Waiting for Earl to go by.

2010.09.04

We went into Port aux Basques and their library's parking lot to collect our emails and cell phone messages. Sure enough, Maritime Atlantic, the ferry operator, told us in two email and a cell phone message that our crossing will be delayed 6 hours. The phone message had to be acknowledged. Can't fault them for not communicating.

Since it was gloomy and a bit windy, we headed back to Cheeseman Provincial Park where we hung out the rest of the day. I did get a chance to talk to a local camper as well as one from Ontario. These chats are always a fun part of camping. I brought them up to date on what I learned about Earl track which had shifted East a bit and closer to us.

Earl's passage itself was not at all worrisome. Some gusty wind and some rain in the evening, but really not that bad. It was now a tropical storm anyway. When Earl was closest, around 11;30 pm, the loudest noise was not the wind, but the waves hitting the shore some distance away.

Odometer reads 68,987.

Cape Anguille

2010.09.03

Today, we left our glorious free campsite and backtracked out of the Port au Port Peninsula.

We drove South on the TCH and then West to Cape Anguille where there is a fine lighthouse. Other than the name of the cape, the names of places here have an English, Scottish, or Irish ring to them. For a change, the soil is arable and even dark in color. There were green fields including those of corn.

Getting to the TCH again and heading South, and being within easy ride to the ferry terminal, we stopped by a commercial campground to check on their rates. The lady there gave the rates, but then said we really shouldn't stay there because Hurricane Earl is coming tomorrow. Also the local terrain is such that there are heavy winds even without a hurricane. She suggested we go on to Cheeseman Provincial Park which is in a valley. She even offered to call ahead to make a reservation. I declined the offer, but we did go ahead to Cheeseman and booked a site with power for two days. Cheeseman is close enough to anything we might want to see tomorrow. If it's a gloomy rainy day, power will be nice to have.

We then drove down to Port aux Basques and filled up our tank with gas. We were getting down close to a quarter tank which is where the generator gets cut off from the supply. Anyway, if there are power line failures, we'll have plenty of gas to run the generator. That does shoot my plan to get on the ferry with minimal gas because it costs about 10% more in Newfoundland than in Nova Scotia.

We also stopped by the Port aux Basques public library to get internet access and then to a "Chinese" restaurant for supper.

Online, we found out Earl's projected path which should be West of Newfoundland and hitting Eastern Quebec and Labrador. For the moment ignoring that hurricanes do have their own agenda, we should be on the periphery of the path.

Ferry service will be suspended for 12 hours on Saturday. We're not sure what that means to our Sunday reservation. We'll have to go into town to check on that tomorrow. Online, the ferry company says they'll email schedule change notices. We'll see.

Odometer reads 68,974.

Port au Port Peninsula

2010.09.02

From Berachois Pond Provincial Park, we headed West to the Port au Port peninsula.

In Stephenville, we stopped near the town hall. Along the road they have mounted a US Air Force fighter as if banking in flight. That deserved to be photographed. Looking around, one could easily spot buildings that look like military barracks. Indeed, there was a US Air Base here during the Cold War.

Nearby was a library where we could collect our email. I got to sell off a stock I've been disappointed with lately at a modest profit. Brenda bought and downloaded an eBook.

We drove on to Lourdes and then headed Northeast on what reminded us of NC's Outer Banks. However, after a mile or two of a washboard gravel road, we turned around. There would have been 8 more gravel miles to go!

This area was allowed to be colonized by France in 1881 which they did. But, in 1904 France gave up interest in the French Shore to the Brits in exchange for coffee plantations in the Los Islands of Africa.

We then drove Southeast to Cape St. George and its Parc - Boutte du Cap. It's a very scenic park and we camped in it just feet away from where a lighthouse once stood. The waves are beating on the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs we sit on. While some people drove by until sunset, we've been alone all night. And, the camping is free.

Odometer reads 68,880.

On to Berachois Pond Provincial Park

2010.09.01

This morning, we left the campground and drove out to Bottle Cove as well as look around Lark Harbour. While we ignored the bogus Viking ship they had in front of the town hall, we noted the public library. Fellow campers told us that even this small town's library had Wi-fi. So, even though the library was closed, the hot spot was up I could post to the blog.

