Plum Point to St. Anthony... and Gros Morne
An amazing day - as they all have been! This morning I was up again at 5AM and like a mouse, I packed my bike and I head out to St. Anthony and L'anse aux Meadows.
The drive to St. Anthony was a mystical delight - fog rolling over the road, at times I would drive under it and other times through it - being ever careful for moose... didn't see a one though!
In St. Anthony I headed out to the end of the road - Fishing Point. There was a lighthouse there and there were trucks all lined up with men sitting in them looking to the water. I asked one guy what was up and he says, "Well, see we all gets our coffee and come's out here's for a chat and to watch the whales and icebergs before we goes to work... there's one - see that fluke..." and like that I was entranced! We saw three whales breach and one blow - they were chasing the caplin. And then, the same fellow says, "And see dat der iceberg through de fog..." And sure enough there it was barely visible through the fog. Here is a link to the story in the local paper.
With my senses full of whales and icebergs I was reminded that my belly was empty. I headed to a local restaunt and enjoyed a fishcake breakfast! Yum Yum! Between bites I uploaded some pictures and chatted with Anna and a few friends on Facebook.
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With my belly full I headed to L'anse Aux Meadows. It was a beautiful morning. Walking down to the site I met some folk from Winnipeg who were members of the United Church - Atlantic Garden City. I told them of my connection to Augustine United and we spoke of the upcoming General Council. They told me that there minister is going - I told them that I was going and I promised to make contact with their minister in Ottawa - its a small world!
It was about this time that I realized that I was coming down with a cold. My throat had been scratchy and now my nose was running. Not good.
Al and I had planned to meet at the Irving next to the Motel around 1PM. My timing was going to be tight. Do I take the shorter road - the one I took on the way up? Or do I take a different road? My philosphy of trying not to travel the same road twice won out and I turned off the 430 onto the 432 toward Main Brook.
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This is a "protected road" so there is no building allowed. It was a fine road. No traffic. Nary a moose either! I filled up with gas at Main Brook, got some Fisherman's Friends - hoping they would soothe my sore throat. What they didn't do the scenery did! Before I knew it, I was at the Irving and Al was ready to go...
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Southward we went on RTE 430 (The Viking Trail). More beautiful scenery that even my cold could not diminish! At Parson's Pond we stopped at a little store and I got some cold meds (the non drowsy kind and given the weather was nice and forecast to continue to be that way, we decided to camp at the south end of Gros Morne. I tried to stop and take pictures - but eventually the desire to just enjoy the road won out and I gave into the temptation to carve some of those beautiful corners coming down into the valley and rising again to the tabletop area.
At Wiltondale we stopped for gas and decided to eat before we heading in to find a campground. Eat we did. Al had a traditional caplin dinner and I had moose stew! Awesome! I also had an Iceberg Beer, brewed by the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company in St. John's. Went well with the moose!
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At the little store next door I bought a Quidi Vidi sampler pack and tucked each bottle away in various places on the bike - and we headed in to find a campground, ending up at Lomond Lodge. It's a beautiful place - except for the constant sound of the generator 50 yards away from me.
After setting up camp I had a shower and then we met some of our neighbours - Darren and his son came over and said hello - offering us space in their cooler for the beer. We shared a few stories - Darren rides too - a Suzuki Marauder. He's put 300KM on it this year.
As the evening progressed Al and I made the decision to forego running across the Island. We're just going to stay on the west side. On the 6th we will take a run up to Trout River through Gros Morne and then turn around and head into Deer Lake. Phil MacLean, son of David and Catherine MacLean, and brother to Donna Tourner has a dairy farm in the area - we hope to stop in and see his setup. Donna had said David and Catherine were there - but as it turns out they are leaving on the 6th - catching the afternoon boat... Al has a friend in Corner Brook that he wants to see and then we thought we'd take a run down to Burgeo, on the south shore of Newfoundland - just to say we'd been there - before we go and visit Walter.
As I finish writing this, its 8:30 AM on Friday morning. I slept unti 7AM and as far as I know, Al is still asleep - hope he wakes up soon!!
