Lynches Maritimes July log

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Tim & Jan

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This the second of  three logs of our 2005 Martimes trip.

7/5/05, we crossed to Newfoundland today. The ferry left North Sydney at 9AM and it took six hours to complete the trip. It was mostly sunny, about 70?, little wind and smooth as glass.

We had reservations at the Grand Codroy campground in Doyles, a really nice place about 1/2 hour from the ferry terminal. After we got setup we took a ride to see Rose Blanch Lighthouse, a lighthouse built in 1873 with granite from a nearby quarry.  We had to drive back to the ferry terminal area and takie RT470 along the coast for about 40KM. It was a great drive along the rugged coastline, with many changes in the type of terrain. We passed through a few neat small towns, saw a waterfall from the road and finally the lighthouse. The lighthouse was restored from actual ruins and reopened in 1999 complete with local antiques and some reproduced furniture.. We really recommend this drive.



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7/6//05, high of 60? and cloudy with rain 75% of the time as we moved to Sanger Memorial Park in Grand Falls-Windsor..

The weather turned great the day after we arrived and we set off for some sight seeing. First to see the Head of Bay d?Espoir where as the travel guide says ?The whole coastal area is heavily indented with fjords as spectacular as any you?ll see elsewhere?.  It was a nice day, kind of a ho hum drive there and I?m afraid we expected fjords to be high narrow passages. They are beautiful but not what we expected to see.  In Grand Falls we did see the falls and also Bishop Falls in the area, both nice.  The Exploits River here attracts serious salmon fisherman in great numbers. The Salmon Festival is in July and the fisherman are seen all along the river now.

On the next day we?re off to Twillingate described as ?Iceberg Alley?, and whales just waiting for us to get up there to see them as they cavort in the Atlantic Ocean.  Lovely drive, quaint fishing villages along the way and beautiful scenery. We arrive at the lighthouse where high school kids are working summer jobs and being paid to talk with the visitors.  Nice young man, perfectly suited for the job, tells us he hasn?t seen a whale all day and there are NO icebergs near us right now :-(  What? no icebergs ? Where are they?  He directed us to the visitor center where they are now able to track the bergs and give you a print out of where you just might see one.  Now we have to hope for a sighting in St. Anthony if they haven?t melted by the time we are in that area. We had also gone to Leading Tickles yesterday to look for icebergs to no avail, but it was a very pretty drive.


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7/9//05, high of 73? and sunny. We moved to the Golden Arm campground in Greens Harbour.

Today as we drove to Greens Harbour we passed by the town of Gander.  This small community and surrounding towns were called upon to care for thousands of travelers from thirty eight jetliners directed here on 9/11.  I?ve picked up a book locally titled ?The Day The World Came To Town?.

We had a little excitement on the way. After filling the gas tank in the MH, which was about 1/2 full, we went about two blocks to a visitor information center. When leaving there I started the engine, put it in gear and went about 3?, when the engine shut down and a bunch of alarms went off. Called Workhorse and after about 3 hours arrangements were made to tow us to the campground that we were heading for, about 15 miles away. Because it was a Saturday, Workhorse said that they would call Monday morning to tell us where we were going for service and who would tow us. Monday?s log should contain some more detailed info.

The motorhome is parked in the campground, nothing more to do until Monday so we?re on our way to see The Baccalieu Trail on the Avalon Peninsula.  Lots of history made here , the first transatlantic cable was landed in Heart?s Content,  transatlantic flights including Amelia Earhart from Harbour Grace and John Cabot sighted Grates Cove in 1497.  Princess Sheila was sent by her father from Ireland to the safety of France.  It?s a long story but Sheila?s ship was captured by Dutch pirates  etc, etc, she lived happily ever after.(Not with the pirates.)  Lighthouses, beautiful coves, harbours and bays all around the trail. There are many many walking trails and a couple of beaches if you can spend some time here to really enjoy the island.

The fishing industry dates back to the 1500?s when the Basque and Portugese fished the waters for cod.  Today there are major crab/shrimp/groundfish processing facilities, the major focus of the economy here. At Spaniards Bay we stopped for lunch at the Seaview Cafe, nice litte place, good food and a great view of the sea. 

