ECS Days 20-22

August 13

Yep, another sunny day. so another hike, this time to the Cemetery and Fox Point.

The Cemetery is very overgrown, which is sad, but you can still see a few headstones, especially this of a 15 year-old girl:

Fox Point leads to yet another beach:

…with Greeps Head at the end. We were debating whether or not it was named that because it had Greeps (Bald Eagles) or LOOKED like a Greep, when we heard then saw two Greeps. Wow:

:

After lunch, I took a last walk on Western Beach.

We really recommend this area of Newfoundland, especially for campers though there is a Motel, a large B&B and probably many other places to stay. It’s off the beaten track for sure, but the location, the park, the ferry to Ramea (and beyond if you have time) are very special. We’re glad we returned. AND we’re glad we had such great weather. They say NOT to come in July (where we were last there) because of rain and fog. August seems just right.

Here’s the final view OF our chairs in Burgeo’s Sandbanks Park:

August 14

Sadly, time to leave Burgeo. We were up, dumped, filled with water, and on the road by 8:30.

We passed only 19 oncoming vehicles this time as we bounced our way through the potholes (but don’t let that deter you from visiting Burgeo).

We saw two Red Squirrels, a sign for “Pine Marten Sanctuary: No Snaring”, then FINALLY, the promised Moose (she was on the road and off before we could get a camera; we haven’t been skunked on seeing a Moose in all of our six trips here!).

We stocked up in Stephenville, then drove to Cape St. George. We passed Jerry’s Nose with its “Let’s Keep Those Frackers The Frack Outta Here” sign (there is oil in them thar hills).

We got to the Boutte du Cap Parc and found “our” spot for the night. There are places you want to visit only once, and there are others you want to return to again and again. This place is a return place for sure because of views like this:

I explored some, then a Leisure van with a couple from BC pulled in near us. We met Paul and Ann, shared beers and wine, and Newfoundland trip ideas (this was their first visit) and really enjoyed this special place.

We saw two seals, maybe a whale, and Gannets, Guillemots, and Kittiwakes.

Here’s the view of The View and our campsite:

August 15

Another sunny start to the day and goodbyes to Paul and Ann. We envy them their next four weeks.

We drove past Mainland to catch up on the two houses that seem to be in competition for some unusual rock decorating (we think this one is winning):

And saw an equally unusual, but natural, rock formation near Kippens:

At Codroy Provincial Park, one of our last stops on our Newfoundland visits, was VERY windy and cold, so no birds this trip (we’ve seen the Endangered Piping Plovers here in the past), but got a view of the Table Mountains, covered in mist:

Next stop was J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park for a blustery beach walk and, finally, a few birds:

We came in to Port Aux Basques, got some Fish and Chips at Alma’s and found a spot for the night at the Grand Bay West Beach Park. Thankfully, it was before September 21:

Here’s the final view of the View in Newfoundland. It was a great, short visit!

ECS Days 16-19

August 9

We were up bright and early and headed towards Stephenville for supplies and the road to Burgeo. Mandy found her way on to the slide again (where we found her after the ferry ride):

In Stephenville Crossing, we got groceries and then headed in to Stephenville for diesel (as instructed by the Coleman Grocery Store van driver). We got there and he showed up, probably to make sure we were okay. Love Newfoundlanders.

We headed down the 175 km road to Burgeo on the southern shore of Newfoundland. It’s the only road in and out. And it’s not the greatest road; in fact, there are the only “Pot Holes Ahead” signs we’ve ever seen. This is supposed to be Caribou country, but we saw nothing. We drove through three thunderstorms and met about 35 on-coming vehicles. But of course, Dave’s rule of the road prevailed. As we hit the WORST pot hole, we were met by an on-coming vehicle. So funny.

But even funnier was the VERY WORST pot hole right in front of the Highway Maintenance Depot!

We checked in to Site 11 ($41 for three nights, senior rate including seasonal Provincial Pass-crazy, huh?) at Sandbanks Provincial Park. We were here five years ago, with kayaks, in the pouring rain and fog; we knew it was beautiful and wanted to give it a second chance.

We settled in, walked three beaches (there are seven kms of sand beaches here) and picked some blueberries:

The best line today? When we commented on the generous generator hours (8:00 AM to midnight), the Park Ranger said, “We loves our generators in Newfoundland”!

Glad to be here for a few days. Here’s a view of the View and my man from my chair:

August 10

The fruits of yesterday’s labours:

It was pretty noisy last night, but the weekenders were all leaving today. By noon, the campground was almost empty.

We decided to ride the bikes in to town (no small feat when you start with a huge and long ascent out of the park). We road up and down each road, accompanied by the ringing of the church bell. The Anglicans even have someone who pulls the bell (I say he waved at me as we rode by; David says he was beckoning me inside!). We later learned that it wasn’t the priest as we thought. The man is paid $300 a year to ring that bell! It was so quaint to see the older ones walking to church. A great moment.

Burgeo is very pretty and so clean and filled with friendly people. Too bad there are so many hills!

THAT was a hard bike ride, but so worth it. After resting, I went for a walk on Western Beach and declared this a great day in Newfoundland.

A bonus was a sighting of a Boreal Chickadee, a new Life Bird for us! The evergreens around us are filled with Warblers, too:

Here’s another view of the View on Site 11:

August 11

We decided to take the ferry to Ramea, an outport island nearby. We road up that bloody hill again (oops, sorry) and a few more hills to the wharf for the 11:00 sailing.

Because of a festival on Ramea and a Go Home Weekend in Francois (pronounced Fran-SWAY), the ferry was delayed until 1:00. We hung around, met a lovely couple from Stephenville and talked with the guides from Coastal Adventures who were taking 10 people out to Francois by ferry and paddling back for eight days:

Those are our bikes, tied up for the journey:

Time passed, and the ferry arrived, and we had a great sail. We saw a lot of dolphins and one Hump-back Whale! We chatted with the Ramea school’s Vice Principal, a retired teacher from North Bay, Ontario, who has been there three years and will stay working for four more. Great insights into the town.

We rode our bikes around this small island and town of 500. With the fishery gone, things are very quiet. We kept wondering what people did beyond driving around, hanging out when the ferry comes in, or walking to the shops. It was a pretty if HILLY ride (David even MADE ME ride the boardwalk around 1/2 of the island!):

This scrap woodpile is collected all year and set fire to on Guy Fawkes Day when Ramea and Burgeo compete for the biggest fire (as told by our North Bay friend):

After riding and ice cream, we awaited the ferry and chatted with an older fisherman (and that was tough; that was a thick accent). So funny, at 5:00, the town was SILENT! The gentleman confirmed that it was dinner time and no one would be about.

It was a great sail back (Puffins and Dolphins everywhere):

Other than the hilly bike ride home, we had an amazing day!

August 12

We decided to stay two more nights since the weather looks so good.

We hiked to Western Beach and collected more blueberries:

On our way to Greep’s Lookout (Greep is the Newfoundlanders’ term for Bald Eagle) we chanced upon four or five Merlins (another Life Bird) bathing in a small pond (they’re called Barachois here: Bar-Shway):

We climbed a whole bunch of stairs and were rewarded by a whole bunch of beauty (and more blueberries):

It was such a sunny day.

I took another walk along the sandy beaches after lunch and actually found one huge piece of beach glass! That’s very rare here.

Another beautiful day at Sandbanks, and another view of the View:

ECS Days 13-15

August 6

Enough of the up and down roads of the South Shore; we’re off to Cape Breton. Really, it’s just a cross-country day with stops for supplies and a nice drive up the western part of Cape Breton.

We hit the Sunset Campground in Port Hood at 4:00 (Site 23, $42). Though the campground is crowded with mostly seasonal people and lots of small kids:

…it’s only a few steps from this:

Here’s the view from my chair (for all my friends who like to call us “Trailer Trash”):

August 7

So, we were in the midst of party central last night (three surrounding campers), and it started to rain hard, so the party ended. It was still raining in the morning, and we wished one of the party-ers (not out loud) a good day inside with his four small children and very big dog. Are we bad?

We headed to Inverness Beach (for some beach glass!) through Mabou, “Home of the Rankin Family”. There was even a sign for a Catholic Shrine on Rankin Road!

Wow, the beach and the glass, despite the rain and fog:

We stopped for goodies at the Inverness Cottage Workshop, a bakery run by the local Community Living. The workers were great and so were the cookies (Raisin and Molasses).

We decided not to complete the Cabot Trail (we had booked the Newfoundland Ferry for tomorrow!!!!) so headed across the Margaree Valley and its EIGHT Margaree-related towns (Upper Margaree, Margaree Forks, etc.).

We got to North Sydney and pulled in to our favourite spot beside the ferry, the Ocean View Park on Indian Beach. It’s a park, a fishing pier, a beach, a pavilion and a great free place to stay for the night. Oh, and I got more beach glass from this small beach and, in fact, parking lot, than I’ve got almost anywhere else.

We met Pete and Sandy from Bracebridge heading to Newfoundland for their first time. We loved sharing our favourites with them.

Lucky us, it was a music night at the pavilion. The music wasn’t great (or was it the sound system), but it was fun because everyone sits in their cars and toots their horns after each song:

Here are two Cat’s Eye Views:

…and the BEAUTIFUL view from my chair:

August 8

Here are our two rides for today:

It was a sunny day, a great day for a ferry ride. We left on time, had another good chat with Pete, and met five women who were heading to a friend’s 50th Wedding Anniversary in Codroy Valley.

It was nice to be on deck for a while:

…and we even saw a pod (?) of dolphins and the spouts of some whales! We hoped to hear some scheduled music at Scott’s Cove, but the lovely gent who chatted me up said that the performers were doing weddings and a 50th Wedding Anniversary in Codroy Valley (he loved that I knew about it!).

We got some chicken and headed to the Coleman’s Grocery Store parking lot we found last year for a night (with permission). We’re so happy to be in Newfoundland (Mandy’s fourth province).

Here’s the view from my chair: