Our first place to visit in Newfoundland was Gros Morne National Park. It is located on the western shore of Newfoundland and is a World Heritage Site. Gros Morne means “large mountain standing alone” and the park takes its name from Gros Morne peak. Gros Morne is at the northern end of the Appalachia Mountains. We never realized that mountain range came this far north.
We didn’t make many reservations for this trip, we are making reservations as we go along. In fact, the only reservations we had were the aforementioned ferry to Newfoundland and a camping spot in this National Park. Most National Parks (USA and Canada), State Parks and Provincial Parks have older campgrounds and thus have trouble accommodating an RV the size of ours. They just didn’t build over 35′ RVs back then. We got lucky here and scored a site big enough for us.
Our campsite was a pull-through (having and in and an out). Unfortunately, the out portion of our site required a sharp turn to exit. Our RV with its LOONNNNNNNGG wheelbase does not do sharp turns. So it was a pull in/back out site for us. There were no hookups in the campground, so it was 4 days of dry camping for us. Solar panels and lithium batteries for the win!The trees also made it difficult for our Starlink antenna to get a clear view of the sky (first world problem). This was my solution, get the antenna up high enough to make the tall trees seem a bit shorter. It worked, we had Internet and calling over WiFi (no cell service in the area)! And you can see the orange rag I clipped to the cable to 1) make sure we didn’t trip over the cable and 2) remind us to take the Starlink off the truck cap when we went somewhere.
The first day we set out to explore some.
All the little houses along the various shorelines are all painted bright colors. We talked to one gentleman who was in the process of building along the shore. He had knocked down his previous beach house, was adding rocks to extend his property out into the water, and was going to build a new beach house. We got the impression these buildings are for summer recreational use only.Scenic views everywhere!
In the town of Rocky Harbor we drove to the end of the road. Literally.
We spotted this little place selling “fresh seafoods.”
Newfoundland people have an accent. You don’t hear it everywhere, but you do hear now and again. The woman in the seafood shop had one of the strongest I had heard yet. She told me she had “oulbute” and “oulbute steak.” What is oulbute????? I asked if she had halibut. She looked at me and said “Yes, there. Oulbute and outbute steak.” Oh!!!! Oulbute = Halibut!!!! I apologize for not understanding her and we had a good laugh over it.
And we now have an Oulbute Steak in our freezer waiting for a special occasion. James became a huge fan of halibut when we were in Alaska last summer.
Do you know about the Canadian National Parks iconic red Adirondack chairs?
Starting in 2011, sets of red chairs were placed in National Parks all over Canada. We see them from time to time. https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/experiences/chaises-chairs What a great idea!The Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse had a nice historical display in the living area of the house. Lupines! We had not seen these since last summer in Homer, Alaska!
At one stop, we found this interesting building. What was it and why?
This hut is part of the Seven Corners project in Gros Morne. https://sevencorners.ca/ “Discover Gros Morne’s secrets at seven uniquely positioned sites nestled in historic communities.”
This window framed the view pretty nicely.
There was supposed to be a QR code that you could scan and learn about the scene in front of you. Because there was no cell service here, there was also supposed to be WiFi. Again, that was also missing from this hut. Still, it is definitely unique.
Another day we headed further south to visit the Tablelands region. The Tablelands is one of the few places in the world where the Earth’s mantle pushed up through the Earth’s crust. In fact, this park is a geologist’s dream with so many geological features.
There was still snow up on the Tablelands! And this was late July. A ranger told us it had been a long, snowy winter.We stopped for….take a guess….fish and chips. James ordered a beer and we got a good chuckle out of this glass. Panic!!!While eating lunch, we spied through the restaurant window another of the Seven Corner huts!We stopped at one of the viewing points for the Tablelands. The rock/soil in the upper Tablelands does not support vegetation at all. You can hike to the top of the Tablelands. James and Corinne circa 1984 would have done the hike!The Tablelands are made of (consults Wikipedia) Peridotite. It is heavier than your everyday, run of the mill rock. It’s greenish inside, but rust colored outside due to its high iron content.
Our final day we explored the north end of the park. This day was all about the water.
A seaside hike.We found this quilt art installation. Called Erratic Comfort, it was “installed” just this year. Its the first time I have ever seen a sign that said “Please don’t climb on the quilt.”
More red chairs. Sure, I’ll take a seat.
We finished our stay by meeting up with Kei, the daughter of a good friend from back in New York. She just happened to be in the area. We decided to do the boat tour of the Western Brook Pond together.
Western Brook Pond is a glacier-carved land-locked fjord. The boat tour is a must-do when in Gros Morne.The fjord is 10 miles long, narrow with tall walls. It was truly spectacular.It was two hour boat tour that we capped off with a pizza dinner with Kei.
With that, our stay at Gros Morne was over. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. But it had been cloudy most of the time and our RV batteries were down to 40%. It was time to move on and plug in somewhere. Yes, we could have run the generator to top off the batteries, but our campground neighbors would probably not appreciate that. Onward!
Outstanding scenery! You guys really know how to find the spots. The antenna on the truck and the reminding flag was a good idea. Glad you didn’t drive off with it on top!
Loved the view from the huts and red chairs. What a wonderful idea they have up there. What a great trip (so far!)
Nice pictures as usual!!!! Like the “hut” — unique.
Where there is a will, there is a way — with campsites and — Jim and Corinne will figure out a way!!!!
Jim will find a way with campsites…he’s the pilot. I’m just the navigator!
Outstanding scenery! You guys really know how to find the spots. The antenna on the truck and the reminding flag was a good idea. Glad you didn’t drive off with it on top!
Loved the view from the huts and red chairs. What a wonderful idea they have up there. What a great trip (so far!)
Great trip is right, but not enough sewing time. I’ve got the itch to stitch. 🙂