A couple we met at a campground in St. Andrews, New Brunswick  live in Brigus, Newfoundland  and own a gift shop so we stopped to see if they were working.  In  St. Andrews they talked with us at length and suggested many things we should do while in Newfoundland.  Joan was there and happy to see us following their tips.  They would like to get together before we leave, we?re not making plans until we know what?s happening with our service.


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7/11//05, high of 65? and cloudy. Monday Workhorse did call to inform us that we would be towed to a General Motors truck dealer in St John's, who isn't an authorized Workhorse dealer, but agreed to do the repairs and charge Workhorse. The nearest Workhorse dealer is about 1000 miles away. When we got to the dealer, guess what, the engine started fine and they could find nothing wrong. The dealer called Workhorse and they said that if the dealer started it up several times and the computer showed no faults, Workhorse wouldn?t authorize any more work. We have reservations at Pippy Park in St. John?s starting 7/12/05, so stayed overnight at the dealer who was nice enough to furnish us with 15A electric. When driving through Pippy Park the engine died again, but it did restart and ran long enough to get to our site.  We made arrangements to go back to the dealer on 7/14/05. The engine died on the way to the dealer and wouldn?t restart, so we got towed to the dealer. The tow truck stayed hooked up while the dealer removed the gas tank and then we were towed to the tow company paking lot, to stay until a new fuel pump came in.

While in St. John?s we visited Signal Hill site of Marconi?s wireless message. Cabot Tower was built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot?s voyage to Newfoundland. Inside the tower is an exhibit about the history of communications and signaling. From here we went on to Cape Spear, the easternmost point of North America.  Great views from here and one of the oldest surviving lighthouses. We went to St. John?s and drove around and around literally. The cows were in charge of street development, after a few days you can begin to figure it out but it?s not easy.  There is a nice harbour walk and Water Street has a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs. 

Eventually we took a double deck bus trip and that was interesting.  Lots of historic sites and the guide always ads a little humor to the tour. On our own we visited The Rooms, St. John?s newest addition. It contains Newfoundland Labrador Provincial Archives, Art Gallery and Museum.  The building is something to see, a lot of glass and steel in the public areas surrounding the rooms.  Unusual name but shouldn?t be missed if you travel this way.

We drove the Irish Loop beginning just south of  St. John?s it continues for about 200 miles. Another beautiful drive with whale watch and bird islands boat tours.  We?re holding out for an iceberg boat tour perhaps at St. Anthony.


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7/18//05, high of 72? and sunny. Our parts came in and the secretary at Avalon Towing came out to tell us ?Hickman Service called and they are ready for ye?. You gotta love these Newfies! We said our goodbyes to everyone there before they towed us to Hickman. The guys at Hickman were waiting for us and about 4PM we left for Gander.  In 2001 this little town?s population swelled with the arrival of many planes that were diverted away from The States on 9/11.  They answered the call and did a remarkable job of handling the crowd at such a difficult time for everyone.  This town was also the site of a disastrous chartered flight in 1985 as it was taking off from the Gander airport.  258 American military and crew died as a result of the unexplained crash.


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7/19//05, high of 85? and sunny. We moved on to Gros Morne National Park, to stay at the Gros Morne Campground in Rocky Harbour. The drive here was breathtaking, best of the trip so far. Next day we left in the fog to find our about the Western Pond Boat Tour and see a little of Rocky Harbour. The fog lifted and it turned into a nice day so we continued to investigate the area.  Fog in the area prevented us getting any photos of The Arches rock formation on the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Near there we saw the remaining wreckage of the S S Ethie, a coastal steamship grounded during a storm December 11,1919. We had  reservations for the much talked about Western Pond Boat Tour and as luck would have it the fog made the trip impossible.  We continued on scenic drives and managed to get on a boat tour on Trout River Pond later in the day. Saw a cow moose with a calve, our wildlife sightings have been skimpy so far.

Gros Morne has a number of hiking trails ranging from half an hour to eight hours, we didn?t take the time to do anything over a short walk, due to rain.  We visited the small towns, lighthouses, gift shops etc.  We drove back to a stand selling freshly picked strawberries. We had to pass it by while driving in the motorhome. They were worth the trip!  This is a really beautiful area.

