July 18-Grand Falls Windsor to Twillingate

Super rainy this morning, had to pack up the trailer in the pouring rain.  Not sure if we missed part of the canvas when folding up one side as that night we found mud and water around the front bed as if there was a gap somewhere.  Made an awful mess.  Drove in the teeming rain for hours, almost had an accident on the TCH it was so bad.  Worked our way up to Twillingate, still raining like crazy, and discovered that Dildo Provincial Park had a serviced site for two nights.  We called the private park we had originally booked into and cancelled our reservation as it was half an hour farther up the road from where we wanted to be for the morning.  (They didn't seem to mind, saying they had someone right there who could use the site.)  Mud everywhere, got pretty soggy setting up for the night, and almost went off into the ditch backing up as the rain made it so hard to see.  By the way, the name Dildo refers to a calm bay, not the other use of the word......
The rain finally eased up, so we drove up to Twillingate to have a look around, and found an awesome spot to watch whales.  We saw humpbacks breaching and fin slapping, it was worth the drive!  It was so cold and windy there, we didn't stay long, and tried to eat and R and J's which had a good reputation in the past, but new owners recently and it was a nightmare.  We waited 45 minutes after ordering to be told they were out of what we wanted to eat.  Left and ate chili and toast back at the campsite.  Bad sleep that night. (150 km)

July 17-Travel day to Grand Falls Windsor

Today was a travel day again.  We worked our way south again, stopping at Arches Provincial Park, a pretty spot on the side of the highway 430.  We wanted to see it on our trip north, but the sign was so small and the road so narrow that we drove right past it and couldn't see a safe spot to turn around.  It was worth the effort to find it again.  

The story of the arches forming.

The boys had to climb it of course!

The rocks were super smooth

It's bigger than it looks when you first walk up to the shore!

 We made a side trip back into Rocky Harbour for fuel and snacks, and it seemed so familiar, we wanted to stay! Drove to Deer Lake, then back on the TCH (Trans Canada Highway) east heading for our next campsite.  We had booked at Sanger Memorial Park in Grand Falls Windsor (GFW), and after the last few campsites I wasn't sure what to expect, but this place was awesome.  The sites were big, the showers were HOT and clean and private, and the place looked soft (which sounds weird, but there was grass and trees and kids on bikes and rolling hills, it looked like Ontario).  We decided to eat in town as GFW is a big town, and we hit a Jungle Jim's in the mall.  Not very impressed.  We spent the evening walking along the river, meeting the dogs going for a walk, and watching the little salmon jumping for bugs-that was fun. (440 km)

July 16-L'Anse aux Meadows

We were up early and got the trailer packed up and ready to go, then left it at the site and went back north to look at some more whales, and did an awesome hike on the hillside near the shore.  We had seen the trails yesterday evening, but didn't have time to hike them as we wanted to check out the iceberg.  

St Anthony trail, we saw some whales while we walked.

This little sweetheart just watched as we walked within a few metres, then vanished into a hole under the rocks.

 We drove north to L'Anse aux Meadows, where a viking settlement was discovered.  It was cold, 13 Celsius, with a huge windchill making it more like 0 degrees.  We walked the trails and looked at the site, and went into a reconstructed sod house and watched a blacksmith make nails, using the kids as assistants to pump the bellows.  Devon got in there, and he earned himself a hand made viking style nail to take home.  He really enjoyed that and trying on the viking gear.

 We went back to pick up the trailer, and traveled south again, and stopped at River of Ponds campground.  Again all gravel in the campsites, and the blackflies were terrible.  We didn't even bother to unhook the truck from the trailer as we were making an early start in the morning, and foraged in the trailer for dinner, showered in what looked like a bathroom in someone's home in the back of the campground office building, and off to bed. (300 km)

River of Ponds Campground

Serviced campground-but just this parking area on the beach!

July 15-Travel to St Anthony along the Viking Coast

After 4 great days, we reluctantly left Rocky Harbour and started to travel north towards St Anthony.  
Our first stop was at Torrent River to see the fish ladder, which was amazing.  They have a counting station there that is under government control, so no pictures were allowed, but they counted and measured each trout or salmon as it swam through the ladder upstream.  Part of the building was underground so we could watch the fish through a glass viewing area just before they went into the counting section.  

We stopped at Port aux Choix and saw their visitor's centre, and the lighthouse, and boy what a desolate part of the world that was.  We had learned by that day not to open doors of the truck on both sides at once, or maps and papers and small children would blow away.  

 After walking around in the cold wind, we needed a hot lunch.  We went to the Anchor Cafe in Port aux Choix where I had a bowl of seafood chowder that was bloody amazing.  Rich and thick and full of chunks of mysterious fishy bits.  Devon and I shared a seafood platter, but as the rest of the trip showed, most seafood in NL was deep battered and fried, so we soon tired of all the grease.  I did however enjoy chowder a few times, but none as good as this bowl.

Back on our way, we landed at Triple Falls RV Park for our night's stay.  We discovered here that we had forgotten to close the flap over the stove vent, and the bloody thing tore off and blew away somewhere, leaving us with a daily dose of dust and grit on the counters for the rest of the trip.  They had the oddest shower arrangement in the ladies, one big curtain with individual showers behind with little to no privacy between them.  Never saw that arrangement anywhere else, which was good as I am not a fan of being stared at by toddlers while I shower!

