29 June 2013 Great meal at Norris Point

This was a relax and catch up day. I added posts to our blog for June 23, 24, and 28. We did not have internet while visiting St. Anthony so could not post for the days we were there. Did wash and made some repairs to the RV--nothing major just a door handle.

Ate lunch at the Justin Thyme Bean and Bistro at Norris Point, a new restaurant at Norris Point that had been open only 45 days. Tasty food with  nice presentation. I had tomato soup with aged cheddar and a smoked salmon and shrimp sandwich. It's about five miles down the road from our park. Patrice had seafood chowder and one-half of a spinach salad with kiwi-pineapple dressing. The cafe carried all kinds of coffees and teas ("help yourself"), luscious deserts, cookies and internet service. Really the first such meal in Newfoundland. We have enjoyed the Newfoundland seafood (particularly chowder), and everything is very simply prepared and presented. This was a wonderful exception.

After lunch we toured the village observing the homes, businesses, craft shops, and docked fishing and tour boats. Patrice spied this building on the dock with caribou and moose antlers.

Antlers at Norris Point

We joined Marge and Jerry last night for cake and ice cream at their place and we called it a another day in paradise. Heavy rain and very gusty winds during the night. The air outside was very warm, and we opened some windows in the rig to sleep well. Glad we were parked and all set up.

June 28, 2013 Friday. Patrice and I needed to make a trip to Corner Brook (75 miles south of our park) to get our propane tanks re-valved. The old valves were more than 10 years old and by law could not be refilled. It was mostly clear and warm out--the drive down and back was spectacular through the Gros Morne National Park.

It took most of the morning to get the valves replaced near the waterfront in Corner Brook. We had some time to look around, so we followed the road on the north side of Humber Arm, across from Corner Brook out to Cox's Cove, a fishing village at the end of the road. We had been following a truck and trailer into town, and when it proceeded up the gravel road east of town, we followed along, passing several homes until we reached a facility of some sort, with two long buildings, like cow sheds, except windowless and covered with metal, and rather clean looking. Going back down the road we asked a lady out for a walk what the facility was for, and she told us it was for mink processing. The mink are fed the leavings of the fish processing plant in Cox's Cove, along with grain and nutrients. She was obviously proud of the town's prosperity.

In Astoria, Oregon, Patrice's mother worked for many years as a bottomfish filleter in the Fish Factors Cannery. After the fish was filleted and packed for sale, huge machinery ground up the bones and leavings of the various cod and sole catches, and it was conveyed to the Northwest Fur Producers plant on the lower floors of the cannery, producing food for the many mink farms around the area. These farms had long, low wooden buildings, smelly and dirty. The farms in the Astoria area haven't been active for 20 years or more, and the buildings are empty and falling down.

Back in Corner Brook, we picked up the propane tanks, and had them filled, and about half the cost of filling them at Rocky Harbour. We had some lunch, did some grocery shopping (oh, the joy of a well-stocked grocery store), gassed up the truck, and returned to our rig at the campground.

Marge and Jerry found the "Anchors Aweigh Kitchen Party" show at the Ocean Motel in the pub room. We got there early, and along with a couple from Ontario who were staying in the park near us, had dinner snacks (and drinks) before the show.

The show was a hoot. Five musicians played and sang mostly traditional Newfoundland-Labrador songs. The singing was lively--Irish and Scottish, sea shanties, riotous and raucous, thumping and jumping, clappin' and tappin', banjo, bass, accordions, guitars, and drums. Tales and stories woven through the tunes, with the Newfoundland humor and point of view.

About half of the audience was from Newfoundland and most of the other folks were from Ontario. There were only a handful of people from the U.S.--Oregon, California, and Kansas. The band would play some music from each of the Provinces and States, "Kansas City" for Kansas, and Beach Boys' "Wish They all Could Be California Girls,"  but was stumped to find a tune related to Oregon. They had never had anyone from Oregon on one of their shows, so they played "All Around the Watch Tower" in honor of Washington (Jimmy Hendrix was from Seattle). I told you they were a bit loud and raucous, and all of them, in their former lives, they said, had been rockers. The band leader said he would be on the internet tomorrow to find some appropriate music for Oregon.

The band leader did most of the singing and story telling and, it turns out he also conducts a show on one of the excursion boats into Bonne Bay. The accordion player stole the show. He had at least four different accordions and really knew how to get the most out of them. He wore hats and costumes for some of the more silly songs and played a mean harmonica. As it turns out, he is the captain of the excursion boat. The drummer is an accomplished singer and guitar player and has made his own CDs--and you guessed it, he drives the shuttle to the boat. One of the other band members has an ugly stick that he made and played. The show started at 8:00 and ended at 11:30--some show!

No pictures this posting--foggy and rainy today--none taken. Maybe tomorrow's weather will help us find some good shots.

June 24, 2013  We spent most of the day at the L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, the only known Viking site in North America and the earliest evidence of Europeans in the western hemisphere. This site was declared the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. There is a sculptured monument located on this site where it is believed that the “Circle of Human Migration” was completed. About 100,000 years ago humans migrated out of Africa; some of them moved eastward into Asia and Australia, and some moved westward into Europe. Some of those that moved into Asia eventually found their way further eastward into the Americas, across the Bearing Sea land bridge; some of those travelers went as far east as Newfoundland. A branch of those that moved into Europe found Norway. When the Norsemen (Vikings) met the aboriginal peoples of Newfoundland, the worldwide circle of migration was completed.

