.

Beautiful day in Brigus until the skies opened up

We followed the Trinity Bay route to Heart’s Content where we toured the Atlantic Cable Station Provincial Museum. The building and equipment they used is still there on display as well as history of all the people that worked and lived there. It’s amazing to learn about the technology they had back in the late 1800s. It operated until 1965!

Remnants of the Transatlantic Cable at Heart's Content

 The Burin Peninsula is our next route and maybe France! 

I would suppose that you are all wondering how Judy and I are getting along in such close quarters for so long. WELL...let me tell you... Judy is always cheerful as she bounds out of bed at 6 in the morning to make coffee and breakfast. I encourage her by not complaining too much if the eggs are overcooked and the coffee is not hot enough. In the evening after Judy makes dinner and does the dishes, I don’t complain if the beer isn’t cold enough...I just suggest that she put them in the fridge sooner in the day. She doesn’t mind of course............

I make sure we stay between the ditches and keep the dirty side down, 10-4! I sure hope she let’s me do this blog thing again.

Newfoundland, leaving the Avalon Peninsula

Newfoundland August 5 - 7

We are feeling right at home parked beside saskatoon bushes. We’ve filled our tummies and this morning I had yogurt, granola & berries for breakfast. I’m thinking I’ll make a saskatoon pie. The campground is part of Pitty Park, right in the middle of the city.

Day 4 – We went to Cape Spear, easternmost point of land in North America. There’s a lighthouse and the remnants of WWII fortifications. I bought small jars of bake apple, blueberry & partridgeberry jams, so we can sample them. We drove to Petty Harbour to try to buy some fish from the fisherman but they can’t sell direct to customers, they have to go through the fish co-op. We bought mussels & fish at Bidgoods, a grocery store that sells local fish. We walked around downtown and stopped for refreshment at Yellowbelly Brew Pub. We were thinking of going to the George Street Festival, Alan Doyle was performing that night, but we decided that since it didn’t start until 9 we probably would be ready to crash before the party really got going.

Cape Spear, most easterly point in North America

 

Never have too big a gun, I say

Day 5 - Went to Signal Hill but it was rainy and so foggy we couldn’t see anything so decided to drive up the coast. We saw Conception Bay South, Paradise, St. Phillip’s, Portugal Cove (the other Portugal Cove was the south one) Torbay, Pouch Cove and Bauline. We had fish & chips for lunch at Portugal Cove. Denis did say he wanted to explore every nook and cranny of Newfoundland so we’re giving it a good try.



This is a typical settlement, clinging to the rock.

 

Day 6 – The weather was a repeat of the previous day, we started out with a walking tour of some of the historic buildings in a light mist which progressed steadily until it was not very pleasant anymore. We visited the Terry Fox monument, the start of his trek. The damp and chilly we headed for the Newman Wine Vaults, it’s a stone building where for a hundred years they aged port.  The port was imported from Portugal and then shipped back across the Atlantic, now they just do tours and serve samples, a good way to warm up. We also visited the Commissariat’s house on the way to visit Quidi Vidi village. The village is a very quaint area of the city with you guessed it a brewery, famous for beer made with water from ice bergs. They didn’t have a restaurant and the preferred lunch spot was full, so we opted the the second choice, The Inn of Olde! I have never seen such a jumble of memorabilia, I’m sure they’ve been collecting since the sixties: hockey sticks, musical instruments, miner’s hat & shovels, tools and the proprietor fit right in. The chowder was good even if served in styrofoam, but I decided against the fish & brewis (which I thought was fish and brews).


