2022 June/July Newfoundland

June 20 & 21, 2022 - Kingston ON to Baddeck NS We have talked about a trip to Newfoundland many times over the years but it never seemed to rise to the top of our travel list . . . until now! We left home bright and early on Monday June 20th. After an overnight stay at the Days Inn, Edmundston NB we carried on to Baddeck NS where we spent the night at the Telegraph Hotel. The tour director - navigator - driving instructor didn't take any pictures in Ontario or Quebec, but once we hit New Brunswick she started clicking away!


The longest covered bridge in the world!
	Our friends Tom & Krista Trueman (Aulac NB) weren't home when we stopped in. We'll see them on the way home!

Carol loves lupines and the Maritime Provinces are full of them!	A stop for lunch, just west of Truro NS, at the Masstown Market.
Fish & chips cooked in a retired fishing boat!	Tasty!
	In Baddeck you simply must shop at The Red Barn!
We spent the night in Baddeck at the Telegraph House Motel.

June 22, 2022 - Baddeck NS to Port aux Basques NL It's a short drive from Baddeck to North Sydney but it's a scenic one so we left early and took our time so we could enjoy the drive. We arrived at the Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal at 10:15 and lined up to board for the 12:15 departure. The trip to Port aux Basques is 96 miles and takes approximately 7 hours. The ferries are 203 metres (665 feet) long and hold up to 570 automobiles and 190 tractor-trailer trucks. During most of the voyage you cannot see shore so we booked a cabin where we could relax and have a nap.






	The red arrow shows our car.

	We're underway!

It was very overcast and rainy when we arrived at Port aux Basques at 7:00 p.m.
The trucks left first, then we were the first car off the ferry.	We stayed in the Hotel Port aux Basques for two nights.




June 23, 2022 - Port aux Basques NL Today we toured a bit along the south coast of Newfoundland, east of Port au Basques. It was cool and drizzly weather but we had a great day. It's easy to understand why the Newfoundlanders refer to their Province as 'The Rock' We saw a lighthouse at Rose-Blanche that was built in 1871 entirely from local granite.



	Newfoundlanders refer to their province as 'The Rock' Can you see why?
	A rustic lighthouse!

	The Town Square at Rose Blanche is an unpretentious little park with a great view!

	We're heading to that lighthouse up the hill.
All along the way were plants we had never seen.	Carol had to stop and inspect every one!



	The Rose Blanche Lighthouse
Moss, lichens and flowers were everywhere!

	The 'Facilities" are just down the hill!
All made with local granite!



	Grey and white granite is everywhere!




June 24, 2022 - Port aux Basques to Rocky Harbour Today we drove north from Port au Basque, through the Table Mountains and Gros Morne Nationl Park to Rocky Harbour. Once again it was overcast and dreary with frequent rain showers but the scenery, when we were able to see it, was astounding! Our evening entertainment was a show called 'Anchors Aweigh' presented by 5 very talented Newfie musicians, singers and comedians at the Ocean View Hotel where we're staying. We sat and laughed and laughed. We didn't want it to end, even though our arses were dunced! (In the Newfie dialect when your arse is dunced it means you've been sitting too long and it's feeling numb)



Who knew that Captain Cook explored and charted Newfoundland?
	A pulp and paper mill near the harbour.






	The scenery is breathtaking. There's something new around every corner!

The Oceanview Hotel - Rocky Harbour	The harbour is rocky!



The Anchors Aweigh show. These guys were terrific!	Good musicians, good singers and great comedians. A perfect combination.
If you're in Rocky Harbour do not miss this show. Book ahead - it sells out!

June 25, 2022 - Western Brook Pond & Rocky Harbour Today we drove north and explored a few sights as far away as the village of Cow Head, then headed to Western Brook Pond where we took a 3-kilometre hike into Gros Morne National Park and toured an amazing land-locked fjord. Western Brook Pond was carved by glaciers during the last ice age and as recently as 30,000 years ago it was part of the Atlantic Ocean. As the glaciers receded the land near the pond rebounded and isolated the pond from the ocean. It can no longer be called a fjord because it is filled with fresh water, but that doesn't make it any less spectacular. The walls of the 'non-fjord' are taller than Toronto's CN Tower and they are much more stunning and dramatic than our pictures can convey. There are waterfalls everywhere, some over 1.200 feet tall. Once again it was cloudy and cool but we were thrilled with what we saw at Western Brook Pond. The 3-kilometre hike back to the car was much more challenging than the trip in to the pond and we were thrilled when we finally got back to civilization! We ended our day with a couple of drinks at a 'kitchen party' at the pub in our hotel.



