Day 14 (Aug. 15) - Rocky Harbour and a the Western Brook Pond

Immediately after breakfast this morning we realized the drizzly and foggy weather was not going to clear for our 10am reserved boat tour of the fjord in Gros Morne park. We called at 8am and were able to move our time to the 3pm tour. The weather forecast was showing the rain and drizzle would end at 1pm. Since the weather stunk and we had to be on the road at 1:30pm for our tour, we stayed in town all morning. 

We went over to the Gros Morne visitor center, but it was more a gift shop than the national park visitor centers we're used to with exhibits and info about the park. We left and drove across the street to the Wildlife Museum. We knew it would be small and quirky. The owner was a taxidermist and made a museum with animal displays. It was informative and the animals were well presented. 

The museum had a scavenger hunt whereby you answer about 15 questions related to the exhibits, and are then entered into a drawing for a gift from the gift shop. It was fun and made us pay attention more, and we learned better as a result. Such as, Moose were introduced into Newfoundland and there are about 6,000 of them on the island. This handsome one let us take his picture.

We also learned that a lynx can take down a caribou! Here he's trying to get a snow hare. Check out the little silver (black-colored) fox in the tree at the right. He talked and gave us a little orientation to the museum. Like we said, quirky!

 

This little black bear cub is going after the honey.

This was a cool-looking exhibit showing beaver activity above and below water. 

Polar bears do not live in Newfoundland. Once in the 1800s one floated in on a big iceberg. The paws and claws on this one were scary big!

Once we finished there at Noon, we went to the cafe and Michele got a chicken wrap for lunch. Then we relaxed in our room for an hour before our tour. The owners were cleaning rooms and wanted to show us their motorcycles in the garage. We chatted about bikes for awhile.

The tour was a 2-hour boat ride on Western Brook Pond, through a freshwater fjord. There is a 3km one-way walk to the pond where the boat picked us up. There was heavy cloud cover in the fjord, with a little spitting drizzle, but it seemed the weather would hold. Everyone getting off the 1pm boat ride was smiling so that was a good sign. We boarded at 2:45pm. 

Once we got underway, we quickly realized where we were sitting was in the path of the boat's diesel engine, so we walked to the upper deck and found standing room only spots. Rob stood behind the captain's area and was protected by wind. Michele stood at the very back against the rail. The wind picked up for the 30-minute trip to the mouth of the fjord. The captain steered the boat to minimize wave movement so it was fairly smooth considering the wind intensity. Michele had on her rain coat and added her rain pants for warmth. The wind seemed to pick up more as we started entering the fjord as did the drizzle, and Michele worried it would be like this for another 90 minutes. Soon, the wind died down dramatically, the drizzle improved, and it was much more enjoyable for the rest of the tour. 

This is an example of a hanging valley.

This glacier-formed landlocked fjord is the park's crown jewel highlight. It was formed from over 40 glacial events. The cliffs are a billion years old and the peaks are 2000 feet high.

There are four main waterfalls and many little waterfalls created after rain.

Can you see the face in the rocks? It is called Tin Man. Michele noticed on the return trip that there's a second face to the left and behind.

There were two tour guides on board who narrated and made jokes. They took care to make sure everyone was doing okay. Michele talked to one of the guides and he said he's been doing this for 35 years and never gets bored. She asked him the most interesting thing that's happened on one of his tours and he said an active rock slide on the mountain and someone falling into the water. 

The last 15 minutes of the ride, they brought out a microphone and played Newfoundlander music. One guy was on a guitar and singing and the other played spoons. Yes, spoons! He invited the kids to try the spoons. It was a clever and fun way to keep everyone interested at the end of the ride. Later, Rob said it's definitely a Newfoundland thing, to make every gathering fun.

When the boat docked, we walked back the 3km to the car and returned to Rocky Harbour for dinner. It was about 6pm and Michele wanted to try the Ocean View Hotel's restaurant since our concert tablemates said it was good. The place was empty save for two couples eating at a table. Unfortunately, they were expecting a busload of 40+ people so they didn't have any room for us. We jumped back in the car and went over to the Buoy & Arrow (about a 30 second drive) where we got the last available table. Good thing because there was a group of 20 at a reserved table that arrived just after us. 

After dinner, we went back to our B&B. Michele went downstairs to make hot chocolate for Rob and talked to the host, Diane, for a long time getting to know her. When they move to Mexico, she wants to do dog rescue and help local children. After saying good night to Diane, we watched a movie and relaxed for the remainder of the night.  Tomorrow we plan on visiting the Tablelands, another highlight of the park, for a 10am tour and then do a few hikes afterwards....weather permitting. 

