Adennum to last post:
I have discovered that poutine is supposed to be made with cheese curds not just shredded cheese. Also the salt beef that is served in Newfoundland with boiled veggies and called Jigg’s Dinner is salt cured beef navel! Who would have thought. I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting it yet. My father sent me the following info about beef navel. Beef navels (there seems to be some confusion with naval beef, i.e. salt preserved beef taken on long sea voyages - but that meat might well have been beef navels: naval beef navels?) are used in Jigg’s dinner. The beef navel cut is located in the belly next door to brisket (the more traditional cut in the US) but is said to be fattier. Real pastrami fans are said to prefer the navel over brisket as a raw material The term Jigg's dinner comes from a comic strip called "Bringing up Father", which I remember, about an Irish American named Jigg's, whose wife would fix him corned beef & cabbage as a special treat. Many years ago corned beef & cabbage was voted the favorite food of New York - no doubt when the population was predominantly Irish. The Jigg's dinner term is well known in the US.
Newfie Jigg's dinner, as we surmised, is essentially corned beef & cabbage but using beef navel rather than brisket, and with the frequent addition of pease porridge - yellow split peas cooked in a cloth bag along with and suspended in the beef broth, then mashed. Also a duff, cooked in the same manner, is often included ( hard to imagine a figgie or blueberry duff cooked in the brine, but maybe that's some other kind of duff.
Also while I was in the hotel I spent some time watching the Olympics. And I downloaded Herbie Hancock’s Album River-the Joni Letters. I spent a lovely afternoon lying in a not bath drinking Jack and Ginger and listening to this album. It’s wonderful. If you like Joni Mitchell’s Jazz albums,piano jazz, and Herbie Hancock then you will enjoy this album. Guest vocals by Tina Turner, Nora Jones, Joni and others make it even better. Enjoy!
Sunday June 24
I wake up and stretch out the cramps. Sleeping in Little Red doesn’t compare to sleeping in BEYOND. But I can do it if need be. I head north and pull over at the Baker’s Brooke Picnic area to use the head. At the end of the road are about 3 houses next to a harbor with a couple of boats. I take some pics and drive north and stop at the memorial where the coastal steamship Ethie ran aground in a storm in 1940 (?) Everyone aboard survived and were rescued by breeches buoy (remember my pics from Lewes, MD) same system. Not much is left of the wreck but a lot of scattered twisted metal parts.
I take pics and walk around. I gather some nice rocks and the head north to Broome Point and walk down to see the fishing exhibit. This spot has been a fishing spot for at least a thousand years. Eskimo tribes summered here and it continued to be fished as the Europeans arrived. The Mudge Brothers have fished here since 1941 and still own and fish from the adjoining property. The Park has preserved the cabin and fish store.
There is an old fellow who fished up the coats as a young man who talks about how it was done. Making the nets to catching the fish and doing the salt drying and canning of the catch for market. It’s a fascinating talk and the cabin has been restored and furnished with the same furniture as the Mudge family used. A cool slice of time. Gives a real sense of how hard the living was here in the 40’s-60’s. The sky is blue but the wind is blowing very hard. I drive north to the town of Cow Head and stop at the Library. I have discovered that the library’s in all these small towns have wireless internet. I send out my travelog but the connection is too slow to load pictures. I drive on through town to Shallow Bay with is part of the Park and has a beautiful picnic area and beach. This is the first sand beach I have seen here. it’s lovely and there are quite a few people swimming but the wind is really blowing and a bit too cold for me. I make a big bowl of salad and grab my chips and dip and sit at a picnic table in the sun. My salad keeps blowing off my spoon so I have to shovel it in.
After i finish the wind blows my metal bowl right of the table and the lid to the salsa! I finish and clean up and then go down to the beach. I find a sheltered spot in the sun and read my book. I really like the character Spenser in Robert Parker’s books. Thin Air is another god one. I am getting hungry and it’s 6 pm so I drive over and the campground is very nice with lots of space and hot showers. I drive into town and buy some pepperoni to go in my jar sauce, and pay for a site and get my stove going and put-up my tent while the noodle water is boiling. There is a 2 minute boil water notice so I let the water boil for a few minutes before I add the noodles. By the time I get my tent setup and night stuff in the noodles are done so I add sauce and pepperoni and make a Jack and Ginger to drink with it. I consider going to the see the play by the Gros Morne Theater but am a little late and decide on a bike ride and a hot shower. The sun sets about 9:30 at night and starts getting light again at 6 am. I am clean and in my tent as the sun sets. I read by flashlight and then off to sleep. I feel windburned on my face and hands today. ‘night!
