ZR-1 Road Trip to Newfoundland & Labrador Canada

[WARP TEN]

Hi Jim--
Love your pics and travelogue as usual. I wish I could get Dede interested in a road trip like some of yours, but no joy on that! If I want one I will probably have to drive myself to our destinations and fly her in! --Bob

[QB93Z]

Day 13: For our first day in Newfoundland we started out by driving east from Port aux Basque to see the oldest granite construction lighthouse. The terrain on the southern coast of Newfoundland is amazing. There is only a small amount of scrub plants and lots of rock. There are many standing pools of water:



We drove 30 miles to the end of the roads on the southern shore and walked up the hill in the morning fog to find the beautiful Rose Blanche Lighthouse:





Almost magically, the fog cleared and we got a better view of the lighthouse built in 1871:





to be continued.......

[QB93Z]

On the way back to Port au Basque, we stopped at a 1-pump gas station. The owner has had the business for 16 years and provides a valuable service for the residents.




He also has a nice guard cat named Tiger:




We headed to the southwest part of the island and photographed Cape Ray Lighthouse:




We found the rocky coast very interesting:




Working our way up the west side of Newfoundland, we stopped at Cape Anguille Lighthouse:




to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

We drove north along the western side of Newfoundland on the Viking Trail. The road is in excellent condition and there was very little traffic and plenty of passing lanes on the hills. The terrain became mountainous, adding to the already majestic scenery.




We arrived at Rocky Harbor, a small village in the Gros Morne National Park. Or lodging for two day is the Gros Morne Cabins:



The facilities here are excellent We did a quick laundry visit for the second time of the trip and then relaxed to enjoy the beautiful view of the bay:



And we we enjoyed a beautiful sunset:




Jim

[Fully Vetted]

Jim, on these long trips like this and Alaska how much do you preplan and how much is just off the cuff? Every time we plan one out we end up missing stuff because we have to get somewhere. We always do better just winging it.

[QB93Z]

Originally Posted by Fully Vetted

Jim, on these long trips like this and Alaska how much do you preplan and how much is just off the cuff? Every time we plan one out we end up missing stuff because we have to get somewhere. We always do better just winging it.

Hi Dave, our trips are very carefully and completely planned. Back in 2009, Lyndi and I went on a trip where we tried to ad lib on the go. It did not work out well for us. The burden on the non-driver, Lyndi, to search for a hotel or attraction and then contact for reservations while we were traveling was too hard. We do better when we have a firm, planned structure. Typically, I will program the Pioneer GPS with the destination for the day and then add waypoints for the planned attractions. Then we can use the calculated arrival time at the hotel to evaluate if we have time to take a "add on" attraction.

A few times we have changed hotel reservations when we come up with something we want to add. We may do that on this trip because we have been talking to fellow travelers we meet on the road, and we have some come up with some new "must see" things.

Jim

[QB93Z]

On Monday, Day 14, our second day at Gros Morne National Park, we started the day with a visit to the Tablelands. This large geological feature is very unique. About 450 million years ago the forces of plate tectonics caused the continent of ancient North America to collide with Gondwana. As the two plates squeezed together, the Appalachian mountains were formed and a portion of the earth's mantle was pushed above the Earth's crust in the process. The mantle is usually deep below the crust. After millions of years of erosion, the rocks of Tableland were exposed.




The rocks of the Tablelands area were formed in the earth's mantle and have a different chemical composition than rocks formed in the crust. The result is that the Tablelands rocks do not support the plants that thrive on the surrounding mountains. The characteristic ochre-color rocks remain seemingly barren.



We left the Tablelands and drove back toward the bay:



We stopped to see the Woody Point Lighthouse on the eastern shore of the South Arm of Bonne Bay:



to be continued....

[QB93Z]

Next we drove north of Rocky Harbor to see the amazing mountain formations of the Western Stream Pond area. We took a 3-kilometer hike across a marshy area to get to the excursion boat dock:




The tour boat took us across the Western Stream Pond to see the canyons formed by the glaciers that shaped the Gros Morne mountain areas:




The mountains that surround the pond are up to 2000 feet tall and the pond is about 600 feet deep. The glacial period that formed the pond was about 15,000 years ago, and all the glaciers were gone about 9,000 years ago. The lake was originally a fiord, but when the glaciers melted, the island of Newfoundland rose and a land bridge formed isolating the pond from the sea. The pond is now 30' above sea level.

Along the shore line we discovered a bear foraging:



Then we saw her cubs following along:



The scenery is breath taking:



There were numerous small water falls:




to be continued....

[QB93Z]

The Western Stream Pond tour is a very well run attraction. The facilities are modern, the operators are professional and knowledgeable.




Jim

[QB93Z]

Day 15 - Heading for Labrador. We drove to St Barbe on the west coast of Newfoundland.


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