All the library Wi-fi hot spots, if not the libraries themselves, are operated by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The same user ID and password work at any library. Provincial money well spent, I say! :-)

Retracing our path back out to Corner Brook was trickier than getting in. Of the 3 construction zones, one was at a critical stage and caused us to wait for quite a while. They are rebuilding the road over culverts they are replacing at the same time. They had to unload steel plates from a trailer stopped in the single narrow temporary lane they had.

With the delay to get to the TCH, we decided to delay our visit to Port au Port peninsula till tomorrow and headed for Berachois Pond Provincial Park, one of the largest in the provincial park system.

For the third time in a row, we opted to stay "off the grid". Between the driving and the sun on our solar panels, our house batteries were fully charged. The $8 differential between electric and "no service" sites is excessive.

Odometer reads 68,711.

Traipsing on down the West coast

2010.08.31

The Trout River campground has Wi-fi and we made reservation for the ferry from Port aux Basques, NL to North Sydney, NS on the Atlantic Vision for noon on Sunday the 5th. The Atlantic Vision is the larger and faster ferry and that's good for the dog and the fridge that has to be denied propane on the voyage.

From Trout River, we re-traced out path through the Southern portion of Gros Morne National Park. This time we stopped at the Discovery Centre which is the major interpretive center for the park and took in all the exhibits. On the top floor observation deck, they have vistas of the mountains, the South Arm, and Bonnie Bay.

Heading South some, we were able to pick up the TCH and go on to Corner Brook, the largest city along the West coast of Newfoundland. We stopped by a Dominion grocery store and stocked up on some food, particularly fruit.

We then headed West along the South coast of the Humber Arm. We passed by a paper plant or possibly some other wood product in Corner Brook with many smoke stacks putting out what must be mostly steam. There was practically no odor. There was a line of trucks with logs on them.

We drove pretty much to the end of the shore to Blow Me Down Provincial Park. Being the first campers to show up, the attendant said we could have any site we wanted. If we wanted, we could also park along the beach, usually an overflow area. We chose the beach.

Before dinner, we walked up a trail, mostly wooden steps up almost 500 feet to an observation platform. Besides the park, one could see both York Harbour and Lark Harbour. While we huffed and puffed, our odometers registered no aerobic steps. Sometimes one just doesn't get credit! :-)

Odometer reads 68,629.

The Arches

2010.08.30

On our way South down the West coast highway (and there is no East coat highway) of the Northern Peninsula, we stopped by the Arches Provincial Park. It's more of a scenic view stop with picnic tables.

The unusual arches formation is the result of the usual multi hundred million geologic forces that erode mountains, but also recent glaciers that fractured and toppled chunks of a mountain. Since the last ice age and the relative dropping of the sea level, wave action has excavated the weaker rock from underneath. Very pretty site!

Continuing South we once again entered Gros Morne National Park.

We stopped by a coastal ship wreck. The SS (steam ship) Ethie ran aground and broke apart in a fierce storm in December of 1919. Fortunately, none of the 92 passengers and crew lost their lives in the icy waters. While the hull has corroded and been washed away, thicker chunks of steel are still strewn about. There is ballad about this wreck.

After being away for a week or so, we revisited the Gros Morne's visitor center. This time we watched the movie about the park which was quite good. Some of the aerial photography can't be matched by anything seen from the ground.

We drove all around Bonnie Bay to the South section of the park. The section of road on the high plateau is treeless and reminds one of a place like Arizona.

We stayed overnight "off the grid" at the park's Trout River campground.

Odometer reads 68,514.

Back to the big island.

2010.08.29

Red Bay being the North end of paved roads available to us, we decided to head back to the ferry to Newfoundland. We caught the 1:00 pm ferry to St. Barbe.

We drove down to River of Ponds, NL and the campground there. Their mention of internet turns out to be a dial up line you can plug into if you have a modem in your computer. How old is that? Brenda was ticked. No internet for us.

Odometer reads 68,372.