 
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7/22//05, high of 65? and sunny. We moved on to the Triple Falls Campground in St. Anthony.  RT430 was a pretty rough road about 20% of the way, lots of patches and frost heaves. We suffered some damage to our Blue Ox base plate on the car. Once again we are helped by the locals.  The campground owner Mait was giving Tim directions to the parts store  when he stopped in the middle and said I?ll take you there it?s easier.  It?s the nature of these people to be helpful and take nothing for it but a thank you. On this drive we saw roadside gardens miles from any town, tee-pee stacks of wood placed that way for drying and thousands of lobster traps waiting for the season along the roadsides.

In St. Anthony we visited the Grenfell Historic Properties and learned about the legacy of Dr. Wilfred Grenfell.  A great doctor and missionary, you leave wanting to know more about his life and the continuing Grenfell International Association.  An amazing man. Today was a good day for a museum visit since it  rained. We drove out to Lighthouse Point and the Lightkeepers Cafe, here we had the best fish chowder and local fish for lunch.

The next day we visited L?Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site the first known Viking site in North America around the year 1000.  After years of searching, a Doctor and his wife, an archaeologist, found this site and now proof of it?s legendary existance.  Just down the road is Norstead, A recreated viking Port of Trade.  Here you can see how the Vikings may have evolved, had they stayed longer.  Costumed interpreters throughout the village explain their work in the kitchen, on the farm or shops.  This was a full day, weather was fair and we were able to walk around and enjoy both areas.  A stop at the roadside Vinland Jams stand to help support the brother and sister team  in charge, saving for college.  After a full day we stopped at the Fisherman?s Galley for a fine dinner while overlooking the water and the day was complete.


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7/26//05, high of 65? and sunny. We moved back to Gros Morne National Park, to stay at the Gros Morne Campground in Rocky Harbour. We were now able to see the Arches and to take the boat tour on the Western Brook Pond. The Arches are located on the shore line and are an interesting work of nature. 

Awonderful view of the fjords we travelled through on the Western Brook Pond are pictured on the cover of Newfoundland?s Travel Catalog.  I think it takes four or five days of hiking to reach the spot where they actually took the picture.  We kept our hiking down to the 45 minutes it takes to get to the boat. The view was still incredible from the boat.


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7/27//05, high of 65? and cloudy. We moved to Kinsman Prince Edward Campground in Corner Brook which is the second largest city in Newfoundland.  Lots of shopping available if needed, we will be on the six hour ferry ride soon and will shop across the pond. There are walking tours in the city, we opted for a couple of scenic drives with stops in small towns and sometimes a chat with the locals. We also get to see unusual sights, such as fish split and hanging on a clothesline to dry. We are still enjoying the drives as every one has different and beautiful views.


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7/30//05, high of 70? and sunny. We moved to the Grand Codroy campground in Doyles to spend the night before getting on the 7:30AM ferry back to Nova Scotia.


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What we would do differently?

We were satisfied with each campground that we stayed at. All had 30A service and we had to use a 20A service in one, where we had to be placed in a site where a tow truck could drop us off and come back to tow us out a couple of days later. The only 50A we had was in Kinsman Prince Edward in Corner Brook.

We would visit the same general areas again, but we had to skip two areas due to time lost during our mechanical problems. Those areas were the Bonavista Peninsula and the Baie Verte Peninsula, maybe next time. We didn?t see any icebergs and found that this was a year of very few icebergs. We thought that arriving in Newfoundland July 5th was a little early to have decent temperatures, but found that we could have arrived a few weeks earlier without a problem. The earlier you arrive, the better chance to see an iceberg. We would suggest allowing at least four weeks when visiting Newfoundland.

We couldn?t get DirecTv in Newfoundland. We had a good digital voice signal in every campground that we stayed at except Triple Falls near St. Anthony, where we had a weak analog. We could drive about seven miles into St. Anthony to get a good signal.

We were unable to connect to Verizon Quick to Net anywhere in Newfoundland, but could connect using our Ositech King of Hearts by forcing the phone into analog. This worked everywhere except at Triple Falls where the signal was just too weak, and also at Kinsman Prince Edward in Corner Brook, where we had a five bar digital, but a no bar analog which did enable us to connect to our ISP but couldn?t negotiate a data connection. Overall we have been very happy with the North Americas Choice plan, while in Canada.

These suggestions are based on our way of traveling and you should add extra time and places for extensive hiking, fishing, boating, poor weather or ???.

