Interlude

Luci and I have observed that the trip back home is never as exciting as the trip out. Often the urge to get home is like turning the horse’s head toward the barn. We sometimes plan for special places or events along the trip home to alleviate the disappointment that the adventure is, or soon will be, over. But this time we did not.

Thursday, June 13, 2019 was sunny and breezy as we left J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park for the 10 mile trip to the ferry terminal in Port aux Basques. Marine Atlantic has two ferries on this run, alternating trips. This time we had the Highlander, which is larger and more luxurious. Since it is still early in the season, it was less than 1/2 full. We found seats in the front center of the lounge with excellent views over the bow. The first hour was a little rough, but then the wind moderated and the crossing was as smooth as the one going over. We arrived at North Sydney about 6PM and drove the 10 miles to Arm of Gold Campground. This is a nice commercial place that seems to cater mostly to ferries customers.

Friday, June 14, 2019 we packed up and head back down Cape Breton Island in much nicer weather than we had driving up the same road three weeks earlier. We were making good time when we decided to stop for lunch near Truro, NS. We stopped at an abandoned parking lot near the highway to make some sandwiches. Jim mentioned that when they closed up this morning the bathroom door would not shut, like to door frame was bent. I mentioned that I’d noticed that his trailer had a noticeable lean to the right going down the road. We investigated and found a broken right rear spring.

Luci and Google found a truck / trailer repair shop nearby. They dispatched a repair truck and three hours later we were on the road again.

We stopped for the night in Moncton, NB.

Saturday, June 15, 2019 we crossed the border without incident in Calais, ME. After re-fueling with the cheaper US gas and making sandwiches we headed southwest along the familiar roads (Route 9 & Route 1) to home. It was a wonderful trip and it seemed like we went a lot further than the 4400 miles we logged.

During the next two weeks we mowed the lawn (twice), played with Felix, went out to dinner with friends (three times), worked a little, cleared some more trees for the campsite at the river, did some maintenance on the trailer, and even rested a little.

Thursday, June 26, 2019 we hooked up the trailer again and trekked across Maine and NH to Essex Jct, VT. It was wonderful to see Dorothy and Carter and Stephie, Harrison, and Margot. The new deck is a great addition. Carter and I started it before we left for Newfoundland and Carter and his Dad finished it while we were gone.

Sunday, June 30, 2019 was Stephie’s 3rd Birthday! Mom and Dad had arranged a great party for her with about 10 little friends! WOW!

We are heading to Clayton, NY to celebrate Independence Day with the Taylor Clan (my cousins). On Saturday, July 6, we leave from there to begin our next adventure, a Wagon Train of four campers to Glacier National Park! Watch for the continuation of the blog then.

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

last day on The Rock

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

In camp at J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park

Our last full day on The Rock started in a downpour. We went to a Heritage Museum in an old railroad station, but they had nothing about the railroad!

We then headed east along the south shore to Rose Blanche.

There was a lovely stone lighthouse. It was raining even harder!

We headed back through Port Aux Basques and on to Cape Ray. AND THE SUN CAME OUT!!! This is the southwest corner of Newfoundland. So we have visited the four corners of the island. Our campsite at Cheeseman Prov. Park is on the sand beach beyond the building to the right.

Cape Ray is also the site of an underwater electrical cable running to Nova Scotia.

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On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

South to Port Aux Basques

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Zenzville Campground to J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park

We returned to J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park outside Pot Aux Basques. It turns out this was about our favorite of the parks we stayed at. On the way we stopped at the Codroy Valley Ecological Reserve. This is a wonderful birding area with lots of nice trails and viewing areas. We met several other groups of birders who clued us in on where the unusual birds were. This field of dandelions bordered the Codroy Estuary in the background.

Luci never did put a name on these pretty flowers, but we saw a lot of them.

An American Widgeon (drake)

Piping Plovers were nesting just over the dune.

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117 miles today

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

St Georges Peninsula

Monday, June 10, 2019

In camp at Zenzville Campground near Stephenville, NL

We spent a beautiful sunny day touring around the St. Georges Peninsula west of Stephenville. The peninsula is attached to the mainland by a gravel isthmus.

This was called Hidden Falls, but we found it without too much difficulty.

The beautiful western coast of Newfoundland on the St. Georges Peninsula.

Close to the coast the south west end of the island is barren and rocky.

