Newfoundland! (the ferry, Barrachois Provincial Park, Corner Brook, Gros Morne National Park)

(posted from Green Point campground, Gros Morne Nat'l Park)
(This post covers 25 – 28 August, 2010)


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Saturday, 28 August-

We had a very quiet night in our moose-hunter's campsite. After breakfast we drove into Gros Morne National Park, first stopping at the Discovery Center near Woody Point. There we talked with a ranger who not only knew of the Trans-Labrador Highway but had driven it this past May. He said the worst part of the road was the newly-opened section at the northern end but he had been on it before it had officially opened and that section has since been completed.
After reviewing our options we bought a Canada National Parks Annual Pass. At $136 it's not cheap but does have the advantage of giving us a discount on camping. The pass covers the national parks and national historic sites. With a daily cost of $20 for the national parks and about $16 for historic sites, we figure it will pay off.
We also learned the ranger was about to lead an interpretive hike at the Tablelands. We joined the hike and are so glad we did. Our leader was an expert on plants and rocks and his presentations were very well done. We learned about the geologic history of the Tablelands, which are rock formations which were used to prove tectonic plate theories. These rocks were pushed up from the earth's mantle and have been dated at older than 550 million years.
We also were introduced to pitcher plants, sundews, pearly everlastings, harebells, yarrow, bottlebrush, and others I've already forgotten. At one stop, the ranger handed out pipettes and we used them to sample the 'water' in pitcher plants. We found it to be a thick soup of insect parts and the digestive juices the pitcher plant uses to absorb the nutrients from the insects. Also, there are midge larvae living in the water and we could see them wriggling.
The interpretive hike lasted about two hours and the ranger left us at the top of the trail to explore on our own then work our way back to the cars.
Back at the van we had lunch then drove back to the Discovery Center and spent another hour or so with its exhibits and films.
We then drove west to Trout Pond. We took our time, drinking in the world-class views along the way. After touring the Trout Pond itself, we turned back throught the little town of Trout Pond and took a pie-break at a small Newfie restaurant. We had apricot pie a la mode.
We then backtracked past the Discovery Center to the little fishing town of Woody Point. As we drove into the town our progress was blocked by a wedding in progress. The steps of the church ended at the sidewalk but a small crowd of locals spilled across the street, blocking it until the bride and groom appeared and were whisked away. Nice little small-town touch there!
In town I finally found a coffee shop with a real cappucino and Labashi had a cookie. At the garage/liquor store (I don't think I've seen that combination before) we picked up some libations. Labashi bought an iceberg-ice wine and I bought 'Newfoundland Screech', a Jamaican dark rum.
We then headed across the park to our campsite. Along the way we stopped at the Visitor's Center and watched touring films on Labrador and hiking the Long Range (of mountains). The Long Range, by the way, is an extension of the Appalachians. That explains the logic behind extending the International Appalachian Trail from the Gaspe Peninsula to Newfoundland. Many, many eons ago, they were connected.
An hour or so before dark we settled in to our campsite at Green Point. We're right along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The campground is primitive in that there are no showers and no running water but they do have one modern convenience--- a wi-fi hotspot! I'm on the web while sitting in Mocha Joe parked in a primitive campsite. I love it!
I spent the evening catching up the blog and posting it.