Quaint Quidi Vidi Harbour

Starting point for Terry Fox Marathon of Hope



Newfoundland: August 2 - 4

We made it to Newfoundland! We had an uneventful 16+ hour trip, fog all the way. I’m really thankful for radar and GPS and whatever else they use these days so I didn’t have to worry about bumping into an ice berg or some rugged rocky shore. We arrived at Argentia and were camped before noon. Argentia was an American naval base until 1996, all that’s left now is a lot of deteriorating pavement and concrete and a few unused buildings. And I guess the wharf which is likely why the ferry goes there. We drove a few miles to Placentia which was a French settlement in the 1600’s. We visited the fort, Castle Hill, and toured around the town and neighbouring settlements at Freshwater, Jerseyside and Dunnville. We tried to buy some fish but had no luck. We had an early night to compensate for the previous night.

Placentia from Castle Hill Fort

Day 2 – We went back into Placentia and I toured the O’Reilly House, besides being an historic home they have information on the resettlement and the influence of the American base. We then headed south along the west coast of the Avalon Peninsula, to Cape St. Mary’s. There is an ecological reserve and a huge colony of ganets, kind of interesting but smelly and noisy. At the interpretive centre they told us we were lucky because a cable broke on the lift bridge in Placentia, shortly after we crossed it, and if we had been going back that way we would have had to make a detour.We then headed up the east coast of that leg of the peninsula and down the west coast of the other leg and camped at Trepassey. Denis found more cannons. We made a couple stops looking to buy fish but again none to be had, had to settle for smokies. We did see a cow and calf moose. 

The extremes of Newfoundland landscape

 Day 3 – We drove to Portugal Cove and left the trailer while we went to Cape Race and that was a good thing. So far the highways have been pretty rough but that trail would have shaken the trailer to pieces. There was a lighthouse and telegraph station which was very important to Atlantic ship traffic, they received the distress call from the Titanic. From a settlement of 85 people including 35 children, there’s only one lightkeeper today. Along the way we saw a lot of people picking berries, which we were told are called bake apples or cloud berries. I couldn't figure out why they'd be called bake apples but it turns out to be a 'Newfieism', the question in french is 'baie qu'appele' or what is the name of these berries. We picked up our trailer and headed up the east coast stopping at Ferryland, where there is an archaeological dig going on. The colony of Avalon was established there in 1621. After a look around there, we drove on to St. John’s

We made it!

Cape Breton and the Ferry to Newfoundland

July 29 - we left Louisdale area and headed to Baddeck and Denis toured the Alexander Graham Bell museum. We continued on to New Harris to camp for the night. We are on a hill and have a great view of a bridge over an arm of Bras D'Or Lake (I think). Which is nice since we're here for 3 days.

July 30 - We got an early start and arrived at the Fortress of Louisbourg before they opened. We enjoyed the day and the weather co-operated very nicely. About 1/5 of the fortress has been rebuilt using plans that were archived in Quebec/France and from archaeological digs. The French took detailed inventories of a person's possessions when they died, and not just for the wealthy, these were also archived in France so they were used to duplicate furnishings and accessories in the reconstructed buildings. The re-enactors are a mix of young and old, even children. We had soup at the lower class eating establishment and then an afternoon rum tasting. They didn't make beer, only spruce beer of which there were no samples (but I have seen it in the grocery stores). The wine, imported from France, was far too expensive for the lower class so they drank cheap rum, imported from the French West Indies. The rum punch (grog) was very good, made with lemon juice, and they gave us the recipe. We left just after 4 and headed to Glace Bay, to the Marconi museum at Table Head. This is where Marconi sent the first message across the Atlantic.

Gates of the Fortress of Louisbourg



An Infantry soldier at the Fortress

The Fife & Drum Corp

You can't have too many cannons....I always say!

Waiting for our ration of grog

July 31 - This morning we had a bit of a lazy start to the day, it was raining so we weren't  too eager to go exploring. We set out about the time the rain stopped and toured around North Sydney and Sydney. We checked out the giant fiddle on the waterfront, it's 55 feet tall. We walked around town (in the drizzle) and went to the Triangle an Irish pub for lunch. After lunch we toured a bit more and then headed back to the trailer to cook our Alberta steaks because the fridge will be off for the 14 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland. Next post from the Rock!

That's a big fiddle