Ok, I’ve not done a good job at keeping up with this; but since Betty, Ardra and a couple of others have done such a good job with logs about the Maritimes, I guess I shouldn’t feel too guilty. However, here is a synopsis of the last 10 days.
We left Twillingate without getting to see the “Split Peas” which Betty had raved about, so I was a bit disappointed at that; but we had been to the dinner theatre in Trinity and got to experience a bit of Newfoundland. The icebergs were gone, but we did seem more whales. I drove as we headed back toward TCH going west toward Gros Morne National Park. Our thinking was to stop before we got to the park, but I was clicking right along so well, that we pushed on and ended up camping at the KOA. We weren’t that impressed with the KOA, but it was a “down day” as we were going to head on up to St. Barbe’s to catch the ferry over to Labrador. While we were driving around Rocky Harbor, which is the main part of Gros Morne, we stumbled onto a fresh sea food market and ended up buying more mussels, cod and breaded squid for later.
The drive up to St Barbe, was uneventful and not as bad as we expected. They had completed the repaving and there were only a few stretches where they were working on the road. We had met a couple when we were in St. John, New Brunswick and when we pulled into the chain link-fenced in RV park, we ended up parking beside them. They were already in Labrador at that point. They returned that evening having gone over in the morning and returned that afternoon. Their impression was that Labrador was not all that nice and they were not impressed. So, we took their experience with a grain of salt and continued with our plans.
We packed an over night bag, caught the 1:00 pm ferry and arrived in Labrador (actually Quebec) an hour and a half later. As we drove off the ferry we decided to go left south down through Quebec instead of heading north into Labrador. As we rounded a corner we both said “wow” at the same time. There was a beautiful white sand colored beach that was breathtaking. We pulled over, open Charlie’s car door, tossed our shoes off and loved every minute of the beautiful setting. The water was a brilliant aqua marine blue, the sand was soft closer to the beach; but coarser closer to land. We were very happy to be there. A few miles on down the road we came upon an energetic water falls and a small Quebec village. At that point, we decided we better get going so we could check in at the motel and headed back to Labrador seeing beautiful vista and prime examples of the ago old rock we head heard about. That evening we drove to Red Bay, seeing icebergs and whales along the way. The road is paved to Red Bay; but as you turn to go further inland, the road is wide and gravel. We wished we had looked at our plans a bit closer. If we were to do it again, we would head on the gravel road up toward Cartwright.
The next day we did all the touristy things. We encountered the dreaded black flies in the morning of the second day; but then the wind came up and they were gone. Caught the 6 pm ferry back home and were very glad we took the time to go over to Labrador.
The next morning we got our usual 10:30 start and drove the 100 or so miles to St. Anthony. The little coves along the shore line are so special and different. We have been so enthralled with seeing a moose, that most of our driving has been scouring the sides of the road looking for them. However as we rounded the corner heading into a small town both of us said “what the heck is a donkey/mule doing up here”. It then hit us that it was a moose instead! Wahoo, another sighting. What does that make it now…..5 or 7?
After getting set up we drove into St. Anthony’s out to Fisherman Point. At that point there is a great look out and just as I put the binoculars up to my eyes, we spotted atlantic white sided dolphins. They were frolicking and playing all over in the bay. It was fun to watch.
The next morning, we left an unhappy Charlie at home so that we could visit L’ Anse Meadows. What a thrill, it is full of great information about the Vikings who established a village on the tip of Newfoundland. Because our son and his wife are elementary school teachers, we took tons of pictures and gathered information to take back. The historic park is much better than the “touristy” Norstead, a few kilometers away. After you view the ruins, you can go into a reconstruction of a typical Viking village with park employees dressed in period costume. You can handle all the tools, equipment and even dress the part, which Tim and I did. Oh forgot, there were 5-6 moose just camped out right in the field where the ruins are located….they are probably getting union wages for their participation at the park.
We left St. Anthony’s and took a western loop route back toward Trans Can 1 heading to Point a Choix. As Betty had mentioned, this is a beautiful little campground run by the Lions Club. The weather was beautiful, but the wind was really strong. Infact Tim was glad to park the coach as the wind was very bad driving to Point a Choix. That night, a storm blew through and was so strong we pulled the slide in to keep the topper from tearing. The next morning dawned calm with the sun poking in and out of left over storm clouds.
We are now in Gros Morne at the Gros Morne RV Campground, a much-much better campground than the KOA. We took the Western Brook boat ride that toured the fjord. We were expecting a ton of information from the park employees; but only got cursory information. We were expecting a naturalist to explain everything, so we were a bit disappointed. However the ride and the scenery were very beautiful. After the boat ride, we took a different walking trail back to the car (5-6 kilometers) and were enchanted by the beauty of trees, grass, wild flowers. It was truly beautiful.
Today we spent at home doing household stuff and will head down toward Port Aux Basque to board the ferry on Saturday at 4:30 pm. I’m heeding Barb’s warning that they will confiscate our potatoes, so today I cleaned the refrigerator. I only have a few onions, which they can have if they want.
We have been in Newfoundland for a month and feel we have really seen it. We love the people, their great gift of gab, the small quaint fishing villages, and the tasty seafood. I, especially, will miss this “Rock" Island as the Newfies call it. It is a very special place.
