Is It Groundhog Day, Or Are We Just Driving On The Same Road Again?!

Arches Provincial Park

Day 85      September 2, 2014

Portland Creek to Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland, Canada

Some people don’t like the fact that, when you travel around Newfoundland, inevitably, usually, you’ll have to backtrack over the the same roads you’ve already driven on to get back to somewhere else you want or need to go, or just to get back to where you started. Some people will throw around words like, “Groundhog Day,” or “boring” when describing this predicament. But not us. We only used the word “lucky” to describe our situation.

When we left L’Anse aux Meadows, we had to travel south, down the same road…the only road…to get back to the split in the road that would take us east to get to St. Johns.  This was pretty cool, ‘cause we got to see some of the places we’d seen on the way north, only from a completely different angle. This made us happy. It was like seeing old friends again!

East coast magic.

Arches Provincial Park

Arches Provincial Park

Near Gros Morne National Park

Near Gros Morne National Park

Near Gros Morne National Park

Headin’ east on the Trans Canadian Highway

Moose?? Where??

Happy Road Tripping Nancy

And speaking of old friends…Just outside of Gros Morne National Park, we stopped for fuel at an Esso station and ran into a couple from the U.S. state of Washington that we’d met on the fjiord boat tour three days earlier. When we’d first met them, they had assumed that we’d flown out east from California and then had rented a car to travel around Newfoundland, just as they had done. They were shocked to see that we were actually in an RV and had driven all the way from California. Trust me, this fact added a lot to our “cool factor” when we were so far away from California! I reckon we were just about the coolest people in Newfoundland at the time!

We bid our friends farewell, and continued our eastern pilgrimage. Before stopping for lunch, we drove past Grand Falls-Windsor, a blip on the map whose motto is “Perfectly Centered.” Hmm, must be smack dab in the center of Newfoundland!

I was really excited to spot a restaurant in Badger that made Canadian and Chinese food. We’d been eating such simple food on the road, that Chinese food would be a real treat! So, we stopped at Helen’s. And I was so bummed to find out that they didn’t have Chinese food that day, ‘cause the Chinese chef had off work that day. Oh well. There are worse things in life than a lack of Chinese food, and I wasn’t gonna let this little hitch get me down.

No Chinese food today!

As we headed east, we stopped at a scenic look out point near Gambo. There was a guy there selling fresh veggies from his little produce truck. We bought a bunch of stuff from him, super happy to have fresh home-grown veggies. He also gave us a gigantic turnip for the dogs. We never did feed it to the dogs. While on the road, we were afraid of feeding them something out of their ordinary diet. Didn’t need any more doggie gastric or digestive problems while we were all living together in our small Space Shuttle!

Scenic lookout near Gambo

Scenic lookout near Gambo

The final stop for the day was at the campground at Terra Nova National Park. Once again, a stellar Canadian National Park. It was the first National Park established in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it is also the eastern most National Park in all of Canada. It also had the most beautiful bathrooms I’d ever seen at a campground!

Girl With The Nerdy-Geeky Full-Body Anti-Bug Suit

Somewhere on west coast of Newfoundland.

Day 84     September 1, 2014

Red Bay, Labrador to Portland Creek, Newfoundland

We’d been sequestered inside the Space Shuttle since sundown the day before…since the nasty biting black fly attack and counter-attack. We’d planned to stay in Labrador another day and night, but couldn’t stomach the idea of dealing with that again. Both of us already had welts from yesterday’s attack, and they were pretty painful.

In fact, we were so afraid to go outside, that we got up at 5:30 am, fired up the engine, and got the hell out of there. If we were lucky, we’d be able to catch the 8:00 am ferry back to Newfoundland. And we were lucky, and we did.

Early morning drive to the ferry terminal to leave Labrador

Adios Labrador. I hope I can go back there some day. But, next time, I’m gonna buy one of those completely nerdy-geeky full-body anti-bug suits.

Couple hours later, we found ourselves touching ground back in Newfoundland. We stopped somewhere along the coast to walk the pups and to get some fresh fly-free air!