The wind dies down some by morning. I was awakened by the wind whipping around my tent a few times during the night. Also in the night I opened up my tent as I was hot inside. The weather is supposed to change but it’s bright and sunny this morning. So I quickly strike my tent and pack up Little Red (a Red Toyota Yard) as I eat some corn flakes and then ride my bike to the pay phone. I call the car rental company to extend my rental for a week. I’m going to see the Viking settlement! I ride to the beach and go for a swim. I am expecting cold water it’s warmer than the ocean in Gloucester, MA! The wind is blowing hard but it’s warm and the sun is out. It’s called Shallow Bay for a reason. It’s about as deep as the Gulf of Mexico. I wade to above my waist and then swim again the wind for a while. it feels great to swim. After swimming a while I get out and I can see another dune crossing that come from the campground. The beach sand is packed pretty hard so i bring my bike down and ride on the sand down to the campground and go in for another swim. The waves are bigger here and I swim against them and make almost no headway. it’s like swimming in a big lap pool. I get out and an older couple from Ontario is watching me. They question me about where I am from. Most people in Newfoundland seem to know and like St. Pete.
After we talk awhile they walk on down the beach and i swim once more. Then I get on my bike and ride downwind. The wind is so strong I don’t have to pedal even on sand. Sure enough when I reach the end of the beach and turn around I have to shift way down to make any headway against the wind. I grind along in low gear and eventually make it back to the campground. I take a hot shower and pack the bike up and drive back into town. I stop at the Anglican church because they have a little botanical garden. I am admiring the flowers and reading the plant names when I feel a presence. I turn around and the priest is stand right behind me. I say hello and offer him some of the dried fruit I am eating. He accepts and tells me the garden was the idea of his parishioners. I get him to show me all the native plants in exchange for more of my snack. He really seems to like the fruit as he keeps eyeing it the whole time. His name is Father Jim Pratt and he was raised in Foxboro, MA (Boston suburb) But has been here for six years and really like Newfoundland. The garden is very pretty and I enjoy his tour and wish him luck with his next placement which will be soon. He has asked for Stephenville. Little bigger town. He wishes me safe journey and I wish he good placement!
I drive down to the library and check my email and pay my bills. That takes a while. By the time i am finished the sky has clouded over and weather is coming. I head north out of Gros Morne Park and stop at the Arches Provincial Park. This is a series of sea stacks that the movement of the water has cut into arches. There are a few people swimming and I get a few shots of them sitting on a rock in the surf through one of the arches. I find some cool stones and take pics. Then I walk to the outhouse through a grove of stunted dead trees. It’s very beautiful and I take pics of the prettiest outhouse path in Newfoundland! Then I get some salsa and chips and a granola bar for lunch then drive on North. I drive almost to Port au Choix and pull off on a wood road. I find a level spot rocky spot off the road and park. I don’t drive to the end because it looks like it might turn to mud in the rain which is threatening.
I get out my stove and make my final dose of pasta with pepperoni and salad. I get it eaten and am making a cup of cocoa with the leftover noodle water when the rain starts. Shallow Bay had a boil order on their water So I am being very conservative with my clean water. I have 64 ounces. Boy do I miss BEYOND and her 12 gallon water tank! I washed the dishes with some of the pasta water and am drinking the rest as a hot drink. Anyway I jump in the car and read the rest of Thin Air and listen to Herbie Hancock and then listen to the rain. It comes and goes but about the time I am getting sleepy it really starts to pour. I am glad I am sleeping in Little Red rather than my tent on that rocky ground in this downpour! I think about my bed at home but decide I would still rather be here a little cramped in Little Red than sweating 24 hours a day at home. I think about how the universe is giving me another lesson in PATIENCE! I am doing my best to stay focused on the journey and not worry about BEYOND. I have faith in Phonse and his Merry Men. All well be well when the time is right. Until then I will forge ahead in LR. Tomorrow I am off to Port au Choix. See you there.
Tuesday
It rains hard most of the night. I don’t sleep real well but finally I am up and on the road. Before breakfast I drive into Port au Choix and as soon as I am on the island it’s totally fogged in. I creep along until i find the Visitor’s Centre. I run in and use the head then get sucked into the exhibit soon I have forgotten breakfast and am looking archeological remains from different natives tribe that lived here on and off starting about 5500 years ago. They are four different aboriginal cultures. The Maritime Archaic Indians, The Dorset and Groswater Paleoeskimos and Recent Indians. This is the only place in Canada where they have found actual bones of the Maritime Archaic Indians. They indicate that the peoples here lived very healthy and long lives. This area is very rich in food sources. Fish, seals, whales, caribou, bears, beavers, and lots of berries and plants. People have always lived well here. The exhibit is well done and has lots of tools, household artifacts and even some decorative items. Fascinating. After i finish ask if there is a guided tour of the site.