Circle of Human Life Monument at L'Anse aux Meadows World Heritage Site

The Vikings landed on the area now known as L’Anse aux Meadows in about 1,000 A.D., when Leif Eiriksson, son of Eirik the Red, and 35 men made a voyage to the area from Greenland. He stayed, built shelters and work areas, explored a bit, and returned to Greenland a year later. During the next 20 years several Vikings groups made trips to the area that came to be known as Vinland in the Norse writings and sagas. The established base camp was used to search for wood and other resources to bring back to Greenland. Out of the 25 years that the base camp existed, it was used for about 10 years. When it was finally abandoned, it was probably seen as not worth the voyages and expense. Modern interpretation of the ash found in the excavation indicates that the peat dwellings were burned when abandoned.

Fast forward to 1960.  Noregian historian Helge Ingsted had been searching for evidence of Viking presence in North America for years, stopped at a likely place in Newfoundland. He inquired among the locals about the presence of any nearby mounds or earth works. He soon found George Decker, who showed him what the locals called “the old Indian camp.” Ingsted immediately recognized the site as a Viking camp and began the archeological excavation of the remnants of sod huts. Seven years later, Parks Canada joined in the excavation and together they discovered artifacts that proved conclusively that the Vikings had established a settlement in North America five centuries before the voyages of Columbus. Some of the artifacts found in the remnants of three dwellings, four workshops, and an iron-working smithy included a soapstone spindle whorl, bronze ring-headed pin, and iron rivets. Other evidence of the Viking presence included wood fragments from trees not indigenous to the area.

The foundations of the original Viking sod huts have been preserved and used by Parks Canada as the basis for reconstructing the village buildings. The buildings have been stocked with tools, clothing, and other traditional Norse items likely used by the Vikings during their occupation of the site. A guided tour of the site took about 1 ½ hours and another 1 ½  hours was spent at the visitor’s center. Two costumed “Vikings” brought the surrounding exhibits alive, and answered questions. Children of any age could use the equipment in the adjoining room, helmets, shields, swords and other weapons to dress up like a real Viking, having pictures taken, of course.

Sod Hut Foundations at L'Anse aux Meadows World Heritage Site 

 Reconstructed Sod Huts at L'Anse Meadows World Heritage Site

Equipment in Reconstructed Sod Huts at L'Anse Meadows World Heritage Site

After this site visit we toured the present day fishing villages of L’Anse aux Meadows and Quirpon. Patrice and I had a great seafood dinner at the Northern Delight Restaurant in Gunners Cove. Patrice had a fresh mussel appetizer and cod tongue entrée, and I had the lobster dinner followed by partridgeberry pie.

We saw 8 moose grazing in meadows on our way back to our rig. What a great day in a strange and wonderful land!

Moose near Gunners Cove 

Moose near Gunners Cove

June 23, 2013:  Sad day—we had to leave Labrador today. We needed to be to the ferry dock by about 9 a.m. so we got up early. We checked the big iceberg just offshore and centered in Mary’s picture window. We sure thought the berg would roll over during the night--it had rotated on the surface several times with the tide and showed some signs of breaking up. Mary fixed us oatmeal and cold cereal with toast for breakfast. Squashberry, partridgeberry, and bakeapple berry jams were contained in the flowered porcelain server on her lovely table. Bakeapple berry is also known as cloudberry and partridgeberry (the locals say) is the same as lingonberry. Squash berry is similar to a salmon berry but has seeds like a blackberry—it does not taste like any kind of apple. What makes these jams special is that Mary has hand-picked the berries and made the jam.

We found out that Mary is 80 years old. Patrice asked her what year she was born, and she answered, “Why don’t you just ask me how old I am?” She’s lived what we would call a tough life, but for those making a living in Labrador, it was quite normal. When Patrice asked if she did any rug hooking, she replied, “Didn’t have much time for that nor quilting either, what with raisin’ kids and makin’ fish.” Wish I could duplicate her accent and way of speaking—she talked a lot, thank goodness, so we were usually able to get the gist of what she said. “Makin’ fish” meant helping with processing cod for market--cleaning, splitting, drying, and salting cod fish. She and her husband, Ernie, bought the house where we stayed in 1973. She said Ernie was a fisherman most of his life but later did rock blasting when “the road went through.” Ernie died in 2001 and she has ran the Bread and Breakfast ever since. On her receipt she stamped “Barney’s Hospitality House.”

We really enjoyed the morning drive back to the ferry. The bays were full of icebergs and they glistened in the bright sun.

Iceberg in Iceberg Alley 

Iceberg in Iceberg Alley

The ferry was the same one we came to Labrador on—the Apollo. The bay, the rocks, the shore, the buildings and piers, and the ocean were as wonderful as ever. The ride back to St. Barbe was uneventful with one whale sighting.  

Labrador is a part of Newfoundland and has been so since they joined the Canadian Confederacy in 1949. We are not sure we understand how the citizens of Labrador feel about being a part of Newfoundland or, for that matter, how the citizens of Newfoundland feel about being a part of Canada. We saw a 1960 map that called Labrador “a Province of Newfoundland.” Labrador has its own flag and you see it flying more than that of Newfoundland. The citizens of Labrador are quite guarded when asked about the relationship. The performers at the shows we saw in Cow Head, Newfoundland wore t-shirts that said “Free NFLD.” We understand that there was a recent movement to free Newfoundland from Canada--most folks do not want to talk about it.

After arriving in St. Barbe we hooked up our rigs and drove about 60 miles to our next campground called Triple Falls RV Park, north of St. Anthony. The first 30 miles of the drive was along the Strait of Belle Isle at the northern end of the Gulf of Lawrence and at the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. The bumpy road took us through many small fishing villages. Much of the road was located within 200 feet of the rocky shoreline where very large waves came crashing in. The last 30 miles of the road was smooth and it came inland came inland. The park was full of seasonal residents, with the short-term area clogged RVs with a private caravan, mostly big motorhomes. We got our rigs parked with a bit of difficulty--not much turning room. Electricity is not very reliable 30-amp.

The day ended with some beer and wine and good fellowship with our traveling companions, tired after a long day.    