Back in Newfoundland! Cute church. Somewhere on west coast of Newfoundland.

Somewhere on west coast of Newfoundland.

Somewhere on west coast of Newfoundland.

And off we went to the next historic site….L’Anse aux Meadows, where there’s evidence of an old Viking settlement. And by evidence, I’d be referring to dead people. Or, actually, grassy mounds that were burial sites.

Getting close to L’Anse aux Meadows…

Near L’Anse aux Meadows

Mark and Fiona

Near L’Anse aux Meadows

Near L’Anse aux Meadows

Near L’Anse aux Meadows

In California, this shack would cost about $1.2 million.

Near L’Anse aux Meadows

There was also an historic reenactment village nearby. Those historic reenactment kinds of places kind of creep me out, but it’s like seeing a car accident on the side of the road…you just can not stop looking. So, we visited that too.

@ the Viking reenactment village

@ the Viking reenactment village. Mock-up of a viking game board.

@ the Viking reenactment village

@ the Viking reenactment village

@ the Viking reenactment village

@ the Viking reenactment village

@ the Viking reenactment village

The view at nearby St. Anthony’s.

As we drove south, we enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the coast, and then finally docked for the night at Mountain Waters Resort Campground in Portland Creek.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly….Red Bay, Labrador

Red Bay

Day 83             August 31, 2014             Part 2

Red Bay, Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

THE GOOD……

We could count on one hand, the number of cars we saw on the road between the ferry in St. Barbe, and Red Bay. We stopped a few times along the route to take in the enormous size of the place.

War Memorial

War Memorial

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

Curling Champion!!!!

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

A whole lotta pretty countryside

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

On the way to Red Bay

The little village of Red Bay was, well, little. And so pretty! We ate lunch at the only restaurant in town, Whalers Restaurant, where for the first time, we tried bakeapple pie. Verdict: Bakeapple pie is delicious and I should eat it every day to stay happy!

Red Bay

Red Bay

Red Bay

Red Bay

My new favorite food group….Bakeapple Pie!

After lunch, we visited the whaling museum. Basque whalers in Red Bay were some of the first Europeans to arrive in Canada…..a fun little fact that might come in handy at a trivia party.

The view from the whaling museum

This place was proving to be small and mighty. But, it was a long way from anywhere, and from what we could see, there were only about 6 other tourists in the whole village. But I can assure you that all of us were having the adventure of a lifetime!

Red Bay

Red Bay

Red Bay

Red Bay

Red Bay graveyard

Red Bay

Red Bay

End of the paved road on coastal Labrador. Red Bay

 

 

The other dirt road out of Red Bay.

Red Bay

The day had already been jam packed full of stuff to do and see, but the best, and worst, was yet to come. Mark had purchased a t-shirt in the gift shop at the restaurant that said “I hiked Tracey Hill.” And so, we had to hike it.

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

Me and Trixie

Tracey Hill hike, Red Bay

The pics from our hike, pretty much say all there is to say…Absolute Beautifulness!! Including stops for photo ops, it took us about an hour to hike to the top. The entire hike, top to bottom, we only saw one other person.

THE BAD……

The sun was setting, and we slightly hurried back down to avoid being caught in the dark. We made it in plenty of time. And so did the ferocious and infamous Labradorian biting black flies. Apparently, sunset is when they come out to suck the blood of the ignorant.

The flies were on us like, well, like biting black flies to ignorant people. And they were biting us something awful. We ran to the space shuttle, brushed the flies off of each other and off of the dogs, and jumped inside.

THE UGLY…..

In those, oh, say, 8 seconds that the door was open to the rig, at least 20 of those freakin’ flies got in with us. We spent the next 15 minutes killing black flies. And it was disgusting. Those little freaks are full of blood, so every time you kill one, you have a mini blood bath on your hands. That shit was everywhere….on the windows, on the window shades, on the off-white wall covering. Yuck!!!