They say it’s too late in the season (summer is almost over here!) But there is another groups in and they are going to see a demonstration of Inuit Drumming and Throat Singing. Would I like to join them? Oh Yeah. I need to see throat singing! The demonstration is done by a teen age girl named Amanda with a very deep voice. The drumming is good but the throat singing is amazing. She alternates between her singing voice and a guttural bark that is like a cough. It’s fascinating to her and watch her do it. She really has to control her breathing. She answers lots of questions about the singing etc. She tells us that she is on youtube under real Inuit throat singing.She is the taller girl at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j30uHlAdZeo
This one has different singers and a better recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnGM0BlA95I&feature=related
She is from Goose Bay and is headed back this weekend to finish high school. Then she is going to marry her girlfriend. Oh and she has dyed hair --- Electric Pink! So I just saw a demonstration of Inuit throat singing by a teen aged Pink haired Lesbian Inuit. She is also very witty. I think there is quite a comedy act there somewhere! So does she. After that i gout to the car and realize that I am shivering. I need got breakfast and it’s lunch time. The rain as stopped the fog is lifting and looks like the weather is going to clear. The other group is eating their lunch inside. I am allowed to join them. After whole wheat ritz crackers, cheese, sardines and dried fruit and nuts I am feeling better. They allow me to top off my water bottles and i grab my raincoat and hike out to the dig sites. I walk across a sub tundra area that is full of tiny blooming plants and dwarf trees non of which are more than 5 inches tall. It’s a cool micro ecosystem. Then into a forest of 8 ft trees, and along a cliff of rocks covered in many types of moss. There are 150 steps to the top and I am at Crow Head one of the dig sites. There is no marker or any visible sign of a dig but the view is great. I can see why they would have like this site. You could spot whales and seals for miles.
I hike on to Phillip’s Garden which is where 50 house sites and it’s a meadow of lots of different berry and flowers. it’s quite lovely and if you look hard you can spot some of the places where they dug years ago. it’s all grown over now. There are a couple of signs but not as interesting as the Colony of Avalon where you can the dig and artifacts in place. I stand an visualize 50 winter homes which were dug about 2 feet into the ground. They had stone floors that where heated by a central fire pit. Early radiant heat floors! Cool! The side were either 8 or 12 whale ribs depending upon size. They had some wood beams and a central smoke hole. The roof was made of wood, skins and sometimes sod. They had raised wood platforms for sitting and sleeping covered in skins and fresh boughs. They cooked in big square vessels carved from soapstone. This setup looks much more comfy than LR. HMMM! This was a winter dwelling. in the summer they used tents. I run into the same tour group. They are mostly older folks from the States. They have walked in from the lighthouse along the coast. it’s on 2 km to the lighthouse and 3 km more back to the Visitor’s Centre. I decide to walk it. I am going up the cliff when I spot a recently dropped bird book. I am figure it’s from the group. I take it with me hoping to pass some more of them. I don’t but use the book to confirm that the bird I saw on the walk in was indeed a Spruce Grouse. I remember them from Labrador. Their instinct when startled is to fly into a tree and freeze. You can almost walk up and grab them out of the tree! This one was shy and flew away.
I walk to the lighthouse and i can see one of the groups vans. As I am walking back I see the other van coming over the hill. I flag it down and they are clapping as they see I have their book. They thank me and head on their way. The sky is clearing and the sun is coming out bright and hot. I walk back to LR and change into shorts and get my other battery and take some pics. Then drive around to the other side of the bay and look at a reproduction of a boat the french fisherman would have used here and a bread oven. The built outdoor ovens because the treaty with the English did not allow them to build houses as they were only there seasonally. But they needed bread so they built ovens. They have found the remains of them in different places around the island. I drove to the store and bought myself a soft serve ice cream with partridge berries mixed in. It was really tasty. Then I drove north and stopped at St. Barbe where I hope to catch the ferry in the near future and I get my first glimpse of Labrador across the Strait of Belle Isle.
