July 16, 2008 Gros Morne National Park and Outlying areas.
Today was one of those memory making traveling days. We toured 10 hours and witnessed spectacular scenery. I sit in the back seat of my chauffeur driven car, armed with the many tour guides and maps available. Last night I read Tim and Jan Lynch?s version of this portion of the trip and re-read Ardra?s accounts from their 06 visit to Newfoundland. (She did a very detailed account and I often refer to her statements.) I then read the history to my front seat passengers and holler when I want the driver to stop.
This section of Newfoundland is not like anything I?ve ever seen or can make a comparison to. Gros Morne National Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site which means it was designated by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a place of historical significance. It is because the rocks of Gros Morne provide some of the best illustrations of plate tectonics, one of the most important ideas in modern science, that it was given this designation in 1987. We visited the Discovery Center and paid our Canadian Park daily dues, happily today as I must have been in a better mood. We watched an excellent video of the park . The vistas of the mountains came into view as the haze of the morning cleared. The rocks and geologic features exposed within this place rank this place among the planets? most significant natural areas. Fred Thomas would love to study geology here! After touring little fishing village of Trout River we had our picnic lunch overlooking Capelin Bay. We will never again rely on restaurants for lunch so we came prepared with our own. ! Our view was superb and we could enjoy the lovely day while walking along the boardwalk. We could only be sorry that we were too late for lobster season as it would be fun to watch the fishermen take their catch. Hundreds of lobster traps decorate the landscape and tell of recent activity. Lobster season closed here two weeks ago.
Tablelands Mountain boasts that it is an exposed part of the earths? mantle. Terry and I hiked one hour at the base of this mountain and saw pitcher plants, waterfalls and the magnificent yellowish colored rock that was thrust upward 450 millions years or so ago. Not much grows on the barren rock . We were the only ones on this relatively easy trail and became engrossed in the scenery as well as the workout. Russ waited in the car for us. The drive then provided views of the waters inside these fjord type bays. I saw a whale surface, but the guys did not see him.
We returned to the motor home and signed up to stay another day here at the Gros Morne RV Park. We have wi-fi and have more to explore tomorrow. We then headed north up the coast for even more breathtaking scenery. We headed to Arches Rock which was once ocean bottom and is now a formation of arches on a pebble filled beach. The coast is all rocks and pebbles, no sand at all. We saw more fishing villages and staging areas. We saw the remain of a shipwreck from 1910.
We saw a moose, yes you read that right, as we were headed back to camp, Russ said, ? STOP, do a u-turn I saw something. ? Throwing all of the contents of the back seat on the floor, driver did a u-turn and we headed slowly back down the road to indeed see a large friendly tall moose in the scrub brush. The sun was right in the eye of the cameras but I saw him yes I did. What a day. We headed back to Lobster Cove where we viewed the lighthouse. For long time the community could not afford a lighthouse so the locals took turns burning one pint of oil per night in their windows as a warning. The lighthouse is beautiful and you can see why it was so badly needed at the size of the lovely harbor and the roughness of the rocks along the coast. I am pleasantly exhausted and still delighted by the natural wonders of our planet. I?ve found Newfoundland to be a very special place. I?m also remembering some exquisite carvings done at the local craft store. Oh boy?.