I have a couple of days to catch up on, and I don't know when this will post as we have an awful internet connection. We are currently int the small northern coastal town of Twillingate, Newfoundland, about 300 miles east of Rocky Harbor. Twillingate is such a quaint, (there is no other word) picturesque fishing village. More on this place later, let me back up a bit and fill in some blank spots. We left our Gros Morne cabin behind, getting an early start because we had more hiking to do before we left the area.
Sad saying goodby to these little cabins. . .
About an hour’s drive down a long and winding route we arrived at a place called the Tablelands, another part of Gros More National Park. It is likely only about 20 or so miles from the cabin by air, but close to 100 miles by road.
We had to drive around this body of water…
The Tablelands are one of two sites on earth where mantle rock lies exposed on the surface. It is also just about the worst soil on the planet, according to one sign we read. The visitors center was so well done, with all sorts of displays and exhibits of the geology of the area. Even Harper had a good time.
No, really, Harper is having a good time.
Since today was a travel day and we have already driven an hour or so out of our way and spent a lot of time in the visitor center, we elected to make it a shorter rather than longer hike.
At the trailhead
It was really an amazing landscape, split down the middle by the road. On one side was the barren landscape of the exposed mantle and on the other side of the road was lush forested hills, supporting moose and caribou. It was a very interesting place. We added lots of new flowers to our list, things that just don't grow elsewhere.
Canadian burnet, thank goodness for plant identification apps.
The most intriguing plant was the Purple Pitcher Plant, a plant that eats insects. They lined the sides of the small streams, waiting for their prey. We were afraid for Harper. . . not really.
Purple Pitcher Plant - eats bugs!
Even the stones lying all around looked foreign, because they were. The coolest was Serpentinite, which was black with white veins running through out, in a crisscrossed manner. We hiked and there was an area where Harper could run free and explore.
On the Tablelands trail
Harper liked wading in the small streams and sniffing all the new smells. This is truly an amazing geological site. I am so glad Carol convinced me to make this side trip, well worth the few hours of driving.
It was a strange landscape, almost back to the car.
Back on the road, we listened to our audio book and chatted and talked with the kids. We made our way to the town of Grand Falls by late afternoon and checked into another hotel that just did not live up to expectations. Actually the whole town of Grand Falls, NL didn't live up to expectations. We could not find a decent restaurant for supper and absolutely nothing was open for breakfast, with the exception of Tim Hortons - Canada's version of Dunkin Donuts. Tim Hortons is fine, good coffee and good food but we wanted a regular sit-down breakfast, not a muffin and a cuppa to go. I complained bitterly to the front desk at checkout about the room, mostly because it was so overpriced. It was $250 once all the Canadian taxes and fees were added and had no fridge, no microwave, only two outlets, no USB ports, and the tv didn't work and a few other things. I got a discount. Sometimes you just have to speak up. On average we have been spending around $125 Canadian per night and most places have been just fine or exceeded our expectations. Our cabin on the beach was only $130 a night and it was a cabin! In a couple of days we have an AirBNB for the $150 and it is a whole house. Grrrrr. Sorry for the rant.
Twillingate, coastal towns are so darned interesting to me.
Yesterday, after our Tim Hortons 'breakfast' we drove to Twillingate. It rained off and on and worse weather was predicted but didn't develop. We explored the town and and got settled into a nice place overlooking the harbor. This town is visual excellence, a real treat for the eyes. The paint store here must be booming as almost every home is painted a unique color, and they all seem to either be right on the waters edge or clinging to the rocky landscape.
Don’t ask. . .
We drove around and explored the town and got lobster rolls and such for supper. We had made plans a while back when planning this trip to go to the Sunday night 'Shed Party', a local weekly happening through the summer. It actually took place in somebody's shed. As we entered we were told to select an instrument and a hat. We did, as did everyone. It was a mother and daughter who performed..well the entire audience also performed. People were selected to dance or form a conga line.
Everybody participates!
I was selected and up out of my seat three times - once I was a unicorn in a chorus line, this was not pretty. However it was all good fun and it had been a very long time since I dosie-doed. They also served brownies and gingerbread that 'Mom' made that afternoon and iced water with ice from icebergs. They were gathered by the daughter when the icebergs come past the town in early summer. It was a fun evening and I am glad we were a part of it all.
Long Point Lighthouse
This morning’s breakfast was also problematic but we got it worked out. We explored more and made a trip up to the Lighthouse at Long Point where we hiked a bit and did the tour of the lighthouse. The light house was lit in 1876 after several years of construction. The materials and the works of the lighthouse came here by boat. Then hauled straight up the cliffs. They didn’t get electricity run to the light until 1969, the year I met Carol.
They hauled it up these cliffs!!
I got in a sketch of the lighthouse and Harper made friends. Carol was nervous as the land had a lot of unprotected edges that drop off to the sea far below. Carol had a fear that neither Harper or I were smart enough to keep from falling off the edge. It worked out and we made it back away from the edge safely. The views of the cliffs and the ocean are stunning in this area of the world.
Amazing hiking along the ocean.
We found a small cafe near the lighthouse and had a soup and sandwich lunch. Harper got a few bites as well. We then found a fabric store, Carol shopped, I sketched and then we were off to a museum, which turned out to be closed, but we found another. We are back at the room now, it is late afternoon, and soon we are going to a dinner theatre for supper.
What a view.
UPDATE: The dinner show was fantastic. I had Cod and Carol had Salmon, a great meal in this little seaport town. We sat at a table of six. There was Carol and I and two ladies from Calgary and a couple from Brantford, Ontario. Carol’s cousins are from the Brantford area, a small town called Norwich. There was lots to talk about. Allan, the husband from Brantford, is a photographer and he shoots with a Nikon 750, the very camera I have used for the last several years of Nikon shooting. We shared lots of stories of photography and travel. Carol had some great conversations going the other way around the table. Supper came and went, dessert came and went, and the lights dimmed. The the show began, local musicians all, and it was such an enjoyable evening.
The musicians at the Dinner Theatre
Newfoundland folks are indeed, quite likely the friendliest people in the world, and they seem to bring out the best in others.These musicians seemed to be able to play just about any instrument. One guy was on guitar, another on accordion and the third guy played several. He played guitar, mandolin, accordion, bodhran (drum) fiddle, a couple of different banjos and a strange looking eight stringed instrument that I could not identify. And there were two lady singers, both had great voices and played something I can only describe as a black egg, shaking it in rhythm with the music. It apparently made a noise that my ears are incapable of hearing. Between songs, which were all introduced with their history, song writer and who first performed then, they cast put on some very funny skits. Newfoundland humor is very funny, sometime a touch rude, but always funny. It was a great evening.
The gallery below has more images, click an image to enlarge