It brings back memories of a canoe trip I took there 25 years ago. It was a real wilderness adventure. More about that later. I spoke with the ferry people about making reservations and they haven’t been too busy so I shouldn’t have to book too far in advance but that I should certainly book the next one as it only runs twice a week. Then I drove North and as the sun began to set i pull down a wood cutting road and set up my tent next to a lake and bedded down. A soon as the sun went down I began to hear ATV’s. They are like jet skis in Fl. They are very noisy and you hear them every where! Luckily they chose not to ride down the road where I am camping and soon they stopped and I fell asleep! Good night.
Up at 7 I step into the fog. I put away my tent and drive north into L’Anse aux Meadows which is a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is where the only evidence of Vikings have been discovered in North America. IN 1969 a Norwegian couple began an archeological dig which shows that the Norse men had a winter village here for many years. They found a Viking cloak pin that proves it was Vikings. This may be the Vinland that Leif Ericsson wrote about discovering. The historical record seems to indicate that the Vikings killed some native people and were then driven out by the natives. This is a fascinating place. I am so glad that I drove up here. They have recreated the Viking village as closely as possible and have some actors in costume. They are very knowledgeable. The houses have a stone foundation and have built mostly of piled sod. The walls are 6 ft thick. They have wooden rafters and sod roofs with smoke holes and big fire pits in the center. It would have been quite comfortable in here. Especially with 25 to 30 people. Norse men unlike Europeans of the time washed often and removed their clothing to sleep and wash their under garments every night. Europeans thought bathing was bad for your health! The fog lifted early today and it was bright and sunny.
I took a tour given by a man in his 60’s who grew up here and playing on the ruins as a child. They thought it was from Indians. There was no road in then and no coastal boat. Very isolated. Later he help with the archeological dig and the constructing of the recreated village. he give a great tour as he has such great first hand knowledge of the site and the area. In the late afternoon I left and went down the road to Norstead which is a recreated Viking village and trading port. This was built by local people on the anniversary of the discovery and houses a reproduction of a Viking ship that was built in Maine, shipped to Greenland and sailed here along what might have been Leif Ericsson’s route. As I walk in the weather begins to turn and I walk into the longhouse as I fierce wind begins to blow and rain clouds are menacing. The women staff are running around shutting the doors and starting a fire in the pit. Soon they have the right combination of doors and smoke hatches open so the fire is burning well and the smoke is going out. The weather is fierce outside but very comfortable inside. Granted it’s summer but it still gives a real sense of how comfortable these buildings are.
Soon I had to leave and call Phonse for an update on BEYOND. They shipped my transmission to New Brunswick and it should be ready in two weeks. Arrgh! That is going to cut down on my time in Labrador. If she isn’t done soon I may have to retreat back to Nova Scotia. I hope not. Well the storm is blowing g so hard there is no way I would be able to keep my stove lit. The ranger tells me there is a Bed and Breakfast down the road for $36 a night. He calls and they have a room. I drive down and the house is in Hay Cove and I find a nearby restaurant and have a dinner of local farmed mussels in garlic butter. They are fresh and excellent. Followed by a fish burger and homemade partridge berry pie and vanilla ice cream of and a draft beer. First meal not cooked by me in a week and it tasted great! Then back to the B&B for a hot shower and off to bed. There is internet so I sit in bed and load pictures and write to my family and listen to the wind howling outside. The rain has stopped but the temperature has dropped way down. It’s nice to be inside but feels strange. I have a had time falling asleep but finally I am out.
The other people are up early and stomping around like bird-witted elephants! (term from my youth!) Grr! I finally get up at 7:30 and am greeted by my hosts with a huge breakfast of bologna, eggs, juice, homemade partridge berry muffins and hot tea. What a feast! I eat and then watch the weather forecast on Tv and see the hurricane in Haiti. Doesn’t look like it will head towards my home. But let’s hope it doesn’t hit New Orleans! I think about a nap but finally when the sun comes out I get in LR and drive out to Raleigh (pronounced RALLY) and walk out in Burnt Cape Ecological Preserve. It’s a tundra area with some very rare endangered plants. I walk a long way out the point and swim (naked and very briefly) in a tide pool. The wind is blowing but it’s warm in the sun and I am sheltered from the wind by the cliffs. After I dry off get my trousers back on but not my shirt and walk back up and to the car. I pass some folks from North Carolina and Alberta. They are big RV folks who are pulling cars behind. They are looking for the rare plants. I tell them that the pants are very small and they have to get out of the car to see them.
