Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Newfoundland!

Newfoundland!

After a year of planning and months of travel, the shores of the Island of Newfoundland were in sight.  This was the ultimate destination of this trip and I could barely contain my excitement.  

We departed North Sidney, Nova Scotia at Noon on August 4th, and arrived at Port au Basque, Newfoundland six hours later.  What a great way to celebrate my 35th birthday.

The view of Newfoundland as the ferry arrived.


I was so excited to see the Welcome to Newfoundland sign, I had to stop and get a picture.

The truck from Colorado, that lives in California, made it to Newfoundland!  195000 miles!


As soon as we made land, we were on the road up the coast of Newfoundland.


First stop Gros Morne National Park. 

From the Newfoundland Tourism Website "It took Mother Nature 485,000,000 years to mold Gros Morne National Park into the geological and visual wonder we know today. The second largest National Park in eastern Canada, Gros Morne National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site stretching across 1,805 square kilometres of western Newfoundland as part of the towering Long Range Mountains."


We had to hike the mountain named after the park.  It was a strenous hike, but well worth it!















See that couloir in the middle, yep we hiked up that!



Fun bits about the mountain, posted at the base, national parks are great for this stuff. 



Stern warnings about the hike to come.  Turns out they were not joking about the difficulty of the trail ahead. 


Up and up, through that scree field and up the Couloir!



Richard scrambling up the scree field.   


The view from the top!  Well worth the challenge. 








Summit!  2644 ft!  Thats a lot considering we started from sea level.






The hike down.  Getting a little tired.







The trail was full of rocks, and when there weren't rocks, we were treated to wood paths.  They were nice after all the woobly rocks.




With the hike done we went to the town of Norris Point for dinner.  Classic Coastal Newfoundland small town.  Just like I imagined it!


The next day we did some touring.  The night before it was very rainy, and the remaining storm made for great views!



One very unique gelogical feature of Gros Morne is where the Mantle of the earth is visible.

From Wikipedia:  
"In some places under the ocean the mantle is actually exposed on the surface of Earth.[10] There are also a few places on land where mantle rock has been pushed to the surface by tectonic activity, most notably the Tablelands region of Gros Morne National Park in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador."


The bay of the town of Trout River.


The town of Trout River


Every where you turn there is an amazing view!



After exploring Gros Morne, it was time to start the drive across Newfoundland.  Most of it was just like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  Beautiful rolling hills.  As we rolled in to Gander, we found a sign for the North Atlantic Aviation Museum.  This is one place I wish I had taken more pictures, but I did not realize where we were until we had toured the entire museum! 

Gander used to host the Largest International Airport in the world.  It was the fuel stop for most Transatlantic flights until the 1960s.  From Wikipedia




Ochre Hill Look Out provided some novelty and amazing views of the park.







More interesting National Park placards. 




These Adirondack Chairs were out for enjoying the views.  Unique and interesting placement!


Arriving in St. John's!  The oldest and eastern most city in North America.




The famous Jelly Bean Row Houses of St. Johns.


One of the big reasons for going to Newfoundland was to ride the trails in St. John's.  Inspired by an artcle in Bike Magazine.  Fringe Benefits

First stop was Freeride Mountain Sports for trail info.  

Chris is the owner there and was very helpful.  
He and the riding community have set up Mountain Bike St. John's as an excellent resource for trail information.  



 Day one riding Subnet.







One of the many beautiful views of St. John's


After riding we went looking for lunch in the community of Quidi Vidi.  We were not successful, but there is a great brewery there that offers tours and tastings.  Quidi Vidi Brewery


Day Two, a solo mission to Ocean View Trail.  The weather gave me a treat on this ride.  The trail is well known for the views, but as I arrived the fog was quite thick.  As I rode up the trail, a storm was rolling in.  It cut my ride short, but the winds blew the fog out, clearing the sky's just long enough for me to really enjoy the ride.

















After riding Richard and I were looking for something cool to do in town.  I had seen A road heading up to the hill that faced the ocean and seprated St. John's from the Atlantic.  Well it turns out it was the Historic Signal Hill.  Not only did it offer amazing views of the ocean and St. John's Harbor and City, it was rich in history.


Looking south along the Atlantic Coast of Newfoundland


Looking East out in to the Atlantic.


The Harbor and City of St. John's







Some fun information on Signal Hill.



Sea Ice!






Getting Screeched in.  This is a Newfoundland Tradition, welcoming newcomers to the island.  A fun way to celebrate being on the Island!

From Wikipedia:  " Newfoundland Screech is used in a non-obligatory ceremony known as the "screech-in". The "screech-in" is an optional ceremony performed on non-Newfoundlanders (known to Newfoundlanders as a "come from away" or "mainlander") involving a shot of screech, a short recitation and the kissing of a cod. It is often performed either in homes or more commonly in town pubs, such as George Street, St. John's. Most notable for their screech-in traditions would be Trapper John's and Christian's Bar."

The Sailor that Screeched us in at Christians Bar.


Screech!



Our last day in Newfoundland, and we rode what would be my favorite trail.  Cape Spear.











After an amazing week, it was back to main land North America.  We departed from Argentia, taking the 16 hour ferry back to Sidney.  It was a very enjoyable ride.