CaptionsVillage near Summerford
Alexander Murray Hiking Trail at Kings Cove
Bull Moose
Pat rides Cressie
Alexander Murray Hiking Trail at Kings Cove
Bull Moose
Pat rides Cressie
August 2009
Newfoundland
Vikings
We covered a lot of Newfoundland (NL) this month, from Terra Nova NP in the east to Gros Morne NP and the Northern Peninsula. At the farthest point North in NL is L’Anse aux Meadows, where the only Viking settlement in North America was found. It was interesting historically, but it was also fun to play Viking at the various Viking related entertainment venues. We attended a Viking feast, where the diners might charge fellow diners with a “crime”. We were accused of “Having too much fun”. Our travel schedule was used as evidence against us and we were found guilty. As our punishment we had to sing for the group. This gave us a chance to punish them!
Moose
Before we came here, I told Pat she would see plenty of moose in NL, there are 120,000 of them here. Amazingly, after 5 weeks here, we had only seen a cow and calf moose. Some nights we would even go out and drive past bogs and lakes looking for them. No luck. Finally our luck changed in Gros Morne when we saw 10 moose in one night! We saw a few more in the L’Anse aux Meadows area.
I was talking to one of the locals and his explanation may account for our lack of moose sighting. He said that if he sees a moose in the evening, it’s likely he’ll see the same moose the next day, covered in gravy, between the peas & carrots and the potato.
Hiking
We did a lot of hiking this month. Hiking is different here. You don’t need a guidebook; many towns have developed hikes and proudly advertise their location. Standard hiking trails don’t work in the bogs, so boardwalks are used to keep you from sinking knee deep in the bog. Instead of switchbacks, stairs are installed straight up the side of the mountain. On one hike we did over 1000 steps up and a completely different set of 1000+ steps back down. Despite all this, you usually return with wet boots.
Gros Morne National Park
Gros Morne is one of Canada newest parks, and certainly Canada’s best this side of the Rockies. It is situated on the west coast of Newfoundland on the Northern Peninsula. It qualified as an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its exceptional natural beauty and outstanding examples representing major stages of earth history. It provides great illustrations of plate tectonics. The Tableland rock is one of the most accessible examples of exposed mantle material in the world. Take a boat ride down Western Brook Pond, which is actually a 2000 foot high glacier carved fjord, and you’ll appreciate the natural beauty of this park.
Interesting Personalities
Dr. Wilfred Grenfell spent his life bringing medical care to the people of Labrador and northern Newfoundland. He established hospitals, clinics and the organization to manage them through a lifetime of effort. He developed many important friends in his fund raising activities, including US Presidents, T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson.
Captain Robert A. Bartlett, from Brigus NL, was a great arctic explorer and sea captain. He was captain of the ships for three of Robert Peary’s polar expeditions. He was awarded the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal. He became a US citizen and dedicated his later years to collecting arctic flora and fauna samples for scientific study at US universities and museums.
Summary
In 7 weeks in Newfoundland we drove about 3500 miles and still left many places to explore when we return. It’s a great place to spend the summer especially, if like us, you hate heat and humidity. Typically it was in the 60’s or 70’s and mostly just rained at night. We did have several FDR (fog, drizzle, rain) days in Eastern NL. The big tourist attractions off the coast are whales and icebergs. Come in June or early July to catch these.
Newfoundland
Vikings
We covered a lot of Newfoundland (NL) this month, from Terra Nova NP in the east to Gros Morne NP and the Northern Peninsula. At the farthest point North in NL is L’Anse aux Meadows, where the only Viking settlement in North America was found. It was interesting historically, but it was also fun to play Viking at the various Viking related entertainment venues. We attended a Viking feast, where the diners might charge fellow diners with a “crime”. We were accused of “Having too much fun”. Our travel schedule was used as evidence against us and we were found guilty. As our punishment we had to sing for the group. This gave us a chance to punish them!
Moose
Before we came here, I told Pat she would see plenty of moose in NL, there are 120,000 of them here. Amazingly, after 5 weeks here, we had only seen a cow and calf moose. Some nights we would even go out and drive past bogs and lakes looking for them. No luck. Finally our luck changed in Gros Morne when we saw 10 moose in one night! We saw a few more in the L’Anse aux Meadows area.
I was talking to one of the locals and his explanation may account for our lack of moose sighting. He said that if he sees a moose in the evening, it’s likely he’ll see the same moose the next day, covered in gravy, between the peas & carrots and the potato.
Hiking
We did a lot of hiking this month. Hiking is different here. You don’t need a guidebook; many towns have developed hikes and proudly advertise their location. Standard hiking trails don’t work in the bogs, so boardwalks are used to keep you from sinking knee deep in the bog. Instead of switchbacks, stairs are installed straight up the side of the mountain. On one hike we did over 1000 steps up and a completely different set of 1000+ steps back down. Despite all this, you usually return with wet boots.
Gros Morne National Park
Gros Morne is one of Canada newest parks, and certainly Canada’s best this side of the Rockies. It is situated on the west coast of Newfoundland on the Northern Peninsula. It qualified as an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its exceptional natural beauty and outstanding examples representing major stages of earth history. It provides great illustrations of plate tectonics. The Tableland rock is one of the most accessible examples of exposed mantle material in the world. Take a boat ride down Western Brook Pond, which is actually a 2000 foot high glacier carved fjord, and you’ll appreciate the natural beauty of this park.
Interesting Personalities
Dr. Wilfred Grenfell spent his life bringing medical care to the people of Labrador and northern Newfoundland. He established hospitals, clinics and the organization to manage them through a lifetime of effort. He developed many important friends in his fund raising activities, including US Presidents, T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson.
Captain Robert A. Bartlett, from Brigus NL, was a great arctic explorer and sea captain. He was captain of the ships for three of Robert Peary’s polar expeditions. He was awarded the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal. He became a US citizen and dedicated his later years to collecting arctic flora and fauna samples for scientific study at US universities and museums.
Summary
In 7 weeks in Newfoundland we drove about 3500 miles and still left many places to explore when we return. It’s a great place to spend the summer especially, if like us, you hate heat and humidity. Typically it was in the 60’s or 70’s and mostly just rained at night. We did have several FDR (fog, drizzle, rain) days in Eastern NL. The big tourist attractions off the coast are whales and icebergs. Come in June or early July to catch these.