We left the trailer behind and went north for the evening to check out a place for dinner, but instead stood at the shore and watched whales, it was the best viewing of the whole trip!  Devon was so excited, he said his heart was racing! (Yes, that's MY kid!)

 We loved it here, the scenery was amazing.  We even saw this female fox and her kit living in the hillside right near the restaurant.  Apparently they fed her leftovers. 

We eventually got too hungry to watch anymore, so hopped back in the truck and drove into town and picked up Mary Brown's to go (one of the most common fast food places here) and drove to St Lunaire, where an iceberg had been seen by a lady we met on the shore who lived in Pefferlaw (only 20 minutes from Uxbridge!).  We got there in time to spend a good hour taking photos and the guys climbed over the rocks along the shore to grab a chunk of iceberg for Devon.

 On our way back to the trailer, it was getting pretty late, and the moose came out to feed.  We drove really close to these two girls, they just stood there and watched us creep along the road.(480 kms)

July 14-Gros Morne final day

After a busy few days, we decided to let the truck do the work today.  We did a load of laundry and hung it on a line in the sunshine, then packed a picnic lunch and drove around to some of the areas we hadn't seen yet, and returned to the Discovery Centre to look at some of the displays. The guys played on the swings at a picnic area where we stopped for lunch, and we checked out some of the camping areas in the park.  I think we did well to stay in town with services, as the campsites looked pretty bare bones.  Had another meal of fresh fish tonight from the local fish plant, so good I wish we had not bothered with groceries from Nova Scotia as we had to eat that up first.  (220 km)

Trout River Pond

Norris Point fisherman

Many homes had these root cellars dug into the hillsides out in their back yards.

July 13-Gros Morne-Western Brook Pond

Slow start today, we are tired still from yesterday's adventures.  Went into the hotel in Rocky Harbour to buy tickets for the Western Brook Pond tour.  We were advised to buy ahead, esp. as this being Saturday, the number of visitors may be higher.  A beautiful sunny warm day again, perfect for photos of the pond.  We drove up to the parking area for the trail, and had just one hour to hike in the 3 km. for our boat trip.  As we didn't know the terrain, we figured we better hurry, but made it in good time, enough to buy a cold drink at the snack bar.  As there are no roads here, and no hydro lines, buying a cold drink was a surprise.  They have generators running all day, and ATVs roaring up and down the trail to bring in fuel for the generators and boat, and supplies for the snack bar.  The boats apparently were either flown in by helicopter in pieces or taken over land in the winter by sleds when the ground is frozen as it is all peat bogs and boardwalks and heavy wooded areas from the road into the pond.  The commentary was good on the tour, lasted about 2 hours and took us all the way to the end of the pond.  These were actually fjords that closed over and became land locked lakes, but here are called ponds.  In other areas the water has remained a true fjord.  The cliffs on either side of the pond were steep and rocky with the odd waterfall.  Very pretty.  The tour was $155 for the 3 of us, so glad we enjoyed it so much. 

Trail head Western Brook Pond

Boardwalks over peat bogs

Busy boat today-most of the tourists are from Ontario!

We took our time hiking out so I could take some photos, and managed to stumble upon a cow and calf moose right on the trail in front of us.  Devon was so excited, he still mentions it.  What a great experience for him! (110 km)

Forests of short trees is called tuckamore-they only grow to the height of the snowfall as any extra height is killed off by high winds and cold. 

Like a venus fly trap-carnivorous plant

July 12-Gros Morne National Park

We have finally arrived.  Many people have asked why Newfoundland for our trip, and the main reason was to see Gros Morne.  I have waited for today for a long time.  The morning was rainy, so I let the guys sleep in while I read and had an extra coffee.  Yes, I am an insomniac, esp. when camping.  
We got going after the skies cleared a bit, and went to the Tablelands area of the park.  The earth's mantle has been exposed here due to massive geological upheaval, so you get the chance to see 500 million year old rocks.  Honestly, it looked like we were walking on the moon.  Apparently, NASA has used the area for training purposes (according to something Rob had been told), and it makes sense.  We hiked along a 4 km trail, saw some amazing plant life, and bizarre rocks.  Devon being a budding geologist, he loved it.  For those curious, serpentine rocks, and periodyte (full of minerals-Cu, Mg, Fe, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, etc....)  

Tablelands from a distance

Serpentine Rock

Pitcher plant-they were everywhere

These trees were often over 400 years old-slow growing with poor nutrients

After exploring the area, we stopped into the Discovery Centre, where you could easily spend 2 hours or more looking at the displays and watching a movie that discusses the park. 

Discovery centre

Discovery centre

 We had to dash as there was a talk happening at Green Point on the special features of the area.  Very interesting talk about how the area shows the clear margin between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, in fact it is the world standard area for the period.  These and other features were why the park was created, as the geology is unique in the world.  (I sound like a travel brochure, but oh well.)  To get to the special area, we had to scale a cliff or get very wet to get around the spit of rock as the tide was in, so we all climbed, including me, with some trepidation. It was only 4 feet up, but not good for someone with a punky ankle. 

Park Ranger discussing geology

Somewhere in here is the geological margin!

 I was sore for the rest of the day, so dinner was a group effort.  We went for a swim in the park's pool to work out the kinks and showered, then back to the campsite.  (190 km today)