This morning, Wednesday, we left the RV park in a light mist, hoping to catch the tour boat for Western Brook Pond scheduled to leave at 12:30. The hiking trail into the boat dock is 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) long, constructed with gravel over the higher ridges and wood planking over the bogs. It is beautiful hike with many information panels along the way, telling about the bogs, the local wildflowers and the wildlife--we were on the alert for moose, but again saw none this trip. A portion of the trail follows along a large lake (pond, there are no lakes in Newfoundland) and several smaller ponds. Our hike through mist and fog with a cold wind took about 50 minutes. At the end of the trail, a large building with coffee, muffins, and other snacks was a welcome sight; about 90 other travelers also waited for word about the boat tour.

Unfortunately, the entrance to the Western Brook Pond was shrouded in mist and fog; we waited on a decision of the boat captain whether or not we would be taking the trip into the fjord. At 12:30 the captain announced that the trip would be "less than ideal" and a few minutes later he canceled it. Yep, you guessed it, we turned around and hiked out another 1.86 miles. We hope the weather will be much better on our return trip south from St. Anthony, and maybe take the trip in another nine days or so.

We were warmed by a lunch of hot tea and seafood chowder on our way home.

All of the little cafes and restaurants in Newfoundland have their seafood chowder. While the ingredients vary, the chowder always tastes wonderful and creamy--the chowder in Windy Point had lobster, as well as shrimp, crab, scallops and cod! There's usually some potatoes, and celery and onion, and usually is luscious.

Another observation: Most of the restaurant food we have eaten in Newfoundland so far has been prepared without many spices or flavorings and its presentation has been quite plain.

Tomorrow we leave for St. Barbe where we will leave the rigs for a two day trip into Labrador.

18 June 2013 Green Point Geology

Today, Tuesday, Patrice got her hair cut at a nearby beauty salon, I arranged to have an empty propane tank filled (very expensive propane here), and we had breakfast downtown. I had some moose sausage and eggs, and Patrice had a crab omelet--that's crab with a "c" not a "k."

Then Patrice and I visited Norris Point, the Lobster Head Cove Lighthouse, the SS Ethie ship wreck, and Green Point, all discussed in yesterday's posting of this blog. Geology holds an interest for both Patrice and me, and we spent about three hours at Green Point. With the field guide "Geology of Newfoundland" and our cameras at hand, we explored Green Point to understand why it is so important to the study of the world's geologic history. This was an exciting excursion.

In order to get to the boundary layer, we walked on the shale and limestone slabs and layers--like crumbly pages underfoot. They were so regular, and some of them were worn so smooth that they looked like the grain lines in wood. Lichens and mosses covered some of the upper shore, and seaweed and barnacles covered the tidal rocks and layers. There are fossils galore, found between the layers; however, fossil gathering is strictly prohibited.

Our visit at low tide today allowed us climb around the barrier at the right, which the high tide obstructed yesterday. We were able to reach the boundary layer (known as Bed 23) where the steeply tilted beds of shale and limestone of the Cambrian Period lie directly below those of the Ordovician Period. The importance of this location is that nowhere else in the world is this boundary so clearly designated. [Note: The Cambrian Period occurred between about 545 and 490 million years ago and the Ordovician Period occurred between about 490 and 440 million years ago.]

Cambrian/Ordovician Boundary Layer at Green Point

Note that boundary layer directly below two rocks at surface

Cambrian/Ordovician Boundary Layer

The fossil types of the Cambrian Period (trilobites) and of the Ordovician Period (shellfish and fish) were used to define this boundary layer. Because the definition of this boundary was so complete and well preserved, the International Union of Geological Sciences designated, in January 2000, Green Point in Gros Morne National Park as a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP).

Tilting of the sediment layers (shale and limestone) seen at the Green Point site were caused by plate tectonics, i.e., the movement of large rock plates. The process of plate tectonics helped create Newfoundland; that's another story to be continued in later blogs.

Tomorrow we all go on a two-hour boat tour of Western Brook Pond. That's another exciting excursion!

There are no lakes in Newfoundland, only ponds.

17 June 2013 Lighthouses and Cow Head, Tuckamore and Rocks

Today I went with our traveling companions for another site seeing day in Gros Morne National Park. Patrice stayed home with Carlos, recovering from a fall taken on the Southeast Brook Falls hike yesterday. Our first stop was at the Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse just north of Rocky Harbor, where we are camped.

Lobster Cove head Lighthouse

This lighthouse, located on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is still operated by the Canadian Coast Guard; it was automated in 1975. It was manned by the Young family for seventy-five years. The lighthouse keeper's house is now a museum, surprisingly informative. The docent (see above) is a paid employee of the Canadian Government; he was more than helpful, explaining the history and current operations of the lighthouse.

Further north at Cow Head we visited the abandoned lighthouse located on Cow Head Point. The trail to the lighthouse is well maintained, although strenuous.The lighthouse has been left to weather naturally and trees have grown up around it thereby blocking its view from most of the Gulf. The door was left open and one can climb up a ten-foot ladder to enter the windowed top portion of it. Views of the Gulf and the National Park from several points on the trail are magnificent.

Cow Head Point Lighthouse

We saw several roadside gardens planted along the highway leading to Cow Head. There were no houses located near these gardens. It was, however, obvious that these gardens were not to be disturbed! We also observed a few root cellars along this route. The cellars were up to 10 feet high and sod covered.

Roadside Garden near Cow Head

We stopped to explore a fish camp in Sally's Cove located 20 kilometers north of our camp ground in Rocky Harbor. Fishing boats, lobster nets, bouys, and other fishing supplies were piled around the camp and stored in old buildings. One building housed many cans of gasoline and several outboard motors. The boats were very stark and encrusted with fish scales. The entire camp was quite smelly. We failed to notice a sign warning that a bear was in the vicinity and that we should take care until we were leaving the camp. There are many camps like this one located in the small fishing villages along this side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Fortunately, most of them are much better maintained. [As an aside, we notice that most of the houses and buildings in Newfoundland are well kept and brightly painted. In addition, there is no trash or junk evident in the yards. This makes for a very beautiful Province]. 

