Travels of Nannie & Bubba: Newfoundland

Showing posts with label Newfoundland. Show all posts

August 24, 2014 Leaving Newfoundland

On our way down the western side of Newfoundland, we snapped a few pictures. We spent one last night at a campground 20 miles from the ferry landing at Port aux Basques, and left Newfoundland the next morning. Sad to leave. Really enjoyed it here. Wanna go back.

The whole west side of Newfoundland is the Long Range Mountains, and they are spectacular. When we first arrived and drove up the west side, I kept thinking that they resembled the Smoky Mountains. How right I was! Visit the link and read about it.....

Did I mention how bad the roads are in Newfoundland?
These signs mean bumpy road ahead, and trust me: they ain't kidding!

Lookie here, what do we see? A MOOSE!

Lovely sunset on our last night on Newfoundland.

Approaching Port aux Basques and the ferry:
The Long Range mountains.

One last ferry picture.....

There were a LOT of jellyfish by the ferry dock!

This guy has a lot of toys! He's taking them to Nova Scotia.

Good bye, Newfoundland! It was fantastic getting to know you.

Not a great picture, but here is evidence that we saw whales from the ferry.
We also saw lots of dolphins and white pelicans.

Hello again, Nova Scotia!

August 22, 2014 Western Brook Pond boat tour, Gros Morne National Park

Here we are back in Gros Morne National Park again. We decided to return to the west side of the island and take the shorter ferry ride back to Nova Scotia, so while over here we wanted to do the boat tour of Western Brook Pond. Good choice! There is a short 2 mile hike in to the boat dock which which we enjoyed a lot. (in spite of the cold wind...) The two-hour boat tour was amazing, and something I will remember for a long time. The day was overcast and chilly and threatening rain, but it didn't stop us or the boat tour. (I had on 4 layers....) The tour guide had tons of interesting information and explained quite a bit. Go to the link and read about this amazing place.

Beginning another adventure!

Boat dock with fjord in background.

This fellow was on the path and unafraid of us.....
It's a spruce grouse.

At the boat dock visitor center, the gray jays were fearless and hungry....

August 18, 2014 Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland

Signal Hill rises on a steep headland above the city of St. John's. There have been forts up here, and it has been used for signaling and defense as long as people have lived here. It overlooks a protected harbor with a narrow opening to the Atlantic. The day we came here was rainy and very windy and pretty chilly.... Especially up high! The Cabot Tower is the main feature left on top of the hill.

The harbor.

Very steep staircase up to top.

Small point of land on other side of harbor entrance.

Cabot Tower.

Trying to stay warm and dry, and failing....

August 17, 2014 Cape Spear, St. John's, Newfoundland

Cape Spear is as far east as you can go in North America. It is another one of those amazing rocky headlands that jut out into the Atlantic Ocean. What a dramatic place! We got lucky and visited here before the rains began.

The old Cape Spear lighthouse was operated by the same family for seven generations! Talk about dedication! The family lived in the house up until the 1950's......

The new automated lighthouse.

The old lighthouse, no longer in service

You would not believe the force of the wind up here.....

August 15, 2014 Baccalieu Trail, peninsula drive, Newfoundland

Today we did a coastal drive all the way around one of the peninsulas on the north side of Newfoundland. We passed through multiple small "Cove" towns, stopping here and there. The one we liked the best was at the tip-top of the peninsula, called Grates Cove. On the way back down to our campground, we stopped in Harbour Grace and found interesting stuff....

In Harbour Grace.

View of Grates Cove from atop "The Hill".

Hmmm.... This is what you find when you miss your turn....

While hiking up the boardwalk to the top of "The Hill", guess what I found?

You betcha! Wild blueberries, LOTS of em!

By the time we left, this ziploc was full-to-bursting with sweet blueberries.

And here is one of God's little blessings.
I guess you could call this a Lichen Rose, eh?

August 11, 2014 Bye-bye to Labrador, and on to points south and east.

This is the day we left Labrador and returned to Newfoundland. Strangely enough, the Labrador ferry landing is actually in Quebec, just a few miles from the Labrador border. So technically we can say we've been to Quebec! On our way down the west side of Newfoundland, we stopped to see The Arches. Pretty amazing!