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

South Day 2

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Berry Hill Campground at Gros Morne National Park to Zenzville Campground near Stephenville, NL

We continued south out of Gros Morne along the eastern arm of Bonne Bay. This long narrow fjord, with Rocky Harbor at its mouth, divides the park almost in half. From this rest stop we looked across the fjord, through the Tickle at the little village of Woody Point with the Tablelands in the background. A tickle appears to be a shallow, narrow opening in a body of water between two land masses.

Before long we were back on the TCH (west) heading for Corner Brook. The Newfoundland Railway began when the first tracks were laid in 1881. Narrow gauge (3 ½’) was used to save money and to navigate tight curves. In all, over 900 km of track was laid from Port Aux Basques to St. John’s. The TCH roughly follows this route today. The Newfoundland Railway was absorbed by the Canadian National Railroad when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. The last passenger train ran in 1969 and all railroading ceased in 1988. Today all the track has been removed and the right of way is a 600 km “rail trail” Provincial Park for use by hikers, snowmobiles, and ATVs.

This beautiful little Pacific type steam engine is ready with a mixed train of five cars. But, alas it has no where to go.

Two happy railroad enthusiasts!

Even though it was the oldest settled region in all Canada, Newfoundland only became a Dominion in 1855. A Dominion an autonomous community within the British Empire with full legislative independence. Newfoundlanders have long treasured their independent spirit. They steadfastly refused to join any sort of Canada or Maritime Confederation until 1934 when the island was hopelessly in debt and the British imposed a Commission of Government. The British rule lasted until 1949 when Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada.

139 miles today

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

South Day 1

Saturday June 8, 2019

Triple Falls RV Park to Berry Hill Campground at Gros Morne National Park

We began the trip home today. Although we have several more stops to make, we are heading south back toward the ferry in Port Aux Basques. Re-tracing our steps of only two days ago, but heading in the opposite direction gives you a different view of the road. We could see Labrador across the Strait of Belle Isle which was hidden in the fog on the way north. We were tempted to hop on the ferry and give Labrador a try, but we are running out of time. It’s only nine miles away! From the road we saw 3 small icebergs. The smaller pieces of ice from the bergs breaking up are called bergy bits. From the news, apparently the bergy bits have been forcing the ferry to Labrador go slower to avoid damage to the ferry.

We stopped in the little town of Flowers Cove to visit some Thrombolites. We’d certainly never heard of them before.

They are VERY VERY old….. see the description below. We thought they looked a little like giant cinnamon buns……

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We camped once again in Gros Morne National Park on the same site we had before. We found a nice little pond with a trail for a late afternoon bird walk. We finally found the elusive Boreal Chickadee to add to our life list. The Boreal Chickadee is a lot like our little blackcapped friend only brown, not common, and rarely comes to feeders. Now if only we could find those pesky Black Backed Woodpeckers!

231 miles today

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

Full Circle

Friday, June 7, 2019

In camp at Triple Fall RV Park near St. Anthony, NL

When we visited Iceland last March we heard a lot about the Sagas. These oral histories had been passed down verbally for centuries but were finally written down in the 12th century. The Saga concerning Eirick the Red describes his banishment from Iceland for three years because he was convicted of manslaughter. Eirick sailed west to the next large island and established a settlement about 990 AD and named it Greenland. It was not any greener than Iceland, but he was trying to entice more settlers. Later, Eirick’s son Leif Erickson sailed even further west to the east coast of Labrador and south to Newfoundland at L’Anse aux Meadows. This is at the far northern tip of Newfoundland. They built a substantial camp there to repair their boats and to fish. The L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site features eight buildings that have been excavated and four replicas built to depict the life of the Norse people. Note: Vikings are Norsemen who are actively raiding and pillaging. At the end of the raid, they go back to being Norsemen. Although the Sagas relate stories about women who are just as brutal as their male counterparts, apparently there were no women Vikings!

This is the foundation of a small workshop. Note the snow still on the ground on June 7!

This is a replica of the largest building. Inside there were fires burning and Norse people making lunch and carding wool.

Humans emerged in Africa about one hundred thousand years ago. From there they migrated north and split. Some went west to Europe. Some went east to Asia and Australia. Part of the later group made its way across the land bridge into Alaska and on to North and South America. Finally, about 1000 AD the Norse met the North American Indigenous People, here at L’Anse aux Meadows. The meeting completed the migration of humans. Mankind had encircled the globe. This sculpture commemorates that meeting.

After leaving L’Anse aux Meadows we found these two Woodland Caribou peacefully having a snack. Even they appear to be in town on eating grass they were not fenced or tied and are wild.

We found one more iceberg grounded at St. Carols.