Fish Camp at Sally's Cove

We hiked a portion of the Coastal Trail located at the Green Point Campground. This trail follows an old mail road along the beach.  There is a 50-foot wide tuckamore forest between this trail and the Gulf. Tuckamore is the Newfoundland term for the dwarfed and twisted white spruce and balsam fir trees that make up a natural barrier between the sand and trail. It is said that the tuckamore vegetation "shreds clothing, grapples with legs, and rips the laces out of boots.' It is also stated that because of its "tenacity, ubiquity, and sculptured aesthetics, it has led to its adoption as the symbol for the Gros Morne National Park."

Tuckamore on the Coastal Trail

Our final stop for the day was a Green Point where fossils can be found in a notch between Cambrian and Ordovician sediments. The sediment layers have been interlayered with sandstone and limestone conglomerate and have been tilted about 115 degrees. Each one-meter step along the base of the cliff passes about 60,000 years of sediment accumulation. The rocks to the south of the cliff were accumulated during the Cambrian Period and to the north they were accumulate during the Ordovician Period. The record here is so complete and well preserved that the International Union of Geological Sciences is considering Green Point as an international standard for defining the boundary between the Cambrian and Ordovician Periods. 

Green Point Cliffs

Green Point Fossil

It was high tide today during our visit so we could not get close to the areas of most interest. Patrice and I plan to visit the site tomorrow for a more in-depth view of the rock formations and fossils and I will write a more detailed site description after our visit. By the way, the road down to the cliffs is quite steep and the stop sign in this photo says it all.

Road to Green Point  

  

After today's visit to Green Point it was time to relax, take in the view, and listen to the waves. Life of an RVer can be hard.

Relaxing at Green Point     

16 June 2013 Gros Morne: Southeast Brook Falls and Woody Point

Today, Sunday, was a site-seeing day in the Gros Morne (translation: "big rounded mountain standing apart from other hills") National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We traveled south from our campground about 10 miles to the Southeast Brook Falls trail-head. We all (including Carlos) took the easy 700-meter hike to the falls. It was a great little hike in the sunshine to the falls--reminded us of our hikes in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, except that there is more lush vegetation on the forest floor here, because of the less dense canopy. Saw some moose droppings on the trail; alas, we have seen no moose.

Southeast Brook Falls Trail-head
(All National Park written materials are in English and French)

 On the Southeast Brook Falls Trail

Southeast Brook Falls

After our hike we continued south about 10 more miles on Highway 430 and then west about 20 miles on Highway 431 to Woody Point, driving along the south arm of Bonne Bay. We went through the small fishing villages of Glenburnie, Birchy Head, and Shoal Brook--tidy little towns with clean yards, lots of lobster traps and firewood stacks. The weather turned to mist, some fog, and rain.

Fishing boats in Woody Point

We spent some time in the village of Woody Point, having lunch at the Granite Cafe on the waterfront. The place filled up for lunch on Sunday, and a quick squall blew the rain horizontally for a bit. Granite Cafe was named in honor of the granite brought by early Basque fisherman from their homeland as ballast for their fishing boats, then leaving the granite behind as it was replaced with fish. Woody Point still supports a fishing industry; in addition, the community now hosts the annual "Writers at Woody Point" festival and other creative endeavors, including music and theater performances. There are several heritage buildings on the waterfront of the town, as well as some shops and restaurants. 

The Gros Morne National Park Discovery Center at Woody Point is a learning resource. One wing of the main floor encourages children to learn about the park and the rest of it is geared to outlining the geographic, geologic, biologic, and hydrologic settings and issues related to management of the Gros Morne National Park. A huge hooked tapestry of the park hangs on the wall behind the reception desk. It was done by six ladies who hand-hooked (as in rug hooking) it over three months in 1978. The loops are very tiny--only one of the ladies who made this piece is still alive.

Tonight we attended the "Neddy Noris Night" at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in the village of Cow Head. It was "in the round"--a platform in the middle of a large room, with four performers who sang traditional songs of Newfoundland and Labrador, accompanied by a tin whistle, an old accordion, a guitar, a mandolin and hand-held drum. A pleasant time. Other days have different comedic and dramatic performances throughout the season.

Tomorrow more exploring and a few plans for the next leg of our journey.

(This addition to our blog for June 12 failed to get posted--so here it is)

Today we took a leisurely trip through the scenic, lush, and laid-back Codroy Valley. The valley lies just north of Port aux Basques, where we left our ferry, and west of the Trans Canadian Highway. It was settled during 1825-1845 by Acadians, Scots, Irish Catholics, Channel Islanders, and English Protestants. The decendants of these original settlers still farm the rich Grand Codroy Delta deposits. Most of the agricultural land is planted to grass and hay, currently being cut and fed to the 6,000 head of cattle (3,000 dairy cows)  found in the valley. Later cuttings of the grass and hay will be stored in silos for winter feeding. Before the 1960's many sheep were being raised for subsistence purposes. They are now almost gone from the valley. We looked for an old carding mill, listed in the tourist books as closed, and found it abandoned and being used for storage.

Codroy Valley 

The ultimate destination of our road trip was the Cape Anguille Lighthouse at the far end of the valley, on the westernmost point of Newfoundland. The lighthouse has been abandoned and replaced by a fog horn and a beacon mounted on a steel structure. There is an Inn being operated in one of the original buildings and some of the other buildings have been restored. It was a great place to have our picnic on this warm and sunny day--no bugs!

