Left Gander for Twillingate. There is no way to happen on Twillingate it is at the far end of a 3 hour drive with no alternate but to come back almost the entire way. So what’s the draw? Another lighthouse, the possibility of seeing an iceberg or two – we saw one waaay off in the distance, museums and historic sites and the Split Peas. The most impressive historic site is the Beothuk Archaeological Site. The Beothuk were a native group who survived until the 1800’s. This site goes back over 1,000 years showing that they were there well before the arrival of Europeans. The main building houses many artifacts and story boards depicting the site and the story of discovery. In the rain we set out on the trail to view the actual site from above. We were beset by mosquitoes as promised and the rain was no issue as we were prepared with rain gear. We returned to town and had dinner at My Cozy Tearoom, which is fine given the alternatives – few and slim pickin’s. Then on to Split Peas, seven women who have been singing together for 24 years, twice a week in season and on tour, in the past. It was a lot of fun, and someplace Carol has a photo of me dancing with one of the women dressed as a Mummer.
From Twillingate we set out on an intended long drive that got longer as our destination changed. We had planned a roadside overnight for midway through the drive to L’Anse Aux Meadow, where the first Viking colony in the New World was established. As it became apparent we would reach the site mid afternoon we decided to continue driving, beyond our planned 5 hours. Working the phone while Carol drove, I found a cancellation at a tiny campground in Cows Head in Gros Morne. Tiny as in 8 sites next to an equally tiny B&B. Here we sit facing the Gulf of St Lawrence with the wind at our back. To our left are two rigs with Canadians from Niagara Falls, ON and to our right is a nice Winnebago with NY plates from Tonawanda NY (between Buffalo and Niagara Falls NY), small world time!
Today we visited two more lighthouses, Cow Head and Lobster Cove, just outside Rocky Harbor. In between we took the Western Brook Pond boat tour. Any body of water is likely to be called a pond regardless of size, this one happens to be 16 miles long and over 600 feet deep. It is the defining locale of Gros Morne National Park. It is an inland freshwater fjord surrounded by towering cliffs forming a deep valley. The trip includes well done explanation of the geology and fun entertainment during the last part of the trip returning to the dock. Since the pond is well off the road and it is in the park, access is by foot over a fairly level well maintained 3 kilometer (1.8 mile) trail (hmm, I typed trial first). that is entry and then exit after two hours on the boat. The trail took us about 35 minutes each way.
We set out to explore Rocky Harbor, about 22 kilometers further away from our campground and after visiting the lighthouse, it was clear the return drive would make for a very late dinner. We checked into TripAdvisor and found Java Jacks Gallery and Restaurant very highly rated. On approaching we were fearful we would not get a table as the parking lot was jammed. I found a parking spot while Carol got us a table. I had Cod Fillet and Carol had vegetarian Shepherds Pie. Together with wine it was a wonderful dinner and I will eventually rate them very highly on TripAdvisor.
Tomorrow we continue on to L’Anse Aux Meadow and a visit with some Vikings.