Today is the beginning of the Iceberg Festival in St. Anthony. To celebrate icebergs and another successful trip we went to the Royal Canadian Legion for Fish and Chips dinner with Partridgeberry Pie ala mode for dessert!

And since the fog finally lifted at the lighthouse, we went to look for whales. Stephie, this picture is for you. He is very far away, but you can just see the top of the whale after it spouts!

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

Going North

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Gros Morne National Park to Triple Falls RV Park near St. Anthony, NL

We headed north at a leisurely pace enjoying the sunshine and the relatively warm temperatures (52 degrees). Our first stop was at Western Brook, the outlet to the inland fjord we took the boat trip on yesterday. It is a big lake and the river is running full as it empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The next stop was a pretty series of four limestone arches, all about this size, right on the shore.

We stopped for lunch at Port au Choix National Historic Site. For over 6000 years this place has been a crossroads of human history. Evidence of four ancient cultures have been uncovered here. About 4500 years ago the climate in this area was particularly warm and the Maritime Archaic were Newfoundland’s first people. They made special trips here to bury their dead. About 3000 years ago the climate became cooler and they died or moved away. About 2500 years ago the Groswater Palaeoeskimos came to Newfoundaland from the Artic regions of Canada. About 2000 years ago the climate began to warm again and the Groswaters were supplanted by the Dorset Palaeoeskimo people who moved south from Labrador and Baffin Island. Then as the earth continued to warm the Beothuk (ancestors of the First Nations people) took over. Finally the Europeans arrived about 1000 years ago. The area around Port au Choix is mostly limestone barrens with large slabs of stone along the shore.

We headed north again and found this fellow along the road. Fortunately he was not “in” the road.

We stopped for the night at a small commercial RV park. The gravel parking lot was a step down from the provincial and national parks we have been staying in. But the sunshine and warm (58 degree) temps while we ate dinner outside made up for the lack of scenery. However, Luci, Jim, and Barbara went into St. Anthony after dinner and found it to be a beautiful little fishing harbor.

235 miles today

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

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Gros Morne Day 1

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

In camp at Gros Morne National Park near Rocky Harbor, NL

Gros means big. Morne means isolated hill or gloomy. Big Gloomy Isolated Hill suits this place well. The west coast of Newfoundland is a forbidding place indeed. Although we had some sunny parts of each day mostly it was windy, cold, drizzle, and clouds. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the reasons it is so designated is that it is one of only a few places where the Earth’s mantle is visible on the surface. We went for a guided walk on “The Tablelands” on the mantle. It isn’t a desert. It gets plenty of water but not much grows on the due to the high concentrations of heavy metals and lack of soil.

Our tour guide Dereck explained that 500 million years ago the continents of Laurentian and Gondwana collided and formed Pangea. When they split apart again to form North America part of the mantle (the area between the earth’s molten core and the crust we walk on) was left exposed here in Newfoundland. I volunteered to play the part of Laurentian. Dereck is in the green hat. The other couple played the part of Gondwana since when the continents split apart again part of Gondwana stayed with Laurentian to form North America. The Avalon Peninsula at the southeast end of Newfoundland is part of Gondwana. I’m sure that many of you will chuckle at this toddler version of Tectonic Plate Theory but the rocks and scenery were very interesting. The exterior of the rocks in this vast area is rusty due to oxidation, the interior is dark greenish.

This is Serpentine Rock so named because of the scaly appearance.

Despite the inhospitable conditions these Pitcher Plants not only seem to survive; they are the Provincial flower.

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/

Gros Morne Day 2

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

In camp at Gros Morne National Park

We had a great start to the day by adding four different warblers to the bird list right after breakfast. However, when we went to the little village to re-provision, we discovered that the whole town had no power including no gas pumps, no propane filling, and no renewal of our campsite. However, we were undeterred and headed off to Western Brook Pond after lunch for a highly recommended boat trip. Western Brook Pond was a fjord but when the last glacier left, the outlet rebounded (sprang back up) and cut if off from the sea. So, it became a fjord-like fresh water lake. After a 2.5 km walk to the lake we embarked on this little 85 passenger tour boat for the 16 km journey up the pond.

Although the walk to the dock was drizzley and windy, the actual boat trip turned out sunny and mostly protected from the wind by the 2000’ cliffs.

Can you see the face of the Tinman in the middle of this picture?

There were many spectacular waterfalls coming off the tops of the cliffs.

A very beautiful afternoon!

On the road

Rory and Luci

Blog: https://roryandluci.wordpress.com/