	It's a 3 km (1.9 mile) walk from the parking lot to Western Brook Pond.

	There is plenty to see along the level gravel trail.


It was a misty day with drizzling rain.
The rock walls, carved eons ago by by glaciers soar up to 2,000 feet high.
	There are spectacular waterfalls!
	Brrr . . . Why couldn't it be a warm, sunny day!
	'Please don't annoy the moose!'
A Kitchen Party at the Oceanview Hotel.	Sunset at Rocky Harbour.

June 26, 2022 - Rocky Harbour to Port au Choix This morning we left Rocky Harbour and headed north to Port au Choix. It was a short trip, only about 165 kilometres, so we popped into every little village and scenic point along the way. Once again it was foggy with a few brief periods of clarity when we could see the mountains. We pulled into Port au Choix at 3:00 and checked in at our B & B. The highlights of the day was running into a pair of caribou near the Point Riche lighthouse. We went back to the lighthouse to see the sunset but the caribou had gone to bed by then . . . maybe we'll see them again tomorrow!
It was a foggy nmorning!
	Rusty iron from the wreck of the S.S. Ethie.




	Painted rocks at a roadside picnic area.
	Caribou on the roadside near the Visitor's Centre.
	Be careful Carol!

The Port au Choix Lighthouse.




June 27, 2022 - Port au Choix We are staying at Jeannie's Sunrise B & B in Port au Choix and we're really enjoying it here. We started our day with a wonderful breakfast prepared by Jeannie. It included homemade bread and preserves; then we ventured out to continue exploring the area. The sun was shining so we headed to Philip's Garden, a National Historic Site. A short hike took us to the site where eskimos used to hunt migrating harp seals that they had followed down from the arctic. Only a 3 kilometre hike today. The Welcome Centre near the Point Riche lighthouse gave us some information on the various groups who have occupied these lands over the past 4,500 years. The caribou were on duty near the Welcome Centre again today! In the afternoon we watched bread baking in a traditional old French wood-fired oven, then ate the bread with some more homemade preserves. YUMMY! We rounded out our day with some local seafood for dinner!


Paleo-Eskimos followed seals from the Arctic and hunted them 2,000 years ago at Port au Choix/







	That's a long ride in a sealskin canoe.

Hey . . . get away! That's my car.


Archaeological digs have proven that this is where the Paleo-Eskimos camped. They lived under wooden frames covered with sealskin.




Homemade bread from a wood-fired oven/
	Served with butter and local honey. Yum!

The short movie in this little museum is a 'must-see' in Port au Choix.	Carol enjoyed her little lobstr!
	Back to the lighthouse for sunset.


June 28, 2022 - Port au Choix to St. Anthony It was cold and raining with strong gusty winds this morning when we left Port au Choix and drove north to St. Anthony. Along the way we stopped at L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a Canadian National Park and Historic Site. On this site a party of Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, settled for about 20 years circa 1,000 AD - 500 years before Christopher Columbus arrived. After touring the site we headed toward St. Anthony and along the way Carol spotted the first moose of the trip. That caused quite a stir in the car . . . we've seen moose at home in Ontario, we've seen them in New Hampshire and Maine, but this was our first Newfie moose! We had dinner in our hotel and then went out on a 'recon mission'. We've booked a 'whale & iceberg watching' cruise for tomorrow afternoon and we wanted to find out where we need to be. There was more commotion in the car when Carol spotted an iceberg in the harbour! Turns out there are several of them to be seen from the shore! What a great way to end the day!	A cool and wet morning!

Some good jams, jellies and preserves at Dark Tickle!
The northernmost tip of Newfoundland.	This is where the Vikings settled sometime between 990 and 1020 CE.





They lived in sod covered houses.
	A craftsman is making a wooden bowl on a treadle powered lathe.

Iron was forged here!
Leif Eriksson
Look Carol . . . a moose!
The blue dot marks St. Anthony	Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940) was a Canadian hero we had never heard of!
A decommissioned Canso water bomber in Memorial Park.	Our first iceberg sighting.

	The icebergs are everywhere!