Day 13 (Aug. 14) - Green Point, Cow Head, and Anchors Aweigh

Our theme today was rock formations, a lighthouse and music. We had another great breakfast this morning joined by a few other people staying at our inn. Our plan for the day was to visit several scenic locations close by that our hosts suggested. The first was a 90-minute guided walk to Green Point, a significant geological site in Gros Morne national park. Apparently the word got out because about 30 people joined us at the parking area near the cliff edge. Our guide, Chloe, comes over from Quebec during the summer to lead the groups. She said she wasn't a geologist, but we discovered she was very knowledgeable. 

We walked down the path a short way to the water's edge and from there could see the layers of different rocks. Because of how the crust in this area was bent by plate tectonics, the layers that were originally developed horizontally are now oriented in stunning vertical layers. Chloe told us that every three feet we step over the slate layers we are moving 60,000 years! We saw gneiss, granite and a lot of shale. It was due to this site that the current theory of plate tectonics took shape back in the 1960s.

Near the end of our tour, we noticed a bald eagle searching for a meal. It was so majestic! We saw it take off and land a few times. Rob caught these amazing shots with the big lens.

It was about 12:15pm and the skies were clouding up, so we drove 20 miles north on Highway 430 to visit Arches Provincial Park before the rain came in. Glacial events and sea water erosion created caves and ultimately natural arches in the limestone rock. This beach area was made up of softball sized igneous rocks worn smooth from erosion. The stones (many pink and black speckled granite) were very pretty but difficult to walk on. 

About 10 minutes south, we drove to the Cow Head Lighthouse trail before the rain started. Cow Head is the name of the town. We didn't miss the rain, but our inn hosts said we could still hike it in the rain since it was mostly tree covered. With our rain jackets on, we stayed mostly dry. 

It was a 2-mile loop hike and had nice overlook of the water, but the overlooks were obscured by the rain and fog. The 18-foot tall lighthouse was built in 1908 and discontinued in 1988. It is made out of cast iron and the smallest lighthouse we've ever visited. There were no trees around it when in use back in the day. 

The rain picked up so we picked up our pace as well, finishing the loop back to our car. Michele saw that the only wool shop in the area was open until 6pm so we stopped for a visit. She met the owner and fiber dyer, and bought some of her hand dyed merino. Her main business is the tourist season from June to September, then she stays open during winter a day or two each week, saying, "Everyone needs a bit of wool." Since we skipped lunch to make the sights before the rain, we drove back to Rocky Harbour to our now favorite cafe and picked up soup to tide us over until dinner. 

We had tickets tonight for Anchors Aweigh, a famous locally-based musical comedy concert, and wanted to make a table reservation for dinner. The venue is the pub of the Oceanside Hotel just down the street and holds about 150 people. We got a 6pm reservation at a great table near the front, which was lucky since the place is likely sold out each night. All of the tables are four person tables so we'd get to sit with new folks. We arrived a bit early to make sure we could get our dinner order in ahead of the big tour groups arriving. The band started arriving around 7pm and slowly warming up backstage. At about 7:30pm our table mates arrived. They were an older couple that live in Ontario, but are from Newfoundland originally, and visit southern Texas and Florida for the winters. They come back to Newfoundland to visit friends and family. He left Newfoundland in the late 1960s to work in the nickel mines as his career for 30 years. They offered us tips on what to see when we go to Twillingate later this week.

At 8pm the band came on stage. It is a group of five men: (from left to right) a bass guitarist, an electric guitarist and mandolin player, a drummer, and (the two founding members) the lead singer with an acoustic guitar, and a gentleman who plays the accordion and harmonica. Their show shares traditional and new Newfoundland music, culture and history, with comedy sprinkled in. The main two members have been playing there three days a week for 26 summers. 

After the first set they introduced themselves and several have awards and musical accolades to their name in Canada. There was a fun song where they taught us a line and asked us to sing along with them. The other lyrics were easy enough so we sang those also. It was a fun way to engage the audience and get a good vibe going in the room. Halfway through they said they never used to take a break/intermission because people would leave. They told us a story about an older lady at one of their shows who stood up right in front of everyone in a booming voice and said, "When are you fellers going to take a break? My arse is dunched." All the Newfoundlanders in the room burst out laughing. For the other 80% of us, they explained that it meant her butt was numb from sitting. So, because of her, they considered offering buttock massages to the audience. We knew this was a joke, but the bit was hilarious. 