Later I see them walking around looking. I drive out to Cape Onion and it’s another beautiful cove. I see where a local guy has built a miniature village out on a rock. it’s really cool. I get out to take pics but my battery is flat and my spare is in my room. Too bad. It’s cool. (I went back later and shot it)
I have decided to treat myself to another meal and night in the B&B. I stop on the way at the Dark Tickle factory and store. ( A dark tickle is the Newfie term for a twisty narrow high walled passage into harbor) I have been seeing their jams and jellies every where I stop. I look once again for the book by Harvey that my father wants but they haven’t heard of him. (Sorry Dad! I’ll keep looking.) I drive back to the Northern Delight restaurant because they are having live music and Mummer dancing tonight at 7. It’s 6:15 and the parking lot is almost full. I find I will have to wait for a table. In 20 minutes I am seated and one of the actors from the Park recreated village comes in and soon he is playing guitar and accordion and singing local songs.
Lots of the crowd are locals and some sing along heads are bobbing and feet tapping all around the room. He does some non local Johnny Cash and John Prine. I have a hamburger and fries and am really enjoying this. Soon he explains that when he was growing up around Christmas time neighbors would dress up in funny costumes and grab a musical instrument and a bottle of something and walk to neighbors house and play music and dance with the everyone. The people come in one looks like a Santa with a gold elf mask. One is in a bog winter hat with huge goggles and floppy trouser and the third is padded out like a woman with a huge chest and behind. They are very funny and dance around and pick people in the crowd who happily leave their dinners and get up and waltz or dance crazily around. I wish they would pick me but they don’t! Oh well. What fun! It’s great the way the Newfies jump right up and everyone is clapping and stomping their feet. I learn that the Mummer tradition has died out with the roads as people are less inclined to let masked people into their homes! I guess I don;t blame them but am sad to think this wonderful tradition is dying out! After about 40 minutes the Mummers are sung out the door and after a couple more songs the evening is over.
I pay for my meal and walk over to thank the singer for telling me about this. It was great fun. When he learns I live in St. Pete he tells me that he and his wife and kids go to New Port Richey every spring to visit a friend. I give my email to contact me when he is coming down and I will take him to see Fl music. he is thrilled and gives me one of his Cd’s he is selling. I try to drop some money in his jar but he won’t take it. Classic Newfie. It’s just how people are here! I go back to the B& B and the only other guest is a young guy from Holland. He is traveling around Canada. He bicycled around Ontario. Left his bike in Toronto and hitchhiked out here. When he needs money he does odd jobs for cash then moves on. he has been working for the guy who owns the big schooner I have seen sailing in Woody Point and Corner Brook. He got up early ran up and down Gros Morne Mt this morning and then hitched up here to see the Viking site. He is going back tomorrow and then in a day or two he is cleaning toilets on the schooner for a couple of hours a day as it sails to Halifax, NS for some cash. We talk a bit more and watch a bit of TV. Then crash. I have been feeling a bit of nausea today. I think it’s just anxiety about BEYOND and lack of sleep. I feel a bit better after dinner and soon I fall deeply asleep listening to River again! I an hour I wake and turn off the light and the music and am out again. As always pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd
Friday Aug. 29
Up at 7:30 and I am feeling good. After another big breakfast and a nice chat with Sam from Holland I pack up and give Sam a lift back to the main road as he is hitching back down to the Park. I drive in St. Anthony which is the big town in these parts. I come around the corner and am surprised for a moment to see a traffic light! It’s been a week since I’ve seen one. There is not much traffic up here. I drive on through town and out to Fishing Point Park which is a well know place for whale spotting. The sky is clear but the wind is blowing hard and waves make it hard to spot whales. There is a lighthouse here and after a bit the lightkeeper comes out and talks to me. He invites me into his office and shows me a model of the sailing ship Bluenose he has built. It’s very cool. he has a guitar, amp and mic out so i ask him to play a song. He plays a Christian song and does it very well. I had been listening to Lyle Lovett and play him some of the gospel influenced songs. He is looking out the window and sees a whale breach. I stand and looks for a long time but never see any other whale sign. The Lightkeeper’s name is Dennis Blake and he invites me to have lunch with him and an older gentleman who often comes out for lunch. He is making fresh cod fins and scrunchions and potatoes and it smells great! I accept and when Mr. Fred Budgell shows up we all dig in. Mr. Budgell is 86 and was a cook on the US Airfare base that was here.