June 29, 2022 - St. Anthony It was a great day in northern Newfoundland. We saw icebergs, humpback whales and learned about a Canadian hero we had never heard of before!

Carol is lining up a picture.	Here's the picture she took.


Dr. Wilfred Grenfell was born and educated in England. The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen sent Grenfell to Newfoundland (a British Territory at the time) in 1892 to improve the plight of coastal inhabitants and fishermen. That mission began in earnest in 1892 when he recruited two nurses and two doctors for hospitals at Indian Harbour, Labrador and later opened cottage hospitals along the coast of Labrador. The mission expanded greatly from its initial mandate to one of developing schools, an orphanage, cooperatives, industrial work projects, and social work. Although founded to serve the local area, the mission developed to include the aboriginal peoples and settlers along the coasts of Labrador and the eastern side of the Great Northern Peninsula of western Newfoundland. There were no interior roads in Newfoundland at the time, it was strictly a maritime settlement. Dr. Grenfell traveled by boat when possible and by dog sled when winter set in. He travelled far and wide treating the people of the region. One of the children Grenfell assisted was an Inuk girl, Kirkina, for whom he helped secure artificial limbs and later the Grenfell Mission educated her in nursing and midwifery. The Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell Historical Society was formed in 1978. The society purchased Grenfell's home in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. The home has been restored as a museum and archives.
Dr. Grenfell and his dog sled.


	Grenfell travelled far and wide and established remote hospitals across a harsh territory.
	Time to see some whales!


Thar she blows! A humpback whale.

The whales were working as a team, chasing schools of fish into these rocks and eating the stunned fish before they recovered.




	The ice is unbelievably blue!
The Grenfell house.




	The last iceberg of the day in the distance!

June 29, 2022 - St. Anthony to Deer Lake We left our hotel and took one more drive to the lighthouse at St. Anthony before leaving the town behind and heading south toward Deer Lake. The sunny skies slowly became overcast as we travelled the relatively empty highways. There was only one slowdown; we stopped for about a half-hour just 17 kilometres short of Deer Lake while tow trucks removed an RV, a car and a jeep from the ditch after a serious collision. We pulled into our Deer Lake hotel at 3:30 and enjoyed a quiet evening.




July 1, 2022 - Deer Lake to Twillingate It was another overcast and rainy morning. We dodged potholes all along the way from Deer Lake to Twillingate. The rain ended as we arrived and we spent some time exploring the pretty coastal village. We made plans to climb the lighthouse in the morning for a better view. At the Twillingate NWI Dinner Theatre we opted for chicken dinners rather than seafood (we've had a lot of it) and watched local performers sing, dance and perform comedy skits. The chicken was good!
	Let's get dinner theatre tickets . . . mistake!

	Long Point Lighthouse.
	The meal was OK . . .
. . . the performance - not so much.	Next time through we'll give this show a pass!

July 2, 2022 - Twillingate Today was Carol's 71st birthday so she decided to prove that she's still young and vigorous by climbing everything in sight. She started with the Crow Head Lighthouse in the morning and then in the afternoon she scrambled to the top of a mountain at Pike's Arm. I stayed behind to make sure no one stole the car.
	Long Point Lighthouse
The view from the top.

There are root cellars everywhere in Newfoundland


	Sansome's catch their own lobsters and you can buy live lobsters or enjoy them in the dockside restaurant. They have an underwater camera and we enjoyed watching the fish swim past while we enjoyed lunch.

	Live lobsters for sale here!
Oh look, a mountain. I think I'll climb it!

The top of the mountain!
	Sunset at the Long Point Lighthouse

July 3, 2022 - Twillingate to Bonavista On Sunday we dodged potholes all the way from Twillingate to Bonavista. Our route took us through Gander where that heart-warming story from 9/11 took place. If you want to see humanity at it’s best be sure to see the Broadway show ‘Come From Away’. It is set in Gander Newfoundland in the aftermath of 9/11. Carol fell in love with the masses of lupines in the pretty little village of Trinity and we wrapped up our day with an up-close and personal experience with a few hundred puffins at nearby Elliston.

Donald Duck on a mailbox in Gander


	Mama loves lupines!


A root cellar at Elliston, the 'Root Cellar Capital of the World'
We walked up this narrow path to the Puffin colony.	Puffins roost on the far rock crop and fly over to pose on the rocks in front of us.


	Aren't they cute?


