Heading to Canada
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Marc L
Well-known member
Nice try Jeff, but according to Wikipedia, the male caribou(reindeer) is also a buck.
Tom
Administrator
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I thought the male caribou was Bambi's uncle ???
Marc L
Well-known member
That is correct, a male deer is a buck, but that's not a deer, it's a reindeer, known as caribou in North America.
source ???
carson
Well-known member
Here is what will confuse everyone.. the moose is actually a member of the Deer family.
I think they call it a bull because it is so big and was found in a china shop. ;D
carson
I think they call it a bull because it is so big and was found in a china shop. ;D
carson
Hfx_Cdn
Well-known member
OK I give up, and agree with Marc. As long as it come in a bottle cold, it doesn't matter if it's a bull, cow, buck or doe, just keep them coming . For that matter it really doesn't matter ifnthey're in brown bottles like they come here or green like they export to the States, it all tastes great like a brew should.
Tim Lassen
Well-known member
Well now we have to stay another two weeks hunting the elusive moose. I'm still convinced they are only an extinct myth similar to a brontosaurus but I can be convinced..tim
Marc L
Well-known member
Hfx_Cdn said:
Your Moose green is not green? I thought it was green everywhere.
Hfx_Cdn
Well-known member
Actually Tim, they were extinct in NL, an Marc & my ancestors sent over a few in the 1920's. Those thrived and NL now really has moose.
OP
OP
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Well, as Tim has mentioned, we, obviously need to keep looking for the moose. We did see a cow though, of that we are sure. It had that ugly nose and long legs.... 
Ya know, it did cross my mind that the moose we thought we saw, which was actually a Caribou was awfully small for a moose. We were so excited, that we didn't check for particulars. We'll be more careful at our next moose sighting.
Today we leave St. John's and will head back west. Our first stop will be at Thornburn Lake where we will camp, then take the little car up to Bonavista on the Trinity Bay. The puffins are supposed to be very prevalent there and we hope to eat "Jiggs" dinner.
Last Saturday we drove then entire Irish Loop south of St. John's, it was a beautiful sunny day. We visited Cape Spear and took the obligatory photos documenting that we were at the most eastern point of North America. Tim even bought a T-shirt; the first of this trip. We then headed toward Bay Bulls where we stopped to have lunch. We are getting our fill of seafood chowder. I could eat it everyday. I had noticed on the map that there was a wildlife preserve in the center of Avalon Peninsula; but you needed a permit to enter. We found where we could get the permit, filled in the necessary info and off we went. We got about 15 miles near the entrance of the preserve and the road went to ****. We needed our 4 wheel drive truck, so disappointed we turned around. When we started the drive we were not going to go around the entire peninsula; but on a whim said "what the heck" and took off. This is the home of the Irish and you could tell by appearance and dialect. We drove through small villages and skirted the coastline. As we neared the point of the peninsula, the terrain completely changed from heavily treed landscape to moss and grasslands. At an information site, we learned that between May and mid-july 3000 head of caribou come down here to eat their fill of the moss like grass. Of course we didn't see any!
One of the bays was supposed to be the best spot to see whales as the water along the coast is deep and fast. As we pulled into St. Vincent's we stopped and I skimmed the water for whale "blows" and sightings...but nothing. As we were driving towards the village we noticed lots of cars pulled over to the side and people all along the inlet side of the bay. As we got closer we could see everyone fishing: men, women and kids. Cod season opened and everyone was fishing. They were pulling them in right and left. Someone stopped to talk to us and told us the season is only 2 weeks in July and 2 weeks in Sept. You can catch 4/day. People catch them; then freeze for the winter months.
At this point the road turned north and more inland with little jaunts out to the water. Tim had noticed on the map there there was a drive through a preserve along the coast line. We found it, wound through the community and headed out on a gravel road. Although it was cloudy and spitting rain, we drove it looking for the allusive whales and puffins. One section was apply named "Rookery". We took a chance, bundled up with rain gear and walked out to the point. You could hear the birds as we got nearer. Both of us with binoculars saw lots of birds but not one Puffin; climbed back into the car, turned on the heater and headed home. At this point it is getting dark and both of us were watching the roadsides for signs of moose....not a one.