Full size pictures for the day can be found here.
The drive to St. Anthony was a mystical delight - fog rolling over the road, at times I would drive under it and other times through it - being ever careful for moose... didn't see a one though!
In St. Anthony I headed out to the end of the road - Fishing Point. There was a lighthouse there and there were trucks all lined up with men sitting in them looking to the water. I asked one guy what was up and he says, "Well, see we all gets our coffee and come's out here's for a chat and to watch the whales and icebergs before we goes to work... there's one - see that fluke..." and like that I was entranced! We saw three whales breach and one blow - they were chasing the caplin. And then, the same fellow says, "And see dat der iceberg through de fog..." And sure enough there it was barely visible through the fog. Here is a link to the story in the local paper.
With my senses full of whales and icebergs I was reminded that my belly was empty. I headed to a local restaunt and enjoyed a fishcake breakfast! Yum Yum! Between bites I uploaded some pictures and chatted with Anna and a few friends on Facebook.
.jpg)
With my belly full I headed to L'anse Aux Meadows. It was a beautiful morning. Walking down to the site I met some folk from Winnipeg who were members of the United Church - Atlantic Garden City. I told them of my connection to Augustine United and we spoke of the upcoming General Council. They told me that there minister is going - I told them that I was going and I promised to make contact with their minister in Ottawa - its a small world!It was about this time that I realized that I was coming down with a cold. My throat had been scratchy and now my nose was running. Not good.
Al and I had planned to meet at the Irving next to the Motel around 1PM. My timing was going to be tight. Do I take the shorter road - the one I took on the way up? Or do I take a different road? My philosphy of trying not to travel the same road twice won out and I turned off the 430 onto the 432 toward Main Brook.
.jpg)
This is a "protected road" so there is no building allowed. It was a fine road. No traffic. Nary a moose either! I filled up with gas at Main Brook, got some Fisherman's Friends - hoping they would soothe my sore throat. What they didn't do the scenery did! Before I knew it, I was at the Irving and Al was ready to go... .jpg)
Southward we went on RTE 430 (The Viking Trail). More beautiful scenery that even my cold could not diminish! At Parson's Pond we stopped at a little store and I got some cold meds (the non drowsy kind and given the weather was nice and forecast to continue to be that way, we decided to camp at the south end of Gros Morne. I tried to stop and take pictures - but eventually the desire to just enjoy the road won out and I gave into the temptation to carve some of those beautiful corners coming down into the valley and rising again to the tabletop area.
At Wiltondale we stopped for gas and decided to eat before we heading in to find a campground. Eat we did. Al had a traditional caplin dinner and I had moose stew! Awesome! I also had an Iceberg Beer, brewed by the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company in St. John's. Went well with the moose!.jpg)
At the little store next door I bought a Quidi Vidi sampler pack and tucked each bottle away in various places on the bike - and we headed in to find a campground, ending up at Lomond Lodge. It's a beautiful place - except for the constant sound of the generator 50 yards away from me.
After setting up camp I had a shower and then we met some of our neighbours - Darren and his son came over and said hello - offering us space in their cooler for the beer. We shared a few stories - Darren rides too - a Suzuki Marauder. He's put 300KM on it this year.
As the evening progressed Al and I made the decision to forego running across the Island. We're just going to stay on the west side. On the 6th we will take a run up to Trout River through Gros Morne and then turn around and head into Deer Lake. Phil MacLean, son of David and Catherine MacLean, and brother to Donna Tourner has a dairy farm in the area - we hope to stop in and see his setup. Donna had said David and Catherine were there - but as it turns out they are leaving on the 6th - catching the afternoon boat... Al has a friend in Corner Brook that he wants to see and then we thought we'd take a run down to Burgeo, on the south shore of Newfoundland - just to say we'd been there - before we go and visit Walter.
As I finish writing this, its 8:30 AM on Friday morning. I slept unti 7AM and as far as I know, Al is still asleep - hope he wakes up soon!!
Full size pictures for the day can be found here.
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