The lead singer narrated and sang with the others the entire time. There were solos, ballads, interpretations of other songs, a mix of music from Ireland and other cultures, and jokes. Even the late Queen Elizabeth II made an appearance as she did back in the early 90's when the Canadian government placed a moratorium on fishing Atlantic Cod. The species was fished to critically dangerous levels and after 30 years has not recovered. The Queen came to Newfoundland to make a speech in an effort to show support to the people of Newfoundland as the moratorium put just about everyone on the island out of work. So this was the band's little tribute to that event.

Rob counted at least four accordions - one was a new Roland synthesizer that the musician played as he walked through the audience for one song. The waitresses asked us to stand and clap as he walked around.  The musicians played with amazing energy and talent from 8-10:30pm. At the very end, they asked the audience who was from each province in Canada, then played a song specific to that province. There were some Aussies in the back so they played AC/DC's Highway To Hell for them (AC/DC is a rock band from Australia). There were also a few other Americans ("friends from south of the border") in the audience so they played, "This Land is Your Land" for us.

What a fun night!

Day 12 (Aug. 13) - The Viking Trail and Great Northern Peninsula

Would we see an iceberg or a whale today? To find out, we planned the 4 hour, 220 mile drive up the coast into the northern peninsula of Newfoundland on highway 430. It is named the Viking Trail because it is the auto route to the only proven known Viking settlement in North America at L'Anse aux Meadows, a bit north of St. Anthony's, where we were headed. 

Our hosts stuffed us with delicious breakfast and chatted with us awhile. They've been innkeepers for 10 years and want to sell the business to move to Baja, Mexico for retirement. It takes three years to sell a business in this area. We are lucky to have found them before that happens. 

After breakfast, we left for our coastal adventure around 8:15am. Our route took us through the western portion of Gros Morne National Park, which is a UNESCO Heritage site. Several people told us the weather would be better today, with blue skies and water that sparkles like diamonds. We were so happy to see color in the landscape and in town after such a gray day yesterday.

The highway followed the coastline for the majority of the route. The sea was on one side and mountains on the other. We passed many communities and coves, wondering if people live in such remote areas on the sea year round. 

We saw this water tanker plane as we entered St. Anthony.

We arrived at the Lightkeeper's Cafe at the very end of Highway 430 at around 12:30 and had lunch. The restaurant looks out over the Atlantic. After lunch we walked around the Fishing Point Municipal Park which provides views over Haul Up Cove, Fishing Point Cove, St. Anthony Harbour and the Atlantic. 

The wind was cool and the sun intense. It wasn't long before Michele shed her hat and coat. 

 

 

We looked for signs of whales but no such luck. The scenery was beautiful nonetheless. We discovered this little bird. It's a Fox Sparrow.

We decided to make a quick run up to Goose Cove for a possible iceberg. Rob has an iceberg tracker app that said an iceberg was in the vicinity.

Goose Cove was about 10 miles away. We parked at the trail head of the Pumley cove trail and hiked up this raised boardwalk to the cliffs overlooking Goose Cove.

We saw seagulls but no icebergs. The app info was apparently not up to date.

It was about 2:45 pm so we needed to head back to Rocky Harbour to make sure we could get dinner before everything closes at 8pm. We backtracked our morning's four hour route and arrived in Rocky Harbour at about 7pm. We picked up take out at the same Sunset Cafe as yesterday and took our food back to our room to eat. 

At around 8:20pm, Michele suggested that Rob go outside and capture sunset pictures. Rob was outside for nearly an hour. Here are a few of those long exposure shots. 

Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse at sunset.

Downtown Rocky Harbour at night.

Southern side of Rocky Harbour near Rocky Harbour Cove as seen across the Harbour from our B&B.

Tomorrow we want to start exploring Gros Morne park. 

Day 11 (Aug. 12) - Channel - Port aux Basque to Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland

A storm rolled in and stayed for awhile last night bringing a lot of rain and wind. Michele said she heard the wind whip the side of the hotel a few times in the night. We resigned ourselves to having a rainy and foggy day, hoping for some breaks to enjoy the scenery for the 242 miles north to Rocky Harbour.

We had breakfast at the hotel and were out the door at 9am. Our route took us mostly on TransCanada Highway 1 north on the western coastline of Newfoundland. Not long after we left we saw the mountains in the thick clouds. 

Soon after we saw a sign that stated 26 kph winds at Wreckhouse, so we knew it wouldn't topple over the Mazda with us inside! We approached and drove through the Wreckhouse area without issue. There were other parts of the route today where the wind was much more intense on the car. During this short stretch of road construction, Rob sarcastically said, "This would have been great on the bike." Can you tell by now that we're so happy we drove the car instead?