Sunday, we took it easy, made a general plan for the rest of the trip here in Newfoundland and even made our reservation for the return ferry. The never ending chores needed to be done. Ed (Hfx-Cdn) had sent me a recipe for seafood chowder, so I made that for dinner....Yummm.
Monday, Tim didn't feel well so we stuck close to home in the morning. In the afternoon we visited the Geo Center and Signal Hill. The Geo Center is very very interesting with lots of scientific stuff. They had an exhibit on how oil is extracted and processed. I also didn't know that the rock formation in Labrador are the oldest on earth; much older than Newfoundland's rock formations. Then there was an exhibit on the sinking of the Titanic. Did you know that it sunk 375 miles off of the Newfoundland coastline? I didn't know that. Signal hill is very close to the Geo Center. However it was socked in with fog, so we toured the outside pretending that we could see stuff and gathered info from the guides. Signall Hill is a national monument and is where Marconi received the first intercontinental wireless transmission from England. It is also where several "stand-offs" occurred to protect St. John's from attack. We found a dog park for Charlie and he is ever so grateful. Came home and watch a DVD; slept great with rain pattering on the roof.
Pippy Park is a good location to stay while here. Most of the campground is empty, tho, but they have great wi fi.
Off to Bonavista.
Marsha~
Ya know, it did cross my mind that the moose we thought we saw, which was actually a Caribou was awfully small for a moose. We were so excited, that we didn't check for particulars. We'll be more careful at our next moose sighting.Today we leave St. John's and will head back west. Our first stop will be at Thornburn Lake where we will camp, then take the little car up to Bonavista on the Trinity Bay. The puffins are supposed to be very prevalent there and we hope to eat "Jiggs" dinner.
Last Saturday we drove then entire Irish Loop south of St. John's, it was a beautiful sunny day. We visited Cape Spear and took the obligatory photos documenting that we were at the most eastern point of North America. Tim even bought a T-shirt; the first of this trip. We then headed toward Bay Bulls where we stopped to have lunch. We are getting our fill of seafood chowder. I could eat it everyday. I had noticed on the map that there was a wildlife preserve in the center of Avalon Peninsula; but you needed a permit to enter. We found where we could get the permit, filled in the necessary info and off we went. We got about 15 miles near the entrance of the preserve and the road went to ****. We needed our 4 wheel drive truck, so disappointed we turned around. When we started the drive we were not going to go around the entire peninsula; but on a whim said "what the heck" and took off. This is the home of the Irish and you could tell by appearance and dialect. We drove through small villages and skirted the coastline. As we neared the point of the peninsula, the terrain completely changed from heavily treed landscape to moss and grasslands. At an information site, we learned that between May and mid-july 3000 head of caribou come down here to eat their fill of the moss like grass. Of course we didn't see any!
One of the bays was supposed to be the best spot to see whales as the water along the coast is deep and fast. As we pulled into St. Vincent's we stopped and I skimmed the water for whale "blows" and sightings...but nothing. As we were driving towards the village we noticed lots of cars pulled over to the side and people all along the inlet side of the bay. As we got closer we could see everyone fishing: men, women and kids. Cod season opened and everyone was fishing. They were pulling them in right and left. Someone stopped to talk to us and told us the season is only 2 weeks in July and 2 weeks in Sept. You can catch 4/day. People catch them; then freeze for the winter months.
At this point the road turned north and more inland with little jaunts out to the water. Tim had noticed on the map there there was a drive through a preserve along the coast line. We found it, wound through the community and headed out on a gravel road. Although it was cloudy and spitting rain, we drove it looking for the allusive whales and puffins. One section was apply named "Rookery". We took a chance, bundled up with rain gear and walked out to the point. You could hear the birds as we got nearer. Both of us with binoculars saw lots of birds but not one Puffin; climbed back into the car, turned on the heater and headed home. At this point it is getting dark and both of us were watching the roadsides for signs of moose....not a one.
Sunday, we took it easy, made a general plan for the rest of the trip here in Newfoundland and even made our reservation for the return ferry. The never ending chores needed to be done. Ed (Hfx-Cdn) had sent me a recipe for seafood chowder, so I made that for dinner....Yummm.
