Moose On The Rocks

So we finally made it to Newfoundland.  I can't say it's been a lifelong dream to come here but it has been about a decade in the making and I am very excited to be here even though it's chilly. 

Now, to me it doesn't feel as cold as it did the last few days were when we were in Nova Scotia, but it is still a far cry from what I wish it was.  And I can't really speak for all of the weather when we were in Nova Scotia because all of our time in Nova Scotia was spent sleeping inside. We haven't camped since Maine, which was over two weeks ago.  That said, I could stand for it to be a little warmer.  Hell, even the Newfies are complaining that it's too cold.  And they are made for this kind of weather.  Of course, the colder it is, the less we see of the mosquitoes and the flies, so maybe that's a plus.  We were introduced to the Newfoundland mosquito last night.  I never want to see him again.  He is a jerk. 

We spent the majority of yesterday on the ferry.  It was a pretty swanky boat.  I've been on ferries before but they were always so utilitarian - uncomfortable seats and maybe a snack bar.  This one was like a small cruise ship.  Several restaurants, bars, lounges, a theater, game room, computer room, store, etc, all totally decked out to the point that, aside from the bobbing and sway, you'd never know you were on a boat.  It was a very comfortable way to spend seven hours or so but at the same time it does not have me yearning to go on a cruise. I didn't get any photos of the inside of the boat so you will have to take my word for it.  We went out on the deck for a bit but it was cold and oh so windy so that did not last.

Andersons on the high seas.

 We got in around 6pm and getting off the boat was a snap.  We drove around Port aux Basques for a bit and then hit the highway towards Cape Ray, which is only about 15 minutes down the road.  We stayed at the JT Cheeseman Provincial Park which is a nice little park that I wish we had more time to appreciate.  The park has a beach so we went there first to get some shots before heading back to set up camp.

There is a reason Newfoundland is called "The Rock".  Everything is rock and it is everywhere and all the buildings and communities are built right into it.  Makes for a very beautiful place.

The Cape Ray Lighthouse, taken from quite far away.

The beach at JT Cheeseman Provincial Park.  Believe it or not the water was not half bad.  Not that I went swimming.  I only stuck my hand in.  It was refreshing but it was enough.

We had a beautiful camp site and, it being so early in the season for camping, I think we were one of maybe four parties in the entire camp, and there was no one anywhere close to where we were.  Our camp site sloped down on one side into a stream that had a sweet waterfall and tiny little rapids, so we slept amidst the sound of rushing water.  It was most tranquil.  I spent a little time playing guitar and singing on the edge of that slope.  Krissy got some of it on video, which I will post to YouTube at some point soon.  Despite having both a guitar and a mandolin in the car this was actually the first chance I've had to play the whole time we've been gone.  And, as I've been listening to other music in the car, I haven't heard any of my own tunes for a bit and, let's just say, I was a bit rusty.  Need to get back on that horse.

Singing songs about Newfoundland in Newfoundland.  Yeah, I'm that guy.  "Hell yeah we made it".  Hell yeah, indeed.

 
Oh yeah, and the temperature last night was not bad.  I mean, you guys at home would have said it was freezing, but it was relatively pleasant, especially compared to the few days prior.  Tonight, however, as I am writing this in my tent, it is freezing.  Or at least very close to it.   More on that later.

We woke up this morning and broke camp quickly and started on our way to Gros Morne National Park.  Krissy was having some ear issues and was concerned she had an ear infection so we had to make a detour through a clinic, which was actually in the hospital in Corner Brook.  Turned out it wasn't an infection, just a lot of buildup and pressure pain, and the doc fixed her up and she was all smiles and we went on our way.

I have to stop here and comment on the scenery in Newfoundland.  What an amazing juxtaposition of land types.  Driving down the highway and on one side of you is the sea which melds into a bog, and on the other side are some of the boldest and most majestic mountains the east coast has to offer.  And not off in the distance either, like right there.  The Table Mountains are some of the most impressive.  Just these massive plateaus that go on for miles and extend into the Tablelands portion of Gros Morne as well.  They were formed because, oh about 500 million years ago, they were once part of the ocean floor and when the continents collided they somehow got "caught in the vice", which is a geological rarity, if not anomaly.  The result, besides being stunning, is the best-preserved example of the seabed form from that period.  It is because of that, as well as other biological and geological wonders that gave it its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the second such site that we have visited thus far on our trip.  We shall see many more of the wonders that this park has to offer over the next five days while we are here.

That flat bit is only a small example of the Table Mountains.  These things are bold.  There shall surely be more and better examples to come, hopefully on a sunny day so that the photos will actually look as awesome as they really do.

The sun came out for a minute while we were driving through the park.  What a difference that makes.

My biggest piece of exciting news is that, after all the time I've spent in Canada over the years, I have never seen a moose.  I have looked, I have even made special trips in order to be in the same place where a moose would be at the time the moose should have been there and it was still always a bust.  In fact I was beginning to think that moose really did not exist and it was all just a widespread conspiracy to pull a fast one on me.  Well, that's all changed because today I saw not just one, but three moose.  Everyone said that I was coming to the right place to see a moose and they were right.  Fortunately none of those moose ran out in front of my car so we are all still friends.

Real!  By George, they are real!

 This was the third moose that we saw.  The first one was along the highway, behind a fence, so we couldn't stop for that and the photo of the second one was too blurry.  We saw this guy as we headed in to one of the nearby villages, Rocky Harbour.  While we were there we made our way over to Lobster Cove (the most delicious cove of them all) to see the lighthouse and walk around for a bit.  Also, in town there is a blue whale that had beached.  We have a photo of that but I won't share it because, well, it is a dead whale and it is very sad - apparently there were four such occurrences all pretty much at the same time, a terrible mystery as of yet.  Though the whale was relatively small for its size it was still bigger than a bus.  A most majestic creature indeed.

So I will show you the Lobster Cove Lighthouse instead.  I would rather show you lobster on my plate, and then in my belly.  But the lighthouse will have to do.  Lighthouses are cool.  Especially ones like this that are just built right into the rock.  Like I told you, Newfoundlanders don't mess around.

 Anyway, we made it to camp and got all set up and went for a hike around the lake and then made dinner.  Unfortunately, as the sun went down, the cold just got colder.  It is currently about 39 degrees outside our tent, not much warmer inside.  It is supposed to get all the way to freezing tomorrow night.  I'm pretty tough when it comes to cold (so long as there is no wind)....I'm sitting here in the tent, typing this, half out of my sleeping bag, wearing a t-shirt and am comfortably chilly.  Krissy thinks I am either crazy or some kind of cyborg (or both) and she is currently on the other side of the tent, dressed in many layers and wrapped in many more, not at all pleased with the temperature and possibly cooking up alternate plans for the rest of the week.  And I don't blame her.  I would rather it be warm but I'd also rather be here so hmm.

I think now would be a good time for me to admit that yeah, perhaps I jumped the gun on planning this trip, just a wee bit.  Perhaps we should have spent more time in New England, maybe let it get slightly warmer before we made our way this far north.  I dunno.  I guess it's too late for that.  We are still having a wonderful time and this trip is full of memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.  Even cold nights like these.  I would still rather be in a 30-some-odd degree tent in a park in Newfoundland where the air is clean and the birds are whistling than in an apartment in Alexandria, trying desperately to get to sleep so that I can wake up way too early the next day and drive through hell just to get to some job that I don't even like.  No way.  This, dear readers, is the life, no matter how it is playing out.

This was taken while walking around the lake at the campground.  This might have to be used for an album cover at some point.  It kinda reminds me of the sleeve to Islands by The Band or maybe Up At The Lake by The Charlatans.

And the award for the World's Most Stubborn Tree goes to...

Okay, postscript:  the battery in my laptop died before I could finish adding the photos to this entry and publish it.  It is now 8:45am and we made it through the night.  It was cold going but I think we both slept okay.  My air mattress has a leak somewhere and, for the second day in a row, I woke up pretty much on the ground.  I'm hurtin' a bit.  It is a crisp 41 degrees outside, and a bit windy.  It is supposed to make it all the way up to 51 today  - balmy!  One side of the sky is grey and scary looking, the other side is sunny with puffy clouds and I can't seem to figure out which side is poised to win this battle.  If you sit facing the sun it feels warm.  Kinda.  I'll go with that.

Today we plan on exploring the park a bit and hike a couple of trails perhaps.  Someone told us it was going to rain a bit today but it's not in the forecast so I dunno.  We might also drive around the coast, maybe grab a bite to eat in one of the tiny villages that dot the coastline.  Whatever we end up doing, you'll be sure to hear about it in the next episode of The Blog, aka "The Cold Chronicles".

So long as we heed this sign.