Loving Life on the Road: July 8 and 9 Leaving Twillingate

Yesterday, July 8, we moved our rigs from Twillingate to Gander, Newfoundland, a short 75-mile ride. The Atlantic Ocean was in view from our park in Twillingate and during our hook-up we spied an iceberg on the horizon. We were told that the berg was one of the many we had seen in St. Anthony on July 5, but how would we know? Icebergs are given numbers and kept track of, so it was possible. This was the first iceberg spotted in Twillingate this year and there was excitement all around town. They are late arriving near Twillingate this year, and we were fortunate to see so many in Labrador and St. Anthony; we were not feeling "iceberg-deprived." Regardless, this was a nice send off from Twillingate, who calls itself "The Iceberg Capitol of the World!"

Found in Twillingate. I'm sure it was just a silly bit of outdoor whimsy.

Our main objective in Gander was to visit the North Atlantic Aviation Museum. Fortunately we were allowed to park our rigs there and dry camp overnight.

Two Alpenlites and white trucks at the air museum

The highlight of this museum is a display about the landing at the Gander airport of 42 aircraft (38 commercial passenger and 4 military) in three hours after US airspace was closed after the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

The Gander airport has one of the longest runways in the world, that was built before World War II for the purpose of refueling aircraft flying across the Atlantic. During War II the airstrip was used by the Canadian and US. military to fly planes to Europe, and also to store military supplies since the total length of the strip was not required for takeoffs and landings. After the war the airport was again used for refueling trans-continental flights until the advent of the jet airplanes that could make the crossing without refueling. Immediately following the 9-11 attack all flights into the US were rerouted to other countries, 200 to Canada, with Gander receiving 42 flights.

After landing, the passengers on the 38 commercial flights remained on board for up to 24 hours. In the meantime Gander citizens were mobilizing food service, clothing, all kinds of comfort necessities, and sleeping quarters for the stranded and dazed passengers. As they left the planes they were fed and offered beds in private homes, motels, churches, schools, in Gander and surrounding communities. 6,700 people were helped during this crisis over four days, a great humanitarian effort by a small community. Reading about the effort, seeing pictures, and the thank you notes sent after the passengers returned home--it was all emotionally moving.

September 11, 2001, Gander response

Beam from Twin Towers

Today, July 9, we moved from Gander to Charleston, Newfoundland. We're staying here four days visiting the Bonavista Penninsula. After setting up, Patrice and I explored the communities of Charleston, Princeton, Summerville, Plate Cove, Open Hall, Red Cliff, and Tickle Cove. All of these communities are small fishing villages with the only public services being a convenience store here and there.

The Open Hall Roman Catholic Church is left open daily until 8 pm, and we decided to visit. Even though it is more than 100 years old and with very small communities surrounding, it was obviously in use, with bulletins and mass books, and diocese notices on the bulletin board.