Triton, Newfoundland

We spent four lovely days at Triton. We came into town in a driving rain and the place we wanted to park was a big mud puddle. So we asked the local Salvation Army Church if we could park in their parking lot. Howard Bridger, the second in command, said sure and did we luck out! Not only did we have a great place to park , we made some great friends while we were there.

The first day we drove around the fishing communities and had lunch at Fudges (seafood combo). We tried cod tongues again and they were better here. On Sunday we went to the church services at the Salvation Army. Unlike the US, the Canada SA has very active churchs.

We went on a very tough hike called the Maple Ridge Coastal Trail. This trail has over 3000 steps one way. Dean, Ron and I made it to the top and we were rewarded with great views of Triton harbor. Bernita went halfway and enjoyed talking with some of the locals around the mussel farms. The straight line buoys are the mussel farms.

Lots and lots of steps but the views were fantastic.

We were going to leave on Monday but Howard said that he would take us out for a boat ride if we stayed another day. Ron, Dean, Howard, a local fisherman (Lawrence), and I went for two hours in the Triton Harbor. It was a beautiful day. That afternoon Lawrence came back with canned moose, another man brought marinated mussels, and Howard brought us canned beets. What a lovely community.

Ron, Dean, Howard and Lawrence and Howard's boat

Rocky Harbor and Gros Morne Nat Pk

Rain, rain, go away!! But it keeps coming. We have had two sunny days out of the last 7. When it is sunny it is beautiful and when it is raining it is beautiful but cold and dreary.

We stayed at Cow Head one night and then ventured south to Rocky Harbor. We found a great boondocking spot right by the water. It was raining when we got there but we went to the Lobster Cove Lighthouse and Norris Point. Norris Point was this little fishing village surrounded by mountains and water. It was beautiful even on a rainy day. All these little towns are bordered by Gros Morne National Park.

Wednesday night we caught the local entertainment – Anchors Away – a band that played at the Ocean View Hotel in Rocky Harbor. The 5 musicians played a mixture of Newfoundland music, Irish music, and rock and roll to a sold out crowd. We enjoyed the evening very much.

On Thursday, our one sunny day, we drove to Trout River (another little fishing village). On the was, we spent some time in Gros Morne National Park – doing a waterfall hike, visiting the discovery center, and doing another hike at the Tablelands (area with little vegetation that is like the earth’s mantle).

When we got home we went to the Town Hall and had a Jiggs dinner, sponsored by a local church. A Jiggs dinner is like a St. Patrick feast – boiled cabbage, carrots, potatoes, turnips, and salt pork. They also serve a variety of puddings with sauces (kind of like bread pudding) with the meal. And there was a huge table of desserts. It was the best $12 we have spent for a meal.

That night we had a beautiful sunset. We need to take advantage of the sun cause it does not shine often enough for us Arizonians.

Labrador and Port Au Choix, NL

We had mixed feelings about Labrador. It was stark, beautiful, cold, barren, rugged all rolled into one.

We left Newfoundland thru the ferry at St. Barbe. The ship is the Apollo and it makes 5 trips per day. The price was not bad - $53 for motorhome and tow (senior rate). The trip is about an hour and a half. During the trip we saw dolphins and a whale.

This is a whale - use your imagination!

We exited the ferry in the Quebec town of Blanc Sablon. We drove about 10 km. to the sign that said welcome to Labrador. There is only one paved road in the southern shore, which is about 50 miles from ferry to Red Bay.

We drove thru a couple of little towns and found a great boondocking spot on a hill over looking the ocean. We had a very curious animal near our RV. Can anyone out there tell me the name of this animal?

The first day was beautiful so after parking we took off for the Point Amour Lighthouse (the 2^nd tallest lighthouse in Canada). We climbed the 109 feet to the top for a great view of the coastline.

Along the route to the lighthouse was the Maritime Archaic Burial Mound, the earliest known funeral monument in North America. It marks the burial place of an Indian child who died about 7500 years ago.

The little towns are located in the valleys and have very few trees.

Sunday the weather turned cold and rainy. This didn’t stop us from venturing out to Red Bay, a national historic site. This small fishing village was once one of the largest Basque whale fishing settlements in the 16^th century. There are two museums in this town – one housing a 16^th century whaling boat and the other museum explaining the whaling industry and displaying artifacts found in the town. It was a good day to spend in museums. From Red Bay on the road is gravel. We drove a little ways on this road but since the day was rainy and the road was muddy we didn’t go far.

Monday we departed Labrador and returned to Newfoundland. We drove to Port Au Choix, which is the site of four ancient cultures, and saw the visitors center, Point Riche Lighthouse, Phillips Garden (an area that is being excavated) and a caribou.

Today we are in Cow Head – it’s like coming home! It has been rainy all day and is suppose to rain for 2 more days. We get one good day to about 4 bad ones.

L'Anse Aux Meadows, Roddickton, Englee

The Viking festival was not quite what we expected but we enjoyed the area in the Northern part of Newfoundland (except for the weather).

We parked at Norstead (a reenactment viking village owned by the local business people). This is the large parking lot (with very few visitors).

The little town of L'Anse aux Meadows is pictured here. How do these people live in this cold, rainy, foggy area?

But they do have lovely sunsets when you can see them.

We went to the historic site – L’ Anse aux Meadows and took the tour. This is a UNESCo World Heritage Site: the first authenticated European presence in North America 1,000AD. Archaeological excavations in the 60s uncovered the remains of some dwellings and workshops. The grounds where the dwellings are still grass covered mounds and they have built replicas of the dwellings. Costumed interpreters demonstrated blacksmithing and told about the daily life.

Next we visited Norstead (where the festival was suppose to be). We found out that due to low attendance and the weather (rainy) that they were not having too many events. They have a really large Viking vessel (the Snorri) that was explained to us in detail. We sat around the fire with the costumed interpreters and talked about their current life in Newfoundland.

All along the roads there are gardens. This is because the ground is very fertile and these areas get more sun. One night we saw three moose along the side of the road.

On Thursday night we ate at the Northern Delights. Dean and Ron had cod tongues (neither would order again) and I had Fishermen Brewis (cod with hard tack and bacon drippings). Bernita had roast beef. After dinner we were entertained with local music and the Mummers came out – costumed dancers similar to Madi Gras.

We left the Northern area (in fog and rain) and traveled to Roddickton and to our surprise – sunshine and warmer weather only 80 mile south. We parked on the public wharf and were the center of attraction the night we were there – about 50 cars came thru the parking lot and turned around while we were there.

We did a short trip to Englee – another fishing village and climbed a hill with a lot of steps (Barr Trail). There we had great views of the town and two very large icebergs about 2 to 5 miles out.

The fishing village of Englee.

Dean was enjoying the sunshine.