Anguille Lighhouse

On our way to the lighthouse we visited the Ramsar-designated "Wetlands of International Significance." Ramsar refers to an intergovernmental treaty that helps provide for the conservation of and wise use of wetlands. Ramsar is an Iranian city where the convention was agreed to, and countries signed. The wetlands provide habitat for migrating water and land birds--none were present at this time.

We also stopped at the Gillis Brothers General Store and the E.W. Gales Store. Both stores have been operated by the same families since the 1950's. The Gillis General Store carries groceries, movies, beer, souvenirs, baked goods, hardware, housewares, clothing, cloth, yarn, and, as advertised, "Everything from a baby fart to a clap of thunder." The Gales store was larger, and carried more attractive produce and larger displays of dairy items, and the same products as the Gillis store. The Gales store also displayed musical instruments for sale, mostly guitars. Every little town has a general store, sometimes with a gas station, and the staff always gives good  directions and recommendations.

We stopped at The Holy Trinity Angelican Church in Codry. It holds regular services, and is additionally a National Historic Landmark. The original church was destroyed by a 1912 gale; the present structure was built with the assistance of the community that donated free labor and materials. The church was locked , so we looked through the windows to see the beautiful pulpits and fine woodwork. The cemetery has some very old headstones, some marking people who died in the late 1800s.

The Holy Trinity Angelican Church - Codroy, Newfoundland

In our Newfoundland travels we've seen several Anglican cemeteries, several Roman Catholic cemeteries, and even one Pentecostal cemetery. Where do they bury the other heathen souls here, we wondered.

Apple pie and coffee at the Silver Sands Restaurant ended our great day in the valley, and we are preparing to move on tomorrow--ever northward.

Yesterday we sailed from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland on the MV Highlanders (named after several Notia Scotia infantry regiments that fought in World Wars I and II). This huge and luxurious ferry felt like a cruise ship! We bought reserved seats, in leather cushioned recliners on the top deck, with televisions and earphones--we were the only passengers in this  92-seat area. The ship was built in Russia and finished in Norway in 2004. She ran between The Netherlands and the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2009. It was modified and converted in Bremerhaven, Germany, to better suit the North Sydney to Channel-Port aux Basques crossing. It can carry 1,000 passengers and has over 9,300 feet of vehicle lane space.

We bought the tickets for this trip in February, and we were instructed to be in line two hours before scheduled departure. We were three hours early, and watched the complicated procedure to load commercial tractor trailers, the trailers alone, trucks of all kinds, all kinds of RVs, private watercraft on trailers, as well as private automobiles and motorcycles. Loading the ferry is a massive but precise effort and fascinating to watch.

We are not allowed to stay with our vehicles during the crossing, so we put Carlos in his carrier and took him to a special kennel. We fastened his crate to on of the metal shelves, the only pet so stowed this trip. We were able to visit him, give him water and loves several times during the trip, but he didn't like it at all, of course.

MV Highlanders

After docking in Newfoundland, about 6 hours after embarking the ferry, we drove 35 kilometers north on the Trans Canadian Highway to the Grand Codroy RV Park in Doyles. This is a different Canada--wilder, quieter, less populated, more natural. The drive to our park was spectacular, along the base of steep mountains on one side; some of them had snow patches at the higher elevations with waterfalls flowing from them. On the other side of the highway, we could see the ocean with many small islands and rocks. The drive reminded us of a combination of the road from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska, and the Oregon Coast. Our RV park is large and the sites are well constructed--we like this park a lot. We are ahead of the tourist season here, so there is no problem, yet, with crowding.

Entering Newfoundland brought us yet another time change--one half hour! Never knew there was such a thing! So for the more than five weeks that we are here, we will be four and one half hours ahead of the Pacific Daylight Time on the West Coast.

Today we took a 35 kilometer site-seeing trip east from Channel-Port aux Basques to the Rose Blanche lighthouse. This granite lighthouse was built in 1873 there are no others like it along Canada's Atlantic seashores. 

Rose Blanche Lighthouse

(note well in right foreground)

The lighthouse was abandoned in the early 1960's and its fixed white light was replaced by a beacon mounted on a steel structure at the mouth of the harbor in the town of Rose Blanche. Six keepers manned the lighthouse during its time of operation and some of the interior furniture and fixtures can be seen through the windows. Again, we were ahead of the season, and the lighthouse was locked. An outhouse and a well are near the lighthouse. I can't imagine that the outhouse was for the lighthouse personnel to use--it is too far away and there's a bit of a slope down to it.

Rose Blance Lighhouse outhouse and well

Note town of Rose Blanche in background

Rose Blanche means "white rock, the "rose" being a corruption of the French word for rock, "roche." It's interesting that the symbol of the town of Rose Blanche is a large white rose with the lighthouse on it. The white rock all along this area is striking.

   

White rocks at Rose Blanche Lighthouse

We also visited the spectacular Barachois Falls located along the road west of Rose Blanche.The base of the falls can be reached by a 1.6 kilometer hike along a newly constructed board and gravel walk. We stopped at the Town Hall in Rose Blanche, and they were very proud of the new gravel trails and boardwalks leading to the falls.

 Barachois Falls

The drive along this coast is highlighted by many lakes, large and small, perched on benches at varying elevations extending from the mountains to the ocean. The color of the water in the lakes is a deep blue that contrasts with the gray rocks, green marshy tundra, and a few colorful wild flowers (lots of dandylions). The lakes flow from one to another, some surrounded by rocky "fiords" and eventually flow into steep steams before entering the ocean. This one day of the natural beauty of Newfoundland has left us breathless and amazed. . .and tired! We did a lot of walking around the lighthouse and the falls. Carlos trotted along with us on those walks, and he is plumb tuckered this evening.

