Woke Monday morning to blustery winds and light cloud cover. However, had to hop on the bike and hope things would improve....which I am delighted to say they did! Our road back to the Trans Canada wound along the coast through more picturesque towns and lovely ocean shore views. Wind was light, making the drive very pleasant.
Our goal was to reach Deer Lake, which we managed to do in fairly good time. We got there around supper time and were grateful that our driving day had gone so well...put about 600 km. on the bike. rain and wind started later in the evening so the bike got a bath but we didn't! :)
Tuesday the morning's light cloud cover soon turned into bright sunshine and little wind so we were very grateful to the weather god. Our plan, providing the weather was good, was to spend the morning exploring Gros Morne National Park...a world heritage sight because of the fact that the geological formations there have allowed scientists to better understand the science and implications around Teutonic plates. The park covers 695 square miles in the Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's western coast.
Here is a photo of us in front of Burridge's Gulch...a hanging valley formed by glaciers...explanation below. The gulch is directly above our heads...
We could not have asked for a more perfect day to explore the area. We had been warned by lots of folks about how difficult the ride was on a bike when there was wind, which apparently there usually is. Imagine our delight to have virtually no breeze at all, other than that which naturally happens on a bike. The road was winding and curvy...always fun on a bike! Mountain vistas and vast expanses of ocean and lake views greeted us around every corner. We hope our pictures do it some justice...
We continued north up the coast to the end of the park...houses interspersed with scrubby fields along the way. Imagine if it had been windy this stretch would have been challenging.
Loved this spot...two red lawn chairs all by themselves in the middle of nowhere (can you see them?). It was inviting and would have been fun to stop there and just "be", but since there was nowhere to pull over (barely any shoulder and what there was was rough gravel and not a good place to stop) ...had to content ourselves with this photo memory.
We made it almost to the end of the park. There is a well-known hike near the northern edge of the park called Western Brook Pond, but we didn't have the 45-60 minutes needed for the hike...next time this will definitely be on our Gros Morne to do list!
Turned around and headed back down the road. The wonderful thing about doing a drive from both directions is that you see totally different things on the return trip. We have always found this to be true and the drive back didn't disappoint. We decided to take a road into the little town of Rocky Harbour. Stopped for coffee and a salad. It appears there is a lot of tourist activity in the area as we spotted lots of bed and breakfast signs and a couple of larger hotels.
At the end of town there were a bunch of rental log cabins...and it was obviously laundry day. Loved this pic of the sheets blowing in the ocean breeze. Bet that bedding smelled heavenly!
As we continued back down the highway we spotted a town across the bay and wondered how one got to it....
We pulled off the road up a small hill and were surprised to have this vista in front of us...one never knew what would be just around the corner or just out of site..
Along the way we saw evidence of logging operations...on the top right of the next photo. I have a faint recollection of having heard about some controversy surrounding logging in this area...will have to google it to find out if my memory is faulty or not.
A few miles further we saw a turn off to Middle Brook and Trout River...so thought we'd take it and see where it led..and low and behold it led to the town we had seen in the photo three pics back...
Alas, too soon it was time to head back and get back to the Trans Canada in order to get to Port au Basques before nightfall...a trip of about 270 km. It was a long day of riding but the sights along the way and the beautiful weather made it a very memorable day on the blue machine!
We got to Port au Basques and checked into our hotel. Had a light supper and decided to do a load of laundry. Luckily as Harry was done putting some money in the dryer he passed by an open window and heard music, so invited me to get my coat on and go exploring. WELL....am I glad we did. It was THE perfect way to end our time on the rock.
Just at the bottom of the hill from our hotel there was a little farmers' market and a four piece band playing in the bandshell nearby...authentic Newfoundland songs and music. (The bandshell is the white and blue structure just to the right in the photo.)
So, we decided to dance...mostly we were the only ones doing so but it didn't matter a bit (the guy in the band in the blue shirt seemed delighted we were up on the dance floor)...it was just so much fun, with a full moon in the background and twinkling lights in the harbour, it will remain one of our favorite trip memories I think...
Tomorrow morning we leave this magical island and will begin getting closer to home...til later keep smiling and remember "never regret anything that made you smile"!
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