NL July 21

Hiked 2.5 km

A day of surprises, beginning with no sunset last night (no surprise; fogged in).

First surprise was no gas stations are opened in the little towns before 10, 12 or 1. The second surprise was how far the MoHo can run on 1/4 tank! So we drove through to St. Anthony and got gas and coffee. As we were heading out, a truck pulled in beside us and we teased the driver about the stink of his cargo. Turned out to be shrimp and he said there’s nothing worse than that smell, and though HE cleans after he unloads, most drivers don’t. So there’s a constant stink and a spray that flies while driving. He told us to NEVER follow a shrimp truck.

The town was fogged in, so, no surprise, no whales to be seen (NOTHING to be seen) from the Fishing Point Lighthouse. So, giddy with a full tank of gas, we went exploring. First we took a look at the PBY Canso Water Bomber in town:

Then we took a cruise around the harbour. And there was a surprise concert from the Anglican Church’s bell tower.

Next was a trip to St. Anthony Bight and a surprise encounter with eight ducks in the middle of the road. Not sure what kind yet:

Then a surprise trail (John Pattey’s Trail) in pretty St. Carol’s:

(can you see us parked below?):

Other surprises were in Great Brehart: a sweet little fishing harbour, the cemetery, the Flat Point Trail and Partridgeberry Jam from the Jam House:

Along the way to these places were THE best roadside gardens and woodpiles:

And, though these towns had like 100 people tops, there had to be, surprisingly, 75 cars and trucks on the road.

We decided to just stop back in St. Anthony for some groceries and headed north to the Pistolet Bay Provincial Park (site 21). Our next surprise was that the park was no longer offering guided tours of the Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve (though advertised and a main reason we headed here).

We headed to Raleigh, a picturesque fishing village:

and found the Reserve. We drove to the parking lot, almost got stuck and left that dream behind.

We decided to try out Ship Cove and Cape Onion and received another surprise: three icebergs:

Back at the campground, we had dinner, visited with people, and decided to move on tomorrow.

And, to no one’s surprise, we didn’t see a moose (though it seems everyone else has), but we did see a mouse:

…and a campground rabbit:

Not surprisingly, another great day in Newfoundland!

Here’s the view of my chair: