Lots more photos this week, and a couple of stories for you. If you wish to skip the banter and jump straight to the photos, please go here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crisp_travels/sets/72157699959927764
The first story relates the some of the early photos this week, and might be titled “Happy Anniversary — how do you like your gift of capelin and cod?”
So after waking up in the Subway parking lot on our 39th anniversary, we decided to look for a more scenic spot for breakfast ;-) Watching the GPS and seeing various roads toward the ocean, we picked one and found an old-timer to ask if it was OK to park there — “Oh sure you can park there as long as you want … hey, have you ever seen the capelin run?” Next thing I know he’s talking Carol’s ear off and pointing at the shore line. I have never seen such a mass of fish in one place. The shoreline was black with them. These are capelins, we are told, and they run twice a year here. This is their spawning process, similar to salmon, and they will soon die after birthing the next generation. So locals can come and scoop them up; apparently they make fine eating. Later that morning, another fisherman pulls his boat in and starts to chat, and offers us one of his limit catch of five cod. A very nice offer, but since we're vegan, we politely declined ;-) But I will say Newfoundlanders are the most friendly people we’ve met so far.
The second story relates to five photos buried in the middle of the pack. The title of the story would be something like “Between a rock and a hard place.” Which would not literally be true, but you'll get the idea. So after a long day of driving, we came across the little known Chance Cove Provincial Park. We enjoyed our last provincial park, and it was pretty late in the day, so we thought we would give it a go. Five miles later over a very rough rocky road we get there. It’s small, loaded with trailers (which turn out to be parked there for the season, with no one in them), and for the first time in Newfoundland we’re surrounded by black flies.
As much as we dreaded the idea of taking that road again so soon, we’re driving it again. And I keep hearing this minor thump-thump in the passenger-side dualies. So when we finally get to the main road, I stop and check the tire pressure to see if I have a flat. Nope — all the tires have the correct pressure, so we head out on the road, until we hear THUMP-THUMP and can go no faster than 10 mph. After a mile or so I find a spot to pull over (they don’t waste any money on breakdown lanes here ;-). And sure enough, there is a large rock wedged between the two tires. Carol and I spent about an hour trying to remove it, and eventually let out enough air that both rear tires are flat. Still no luck. Finally a Good Samaritan stops and offers to bring over a very large sway-bar to see if that will help. Still no luck (these are notoriously hard to remove), until he cleverly finds a way to have me roll the RV forward, secure the bar, and then back up enough to force the rock out. Yeah! About 30 minutes more for my trusty Ryobi battery-operated inflator to air-up both tires, and we are off. Phew! (And for the record, we have now purchased more tools to hopefully help us resolve such a situation on our own, just in case.)
So anywho, Week #4 includes leaving Cape St. Mary’s in the fog, and heading off to explore the North Avalon Peninsula. Our first stop is Blackhead, one of many small fishing villages, and this is where the capelin and cod story comes from. The eastern coast is very dramatic with high cliffs meeting the Atlantic, and culminates at the tip of Bay de Verde (supposedly world famous for its rock walls — but they don’t know about New Englanders ;-) Ultimately we camp for a couple of days at Outside Pond, which has a wonderful swimming area, and nearby trails. This is another example where more than 65 of their 100-odd campsites are occupied by seasonal campers (basically they own the spot for the season; indeed often in perpetuity for a very modest price). This is a very inexpensive alternative to a cottage on the lake, and somebody even comes by to pick up the trash ;-) Anyways, it’s a nice area as you’ll see in the photos, along with my red squirrel buddy on one of my early morning adventures.
Moving down the western coast of this peninsula was somewhat less scenic, so we decide to take a back road the heads over to the other side. This is not where the GPS wanted me to go, but I tried it anyway, and amazingly we run into a couple we met earlier and have bumped into 3 or 4 times; what a remarkable coincidence! So we decide to have dinner together after walking around the towns of Brigus and Cupids. The next morning Carol and I hiked the Burnt Head Trail to both great scenery and delicious blueberries!
We next decide to head south around the Avalon Peninsula, and make a brief visit to Salmonier Nature Park, which houses indigenous Newfoundland animals that have been injured, for rehabilitation, or to avoid being euthanized. The southern part is sparsely populated, and after reaching the point and heading back north east, you’ll see my video which I call “Nowhere”. Thistle Dew Too’s motto is “Nowhere to be and all day to get there”. Well, we finally got there ;-) Finally you’ll see Chance Cove and my rock story photos, followed by our current camping area La Manche Provisional Park, which is very nice, and has some nearby trails (which, of course, you will also get to see ;-)
So that does it for the Week #4 overview; bravo if you made it this far. Again, here is the link to our Week #4 photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crisp_travels/sets/72157699959927764
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