Day 15 (Aug. 16) - Tablelands, Trout River, SE Brook Falls and Lobster Cove Lighthouse

The weather improved today and we made the most of it. Breakfast included several new guests, four of which were at our table. They were friends from Pennsylvania, two of whom were from Canada originally, and back for family visits. They were in their 70s and very spunky. After laughs and great eats from Diane and Peter, we raced out the door just before 9am to make the 10am tour at the Tablelands. 

The Tablelands is part of Gros Morne national park, at the southern end, and a must-see. It is separated by two bodies of water and takes an hour to drive around it to get to the other side of the park. We took highway 430 south along the coast to Wiltondale, then took 431 south. Without wind the water was a big mirror.

We missed the gas station in town, so we stopped off in Silver Point. Michele noticed that the convenience store was pristine and the attached mechanics garage had several very tidy bays with cars/trucks getting fixed. Back on the road, we had to make haste for our tour. We were starting to see the big change in the mountain's appearance and were excited to soon learn all about it.

As we crested the hill, Rob said we left too late. Michele saw the group already gathered in the parking lot and said that we had six minutes to spare so we'd definitely make it.

This tour is offered free with the park admission and our group had 50+ attendees since it is only offered once per day. Rebecca was our guide and led us on the trail, stopping to explain the unique geology along the way. We learned that 500 million years ago, when two ancient super continents existed, the tectonic plates came together through subduction. But, instead of only the crust of one plate moving on top of the plate being subducted, the earth's mantle along with the ocean crust above it (about 7km thick) was forced on top. After millions of years of erosion (mostly from glaciation), the ocean crust on top of the mantel was worn away leaving the rock from the mantel exposed. The Tablelands is the result of that. It's the largest area in the world where the mantle is above ground and accessible to see. It's very important geologically and the rocks are called Peridotite. It is a very heavy stone (much more so than granite) and is rarely seen on the earth's surface. It is gray in color, but due to the iron in the rock, the exposed surfaces oxidize to a rust brown color, and that's what is seen on the mountains. Its mineral content is heavily composed of metals making it toxic to plants but some have adapted in this harsh environment. This toxicity is why there are so few plant forms on the Tablelands giving it a very distinctive barren characteristic compared to the surrounding areas. We learned that several carnivorous plants live in this area! Some were so tiny we thought they were just weeds.

The tiny little red plants below are the meat eating plants.

This one is the pitcher plant, Newfoundland's provincial flower. The name is due to the plant looking a bit like a pitcher you would use to pour liquids from. Our guide said it digests the poop of the flies that go in to eat the bugs caught within. Look very closely at the upper edge and you see hair like strands that point downward. This keeps bugs from climbing out when the go in.

Our tour guide took out small squeeze droppers and sucked out some of what was inside the plants' "stomachs" so we could see. At this point, Michele lost her appetite to eat the apple she brought.

Once our tour finished, we walked a bit further to reach the end of the trail. 

Rob wanted to climb to the top. Our guide told us it can be done, and there are recommended routes, but not on a day like today with fog at the top. We wondered what it might be like at the top.

When done, we drove 20 minutes over to Trout River for lunch at Seaside Restaurant. We had a great view of the Trout River Bay. Rob had a delicious fish chowder and Michele had a ham sandwich. She tasted the chowder and agreed it was very good. After lunch we walked along the short boardwalk by the dark sandy beach, and found 150 steps leading up to the Eastern Point Trail. 

We walked a bit and when it got muddy, Michele said she was going back. Rob went further, but the trail ended right in a waterfall. Up on the ridge we got incredible views of the quiet bay.

Rob noticed this bird that seemed to be molting as its feathers were a bit sparse on its head.

Back on the road, we stopped at the Discovery Center which is more like the visitor center we were expecting. It had exhibits about the Mi'kmaq people and the park geology. We watched a movie that showed drone footage of the entire park.

It was about 3pm by now, so we made the rest of the drive back towards Rocky Harbour. The day became sunny and beautiful by this point. We decided this drive around the water had the most incredible views of the trip so far. 

Along the way we stopped at South East Brook Falls. After a peaceful walk through the trees and ferns, with signs along the way telling people to relax and enjoy the peace, we arrived at this cool waterfall. 

Then, we headed back to town and over to the Lobster Cove Lighthouse. While there we bumped into one of our hotel guests and talked to her about what we've seen and what activities she did. She's from Ottawa and knew the town where Ray and Chantal live. At the lighthouse we walked 3-4 small trails around it and down to the beach area. 

This is Gros Morne mountain. The top of this mountain use to be a beach over 500 million years ago when Newfoundland was south of the equator!

By now it was about 6:15pm so we went to the cafe to get takeout for dinner. We did some packing and then Rob went out to photograph the sunset. The picture below (a 30 second exposure) is looking out the mouth of Rocky Harbour towards Lobster Cove Lighthouse. You can see the lighthouse's beam of light reflecting off the still water of the harbour.  

Today was a great day and we're so lucky to have had very good weather to see and experience as much as we did on our last day in this area. It will be sad to say goodbye to Diane and Peter, as we've been so comfortable here. Tomorrow we head north to Twillingate.

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.