Friday, August 5, 2016

We are camped at Gros Morne National Park, near Norris Point, Newfoundland, Canada.  We caught the ferry from Labrador yesterday and are officially on our way home.

Newfoundland is a large island and Labrador is the most easterly part of mainland Canada.  They are both rather sparsely populated and in order to be a Canadian province they had to join forces.  So, together, they are Newfoundland and Labrador and most signs (and internet searches) refer to them that way.

Last week we visited Port au Choix National Historic Park, which is on Newfoundland’s western coast.  Our campsite was basic: water and electric at the site, no trees, but this was our view:

At least, that was the view when the fog didn’t roll in.

Port au Choix seems barren and desolate.  The landscape is classified as a limestone barren.

But this area has been occupied for 5000 years.  The sea, of course, provides fish, whales and seals.  The land provides berries and meat, caribou in particular.  And beside the limestone in the area, other stone including soapstone, was available in the region.  Different types of stone were used for different tools and soapstone was even carved into cooking pots.

The landscape seems barren, but we took a short walk along one of the trails and I think I counted at least 6 different kinds of berries.  The limestone creates a unique soil and there are plants here that grow nowhere else on earth.

There are two different kinds of berries in this picture.

This one is out of focus and I don’t know if it’s two different berries or just a ripe and an unripe.

And then there was this one, which is on a stem like a strawberry, but looks like a raspberry.

I apparently didn’t manage to take any pictures of the strawberries.  They were tiny, as were most of the berries.  But they still apparently provided a nice meal for the local caribou, who showed no interest at all in the humans around them.  Although one momma kept her eye on me as we approached.

The park used a few sculptures to tell the story of some of the peoples who lived here.  Like most natives, they made good use of what they had.  This picture is a sculpture to give you an idea of their homes.

The base would be a circular stone wall with a mostly flat top.  These would be used for sitting and sleeping.  Whalebones would be use to build the structure and give it shape.  And animal skins would be stretched between the whalebones to create the walls and roof.

This sculpture depicts the processing of the seal skins.

The national park is next to the village of Port au Choix, larger than some of the fishing villages.  It has a fish processing plant and school and profits from the tourists the park brings in.  It also has a Trip Advisor top rated restaurant.  It’s not a fancy place, but the food is good and most of it is local.  I had cod for dinner and Steve had a moose burger.  Both were delicious.  We went back the next day for lunch!

I’ll close for now.  It took me 2 hours last night to get to photos loaded to the web and I have more in this post.  I do miss our high speed connection, but am lucky to have any connection at all.

Take care,

Deb

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

I’m sitting here writing, overlooking the ocean, at Pinware River Provincial Park, Labrador, Canada.  This is my view:

This is why we travel.  I took a walk on the beach this morning, watched a trawler haul in a catch and saw a whale.  Love it!

This is my beach and a view of our trailer from the beach:

This part of Labrador is populated with small fishing villages, including one you can’t quite see in the first photo above.  The fishing industry here goes back at least 500 years when fishermen from France and Spain came here for cod and whales.  I find that mind blowing.  Within a few years of Columbus’ maiden voyage, fishermen from Europe were fishing off Newfoundland and Labrador and taking their catch back to Europe.

Whaling lasted about 70 years before the number of whales declined enough to not make it economical to hunt for them here.  Historical records in the Basque region of France and Spain were what led to the discovery of the site a whaling station near here.  They claim it was the first large scale whaling operation.  Columbus first lands in 1492 (in the Caribbean) and a big whaling operation starts up in 1530 in Labrador.  Amazing!

We’ve seen some roadside “attractions” that have puzzled us both here in Labrador and Newfoundland.   Beside the road you will see firewood, usually all cut and neatly stacked.  This isn’t beside someone’s home; it’s in the middle of nowhere.

And then, in a different area, you’ll see small gardens with a bit of fencing around them.

Again, usually there are no houses around and you might see several plots in a row.

Well, we finally found some answers.  We had dinner at the Burnt Cape Café in Raleigh, NL (Newfoundland and Labrador).  Good food.  They had placemats with Trivia: How, Why & Where.  I’m just going to quote the placemats verbatim.

“Why are there fenced-in gardens along the roads?  Long ago, residents set their gardens near their homes, but the rocky barren land made it a subsistence enterprise at best.  Then, in the mid-1960’s when the first roads were built, the newly turned soil along the roadsides provided a choice alternative for local gardeners.  Now, every spring, residents till the soil, add kelp or commercial fertilizer, and set their gardens with potatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots and turnips.  These ‘roadside’ gardens are fenced-in to protect the vegetables from marauding moose, which are especially found of the potato stalks.

Why are there woodpiles, snowmobiles and sleds along the roads?  Many people living in northern Newfoundland use wood as a source of heat in their homes, and access to domestic wood-cutting areas is along the highway.  Residents obtains a permit and cut wood during the winter when they can haul it from the cutting area using snowmobiles and sleds, stacking it close to the road.  The wood is left to dry through the summer and in the fall it is loaded onto pickup trucks and taken home.  The most common types of wood cut in this area are spruce, fir and birch.  Every woodcutter knows whose pile of wood is whose, and these are respected.  In the same way, the snowmobiles and sleds used for woodcutting are left along the road over the summer months.  Everybody knows everybody’s snowmobiles and sleds and there are very few cases of theft.”

We never saw any snowmobiles near the wood stacks, but here’s a picture of one of the sleds they mention.

