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| Hike near Cape Spear with Mary, Elysia, Pat, Crystal, and Jason
We flew to Halifax after our Iceland trip. We returned to Eldon
and Lois’s lakeside country estate and exclusive campground in Nova Scotia. We
stayed here several days, avoiding travel on the Memorial Day weekend. We
enjoyed the hospitality of neighbors, Art and Carol, before heading out to
catch the ferry to Newfoundland. We were several hours into our 16-hour cruise
when the ship returned to North Sydney, due to a medical emergency. Somehow the captain made up the time and delivered
us to Argentia, NL only an hour behind schedule.
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| Caribou |
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| East Coast Trail |
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| Old Man Birdhouse |
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| Pink Lady Slipper |
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| East Coast Trail
We spent the next week hiking the East Coast Trail and
exploring the Avalon Peninsula. We headed to St John’s and spent time with my
Aunt Catherine and her family. My Cousin Mary and her daughter Crystal flew up
from Florida. We gathered for a service for my deceased Aunt Bernie at the
family cemetery in Conception Harbor. Afterwards we celebrated the life of this
remarkable woman at Jason and Elysia’s (Catherine’s daughter) waterfront home. This
is the same home where my mother and her siblings were raised. Here I met
several of my Newfoundland cousins for the first time. We stayed in the St
John’s area for another week, hiking with family and enjoying great dinners out
and lobsters with Catherine and Hal. The four of us went on an interesting
underground tour at the #2 Iron Mine on Bell Island.
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| Moose in the campground |
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| Celebration of my Aunt Bernie's Life
Then we started our journey across Newfoundland. Our goal
was to see places we had not seen on our two previous trips across NL, but of
course, we had to return to some of our favorite places also. Elliston, with its
large Puffin population, is a place you never get tired of seeing. We attended
the Bonavista Festival and then we headed down the Burin Peninsula for the
first time to explore its history and hike its trails. On a remote section of
coast, miles from the nearest town of St Laurence, one of the US Navy’s
greatest disaster occurred. Three WWII war ships ran aground nearly simultaneously
and two sank, the USS Truxtun and USS Pollux. The heroic efforts of the locals
saved the lives of 326 sailors who, without their help, would have surely
perished with the 296 crewman that drown in the icy cold water. In recognition
of their valor and extraordinary efforts, the US Congress authorized the
construction of a hospital in St Laurence.
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| Puffin at Elliston
From here we headed to Terra Nova NP and spent several days
hiking. We had two moose walk through our campground. At Gander, we went to the
North Atlantic Aviation Museum. When 9/11 occurred, the US closed its airspace
and all incoming international flights were diverted to other airports. Thirty-eight
of these planes landed at Gander. The people of Gander opened their homes and
hearts to these strangers, providing food and shelter for 6,759 stranded travelers.
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| Hal and Catherine joined us at Bell Island Mine #2 Tour
We zig-zagged through central NL and ended up at Fleur-de-Lys,
a harbor town at the northern tip of the Baie Verte peninsula. The sheltered
harbor has been used for 4500 years, and a soapstone deposit was quarried by
the Dorset, 2000 years ago, to make cooking pots, bowls and oil lamps. We explored
this area and the nearby town of La Scie before heading to Gros Morne NP.
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| Gros Morne NP
This was our third visit here, but there is always something
new to discover in this 697 sq. mi. UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to
a great variety of hiking terrain, Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador puts on
professional, culturally rich performances at their Cow Head theater. We
attended three plays and learned more about the local customs, music and
history. In fact, we had been attending performances all over Newfoundland,
some more professional than others, but all were entertaining.
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| Fall Leaves |
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| American Toad
South of Gros Morne NP we drove through Stephenville, site
of a former USAF base, to get to the Port au Port peninsula. A Francophone
community populates this scenic area. This is the only officially bilingual
area in Newfoundland where you might hear Newfoundland French, a nearly extinct
dialect.
We
took the 6-hour ferry from Port au Basques to North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
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| Cedar Cove |
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| Sunset |
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