About an hour later in the Codroy Valley, Rob took a detour along Highways 407 and 406 that would take us around the Codroy Estuary, over "the Gut" -- the small inlet between the estuary and the Searston Bay, and through the Codroy Provincial Park. We drove the loop around the estuary. Near the Gut Rob noticed a nice beach as we drove over a one way trellis bridge with a wooden road surface. 

Along our journey, we found sheep peacefully growing wool for knitting projects. 

This house was built on this island connected with a man-made causeway. What a fun place to live surrounded by amazing views an all sides.

When we came completed the loop around the estuary and passed by "the Gut", we stopped at the beach and parked by the dunes. The rain held off just enough for us to walk along the beach. Back at the car, a native Newfoundlander who appeared to be camping or on a road trip was parked next to us and asked Michele if we came all the way from Virginia to see the birds. Apparently the piping plover, a sparrow sized shorebird, is popular at that beach earlier in the year. He said they've already left for their migration south to the Caribbean. Then he talked about how women in Newfoundland can't wait to get out, move to the U.S., and marry American men. We believe that he didn't approve of this. He was a character!

Rob snapped a picture of a Common Stern doing their acrobatics along the water in the stiff wind.

Back in the car we headed back to TransCanada Highway 1 and continued towards our lunch stop in Corner Brook, the largest town we encountered all morning. It had a Walmart! The planned lunch stop was a pizza place with good reviews, but the GPS routed us to a small hospital instead. We took a look on Google maps and realized it should be down the street a bit. That put us on the campus of the local university. No pizza place whatsoever, despite seeing pictures on Google Maps. So we drove over to our second lunch option, Jungle Jim's. It is a chain, kind of like Ruby Tuesdays, but with jungle decor. We shared a chicken wrap and salad, and finished up at 1:30pm. During lunch we chatted about how much rain we've had on this trip, probably as much or more than all of our long distance trips combined over the past 14 years! 

Rob found a provincial park nearby that looked pretty in the pictures. The park would have added another 3 1/2 hours to our trip after lunch, but we decided against it since the weather was deteriorating. The clouds and rain were obscuring the mountains and likely the water views as well. Instead, we continued on our originally scheduled route that would take approximately 90 minutes to reach the day's final destination, Rocky Harbour. 

Today we saw several motorcyclists, nearly all in rain gear. It was a difficult day for riding. The wind was intense, the rain was persistent, and it was not especially warm in the 60s. 

However, there were moments when the clouds briefly cleared and skies were dry. 

There were several overlooks along the way and we caught a few snaps before the weather prevented us from using our cameras. 

We arrived at our hotel, the Candlelight B&B in Rocky Harbour, at 3:30pm. Our hosts, a husband and wife team that also ride motorcycles, were so welcoming. They have a well honed procedure for guest check in to make everyone feel at home. We sat in the dining area and they walked through the many breakfast options. The options even had options. We selected a 7:30am sitting time so that we could leave early to head up to St. Anthony (a scenic spot) tomorrow, several hours away. Then they walked us through recommended restaurants and sightseeing, and highlights of Gros Morne National Park. The B&B is a converted church building and they ask guests to not wear shoes inside. The owner offered us hand knitted slippers for our stay and Michele took her up on it. 

After we settled in, we drove over to the recommended drug store to pick up apples and bananas for the week as snacks. We topped off on gas and stopped in a gift shop that was highly rated, but nothing struck our fancy. Then we drove over to a recommended restaurant for "clean food" (aka not fried) to try to make a dinner reservation, but since it's also a coffee place, it was too busy to ask. We skipped that and instead came back to our hotel for an hour. 

We decided to try nearby Sunset Cafe for dinner. This was our pretty view of town from our cafe window.

Tonight's dinner recommendation was meat lasagne with bread, which sounded heavenly in today's chilly and damp weather. We ordered that, a salad and a brownie. After, we browsed the gift shop below. The lady at the counter suggested we eat at the cafe and we told her we just had the lasagne. She said the lady who cooks upstairs "does everything right."

Back in our room for the night, we chose a few movies from the owners' DVD library and settled in, but decided to turn in early instead. Rob caught a break in the heavy cloud cover to snap the sunset from the B&B property. 

Tomorrow we head north about 215 miles which should take about 4 hours in the hopes of seeing whales and possibly the remnants of icebergs. The place we are going is where the UK couple saw both a few weeks ago. Our hotel host said the region had 90 degree temps recently for several consecutive days, which is highly unusual, so the icebergs might be melted. We'll see tomorrow!