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Photos can be seen at ?lynchmobile.com?, click on July 2005
 
Sounds like you had a great trip. We are planning to go this year for the first two weeks of July. I was very interested to see that it seemed like it took only a day to get from Doyles to Grand Falls. Is this right? I have been looking at our map and I thought it would take much longer. You have made me feel much better about towing our 5th wheel there. We have only taken our 5th wheel on one long trip and that was to Nova Scotia. (We live in Maine). I have been concerned about finding campgrounds that have sites large enough for our camper. Apparently, I have nothing to worry about. Well, I am a new user on this forum and I'm not sure if you'll see this posting or not since it has been so long since anyone posted here. I would really like to know about the travel times and distances if you would not mind giving me some perpective.
Thanks.
DBurgess
 
dburgess said:
Sounds like you had a great trip. We are planning to go this year for the first two weeks of July. I was very interested to see that it seemed like it took only a day to get from Doyles to Grand Falls. Is this right? I have been looking at our map and I thought it would take much longer. You have made me feel much better about towing our 5th wheel there. We have only taken our 5th wheel on one long trip and that was to Nova Scotia. (We live in Maine). I have been concerned about finding campgrounds that have sites large enough for our camper. Apparently, I have nothing to worry about. Well, I am a new user on this forum and I'm not sure if you'll see this posting or not since it has been so long since anyone posted here. I would really like to know about the travel times and distances if you would not mind giving me some perpective.
Thanks.
DBurgess

I show that it was 280 miles from Doyles to Grand Falls and the roads were in great shape, so made for an easy drive.
 
My parents told me to tell you who I am. I am Fred and Daisy Thomas's youngest daughter. They said you know them well. That doesn't surprise me since they seem to know everyone since they left Maine. They are having the time of their life and we are very happy for them.

Anyway, thank you for the information. I'm guessing it took you about 6 to 8 hours to make that drive. We only have two weeks so I  guess that we will need to stick to the West coast to really enjoy it and do the East coast another time. We do like to hike and walk the shorelines if possible. My husband and son would like to do some fishing.

Thanks again for posting your trip online. It was very informative.
Diana
 
Diana,

Welcome to the forum, your mom and dad are two of our best rving friends.  Yes, just about everyone here knows then too :)  If you have any more questions, please ask.  There's a wealth of experience to be had here.
 
Hi Diana and welcome. As Ned said, almost everyone here knows your Mom and Dad (once met, never forgotten). They are wonderful people, but you already knew that.
 
Hi Diana:

Know we know why Fred is still willing to drive back to Maine. ;D We get back there every other year or so-I grew up in Caribou and still have a lot of family in northern Maine.

It's great hearing from you.
 
dburgess said:
My parents told me to tell you who I am. I am Fred and Daisy Thomas's youngest daughter. They said you know them well. That doesn't surprise me since they seem to know everyone since they left Maine. They are having the time of their life and we are very happy for them.

Anyway, thank you for the information. I'm guessing it took you about 6 to 8 hours to make that drive. We only have two weeks so I  guess that we will need to stick to the West coast to really enjoy it and do the East coast another time. We do like to hike and walk the shorelines if possible. My husband and son would like to do some fishing.

Thanks again for posting your trip online. It was very informative.
Diana

Diana, you picked two great parents!

I'm sure that it took about five hours or less to get to Grand Falls. That park often gets full so make a reservation as soon as you know the date that you will be there.
 
Jan & Ron - I happen to think my parents are pretty great also. I wish they lived closer. It's hard to see them only once a year. I am sure you all see them more than I do.

Jan-thanks for the info. Thats very helpful.

Diana
 
Yes we probably do get to see your folks more often than you do but that is OK by us we do enjoy knowing them.  Fred and Daisey are a great couple.

 
Ned, Jeff & Tom,
I am very sorry I missed your posts the other day when I checked. It was very late and I only saw the last two. Thank you for the nice welcome.
We are very excited about our trip to Newfoundland and appreciate that you all post your experiences here for people like us to read and gather information. Hopefully, it will work out to be a great trip. We will be travelling with a teenager so I'm sure there will be some "difficulties" along they way.
Thanks again for the welcome and you all keep an eye on my parents for me. Make sure they stay out of trouble!
Diana
 
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