He has some great stories and he and Dennis and I tell stories over lunch. Which followed by tea and carrot cake. What a great meal. I show Dennis and Mr. Budgell some of the photos from my trip and from my portfolio. Then Mr. Budgell leaves and Dennis tells me that I missed a great sea cave when I was at the Ecological Preserve the other day. After a while I thank Dennis and head out to walk the trail up to the top of the hill. it’s called the Daredevil Trail and isa steep staircase with 476 steps. I reach the top and can see way out. Still no waves and the wind is really blowing. I walk back down and drive to the bank for cash. There is a very long line so I used the AM machine. I notice they are selling used books to raise money for cancer patients so i go through and find a Scott Turow Pleading Guilty, Mark Helprin Soldier in the War and Alice Hoffman Turtle Moon I make donation and go to the Library but it’s closed. It’s upstairs in the Municipal Building. In the Lobby is a stuffed polar bear. It is 8’ 10” tall and I think he weighted 800 pounds. Very impressive. On the wall is a newspaper clipping explaining this bear walked into town one winter and while the police were trying to drive it out of town with a helicopter it fell over dead. They figure it must have had a heart attack from getting too hot! Anyway, I am now officially in the land of the polar bear! They see a couple wandering around every winter as the seals come through. Pretty cool. You know it gets cold here in the winter if there are seals and polar bears!
I expect I am too wimpy from 12 winters in Florida to really enjoy it here in winter. I fill up my water bottles with clean water and drive back out to the point to look for whales again. I am there typing in my log and watching for a an hour. lots of cars come and go looking as I am. Then I go back to the Library and find that they have 5 books by Kenneth J. Harvey. I sit and read some of the short stories I started in Shack at the Woody Point Library. They are good stories after i while realize it’s getting dark and I need to find a place to stay. Jocelyn the librarian recommends the field behind the school. And she lets me check out the book if I promise to return it before I leave. I pinky swear and drive off and sure enough there is a nice field behind the school and I set up my tent and swat a few mosquitos then climb in just as it gets dark. The weather is calling for rain but I am warm and cozy in my tent. A couple of cars come up but leave as soon as they see my tent. I read for a while and then fall asleep as the fog horn on the lighthouse starts to blow in the distance. What a good day!
In the morning I wake to the sound of rain falling. It’s early so i go back to sleep. it rains hard for a while and then stops. I get up and back away the tent and spread the fly to dry in my trunk. I stayed very dry. Then I drive down to Tim Horton’s for a hot chocolate and a bagel. it tasted good. Then I drive back out to the park to look for whales. Nothing. And soon the fog is coming back in. I finish reading Shack and then see Dennis so I go in and he and Mr. Budgell are finishing a cup of tea. Dennis makes me a cup and some crackers and partridge berry jam. Just the thing on a chilly foggy morning! He and Mr. Budgell are going later to a cafe for homemade pea soup and dumplings. Sounds good to me so i arrange to meet them there. I drop the book in the book drop and check my email. Nice to hear from friends and family back home. I look at the Hurricane Maps and see that Nothing is heading for St. Pete but then New Orleans might be in danger. Not good! I check the local pharmacy and the have Inside a book by Harvey so I buy it. Then I drive over to the mall and park by the Foodland as I need supplies. I find the Coffee Cup cafe but no Dennis and Fred. SO i wander around the mall and soon I see them waiting by the cafe. We order or soup and dumpling and it’s certainly homemade and very tasty. We each get a bowl of soup and a soft dumpling on the side about the size of my fist. it’s a very tasty meal and i pay at the end.
Then Mr. Budgell invites me to join him and Dennis for tea and one of his homemade tea cakes at his house. I agree as Dennis says he Makes the best teacakes. He has a good sized house and we sit and have tea and homemade partridge berry pie with a whipped cream made from evaporated canned milk, tea and tea biscuits. It’s all very tasty. The tea biscuits have a bit of pineapple in them and are just the right amount of sweet. We sit for a bit and Mr. Budgell shows me a family picture. He and his wife and their ten children. He has 22 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. His wife has passed but some of his children live in town So he is well looked after and he has his buddy Dennis. He help Dennis make his model of the Bluenose and has made many himself which are now all over Canada. Now he make footstools and end tables which are quite nice. I thank Mr. Budgell and he gives me some tea biscuit and cookies for the road. I tell him how much i have enjoyed meeting him and say my goodbyes and drive back to Foodland for supplies then drive back to the Ecological Park and go looking for the sea cave. I walk along the shore until all of sudden there it is. it’s much bigger than I thought it would be. It’s probably 20 feet tall at the mouth and goes back at 150 feet. The tide is down pretty low and the sea is calm. SO I decide to try to get into the cave. I main path seems to go to the south side of the cave.
