August 5 to 10th

Aug 5 - Rain has stopped and the sun may even shine. Hear from friends from home, Gary and Carmine that they are in a campground in Bras de Or so we decide to head there instead of Louisbourg. They are taking the ferry tomorrow for Nfld. We meet a great couple at Battery, Linda and David from Peterborough, Ontario. They give us a few suggestions for Nfld as they are headed that way again for the 4th time! They have a cat named Cassie, same as Gary and Carmine so I tell them if they meet a couple from BC travelling in a Eurovan, with a cat, to go up and ask if Cassie is home. You never know! Have a good drive along Bras de Or lake and arrive early in the afternoon. Do some laundry then Gary and Carmine return so we visit then decide to head into town for dinner, I think there is only one restaurant in North Sydney but it is a good one, I have lobster again!

Aug 6 - Gary and Carmine are off, sunny this morning so we head off to Fort Louisbourg. Awesome place, very well done. In 1961 the government decided rebuilding the Fort would be a good way of putting coal miners back to work on Cape Breton Island. I wonder how much that bill was, but it is a great piece of history. They fire a couple of cannons and their pea soup is good, not sure about the bread though! Did a little shopping on our way home tomorrow we catch the ferry to Nfld.

Aug 7 - Sunny again, should be a good crossing. We call in to check that our boat is sailing on time and of course it isn't. We were supposed to depart at 9:30 but it will now be 11:00. Still have to be there by 8:00. What a gong show loading this ship! Takes forever!!!! and we hear that they over booked so have turned away three or four semis, anyway we finally get aboard and we're off by 11:45 or so. We are on the Vision, new boat for this line, like a small cruise ship with many cabins and not much seating. Carmine calls as we are loading, they are at Barachous Point Prov Park so we will see them there. Find a seat in the Bar and have a glass of wine - terrible stuff - but a place to sit. Max and Robert find a good spot out on the deck so we join them there. Good crossing and fast, we are doing around 41 knots. We arrive Port aux Basque around 4:30 but again it's a gong show getting off. You are not allowed onto the car deck until the boat is completely docked. The stairwells are packed with people, kids yelling etc. Away to the campground just south of Cornerbrook. Saw a momma black bear and little cub, run across the road in front of us, so cute! Arrive the campground just after 7 pm, Gary and Carmine right behind us, they've been out exploring. David and Linda are here too, Carmine had to tell me about these people coming over to ask about Cassie - so it did work! We all sit around and visit, Maurice even got out the little propane fireplace.

Aug 8 - We are all six of us heading for "Blow Me Down" Provincial Park. Sounds good what? Finally get to see a little of Nfld. a very majestic landscape! Rugged, and desolate looking. Head out to the coast and Blow me Down park in the picnic area on the beach so we can all be together. Very WINDY! of course. We take the hike up the hill, 423 steps, 150 meters. The view is breathtaking! then back to the beach to pick rocks - we are rock hounds! Big yacht comes into the bay, into York Harbour, where Blow Me Down Days are being held. Name looks like Caraid? Beautiful ship but looks out of place.

Aug 9 - Still blow me down windy this morning but sunny. We are off to Cornerbrook for supplies and will meet up with G&C in Gros Morne. Get stopped in some road construction and had a great chat with the flag guy, when he sent us off he said "Look out for bullwinkle" so far we have not seen any moose. There was a sign when we got off the boat that said there have been 22 accidents so far this year - moose/vehicles. Stop at the visitor centre in Gros Morne and they send us up to Shallow Bay Campground. The scenery is just beautiful. I have some great photos but unfortunately not enough internet time to get them on, will keep trying though. Gary and Carmine fit in our space with us so we save a few $$. Put out the awning to keep the showers off for happy hour then it really starts to rain and it is windy too so everyone heads home for the night.

Aug 10 - Windy and rain in the night but a bit better this morning, we have a long way to go, 301 km to St. Anthony or Pistolet Bay Provincial Park. Foggy and misty all the way to St. Barbe Bay so we don't see much. Then the clouds break and the sun shines! Yahoo! We ran over a little mouse today and Robert's words of wisdom were "Better a mouse than a moose!" Arrive the campground around 3:00 and decide to head into St. Anthony right away so leave a note for Gary and Carmine and we're off. First stop Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack, Gary and Carmine spotted us on the road so they come in and join us. Then we drive out to French Bay and look for icebergs, no luck but we see whales! Max actually seen one broach, we think they are humpback they are BIG! Gorgeous spot and the sun is shinning - it is cold though! A couple of oddities are small gardens (vegetable, mostly potatoe) along the road, each one with it's own little fence and sometimes a scarecrow! and also all the piles of firewood along the roadside. The young lady at the campground tells us that when they put the road in they dug up good soil in places and the residents came along and took little plots for their gardens. As for the wood, they get their permit and in winter drag out the wood with these small sleighs and skidoos or whatever to the roadside, in summer they cut it up to dry. We decide to check out Raleigh and Ship Cove, little fishing villages, or used to be. Saw two moose!