Following are a few observations we have made so far related to our Maritimes trip:

• We have yet to see any moose, whales, or icebergs; we've got Carlos on the lookout for moose!
• We are about one week ahead of the start of the tourist season and many of the attraction are not yet fully open. They are waiting for college students to operate them.
• We have enjoyed the fresh Atlantic seafood including whole lobster, lobster pie, and lobster rolls, cod and haddock. I have tried cod tongues and they are great.
• We lost our Direct TV signal when we crossed to Newfoundland.
• Maritime folks are extremely friendly.
• This is a good season for lobster--lots of it and the prices are lower. Good for us tourists, maybe not so good for the lobster fishery.

Tomorrow we tour the Codroy Valley.

   

Today we traveled 200 miles all on the Trans Canadian Highway from Truro to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, at the end of Cape Breton Island. The first 50 and last 10 miles of the trip was through mist and fog--remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea. We had stayed in Truro another day to wait out the worst of the storm. It rained bickets for twelve hours and there was a little wind. Elm Creek, next to our campground, overflowed its banks but did not reach our campsite. We watched the river closely late into the night, along with other campers and the owner of the park. We went to bed ready to pull out quickly, if necessary.

Tomorrow we will take the 6-8 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland. We will have to put Carlos in his airline approved kennel and take it to a kennel room on the ferry. We can visit him in this kennel room and take him out to a place where he can do his business. We have reserved seats on the ferry and are looking forward to this experience. We visited the ferry terminal today and noted several trucks obviously carrying dangerous materials. An official explained that there is a special ferry used to transport these  dangerous cargo to Newfoundland. They can only transport 14 of these trucks at one time. Glad they will not be going with us!

We're getting up early, getting to the terminal early, and we plan to be in Newfoundland for nearly 6 weeks. What an experience!

     

We left Hopewell Cape, New Brusnwick, after 11 a.m. this morning, after speaking to the town postmaster about forwarded mail we had expected to be delivered to the campground. It had not arrived, and I learned about mail being sent from the US to Canada gets delayed a bit because of customs. With this small post office, I was able to arrange for further forwarding, much easier in a Canada-to-Canada journey.

Luckily, our drive today was short, and the weather lovely. We reached the end of this branch of the Bay of Fundy at Moncton, and entered Nova Scotia. The highway reached an elevation of about 900 feet just after passing the border. Trees at this elevation are very short either due to the elevation or old clear cutting. We stopped for lunch at the Nova Scotia Provincial Visitor's Information Center.

The center is large and inviting, and sits on a hill overlooking the green farms and roads in the valley. A large hooked-rug wall hanging depicting a lighthouse and seashore and boats below hangs above the fireplace in the main hall. A demonstration area of rug hooking was set up on one of the exhibit areas. A few people had tried it you could tell. The staff was friendly and helpful, and we gathered information, maps an brochures.

Before we left, a short walk down the hill led to a small mock-up of a white lighthouse--there are lots of lighthouses in Nova Scotia.

We arrived at the town of Debert, and are camped at the Elm River Park. We arrived about 4 pm, and since then weekend traffic has brought many more RVs to this campground. We are hunkered down tonight waiting for the rain and wind from tropical storm Andrea that is moving up the US east coast, and will arrive in this area after midnight. We would like to leave tomorrow but the weather does not look good. We need to meet the ferry to Newfoundland Monday morning, so we will have to move on Sunday at the latest.

Today we decided to travel west from our campground at Cape Hopewell, taking the route 915 portion of the Fundy Coastal Drive. We took our truck and Carlos, and the Rocks took truck. Just as we do when pulling our rigs, we used our CB radios for coordination and comments.

The weather has been great! We've learned that these days of sunshine have followed many days of rain and fog--everyone is mowing their lawns. Anyone who has a yard is out mowing and trimming--large yards, municipal common areas, even along the roads; riding mowers, mowers as big as farm hay cutters, man and wife on separate mowers on one yard, weed-whacker machines, edgers--the air is thick with the smell of newly cut grass!

There are many small, neatly kept farms along this drive and several of them have a few head of milk cows and some horses. We've seen several draft horses, huge animals with the "feathers" of long hair on their lower legs above their hooves. There were also some paints, appaloosa, and in a pen of ponies there was a single pot-bellied pig, grazing along with them!

Today we spoke with a farmer planting an 8-acre field to oats along with timothy and clover hay.The oats will be harvested this fall and the hay will be harvested next spring. This is the only field we saw being cultivated since entering New Brunswick.

Are first stop was at the Sawmill Creek Covered Bridge.

Sawmill Creek Bridge near Hopewell Cape

This bridge was built in 1905, replacing the original bridge that was destroyed by the October 1869 Saxby Gale. This high wind and tidal event spread destruction and killed people and animals all along the Bay of Fundy. The construction of the truss bridge is similar to many of the covered bridges we visited in Oregon. There are many covered bridges in New Brunswick. 

The next stop was at the Shipyard Park, along Mary's Point, a loop branching off 915. This quaint little park has been managed by two older gentlemen since its construction.  Age and infirmity prevent them from caring for the property and they would like the government to assume responsibility for it.

A local television news story told of the bay's tides crumbling the end of the "pier" holding the stylized reconstruction of the ship Revolving Light. The original three-masted Revolving Light ship was launched fully rigged in 1875 and was wrecked in the Netherlands in 1902. It was 196 feet long and 38 feet wide and was named after one of the first lighthouses that had a revolving light. The gentlemen taking care of the park have affixed flags to the three masts of the ship in the park at the beginning of the summer season, and removing them at then end, until recently. This year a younger relative will manage the task
.

  

Anderson Hollow Lighthouse at Shipwreck Park

The tiny Anderson Hollow Lighthouse has been relocated to the park as it's permanent resting place, after being relocated several times since being abandoned. 