There is a beach over there and by wading and climbing the rocks I reach the mouth of the cave. It’s really big from standing at the water’s edge just inside the mouth. Unfortunately I can’t see a way in from here with out swimming. I can see there is a bit of a trail down to a ledge on the other side. So I climb up and am able to rock climb my way up the side and up to the top. I had to be very careful as the rock is pretty rotten. But I made it and walked over to the other side and climbed down to the mouth. I can where it’s possible to walk in at low tide. The water is still low enough to do it. I look for a way down and think I have found one but when I test the major handhold the rock moves in my hand so i don’t want to trust my weight o n it. I look around some more but I am unable to find a route down that I am sure I will be able to climb back up! Reluctantly I leave the cave and climb back to the top. I would have loved to walk to the back of the cave and take pics looking back out. But I didn’t want to spend the night in there!
So I walk back to the car and change out of my we shorts and dry them out and my tent and fly in the nice sunny breeze. I spend about and hour reading the Turow novel. It’s pretty good. Then I put away the dry gear and drive back into Raleigh. Dennis the lightkeeper lives here and he invited me to stop by. I drive to his house and he shows me his house and introduces me to his wife Donna. He is getting ready to go play for a fundraiser. I make a contribution and he gives me some frozen capliene and moose meat and I head south.
I take the other road south which loops east and I stop just outside Middle Brook, NL at a camping area Dennis told me about. I arrive a little before dark and look around. They want $10 to camp. I don’t see anyone around so I drive out of the campground and back on a wood road. There I start a fire and while it gets going I put up my tent and then I find a discarded and bent section of grill that I weight with a rock so it hangs over my fire. I take the fish from Dennis and roast them over the fire on my improvised grill. These fish come up on the beach by the millions once a year to spawn and people just shovel them into buckets and take them home. They are about 10 inches long and look like sardines. I roast them until they char a bit and then when they cool a bit I pull out the back bone and eat the rest. They are really tasty! Soon I have eaten the whole bunch. Man they were great! Thanks Dennis! I can see why Newfies love them. I make a Jack and Ginger and am sitting in my chair by the dying fire when a car pulls up. This guys says I says I can’t camp here that there will be people hunting here in the early morning and they will be upset. Okay, so people hunting? I’m moving. I find that by pulling up the stakes on my tent and carefully folding it into my ground cloth I can up it into the back seat of LR! COOL. I drive into the campground and most of the sites are empty. I find one away from some folks who have an 8 ft bonfire going and pull the tent out of the back seat and stake it down. It’s about dark so I call it a day and grab my sleeping bag and book and crawl into my tent for the night.
I heard no gun shots or anyone moving around early in the morning. I wonder about what that guy told me. It’s all quiet and almost nobody around still. There is no picnic table in my site so pack up and drive down to the lake where i use the outhouse and set my stove up and make hot tea and get out some of Mr. Budgell’s great tea biscuits. I decide to eat on the road as it’s overcast and chilly and I don’;t feel much like swimming. I drive around and at the main building I still don’t see anyone. I walk around in the building and discover showers. YES! I go to the car for my wash kit and towel. I get nekkid and ready..... but no water! Hunh! I try the sinks...nothing. I try the women’s side the same. Damn. I get dressed and pack the car and am headed out of the campground when a guy in a car waves me down and it’s the same guy from last night. He says the camp people are on their way and wants money from me to give them. I am hesitant but then the attendant drives up. I give her the money and ask about the showers. She is surprised but says there is problems with the water supply and a man is coming to fix it. I decide to wait to see if he can fix it. That other guy hangs around and gets in the middle and then comes and tells me he is just camping here. Just as I suspected he doesn’t really know what goes on here and is just being a busybody. The water problem doesn’t seem to be any easy fix so I get on the road. IT’s all trees. rocks and sky here.
A see a moose cross the road in the distance. They always look like they are walking on stilts! I drive around a corner and through a huge red puddle in the road. Looks like someone must have hit and butchered a moose! Meat for the winter. There are no other towns on this loop so I drive on back to the coast and back down to Rocky Harbor. I drive to the Swimming pool and remembering the heavy chlorine ask the price just to shower. One dollar. I’m in. I take a nice hot shower and then read in the sun. Then I drive back to my little hidden beach and make another fire. I brought along that bent grill and I get a bunch of coals glowing and the moose meat is defrosted so I slice it thin and put pieces on the grill and some on my stove in with a lentil soup mix. So I am eating moose of the fire and moose lentil soup. The moose is very tasty. Like beef but a musky taste and less fat. It’s really good in the lentil soup. Soon I am full and when my fire burns out and I carefully bury it in stones so you can’t see I was there and read until it’s dark then head for bed. Moose lentil soup. That’s a new taste for me. I fall sleep listening to the waves on the shore. No wind tonight.
