Thursday August 3, 2017

David’s Art

We sleep in a bit today because last night, we set a breakfast time of 0830. We head upstairs and join Andrew, Susan, David, and Jenny. Jenny is making oatmeal, fish cakes, and eggs for breakfast. In addition, we each get a large partridgeberry muffin which one of us saves for later. I won’t tell you which one of us but the name starts with C. Everything is excellent and the company is great. We chat for quite a while before giving in and going to our room to pack. We felt a real connection with Jenny and David, great life stories shared and honestly hope our paths will cross again. We get going about 1030 with Jenny and David out front waving good bye to us.

Get Your Icebergs Here

Today is mostly a driving day as we head back to Gros Mornes National Park and the community of Trout River. We have seen the word community a lot on the signs here in Newfoundland. I like it as it gives you a feeling of kindred ship right off the bat. We see an iceberg for the last time on way out of town. Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that we have been seeing a lot of road side gardens. We learned that when they put in the paved roads here, people figured out that the soil they dug up by the sides of the road was softer and rich. At your home, it was hard to dig in the peat and if you were closer to the water the wind and cooler breeze made it harder to grow vegetables. The dug up soil by the road and the fact that it was a bit more in land made for a perfect garden scenario. Locals have made use of this by planting and tending gardens all along the road.

Ivory Man

We drive for several hours before taking a side road to Port Aux Chois. This is a National Historic Site and has exhibits on the different natives and then Europeans that made this area their home. There was plenty of food here including cod, moose, and caribou. They could also hunt seals for their skins to use for clothing. We walk through the exhibit, watch a film about the archeology that has been done and then we drive out to see the Point Ritchie Lighthouse.

Point Ritchie Light

From there we are back on the road south towards the park. It is a beautiful day and we enjoy the coastline drive to Rocky Harbour. We stop here to eat at the food truck we had found our first day and sit outside with another great meal of pan fried cod and chips. After dinner we go on our way again towards Trout River. But first we have to make it through the construction area. We came up on a Sunday so they weren’t working but today is different. The delay is minimal and we stop to stretch our legs and do a short hike to Southeast Brook Falls. This is the first hike that we have not liked. The trail was pleasant enough but the placement of the overlooks to the falls sucked. You get to see a small cascade and then it drops into the valley below. It is probably a 100 feet or more but you can’t see any of it from this angle. There are no other trails through the thick brush to give you a better view so we turn around in disappointment. After the falls, we make a turn towards Trout River and a whole new area of the park. It is here that we will explore the famous tablelands and do a few other hikes.

Trout River Boardwalk

We are staying in one place for 3 nights so that is nice. When we arrive at Sheppards BNB, we learn that another couple moved rooms so we could stay in the same one all 3 nights. Originally we had booked two nights and later added a third, but by the time we did we had to take a different room for the first night. We thank the other couple and are happy to get settled for a few nights. I ask the owner Doris if there is a place to take an easy walk near town and she tells us about the boardwalk along the beach and a short hike up to Eastern Point on the edge of town.

Carol in the Bluffs

We take the short ride to town and walk the boardwalk for about .75 miles and then walk to the trailhead to the point. There are about 100 or more steps going up the cliffside before the trail may level out. We start up, needing to burn off some of the chips we had for dinner. After driving all day it feels good to walk and we make the climb with some huffing and puffing. Once on top the trail levels out and we are treated to views of the small town along the waterfront. We come to the point after about a mile or so and get some great pictures of the area. We are glad we came up here as we start back. We are also treated to the sun reflecting off the water making a close to wonderful day. Time to rest up for the day ahead tomorrow.

Expenses                                                                                                                                             Gas in Rocky Harbour 45 CAD                                                                                                Fish and Chips Dinner 27.50 CAD                                                                                      Sheppards BNB 100 CAD