Wednesday, July 17th – Travel Day
But first a hike! Having sighted a couple of caribou grazing yesterday across the Bay from Philip’s Garden and there being a hike in that same area, I head that direction for a morning stretch of the legs. We’re the edge of the sea, on top of short cliffs, walking over flat rocks, stepping carefully thru greenery. We keep quite a distance in order not to disturb them. There were 5 adults and 4 young ones.
At left: A muddled photo of resting caribou taken through the binoculars lense.
Listed as ‘Threatened’ the Caribou population can now continue to increase. Although as with many of the wildlife any more, tourists looking for great photos could love them to death.
Hard to imagine what a herd in the thousands might look like.
I have since heard the caribou are quite tolerant of two-leggers such that coming within touching distance occurs. I’m sad for that and wonder why the need. Glad they’re protected or hunting them would surely be easy pick’ins.
Our journey continues to take us further up this west coast on what is known as the Great Northern Peninsula (GNP). It’s gray, a bit rainy with muted or unavailable vistas. The two-lane highway normally has one solid yellow line and is fine driving EXCEPT for pods of potholes and rogue, deep holes. A solid connection with one of these lovelies can pop a tire with no problem. One can assume that weaving vehicles on the roads are most often dodging disaster, even the semi-trucks wander. To be fair, road crews have filled-in potholes and broken surfaces along way. Assumedly it’s difficult to keep up on them. Other road concerns appear to be frost heaves. Local drivers are fast, but are very careful when passing. And really, there’s not a lot of traffic.
The 3-hour drive, made longer with slow driving, culminates at another boondocking site, this time near L’Anse aux Meadow National Historic Site at the furthest northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula.
Thursday, July 18th – See separate post titled History and Vikings and Screech-in, Oh My
Friday, July 19th – A day in St. Anthony’s. Local’s pronunciation: Sane Ant-nees
I joined Harvest Hosts recently. Hosts offer a place to park for the night in exchange for the ‘guests’ to patronize their offerings: winery, museum, ski lodges, shoppes, etc. Debra and I reserved sites at the Souvenier Emporium at Fishing Point. Kinda weird, but they had a good book selection, so there ya go.
After last night’s festivities we drove the half hour at dusk to discover this site is at the end of the road out of the town of St. Anthony’s, on a hill near a lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing Point Municipal Park is just across the street and the next day, after the fog lifts I find beauty all around.
Banks of fog came and went keeping the fog horn singing every few moments. Within a couple minute walk from where I slept, the fog horn was welcome as a distant memory of growing up within hearing distance of wintertime fog horns on Puget Sound.
A Tall Ship had been expected to arrive around noon. I was fortunate to catch them as the rounded the corner to the channel into harbor much earlier. The municipal park had lovely trails along with cliffs and had pairs of adirondack chairs thoughtfully placed to take in the views. Calm for the Tall Ship arrival, the wind picked up as the tide came in.
Within walking distance: The view from the top of this trail is said to be spectacular. I was happy enough with the view from down below.
Marilyn and I connected for an afternoon Rummikub, best of 3 , and an excellent beer at RagnaRock Microbrewery for me.
Of course that’s not all today entailed. I also breezed through the Grenfell Historical Society Museum. Sir Winfred Grenfell was a British medical missionary who led a fantastical, adventurous life. Born 1865. Died 1940.The stories of his life are truly engaging and full of adventure.
Marilyn and I also found waterfront parking at Coleman’s Grocery for overnighting – with permission. Unfortunately a delivery truck (semi) unloaded during the wee hours of the morning. With the refrigeration running continuously, it interrupted any chance for a good sleep!
Saturday, July 20
Today Marilyn lets me know she is moving on. She has seen and done what this Great Northern Peninsula offers and will head out later this morning. I feel saddened, but the reality is while she wants to spend the limited time here in Newfoundland taking in as much as possible, I am of a mind to to stay and absorb an area which speaks to me. And Lulu has an alignment appointment in Corner Brook on Wednesday which keeps me from heading east. And I have blog posts to catch up on. Not knowing when next we’ll meet up we hug and say goodbye for now.
Today will be grocery shopping and laundry among other domestic chores, and a little hike.
Sunday, July 21 thru Thursday, July 25th
As I am smitten with Alaska, I also feel smitten with the L’Anse aux Meadows area and this Great Northern Peninsula on the west coast of Newfoundland. The people are welcoming, their roots run deep, the history is rich. And the lifestyle is unique as it would be in remote communities tied by similar circumstances, limited in resources, hard-working, always available to lend a helping hand.
I stayed another night to absorb the area more, hike to the beautiful cliffs overlooking Hay Cove and beyond, looking north to the Labrador Sea and east to the Atlantic Ocean. I wonder how far the Vikings ventured from their nearby settlement 1,000 years ago. My days then braid in and out with Debra as I work my way down to Corner Brook for Lulu’s appointment on Wednesday, July 24th. Two nights spent boondocking next to each other at Port Saunders where she took out her kite – purchased at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck on Cape Breton Island. She has the joy of a kid flying her kite. Late that night and the following day was sunny along with gale force winds. We spent the day independently, working on our own projects and didn’t interact til the end of the day with a text to check in. On the 23rd I finished the drive to Corner Brook, spending the night in the Visitor Center parking lot. Next morning I sought out the Detail Folks which Nancy had told me about. A detail job was enticing, but I was just looking for a wash for Lulu. Jamie had his guys take time out to wash Lulu right then and there, at no charge! I returned with a dozen donuts from Canada’s Tim Horton’s for a thank you. Sweet!
But Lulu’s alignment appointment for today was postponed until Friday. So I drove an hour from Corner Brook on a windy, hilly, kinda rough road to the coast. Boondocking at Bottleneck Cove for a sunny afternoon, nice hike, great sleep and awoke to another sunny day. Locals come out here to kayak, stand-up paddle board, sunbath or stay at the summer cottages. I’m parked off on my own and love the view, the lapping of the gentle waves and hearing talk and laughter from a distance.
Since stormy weather is predicted middle of tonight, I enjoy the sunny calm here at Bottleneck Cover til early evening, then will head back to Corner Brook to avoid driving in nasty weather in the morning.
Next up, just a bunch of photos.