Monday, Tim didn't feel well so we stuck close to home in the morning. In the afternoon we visited the Geo Center and Signal Hill. The Geo Center is very very interesting with lots of scientific stuff. They had an exhibit on how oil is extracted and processed. I also didn't know that the rock formation in Labrador are the oldest on earth; much older than Newfoundland's rock formations. Then there was an exhibit on the sinking of the Titanic. Did you know that it sunk 375 miles off of the Newfoundland coastline? I didn't know that. Signal hill is very close to the Geo Center. However it was socked in with fog, so we toured the outside pretending that we could see stuff and gathered info from the guides. Signall Hill is a national monument and is where Marconi received the first intercontinental wireless transmission from England. It is also where several "stand-offs" occurred to protect St. John's from attack. We found a dog park for Charlie and he is ever so grateful. Came home and watch a DVD; slept great with rain pattering on the roof.
Pippy Park is a good location to stay while here. Most of the campground is empty, tho, but they have great wi fi.
Off to Bonavista.
Marsha~
Marc L
Well-known member
Signal Hill and Marconi always make me laugh. Not at Marconi per say, but at the bad actor playing Marconi in this Canadian Heritage Clip
OP
OP
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Quick note....saw a big moose, cute little puffins and whales. More later limited wi fi. On ti Terra Nova NP
marsha~
marsha~
OP
OP
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Bonavista?Puffins and a moose!!
We left Pippy RV park on Tuesday in cloudy but a hopeful sky heading to Tucker?s Thorburn RV park. Within about 30 minutes of leaving St. John?s we hit ?pea-soup? fog and it stayed that way until just about the time we turned into the campground. The campground is along TransCan 1 with electric (15 amp) and water. I needed to shut things off as we tripped the circuit breaker right off the bat.
Got ourselves settled in then took an early evening drive all round the little coves, nothing too eventful.
The next morning we got up early, packed a lunch, rain jackets, along with Charlie and the map and took off to explore the Bonavista peninsula. We started off along highway 230 heading first toward Trinity East. We found Trinity to be a fun place to be. I have a feeling a lot of it had to do with the weather, it was gloriously sunny. We went through the reconstructed homes, shops and other buildings; talked to the people in period costumes aka re-enactors and got a wealth of information. We even bought tickets for their ?Rising Tide? dinner theatre. The performance wasn?t until 5:30 so off we headed toward Cape Bonavista after our picnic lunch.
However before we reached Bonavista, we took a detour and visited Elliston which is southeast of Bonavista. While I was doing laundry at St. John?s I had met a couple who had just come from Elliston where there is the largest colony of Puffins in North America. I reread Ardra?s recap and she didn?t mention finding the puffins, so I was a bit skeptical. However we have been on the ?puffin? quest, so had to give it a try. Elliston is off the main road on a lousy road I might add. We found the visitor?s center where they gave us a map and directed us to the Puffins. It?s just a ?stop? in the road where you walk about 5 minutes toward the water. Up on the top, just across from the end of the rock is a crevice and across the crevice is hundreds of Puffins?.the cutest little things. We didn?t have a good telephoto camera lens with us, but they are small with orange feet and orange bills with black and white bodies. They are a riot to watch fish the waters. The go underneath for maybe 15-30 seconds then pop back up right out of the water. The best description I can give is if you held a balloon under the water and let go it would ?explode? up through the water and that is just how the puffin come back up.
We also poked our heads into a couple of root cellars; but they looked just like ever other root cellar we have ventured into.
We headed onto Cape Bonavista which is found by actually driving through the residential parts of Bonavista. While there we watched a couple of whales feeding in the bay fairly close to lighthouse.
At that point we high-tailed it back to Trinity, which was beautiful in the light of the evening to attend the dinner theatre. We were fed a traditional Newfoundland dinner which was roast with potatoes, carrots and mashed rutabagas (turnips). It wasn?t bad for a ?group? dinner. We were entertained by fiddlers, jokesters, a short humorous play an illusionist and several ballads and songs?.then the mummers. Because we had read Betty?s log, we knew a little of what was going on. It was great fun. We had a bit of difficulty understanding all the words, but we got the gist of it.