Happy Labor Day! I sleep until 8 am and then have soup for breakfast. Yumm! It’s clear and sunny today. Much drier here on the west coast of Newfoundland. I pack up and drive to the trailhead for the Baker Brook Trail. It’s a boardwalk for quite but then becomes dirt. There are lots of moose prints in the bog on either side of the boardwalk. It’s going to be a hot day. I get to Baker Brook and I can hear falling water. The trail ends at an overlook of a double water fall. It’s very pretty. I see a path down between the falls and head down. There is a nice pool below the first falls and I can’t see anyone around so I strip down quick and go for a quick dip. The water is nice but not wanting to offend anyone I get back out dr off with my shirt and put my shorts on. I am sitting, watching the falls a few minutes later here come some people! We have a chat and they are a young couple from St. John’s with a tiny girl and a large husky dog. They go a little further downstream and we both pull out lunch. I have a bagel and cheese and an apple. They have hot dog buns with peanut butter and chocolate chips! Oh am I envious! I haven’t had much chocolate lately.
Soon some more people come along and I decide to hike back. It’s warm now so I take my time. When I get back I dump my trash and see where someone gutted some small critter and left the guts beside the trash can. Nice. For the most part Newfoundland has been much cleaner than the States. No trash beside the roads or on the trails. It’s been a real treat. The only place that was really trashed was LaManche and someone had picked up the trash and bagged it. I sneak into the campground to use the bathroom No one is around so I take a quick shower and feeling refreshed drive into Rocky Harbor to check email and have an ice cream.
After my treat I drive to the visitors center and watch the movies about Gros Morne, Labrador and Tornnegut Park. I was hoping to get to Tornnegut but I have lost too much time due to transmission trouble. It’s good to be able to see some pictures of it. It can only be reached by boat or airplane and it looks really rugged and beautiful. Maybe another trip. I saddle up and dive out of Gros Morne and back south to Corner Brook. I have a pi nt of Guinness stout in a bar and then find a power line road and it’s raining so I sleep in the car. Let’s hope for good news on BEYOND!
Tues. Sept. 2
I get up and stretch out the cramps and drive to Transmission Experts to see Phonse. He says he will call for a progress report. My transmission is still in New Brunswick. I clean up in the bathroom and have a cup of Phonse’s tea. I walk up the hill to the mall to see if my phone battery has arrived. Jeremy has it and we try it. The phone look like it’s going to work. His charger isn’t working right so I walk back down the hill to get mine. Jeremy works on it and then charger port isn’t working well. He cleans it and we get it to accept the charger. While it’s charging I get my car with my dirty laundry and drive to the Laundromat. It will be great to have clean clothes. I have one pair of pants I should probably just burn! I drive back with clean clothes and Jeremy has determined that my battery is completely dead and is trying to charge the new battery. I walk around while it charges and finally I find the book my father wanted to read. Blackstrap Harco. It looks good. When I get back it looks like the battery is charging so I decide to buy it. It will be nice to have a phone again. I walk back to see Phonse and plug the phone into charge more. No word yet on my tranny. I sit in LR and eat PB on bagels with raisins and finish the book Inside. It was a good one. I am tired of waiting and it’s hot in the car. Looks like the batter is fully charged. Yeah! I try a test call to St. Pete. it doesn’t go. I try to call here in Corner Brook and it won’t go either. Crap. I walk back up the hill and Jeremy try’s everything to get it too work including a completely wipe and reset. Nothing. Looks like the phone is a paperweight. I return the battery and go back to get my car. I drive down to check my email and have some pizza for dinner. Then I find another place to park for the night. It’s all gravel with no place for my tent so again I sleep in the car.
I wake up with back pain. This is not good. I drive to the tourist info and Judy helps me look for a cheap room. I go to see Phonse and he able to get the folks on the phone and they are making good progress. Looks like I will be on the road next Thursday. Goods new but still another week. I go back to the tourist info and Judy has found a pretty cheap place in the next big town south Stephenville that will give me a good rate for a week and I can explore south from there. Plus tropical storm Hanna is headed this way. Could get wet and windy. I leave the phone number of the Keyano Motel with Phonse and drive to the the car rental place to tell them I will need the car longer then drive down to Brewed Awakening to check my email. Then I drove to Stephenville. There used to be a huge U.S. military base here. You can see the huge empty buildings and airport. It’s mostly empty and fenced off now. I find my motel and check in then go for a nap. It feels great to have a shower and crawl in between clean sheets!
As always pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd