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Friday, 27 August-

We had quite a bit of rain overnight but we were snug and secure. This morning was clear and I again talked with the couple from Washington (Anacortes). They mentioned they had had 'gun trouble' at the border. They had attempted to do the same thing we had done-- bring a shotgun into Canada. They say they've done it many times before when crossing in to British Columbia and Alberta. But at the Houlton, Maine crossing, they were turned back and ended up taking the gun to the police station in Houlton to put it in storage until their return. We had lots of theories as to why they were denied but the bottom line, I think, is that the border agents are given some leeway in making a call on whether to allow or deny and these folks didn't have the right reasons for having the gun.
After we went back to our van to prepare for departure, another couple who had parked nearby in a small motorhome happened by on their way into the Wal-mart. They saw Mocha Joe's front license plate which says 'Northland Ford-- The Pas – Flin Flon' and asked if we were from Manitoba (where The Pas and Flin Flon are). We said “no, we're from Pennsylvania-- we just like that area”. They said they like it too-- but they're also from Pennsylvania. It turns out they live in the Menno Haven retirement community in Chambersburg and go to church just up the street from the house we were working on before leaving. What a coincidence!
With all the talk we didn't get out of the Wal-mart parking lot until almost 1100. We then drove through Corner Brook and then west along the bay toward Lark Harbour. Our scenic drive took us a couple of hours, including a stop for lunch at Blow Me Down Provincial Park at York Harbour. As we had driven west the clouds thickened up and by the time we made Blow Me Down we had a light but persistent rain.
The clouds seemed to part as we drove back to Corner Brook. We drove to Sir Grenfell University and toured the art gallery. It's feature was Campbell Tinney, a post-WWII artist who did wonderful watercolors of late-Forties Newfoundland.
We then drove to the Glynmill Inn and its commercial gallery where we saw two photo-realistic acrylics by Brian LoSongo.... incredible work.
Late in the afternoon we drove out of Corner Brook to a trailhead of the International Appalachian Trail. Not many people know that the Appalachian Trail doesn't end at Mt Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park. It continues up into Canada and out the Gaspe Peninsula and now crosses Newfoundland. We took a short walk on the IAT from the trailhead, noticing that the trees, grasses, and weeds look very familiar-- perhaps not southern PA but they're certainly comparable to their northern PA counterparts.
We then headed north up the Trans-Canada 1 to Pasadena. Just beyond there we turned into the backcountry, following the directions of our friendly ranger from Barrachois Pond Provincial Park-- his directions to the blueberries. We drove the gravel road for a few miles without seeing anything promising and got out of the van a time or two to look closer-- but no blueberries. But eventually we found a jeep trail leading off of the main road and it looked more promising--- more open area suitable for blueberry bushes. We walked that jeep trail and almost immediately came upon blueberries. They were small but quite edible. It's a bit early yet for them. We gathered about a half-cup of them and considered our venture a success.
Back on the TCH (Trans-Canada Highway), we headed north once again, this time to Deer Lake. We had read about a restaurant where we could get “Jigg's Dinner” a Newfoundland specialty based on corned beef and cabbage. Unfortunately for us, that was yesterday's special and today's --- cod nuggets-- didn't appeal. Labashi made a big salad with grilled chicken and we had it with blueberries.
After visiting the visitor's center and considering our options for the night, we drove back to the backcountry area where we had picked the blueberries for the night.

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Thursday, 26 August-

We had a very good night. I'm amazed at how quiet things are in the woods here in Newfoundland. There are no peepers, no frogs; it's dead quiet all night long around us. However, our camping neighbors were running a generator and playing European technopop and we thought that might become a problem as the evening wore on. It's no problem for a couple of hours but we don't want to hear it after bedtime. Around 2130 I walked down to the lake to see it in the moonlight again. As I was standing there I noticed the light from a flashlight working its way toward me. I could just make out the form of a man. As he came closer I heard him yell back to someone “Look, I'm the Mantracker. I can track anyone across any ground.” He said it several times and I realized he was a bit 'roryeyed' as the Newfies say (drunk, in other words). I simply stood there watching the moon and thought I should ask him some question about the Mantracker as he approached. But as he wobbled up to within about five meters of me, he suddenly realized I was there, stopped, mumbled something I couldn't make out, and abruptly turned back. He worked his way back to the campsite where the music was coming from and the music abruptly ended. I don't know if he was embarrassed about his Mantracker rantings or it dawned on him that he had a neighbor who might not like his music. In any case, the loud music stopped.
Our temperature overnight was a very comfortable 56. After breakfast we drove to the washrooms building for a morning wash-up, then headed south on the Trans-Canada. We only went south for a few miles so we could turn west toward Stephenville. Historically, Stepehenville was the site of an American air base and we could see it in the street names-- Utah Street, Indiana Street, etc.
We followed the GPS to Wal-mart, where we did a bit of shopping for a new media card for my video camera and a few small items. I couldn't find the card I needed there but did find one in a nearby 'The Source by Circuit City' store.
We then continued west to the Port-aux-ports peninsula, a very scenic drive through small fishing villages which historically had been French. This area was called The French Coast at one time, referring to the fact that only the French had fishing rights there. The French eventually gave up their exclusive rights but there's still a very strong French influence here.
Our loop drive took much of the day. We stopped at two visitor's centers, had an ice cream cone at an alpaca farm, and stopped at a community bread oven. Our host at the alpaca farm was a very interesting young woman. Her husband's family included an Innu man who is a 'rock star' of First Nation movies. We saw one of his movies-- one in which he ran naked and barefoot across miles of ice. She tells us he has a new movie, is currently in New York, and can't get over the number of people living there.
When we asked about the weather, she told us it's the same as our home. She says she has travelled quite a bit in Pennsylvania and the weather here is the same as there-- a bit windier, perhaps, but about the same temperature ranges. We have no idea whether she's playing a joke on us or that is indeed the case.
As the day wore on the clouds darkened and we had some fresh winds and a few rain showers. After completing our loop of the peninsula, we headed north toward Corner Brook-- about an hour's drive.
We reached Corner Brook just before 1700 and had a brief chat with the visitor's center clerk as the center closed for the day. I was hoping to find a backcountry map of Newfoundland and asked for directions to a sporting goods store, thinking there may be maps for hunters and fishermen with the kind of detail we're looking for. The store had no such maps but did say they had recently been contacted by someone who wanted them to become a dealer in maps of that nature so I may be able to find them elsewhere-- perhaps St. John's.
We then followed the GPS to the Corner Brook Wal-mart for our parking spot for the night. This one is located in a busy mall area so we shopped at the nearby Dominion grocery store. We also met a couple from Washington state travelling in a Sprinter-based Home and Parks-brand motor home. They just came across on the ferry today. We had quite a lot to talk about in comparing notes on finding free and/or very inexpensive camping spots.
After supper Labashi and I tried our first 'Screech', a Jamaican rum. The brand was 'Newfoundland Screech'. This refers to the long seafaring tradition of Newfoundlanders and their trade with Jamaica. We quickly determined we'd better be careful with portions when having screech.
As the evening wore on I decided to rent a movie from the Wal-mart Redbox. I couldn't find the Redbox machine so asked the greeter. She said she had never heard of a Redbox. They haven't made it to Newfoundland yet.
We spent the evening updating the blog and reading.