It was about 7:30 when we headed the 50 or so miles back to the campground and ?wahoo? we finally saw a bull moose?the darn thing was massive. I don?t know how the heck we confused it with the caribou. But it crossed the road, up out of the shoulder on the other side and just idly strolled across. It was a fabulous day: sunshine, puffins and a bull moose along with entertainment. What more could we want.
Tomorrow we are off toward Twillingate.
Marsha~
We left Pippy RV park on Tuesday in cloudy but a hopeful sky heading to Tucker?s Thorburn RV park. Within about 30 minutes of leaving St. John?s we hit ?pea-soup? fog and it stayed that way until just about the time we turned into the campground. The campground is along TransCan 1 with electric (15 amp) and water. I needed to shut things off as we tripped the circuit breaker right off the bat.
Got ourselves settled in then took an early evening drive all round the little coves, nothing too eventful.
The next morning we got up early, packed a lunch, rain jackets, along with Charlie and the map and took off to explore the Bonavista peninsula. We started off along highway 230 heading first toward Trinity East. We found Trinity to be a fun place to be. I have a feeling a lot of it had to do with the weather, it was gloriously sunny. We went through the reconstructed homes, shops and other buildings; talked to the people in period costumes aka re-enactors and got a wealth of information. We even bought tickets for their ?Rising Tide? dinner theatre. The performance wasn?t until 5:30 so off we headed toward Cape Bonavista after our picnic lunch.
However before we reached Bonavista, we took a detour and visited Elliston which is southeast of Bonavista. While I was doing laundry at St. John?s I had met a couple who had just come from Elliston where there is the largest colony of Puffins in North America. I reread Ardra?s recap and she didn?t mention finding the puffins, so I was a bit skeptical. However we have been on the ?puffin? quest, so had to give it a try. Elliston is off the main road on a lousy road I might add. We found the visitor?s center where they gave us a map and directed us to the Puffins. It?s just a ?stop? in the road where you walk about 5 minutes toward the water. Up on the top, just across from the end of the rock is a crevice and across the crevice is hundreds of Puffins?.the cutest little things. We didn?t have a good telephoto camera lens with us, but they are small with orange feet and orange bills with black and white bodies. They are a riot to watch fish the waters. The go underneath for maybe 15-30 seconds then pop back up right out of the water. The best description I can give is if you held a balloon under the water and let go it would ?explode? up through the water and that is just how the puffin come back up.
We also poked our heads into a couple of root cellars; but they looked just like ever other root cellar we have ventured into.
We headed onto Cape Bonavista which is found by actually driving through the residential parts of Bonavista. While there we watched a couple of whales feeding in the bay fairly close to lighthouse.
At that point we high-tailed it back to Trinity, which was beautiful in the light of the evening to attend the dinner theatre. We were fed a traditional Newfoundland dinner which was roast with potatoes, carrots and mashed rutabagas (turnips). It wasn?t bad for a ?group? dinner. We were entertained by fiddlers, jokesters, a short humorous play an illusionist and several ballads and songs?.then the mummers. Because we had read Betty?s log, we knew a little of what was going on. It was great fun. We had a bit of difficulty understanding all the words, but we got the gist of it.
It was about 7:30 when we headed the 50 or so miles back to the campground and ?wahoo? we finally saw a bull moose?the darn thing was massive. I don?t know how the heck we confused it with the caribou. But it crossed the road, up out of the shoulder on the other side and just idly strolled across. It was a fabulous day: sunshine, puffins and a bull moose along with entertainment. What more could we want.
Tomorrow we are off toward Twillingate.
Marsha~
Dean & Linda Stock
Well-known member
Marsha, I haven't told anyone else this, but now I'm telling the world. Don't feel silly about mistaking a caribou for a moose. Before we saw our first moose, I thought I saw a moose in a pond (just like all those pictures I've seen). It turned out to be a rock! So at least your mistake had 4 legs!Marsha/CA said:
Linda
Barb
Well-known member
Marsha,
Get a picture of the icebergs from the museum parking lot in Twillingate. Cool.......
Get rid of your potatoes, and all vegetables before getting on the ferry. You have to go through what they call the car wash when you get off the ferry. You will get inspected (searched) and they will confiscate your potatoes. They give you a brochure telling you the hows and whys. My question was, why wasn't this information available to me when I entered NL.
Anyway, hope your having a great time.
Currently in Newport, ME
Get a picture of the icebergs from the museum parking lot in Twillingate. Cool.......
Get rid of your potatoes, and all vegetables before getting on the ferry. You have to go through what they call the car wash when you get off the ferry. You will get inspected (searched) and they will confiscate your potatoes. They give you a brochure telling you the hows and whys. My question was, why wasn't this information available to me when I entered NL.
Anyway, hope your having a great time.
Currently in Newport, ME
Hfx_Cdn
Well-known member
Barb, Newport ME???? That isn't on the Canadian route. Thought you were staying in Canada and crossing at the Soo?
Marsha, any idea when you are heading back to the mainland? We're in Ottawa until around the 23rd
Marsha, any idea when you are heading back to the mainland? We're in Ottawa until around the 23rd
OP
OP
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
We are still in St. Barbe, NF and came back from Labrador this evening. Left St. Barbe on Thursday, stayed the night then came back today. We had a great time in Labrador and thankfully the "black fly" gods were good. We had lots of wind and great sunshine, so the flies were only bad on one occasion. The road was nearly done from Gros Morne to St. Barbe so it was an easy road trip and the road was great. We saw an ice berg in Labrador and several whales.
Barb: So, I've checked the website for Marine Atlantic and have done a "google" on having our potatoes and vegetables confiscated; but I'm finding nothing. I'll call them tomorrow if we have cell service. Did this happen when you crossed over from Port aux basque to North Sydney, Nova Scotia?
BTW, a bit of information, after you crossed over to Nova Scotia there was a fire on the Atlantic Vision and it was out of commission for a few days. It's back in service at the moment. We are scheduled to come back on the 15th on the Caribou, so we are a bit relieaved not to be on the Atlantic Vision. Tomorrow we head for St. Anthony's.
Ed: we'll be staying a few days in Baddeck to tour Cabot trial then head to Halifax. I'll keep in touch with our plans. BTW, you have corrupted us with mussels. We found a great fresh fish place in Rocky Harbor, bought 3+ lbs of mussels and ate the whole darn thing. Also bought fresh cod that looked spectacular, it's in the freezer, along with breaded squid rings to drop into the deep fryer. My cholesterol is gonna be out of sight.
Tom: I now have your mouthwatering response when I think of mussels. They were fabulous. I'm gonna miss then when we get back to California.
Ruth: Your Fantasy caravan connected up with us in St. Barbe. I talked with a couple of them; one couple was from Indiana and they most definitely remember you guys!
Marsha~
Barb: So, I've checked the website for Marine Atlantic and have done a "google" on having our potatoes and vegetables confiscated; but I'm finding nothing. I'll call them tomorrow if we have cell service. Did this happen when you crossed over from Port aux basque to North Sydney, Nova Scotia?
BTW, a bit of information, after you crossed over to Nova Scotia there was a fire on the Atlantic Vision and it was out of commission for a few days. It's back in service at the moment. We are scheduled to come back on the 15th on the Caribou, so we are a bit relieaved not to be on the Atlantic Vision. Tomorrow we head for St. Anthony's.
Ed: we'll be staying a few days in Baddeck to tour Cabot trial then head to Halifax. I'll keep in touch with our plans. BTW, you have corrupted us with mussels. We found a great fresh fish place in Rocky Harbor, bought 3+ lbs of mussels and ate the whole darn thing. Also bought fresh cod that looked spectacular, it's in the freezer, along with breaded squid rings to drop into the deep fryer. My cholesterol is gonna be out of sight.
Tom: I now have your mouthwatering response when I think of mussels. They were fabulous. I'm gonna miss then when we get back to California.
Ruth: Your Fantasy caravan connected up with us in St. Barbe. I talked with a couple of them; one couple was from Indiana and they most definitely remember you guys!
Marsha~
ruthandken CDN
Well-known member
That's great news Marsha. Would that be Gary and Carole? Wonderful people, really super.
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