"Studio on the Marsh" was also on Mary's Point loop. This studio displays paintings by Lars Larsen who has been honored with the "Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Award." Other oil and water color paintings by local artists join the beautifully carved and painted duck decoys, wood turnings, pottery, jewelry and other wonderful crafts at this studio.

Cape Enrage Lighthouse is a recommended stop. Along the road to the point is a winery, and many lovely homes. This lighthouse is operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. This oldest active lighthouse in New Brunswick was built in 1840 and the original fixed white light was operated by a steam system fueled by coal. James G. Barbour was the longest serving lighthouse keeper, having been on duty from 1888 to 1930, 42 years. The current light and alarm were automated in 1979 when the Canadian Coast Guard began phasing out lighthouses. The green light flashes every 6 seconds and the alarm sounds for 2 seconds every six seconds during fog events.

In 1992, finding that the buildings and grounds near the lighthouse falling in disrepair and susceptible to vandalism, a Moncton high school teacher and his wife began a campaign. Using the enthusiasm of their high school students they began to clean up and restore the lighthouse station. Through government and private partnerships, the area is now operated and maintained by a non-profit group, who offer adventure programs such as zip-lines and guided rock climbing, and education opportunities for local student groups, as well as photo opportunities for tourists.

Our Group at Cape Enrage Lighthouse 

Cape Enrage Lighthouse on the Fundy Coastal Drive

We discussed the Atlantic salmon fishery with the proprietor of Colliins Lobster Fisherman's Market in Alma. The only Atlantic salmon we see on the west coast is marked "farmed Atlantic salmon." We found out that Atlantic salmon is the only salmon species on the east coast, and it has runs in the spring and the fall. They do not die after spawning, but return to the ocean. He maintains that the Atlantic salmon tastes richer than our western species. He also maintains that the only difference that he notices between farmed and wild Atlantic salmon, is that the flesh of the farmed salmon is much more red because of the fish pellets that they are fed. A different view.

We ended our day in Alma with a nice lunch at the Harbor View Restaurant, shopping for groceries and souvenirs, getting some world-famous sticky buns at Kelly's Bakeshop, marveling over huge lobsters at Collins, and getting gas for our vehicles. A great day! 

Tomorrow we move again. Forward to new adventures!

[Actually writing this entry late night June 5.]

I've skipped a couple days of our travels--some of our internet reception has been spotty, and I need to catch up. We moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, from Bangor, Maine on June 2. A small, free government ferry across Grand Bay took us to our campground at Harding's Point. This ferry runs 24 hours, and accommodates enormous tractor-trailer combinations.

Grand Bay Ferry

On June 3 the weather turned to rain and fog and dampened our sight seeing possibilities. We did visit the New Brunswick Museum and Saint John City Market downtown. The museum relates the natural, cultural, and industrial history of the province. An interesting exhibit in the gallery Our Changing Earth displayed rocks keyed to all of the geologic time periods; the Hall of Great Whales held whale and mastodon skeletons. There is an impressive collection of local and international fine and decorative arts, and opportunities for activities for children.

The Saint John City Market is housed in a building constructed like a boat. The museum and market are enclosed and surrounded by a large modern mall and office buildings, attached with sky bridges, so that even on this rainy day, we didn't need to go outdoors. The market vendors sold fresh produce, meat, and fish, and buzzed with people and activity. Fiddlehead ferns are in season, and we bought some to try. Other stalls held jewelry, t-shirts, crafts, and clothing.

We drove to see the famous Reversing Falls (also called Reversing Rapids) not far from downtown. Here the St. John River flows over a falls during low tide; and during high tide the falls is drowned out and the flow is reversed over it. At slack tide, when the water is near high tide and still, there's a window of about 20 minutes that boats can travel from the St. John River into the Bay of Fundy and visa-versa.

Today our rig is parked at the Ponderosa Pines Campground in the town of Hopewell Cape in New Brunswick. We left Saint John yesterday (June 4) and traveled along Highway 1, until we (our friends Marge and Jerry with us) turned south and pulled our rigs through the Fundy National Park on Highway 114. What fabulous scenery on a gorgeous day! We were surrounded on all sides by all textures of trees--straight conifers, bushy birch and alder types, underbrush--all with every shade of green imaginable. We passed near small, well-kept communities with their neat homes and steeples, spread over the hills and fields and down in the valleys. Small herds of dairy cows chewed their cuds, and horses grazed and dozed in the sun.

Highway 1 is smooth, for the greater part, and the grades are gentle. Highway 114, however, was a challenge, being rough with steep ups and downs on its way to the Bay of Fundy. Our old 8.1 liter Silverado with 250,000 miles hung with us and we had no problems. The view from a high viewpoint was stunning! The Bay of Fundy is huge!

Today we visited the Hopewell Rocks and Flower Pots at high tide and later near low tide. The high tides at this location range from 35 to 43 feet, and the Bay of Fundy is know to have the highest tides in the world, at 52 feet in some locations.

Hopewell Rocks at high tide

Hopewell Rocks near low tide

(Note people for scale)

Here the tidal erosion has sculpted pillars out of sedimentary conglomerates and sandstone. Because the bases of the pillars are covered by the tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy every day, rockweed grows around them and over flat rock formations in the area. Balsam fir, dwarf spruce trees, and smaller vegetation grow atop the pillars in the "flower pots." Many caves are carved by the tide action along the steep cliffs adjacent to the bay. There are 99 steps down to the shore at Hopewell Cape, where you can "walk on the ocean floor" for three hours before, during, and three hours after low tide. Oh yes, you must scramble up the same 99 steps before the tide comes in.

