The white way of delight

July 10

I woke to a slightly sleepy “Happy Birthday!” today from Shawn, (and appreciate everyone’s well wishes to which I have now received!). Today we went to Prince Edward Island. I have wanted to come here since I was 10 and read L.M. Montgomery’s description of what must be a truly magical place. We crossed over the Confederation Bridge and were met with scenery quite unlike any we have seen this trip. Instead of mountains and rugged coastlines, there were gentle hills, idealic farmland and warm sandy beaches. We toured the home that inspired Anne’s Green Gables and even walked down Lovers Lane and through the Haunted Wood. I couldn’t stop smiling.

After enjoying a lunch of P.E.I. mussels, we drove along the shore where we saw a Great Blue Herron and an Arctic Tern. It was very warm today and the tern which was in it’s southern most range, seemed to wish it were just a bit cooler. We ended the day in Charlottetown, where we checked into the beautiful and elegant Fitzroy Hall. We went for a walk around the quaint downtown, where I found a great used bookstore, that had such a good collection I could have spent the rest of our trip there. We found a local brewery and enjoyed a honey wheat and a stout with an absolutely delectable maple curry beef dish. All in all, great day and a wonderful Birthday present.

~Sara

Comings and goings

July 8 and 9

After taking our leave from the Cape Anguille Lighthouse we set off in search of another. On our way to admire the recently restored Rose Blanche lighthouse we took a scenic drive through the beautiful Codroy valley, which is well know for the variety of birds that can be found there. This trip (and the awesome iPhone app, iBird) have inspired Shawn and I to become novice birders. The lighthouse was lovely and commanded a beautiful view of the Cabot Strait. As we then drove to meet the ferry that would take us back to Nova Scotia, we soaked in all we could of the picturesque green and granite island we have come to love.

The weather was favorable for our ferry trip back to North Sydney, NS and we crossed with out difficulty. We stayed at the same B&B on our return and were welcomed back as family. The next morning we woke to a wonderful breakfast and adorable company in our hostess. Shawn helped her with her computer while I finished getting ready to go. Today we were going to see the rest of the Cabot Trail. We were impressed at the views and the inclines and declines and the wonderful weather in which we enjoyed it all. We kept our eyes on the water hoping to glimpse some whales, but only saw cormorants and Herring gulls. After a couple of leisurely hikes we finished off our day by driving to Moncton, New Brunswick, a short distance from the Confederation Bridge, which we are going to cross tomorrow.

~Sara

Continental Drift

July 7

This morning we decided to hike the Phillips Garden trail along the Port au Choix coast. This is an excellent fishing area and formerly was also home to walruses and large seal colonies. Prior to the first French settlers, this area was occupied four different times by groups including paleo Eskimos. After a brief stop in the visitor center and lighthouse at the national historic site, we set off heading south down the coast. Weather was much better than the last time we drove this way and we made good time. The route passes right through the northern part of Gros Morne, so we couldn’t resist stopping for one last hike and chose a trail leading to the mouth of Western Brook. We were amazed by the evidence of the tectonic forces that folded the land here. Parts of the seabed have been pushed upward so that they form vertical sheets that read like a book of time as you walk further down the beach. All throughout these layers are various fossils which we excitedly searched for. This landscape of Newfoundland was the place that gave birth to the ideas that formed Wegener’s theory of plate tectonics, and looking around the island it is hard to not notice evidence of tectonics in action at every turn.

We then sadly departed Gros Morne and set out for the Cape Anguille Lighthouse on the southwestern corner of the island. This was our stop for the night as we managed to arrange a stay in one of four rooms available in the former lightkeepers quarters. It was a very beautiful setting with mountains in the backdrop, lighthouse right out our window, and a view that opened out to the sea. We enjoyed a beautiful and peaceful sunset (around 10pm). Sara took MANY pictures including some really cool after dark photos of the lighthouse.

It was a fun, but bittersweet day, as it is our last full day on this island that we have both grown very attached to. I have no doubt that we will return someday, as we have only managed to explore a small portion of this beautiful place.

~Shawn

Picture Post

The sun came up at 4am in St. Anthony today.

It was still raining and the wind was blowing, as demonstrated by the Canadian flag. It was about 5 degrees Celsius.

Due to the weather, we had to cancel our plans to take an iceberg boat tour. But we saw some from shore anyway.

We actually saw more than 30 icebergs!

We also went to the first Viking settlement in North America at L' Anse aux Meadows
The wind was still blowing...

We are amused by Canadian signage...

And on the way to Port au Choix the sun came out.

Which left us all smiling.

The end.

Midnight sun...sorta

This whole trip we have enjoyed long days due to our high latitude, with light until well after 10pm. Tonight we are as far north as we will go. Even though the sun will be beyond the horizon from about 10pm until 5am, we will have continual astronomical twilight. This means that there will be a glow on the horizon from the sun all night long. Not enough to see by, but still pretty neat.


-- Post From Shawn's iPhone

The Viking Trail

July 5th

We set off this afternoon along the western coast of Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. This route is known as the Viking Trail and ends at the northernmost point of the island. The harsh winter conditions were apparent in the numerous construction zones along the way, several of these involved stripping portions of the highway back to a gravel base and we spent a lot of time inching along through these sections. The weather deteriorated as we drove, but the cold, wind, and rain really seems to fit the place, imparting a natural beauty of their own. After paralleling the Labrador coast for a while the route cuts across the interior of the peninsula for the last 60km to St. Anthony on the Northeastern coast. This last leg is as remote as any area I have ever traveled through with no towns and little evidence of humans beyond the shoulders of the road. To top off our drive, as we rounded one of the last turns before reaching St. Anthony Sara excitedly pointed out the first iceberg of our trip!

After checking in to our B&B we struck out for dinner. We ended up at a former lightkeeper's cottage turned restaurant, where we enjoyed excellent food and a stunning, if stormy, view of our second iceberg floating by. An excellent ending for our day!

Posted by Shawn

A walk in the woods

July,, 3-4

Summer is short here, the plants know this well and make good use of the season. So, right now, every growing thing is green and racing toward reproduction before it turns cold again. There are multitudes of wild flowers in every available niche and the conifers are laden with new pine cones. This all makes for very pleasant hiking. We saw lovely landscapes and beautiful flowers, and some spectacular waterfalls. We walked through enchanted forests, deserted tablelands, along the rocky coast, through peat bogs, and beside fresh water ponds. With every step we saw things that were unspeakably beautiful and all we could do is pinch ourselves and relish in the fact that we were here.

It got even better....one walk turned into a ride when we took a boat cruise on Western Brook Pond. The "pond" was once a glacier carved fjord, that has since been cut off from the ocean. It is also MUCH larger than what you think of as a pond being ten miles long. For our science friends, it is one of a very few ultraoligotrophic, pristine freshwater lakes in existence. It is 350+ meters deep in some places and is surrounded by sheer granite cliffs rising as much as 2000 ft above the water surface. It is a very unique body of water in that its water volume turns over only once every 16 years (as opposed to several times a year for many lakes/ponds). The isolation of the place is brought home by the fact that we had to hike 3.5km to get to the boat dock and were told that the boat had to be brought in four pieces by helicopter.

We left a little of our souls here in Gros Morne and are already making plans for a return trip. For now...it has started to rain, and we are now going in search of Vikings and Icebergs.

Posted by Sara (with contributions by Shawn)