And I have to say, most of the fences I saw around gardens didn’t look like they would deter a moose for long!

We also saw thousands of lobster traps stacked in many places.  Apparently, lobster season here ended July 1, so the traps are in storage.  Restaurants around here have fishermen who keep caught lobsters in pens in the sea for their local supply for the rest of the season.  Restaurants relying on tourists will close in September.

That’s all for now! Take care,

Deb

Monday, August 1, 2016

We are in Pistolet Bay Provincial Park, Raleigh, Newfoundland, Canada.  I’m looking straight into a group of pine trees, so no window picture today. 

Today we visited L'Anse aux Meadows, a Canadian National Historic Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is also the site of a Norse (Viking) settlement here in Newfoundland.  In fact, they suspect that this was the site that Leif Erikson established.  It only existed for about 10 years, around the year 1000.

The possible existence of Norse settlements in North America has been known for centuries, settlements to lands west of Greenland being mentioned in Icelandic and Nordic sagas told orally for centuries and finally written in the 13th or 14th centuries.

There were 8 buildings, including an iron forge, which is one reason they believe this is a Norse settlement.  Metal working was not known in North America at that time, but the Norse made iron tools and nails, many of which were found here.

We stopped for lunch before we headed for the National Park.   Trip Advisor recommended a restaurant in the town of L’anse aux Meadows (population about 250) for lunch, and once again, it was a good choice.  Steve had a sandwich with brisket and shrimp, grilled with cheese that was excellent.  My choices were limited, so I was “stuck” with having local snow crab.

Maryland blue crab is my favorite food, and while I like snow crab, it’s not quite as good.  But Newfoundland snow crab is sweeter than the snow crab I’m used to and is really good.  So we had great food at a table overlooking the bay!

Across the street from the restaurant was a statue of Leif Erikson.

It was in an odd place, looking out to sea, almost hidden by the large rock next to it.  But it was an impressive piece of work.

At the national park, they have recreated some of the buildings, based on dimension of the remains.  For other details, they referenced a Norse building buried in volcanic ash in the 1100’s in Iceland that has been dug out.  Note the vents in the roofline.  The Norse used those in 1100, so the supposition is that they used them here.

The buildings were made of peat and wood and the Norse burned them down when they left.  So much of what remains is the ashes.  But the excavators were lucky enough to have found the trash pit, which was in the peat bog, which helped preserve many things, even those made of wood.

This is what the settlement might have looked like.

The settlement is on the shore and would have relied on fish, whales and seals for many things.  Steve caught some seals resting on the rocks.  (I’d say they were sunning themselves, but there was no sun today!)

I’ve had a summer cold, which has limited my posting, but I’m getting over it.  We’re off to Labrador in the morning, taking a short ferry from Newfoundland (which is an island).  Then we’ll be back in Newfoundland, as there doesn’t appear to be a road recommended for RV travel from Labrador to the rest of Canada.  We should have Internet when we are back in Newfoundland, but aren’t sure about Labrador.  Internet and cell phones are limited in this part of the world.

Take care,

Deb

Sunday, July 10, 2016

We are in Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada.  It’s been cold and rainy since we left Acadia National Park in Maine.

We followed the coast north for quite awhile and were rewarded with views like this.

This particular overlook had some interesting benches highlighted with lobster claws extending above waves.

It was also landscaped with beautiful flowers.

    

We spent the last two nights near Oak Bay, outside of St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

The largest employer in town is Ganong Brothers, makers of fine chocolate.  They have a nice museum, which we toured, and a nice shop.  Steve said the chocolate was very good.  All of it had milk in it, so I didn’t get to taste any.  But they did give me samples of their jellybeans.

We managed not to take any pictures of the museum, but I did take a picture of one of the photos on display.  It’s a picture of the street in front of the factory around 1900.  The muddy streets are a reminder of how tough travel was in those days.  And I can’t imagine trying to cross the street in the floor length dress on the lady on the left in the picture.

This is the view of Oak Bay, a short walk from our campsite.

I realized that I haven’t written about Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

So, here’s Connecticut:

We stopped at Mark Twain’s home in Hartford, Connecticut.  He’s been a favorite author of mine since junior high.  He even made college English more enjoyable.  We had to take 3 English courses, one being freshman English, but we could choose the other two.  I picked Great American Books and American Humor, both of which included Mark Twain books.

The house is a beautiful brick house in what I would call the arts and crafts style.  There is some intricate brickwork on the outside and neat details on the inside, including two fireplaces with windows above the mantels.  Twin flues go up either side of the window.

The downstairs was decorated by Tiffany, yes that Tiffany.  The paneled entry hall is stenciled all over with tiny geometric shapes in silver paint.  It gives the impression of inlaid wood and shimmers in the light.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but here’s the outside.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, lived next door. 

Our tour guide for the house was dressed as Mrs. Twain and one of our fellow tourists was dressed up as Mark Twain, so they posed for us.

One item in the gift store caught my eye.

Some things don’t seem to change.

I’ll try to get Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the next post, but I did want to mention that we managed to get together with John, Enza and their daughter, Milania, in Quincy, Massachusetts.  John is our son-in-law, Mike’s, brother.  We always enjoy visiting with them.  And we hadn't met Milania yet, who reminded us of our granddaughter, Maria.  Visiting family and friends is one of the joys of traveling.

Time for bed!

Take care,

Deb