July 4, 2022 - Bonavista We spent Monday poking into nooks and crannies all around Bonavista, looking for whales, puffins, wildflowers and root cellars. It was a successful mission.

	The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Carol was watching puffins like this little guy.	Several humpbacks were playing below. That's not a blow-spout, it's a fin!


	John Cabot Statue
	Two humpback whales.



Dungeon Provincial Park near Bonavista
	Lunch at Ragged Rocks.


Look, a two-story root cellar!
We went back to the lighthouse to watch the sunset.	More whales at sunset.
Thar she blows!



July 5, 2022 - Bonavista to St. Johns Today we enjoyed an uneventful drive from Bonavista to St. John's. (Carol has corrected me . . . it was very eventful . . . she saw her second moose!) We arrived in St. John's just before noon; too early to check into our hotel so we headed to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in Canada. The lighthouse and the WW2 fortifications there are very interesting! After checking in and getting settled we drove around the city to get acquainted. The multi-coloured row houses captured our attention and we took plenty of pictures of them! Tomorrow we'll spend more time walking around the port, the downtown area and the historic old fishing village of Quidi Vidi.
	Lupines, lupines, everywhere!



	Easternmost point in Canada.




	A diagram of defensive guns from World War 2.
These are 10" M188 guns with a range of 7,000 feet. The barrels are 28 feet long.	The hillside behind the guns held the ammunition in a series of fortified tunnels.

	St. Johns in the background.

	Signal Hill in the background.

Buildings in Newfoundland are colourful!

July 6, 2022 - St. Johns Today we poked around the capital city of St. John's. We started at the National Historic Site where Canadian hero Terry Fox began his 'Marathon Of Hope' on April 12, 1980. We walked along a totally empty Water Street, one of two main streets through the downtown area. . Signal Hill was next, followed by Quidi Vidi where the central square was filled with a beer garden and several food trucks.	The Terry Fox Memorial. His 1980 Marathon of Hope started here!


	Our international friends may not know who Terry Fox was, but he's a revered national hero here in Canada. In 1977, at 19 years of age, he lost a leg to cancer. In 1980 he began a cross-country run, his 'Marathon of Hope' to raise money and raise awareness for Cancer research. He started at the St. Johns harbour on April 12, 1980 and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day. Through gale force winds, rain and snow he carried on, day after day. On September 1st, he had to stop due to chest pains and severe coughing. He had completed 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles) but his cancer had returned and he could run no more. By the following April his Marathon had raised more than $23 million. This amazing and inspiring Canadian hero died June 28, 1981 but his legacy carries on. Annual 'Terry Fox Runs' across our nation have generated more than $750 million to support cancer research in the years since his death.
This is where Terry Fox ran.


	This big beauty is a Newfoundland dog.
	His human takes him to Signal Hill almost every day.
Guard Duty can be exhausting!	This was the site of a decisive battle between Britain and France on September 15, 1762
The first trans-Atlantic radio signal was received here by Guglielmo Marconi on December 12, 1901	St. Johns Harbour in the background
The entrance to St. Johns Harbour	This little lighthouse leads the way to St. Johns
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment performs each day at Signal Hill.
Quidi Vidi is a fishing village that dates back to the early 17th century.	Today it is full of artisans shops, restaurants and a great craft brewery!

A pair of seaside rocks in sweaters.	In the Newfie dialect 'Who knit ya?' means Who are your parents? or Where are you from?

July 7, 2022 - St. Johns to Argentia It was time to begin our homeward trek. We had booked overnight passage on the ferry from Argentia to North Sydney. The 280 mile crossing takes about 16 hours so once again we booked a cabin for the overnight voyage. We arrived at about 3:00 p.m. and lined up to drive aboard for the 5:00 p.m. departure. As far as we know it was an uneventful sailing, we had a nice dinner aboard and then slept all the rest of the way!	Another rainy day!




July 8, 2022 - North Sydney NS to Edmunston NB We stopped at Aulac NB to visit with our friends Tom and Krista Trueman at their Blueberry Farm agri-tourism business. We had some of their awesome hand-crafted small-batch ice cream while we visited. Then we got back on the road and carried on to Edmunston NB where we again stayed at the Days Inn.




July 8, 2022 - Edmunston NB to Home The last day was a final dash through Quebec, along the south shore past Montreal, and then into our home province, Ontario, It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but it's always great to get back home!