While waiting for the low tide, we visited the Albert County Museum, a couple kilometers up the road. Several restored buildings, including the tax office, records hall, community hall, court house, and gaol (jail) are on the grounds of this museum. The community hall is still in use, and has a curtained stage. On the wall are framed charters for the local Sons of Temperance, 1891, and the Good Knights Templar, 1893. 

Many of the original tax records are still in the tax office and visitors can look at the list of liens in a large account book from 1899 to 1928, in neat columns and perfect penmanship. The exhibition hall houses an extensive collection of late 1800's and early 1900's agricultural and trade implements and machinery--some identical to those I used when a teenager in Iowa. For instance, I remember well the hand-cranked corn sheller I used as a farm laborer, and a belt and pulley system was displayed similar to the one my dad used to mix concrete for making blocks and bricks. 

The most colorful historical figures associated with this museum are Prime Minister R.B. Bennett and Tom Collins. Bennett was born and educated in Hopewell and served as Prime Minister during the Great Depression years of 1930-35. He instituted many "new deal" programs similar to those put in place by President Roosevelt during the same period. He remains the only prime minister of Canada to come from New Brunswick. He was an ambitious businessman and helped push through innovative programs with the government even before his prime minister tenure. The state of the economy took its toll, however, and he could not escape blame for the appalling conditions during the depression. Bennett hated to leave Canada, but needed to get away from the day-to-day involvement with business and politics, and moved to England for his health, where he died in 1947. 

Tom Collins was the famous convicted ax murderer who was hung  for his crime on a scaffold next to the courthouse. 

This museum with its grounds is neat, well-kept, and very interesting. The push-button movies with characters speaking regarding the history all worked very well. There's also a 20-minute movie shown in the exhibition hall. We are so glad that we stopped to visit this gem.

Tomorrow we will drive west on the Fundy Coastal Drive from here, and explore the town of Alma, then visit the Cape Enrage Lighthouse.

   

We are parked at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort in Hermon, Maine, near Bangor, having arrived here Thursday night (May 30th). Getting ready to enter Canada tomorrow has involved an oil change for the Chev, grocery shopping, and drinking the wine that would have put us over our Canadian Custom's limit. This is a pleasant and neatly organized RV park, as was the Boston Minuteman RV park in Littleton, Massachusetts, where we camped the night of May 29. The use of our Passport America membership at this park makes an economical staging stop (50 percent off the regular rate). The scenery through New York, Massachusetts, and Maine is beautiful with lush greenery and views of well-kept farms, including small dairy operations. These smaller farms offer a welcome contrast to the huge grain farms of the Mid-West.

We have found a couple of great restaurants in the last few days. We had great Thai food at the Mango Restaurant in Littleton, Massachusett,s and wonderful home cooking at the Hermon Family Restaurant here at our resort. But we are really looking forward to the lobster, cod, and other seafoods in the Maritimes.

On the night of May 28 we camped at the highly overrated Coast to Coast (CC) Frosty Acres RV and Camping Resort near Schenectady, New York. Because we used our CC membership we were assigned second class spots that were soggy, wet and muddy, even though we could see high and dry lots reserved for the park's regular members. They were not helpful in getting us to our sites and setting up our rigs, many of the electrical connections had a reverse polarity and/or ground fault problems, and the management was non-cooperative regarding receiving mail. We have become more and more disappointed with CC and Resorts Parks International (RPI) over the several years that we have been members. The parks that honor CC and RPI rates are often located far from services along remote country roads, and they too frequently assign less than desirable sites because of our membership. It's probably time to end those associations!

We camped at the Skyline Resorts near Darien Center, New York, on the night of May 27. This was a nice enough park--not overrated, but kind of pricey. We drove in fog and light rain most of the morning of the 28th on our way to the "park from hell" in Schenectady. Still the drive was scenic and pleasant. We tried to stay on US 20 but encountered too many bridges that had clearances too close to the height (12'8") of our rigs and too many small towns. So we gave up and motored up to the NY Throughway about half way to Schenectady.

We arrived in Jefferson, Ohio, May 23 and stayed there until May 26. Great wine and covered bridge country. We have seen many covered bridges on the west coast, especially in Oregon, but these having been built much earlier were more exciting. I was particularly interested in the construction techniques and materials used for these bridges. For instance, the Mechanicsville Road bridge was built over the Grand River in 1867.

Mechanicsville Road Bridge

It is the oldest bridge and has the longest single span (156 feet) of any covered bridge in Ashtabula County. The Howe Truss has an arch constructed of 15 layers of 2" x 8" lumber and it is encased by large beams which form the X's of the truss. The arch extends across the entire span of the bridge.

 Mechanicsville Road Bridge Howe Truss Arch

The Harpersfield Road bridge was built in 1868 and it is the second longest covered bridge in Ohio. This two-span Howe Truss bridge is 228 feet in length and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The flood of 1913 washed soil away from the north end of the bridge and changed the river channel; a steel bridge was attached to the covered  bridge after the flood and a walkway was added in 1991-92.

Harpersfield Road Bridge

We visited and shopped in old town Ashtabula and watched a lift bridge being raised for passage of boats on an inlet off of Lake Erie. The steel bridge span was about 200 feet in length and the entire span was rotated upward at one end by a huge concrete counterweight. We tried to get a close up shot of a nearby lighthouse in Ashtabula but no road approached it. This is the best we could do.

Astabula, Ohio Light House      

Finally, we ate at the Deer's Leap Winery, in Geneva, Ohio. This winery is relatively new and the restaurant has a great menu and kind of a watering hole to showcase local talent for the entertainment. We did drag the strip in Geneva on Memorial Day--thousands of people and hundreds of Harleys, carnivals and picnics, bands and bathing suits. It was a warm ideal weekend to usher in the Summer season. It reminded us of Long Beach, a strip city on the Washington Coast.

We are excited to be entering the main focus of our trip--the Maritime Provinces! We'll enter New Brunswick tomorrow.