When we were satisfied that we’d killed them all, we drove back to the RV site for the night. And we didn’t dare go outside again, so we just hung out inside and tried to clean up the carnage from the kill. It was during that time that I noticed that I had huge welts on my neck from the fly bites. Two in particular, one behind each ear, made me look like I’d been abducted by aliens.

Stuck inside the space shuttle. And yet, we still had a nice view!

Last light, from inside the rig, on the side of the gas station!!

But, alas we were safe. Safe and tucked into our little RV spot, which, by the way, was one of 4 parking spots, with hook-ups, on the side of the Red Bay gas station. But, we weren’t going outside, so we didn’t bother to hook up to anything. We just hung out, ate dinner, and contemplated how the hell anyone could survive life with the infamous biting black flies!

Grandpa Was An Iceberg Hunter… & Other Adventures in Labrador

Ferry boat @ St. Barbe

Day 83        August 31, 2014         Part 1

St. Barbe, Newfoundland to Red Bay, Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Another day, another ferry boat ride. First thing in the morning, we got in line for the ferry over to Labrador. Technically, the ferry takes you to Quebec (the Province, not the city), and then you drive to Labrador. And technically, you could drive across Canada, through the province of Quebec, and across Labrador on the Trans-Labrador Highway, and never get on a ferry, but we like ferry boats, and we’re not so crazy about unpaved roads. We met a few people who’d done the drive, and word was that the long unpaved parts were pretty brutal.

Ferry boat @ St. Barbe

Fiona, on the ferry

Goodbye, Newfoundland

Time to be creative on the ferry

Time to be creative on the ferry

Proof that we came from aliens!

So, here we were, on the ferry to Blanc Sablon, Quebec. The ride was less than an hour and a half, and smooth sailing all the way. There weren’t many people on the ferry, but we did manage to meet a nice young couple who were on their way to see her grandfather in Mary’s Harbour.

They told us that they would have about a 1.5 hour drive on an unpaved road once they reached Red Bay. Red Bay, the end of the paved road in eastern Labrador, was our destination.

The couple also told us that her grandfather would have drinks waiting for them that were made with iceberg ice. And technically, yes, ice from icebergs. And in case you’re wondering, yes, her grandfather does actually go out on a boat and chip off ice from icebergs! 

Apparently iceberg ice is super dense and lasts much longer than the ice cubes that we all are used to. I see a great benefit there…no longer having watered down drinks from melted ice. I wish I could grow an iceberg here in southern California.

Upon landing in Quebec, we took the road east and crossed into the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We’d made it to Labrador!! And it was looking as if we were in the minority. Labrador was even more sparsely populated than Newfoundland. And the landscape was vast and beautiful!

Arriving in Blanc Sablon, Quebec

Which way to go! Labrador…go right!

Still in Quebec

Still in Quebec

Not in Quebec anymore!

The Non-Fjord Fjord, Shopping For Garbage Bags, and The Mighty Wind!!

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Day 82      August 30, 2014

Gros Morne National Park to St. Barbe

Newfoundland, Canada

This morning we got an early start so that we could make the 10:00 am boat tour on Western Brook Pond Fjord. Since the pond is now cut off from the sea, the fjord isn’t technically a fjord anymore. The Canadians know this, they admit it publicly, and yet they still call it a fjord. Obviously, it’s better for business. It’d be much harder to sell tickets to a “boat ride on a pond.”

We parked in the parking lot, and hiked almost two miles to get to the fjord-pond. The hike was pretty, but when the fjord finally revealed itself…now that was spectacular!

Western Brook Pond Fjord in the distance

Hiking trail to get to Western Brook Pond Fjord

Hiking trail to get to Western Brook Pond Fjord

Loading on the boat for the fjord tour!

The two hour boat tour was amazing. The scenery was gorgeous! We went all the way to the end of the fjord, snapping photos the entire the way.

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

Western Brook Pond Fjord

When the boat turned around to head back to the dock….Holy Crap…that’s when the mighty wind struck us! My hair was flying around like it had a life of its own. The guy in front of us had his hat whipped right off his head and into the water.

Due to the wind and choppy water, our boat was rockin’ and rollin’ side to side most of the way back. The funny thing was that we were all sitting on these very slippery bench seats. And I was wearing my very slippery camping pants. Every time we rocked to one side, I’d slide down the bench…and then I’d slide right back to where I started when we rocked the other way. Damn camping pants. Note to other travelers…if you do this boat tour, wear pants that are a little more grippy!

The hike back to the Space Shuttle

The hike back to the Space Shuttle

The final view of the fjord

With one adventure behind us, we set off on another. On the way north, we stopped at a little store to buy garbage bags. We asked for help when we couldn’t find them. The clerk kept saying something about billybooties, or something or another. Couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. Finally, with a line of very patient people forming behind us to check out, she escorted us to what she was talking about…the garbage bag brand was “Billy Boots!!” Billy Boots Garbage Bags! And to be exact, we needed the small size ones, the Baby Billy Boots. For some reason, we thought this was hilarious, and the whole rest of the day we kept saying, as fast as we could, “Baby Billy Boots, Baby Billy Boots.”

Next stop for the day would be Port au Choix, a National Historic Site of Canada. What we found when we arrived, was a town with gale force winds, and nothing opened, not even the Visitor Centre and Museum. Hmm. Interesting. Maybe it was too windy for anyone to go to work. Doubt that. Newfoundlanders are hardy people and a little wind wouldn’t keep them at home…would it?

Back on the road…

Port au Choix

Port au Choix

Look what we found @ Port au Choix.

We found the RV park in town. It was pretty amazing. Right on the ocean! But the wind!!!! The wind was brutal. No wonder there wasn’t anyone there. We could have just parked for free for the night, but we were honestly afraid we might tip over in the middle of the night.

The uber windy, completely empty RV park on the beach. Too windy for glamping!

Port au Choix

Taking pictures of each other getting blown away at the beach in Port au Choix

Port au Choix

Port au Choix

Port au Choix

Port au Choix

We needed to find someplace safer to spend the night. With no other options here in Windy-Town, we got back on the road. We ended up at the RV park in St. Barbe, right across the street from the ferry landing that would take us over to Labrador the next day.

It was still super windy in St. Barbe, but we were at least parked in a bit more protected area in the RV park/parking lot. The cool and odd thing about this place was first, that they had the fastest freakin’ internet you’ve ever seen. The second cool thing, was that the bathrooms and showers were luxuriously large and extraordinarily nice! And remember, St. Barbe is, arguably, in the middle of nowhere!!! What a treat and great way to end the day!

Falling In Love With A Coffee Drink, & Other Adventures In Newfoundland

Tablelands

Day 81          August 29, 2014

Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada

We got an early start this morning, and drove over to the tiny community of Trout River.

A great view to start out the day!

On the way to Trout River

Beach time @ Trout River

It was dang cold this morning, so you can imagine our delight when we saw wool socks for sale at one of the little houses on the main street. Mark picked out a nice pair of brown and white striped socks. I would have bought a pair too, but they all looked too huge.

Mark scores some hand made socks. Trout River

On the main street in Trout River

Lots of colorful stuff in Trout River

Nice looking pile o’ wood. Trout River

At 10:00 am, we joined the park ranger’s interpretive talk at the Tablelands.

The park ranger, trying to educate us all.

The Tablelands were pretty spectacular looking on their own, and with a bit of education about what we were actually looking at, we had an even greater appreciation for how special this place was. You can google it to learn more, but basically, this area is one of only a couple places on earth where the earth’s crust and mantle rock are exposed. This is orgasmic stuff for geologist types, of which I’m not, but, just sayin.’

Hiking + Tablelands…that way…..

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Pointing out something tiny at Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Tablelands

Following our Tablelands visit, we returned to Woody Point to have lunch and have a better look around. This time I scored, and found a hand made knit wool hat in one of the little shops. Now Mark’s feet would be warm, and my head would be warm, and I guess we could swap socks and hat once in a while, if necessary.

Lunch at Merchant Warehouse Retro Cafe & Wine Bar, Woody Point

After lunch, we walked across the street to a little coffee shop to take on some “liquid energy.” I tried the “Black Forrest Coffee” concoction, which was out of this world, and I don’t even like coffee very much!! Secret recipe…coffee, chocolate syrup, and cherry juice. Yum!! Must remember to try this at home.

The coffee did us good, and kept us revved up for the rest of the afternoon of exploration. We took a short hike to Southeast Brook Falls, followed by a drive to Rocky Harbor, and a hike around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse.

Back on the road

Back on the road

Hiking to Southeast Brook Falls

Hiking to Southeast Brook Falls

Hiking to Southeast Brook Falls

Hiking to Southeast Brook Falls

@ Lobster Cove

Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Hiking around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Hiking around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Hiking around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Hiking around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Hiking around Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

There was a nice campground nearby at Green Point, Green Point Campground (duh!), with ocean views and a nice vibe, so we docked for the evening and relaxed. We took in the sunset, admired yet another wild looking expedition vehicle, cooked dinner, and played music around the campfire with one of our neighbors. When it was too cold to play anymore, we called it a night, and retired to the cozy Space Shuttle.

Another crazy looking expedition vehicle!

Sunset @ Green Point Campground

Mumble-Speak, Kit Kat Bars, and Moose….A Fine Day In Newfoundland!

The Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park

Day 80              August 28, 2014

(west coast of) Newfoundland, Canada

I was super excited to start our exploration of Newfoundland. However, as usual, before we could get on the road, we had to take the doggies on their morning walk. We leashed them up and followed a nice dirt road through the campground.

Too bad we didn’t have tons more time, or we could have followed the road all the way to the coast. Walking with Trixie and Dax can be a slow process, and at our pace, it seemed like it’d take us at least another hour to reach the coast, so, we turned around.

On the way back to our campsite, we stopped to talk to two of the nicest men you’d ever meet…two park rangers. This was, of course, also when we discovered that the Newfoundland accent can be a bit difficult to understand! They seem to speak with a slight mixture of Irish accent, and mumble-speak. Sometimes the mumble-speak is just in the first few words of a sentence, almost like an engine that’s just getting up to speed. This wasn’t too much of a problem though, ‘cause even without the first few words of a sentence, we could usually figure out the gist of the whole thing. And, no disrespect meant…just trying to describe the accent here.

Leaving J.T. Cheesman Provincial Park

The other interesting thing we discovered today, was the white chocolate Kit Kat candy bar. Y’all do know that white chocolate isn’t even chocolate, right? Mark and I are big fans of the Kit Kat bar. We were NOT fans of this silly white chocolate Kit Kat. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

As we were driving north, we had our first moose sighting. A giant moose was grazing on the side of the road. Couldn’t believe our luck, to see our first moose on only our second day in Newfoundland. Should have bought a lottery ticket.

On the road north

On the road north

At the urging of one of our tourist center guide books, we took Rt 407 towards St. Andrews. Supposed to be some interesting old church down that way. I think we found it, but it didn’t seem like it had been worth the detour. Oh well, Rt 407 was kind of a bust for us, so we headed back to the main road to continue north.

I think this was the church we were supposed to be looking for..

We made a short stop in Cornerbrook. Just long enough to check out the nice local bike shop and to have lunch, then went on our way.

Gumby, hanging on for dear life as we fly down the road!

Passing by Marble Mountain Ski Resort

Just a bit more driving, and we arrived at Gros Morne National Park. We did a little drive-a-bout to get oriented, and then stopped for the night at Trout River Campground.

Entering Gros Morne National Park in the drizzling rain

Gros Morne NP!!

Heading into the park…

 

 

 

 

The view from Woody Point

The view from Woody Point

The view from Woody Point

The hustle and bustle of downtown Woody Point

 

 

Driving through the park

Nice views all around us!

The Tablelands

Our day was complete after making dinner and walking the dogs, and realizing that it was cold up here and we were completely unprepared for the weather! We’d have to wait until tomorrow to figure out what to do about our lack of enough warm clothing!

Mark and Dax on our evening dog walk on the dirt road next to our campground