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Wednesday, 25 August-

We woke early this morning and were soon on our way to the ferry at North Sydney. We had had a cooler night--- temperatures in the mid-Forties --- and slept very well.
We lined up for the ferry departure at 0800, we rolled on about 0900 and our ferry departed the dock at 1000. That's 1000 Atlantic Standard time, 1030 Newfoundland Time. I had never heard of a half-hour time-zone change but that's indeed the case here.
Our ferryboat, Maritime Atlantic's “Atlantic Vision”, was a pleasant surprise. It's newer and had a restaurant, snack bar, cocktail lounge (with live music), an exercise room, gift shop, and a wi-fi hot spot. Prices for sundries were a bit steep but not crazy. Wi-fi was free and relatively fast.
We each bought an extra-large hot dog for our early lunch and settled in at a table outside the snack bar. We had picked up quite a bit of touring literature from the ferry terminal's info centre about half-way through the trip a lady offered me her 'Globe and Mail' newspaper (which was very good). I caught up the blog and posted it and otherwise just patrolled my normal web sites.
Labashi read and did a few web searches and bought a book-- 'Dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador', an interesting and very well-done collection of facts about lore and language of the province and territory.
Our ferry trip of 100 miles took five hours and unloading another half hour. We drove through Port Aux Basques looking for a likely place for ice for our cooler. At the grocery store we found they didn't have ice but the clerk said we could get it at any gas station or convenience store. At the gas station I noticed gas was selling for $4.28 a gallon. Ice was $2 for a 6-pound bag-- not bad for this far north.
Once iced up we headed north, first stopping just outside town for a longish visit to the visitors' centre. This part of Newfoundland is devoid of trees so I told the clerk I was an out-of-work American lumberjack hoping to find work but appeared to be out of luck. He said I'd find trees and plenty of them just a few miles up the road.
We drove north for about an hour and a half to Barrachois Provincial Park and our campground for the night. After supper we walked back to the check-in building and had a long conversation with the ranger. He grew up in nearby Corner Brook but had been assigned at one time to Inuvik, which gave us something to chat about (from our 2008 visit). We asked whether Newfoundland was having any natural challenges like the pine bark beetles of Alberta and British Columbia, or, conversely, was there any unexpectedly good news like a news article we read in the Globe and Mail today about sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River in far greater numbers this year-- something like a 25-times increase over last year.
He said he doesn't know of any insect problem but the Atlantic salmon run is also much higher here in the Maritimes than other years. When Labashi said she'd like to find some bakeapple berries (also known as cloudberries), he said we were too late for them but blueberries were just coming in so he gave us directions to his favorite blueberry patch near Pasadena (between Corner Brook and Deer Lake).
After our long chat with the ranger Labashi and I walked back to the van under a full-moon which had just risen about the incredible stone massifs to our East. We spent the rest of the evening blogging and reading.


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