Bill And Maria Go To Newfoundland

  August 1 st Gros Morne National Park Twenty years ago I, along with my friends Dunc Ballantyne from Beverly and Dave Balsinger from Wisconsin, hiked the Long Range Mountains in Gros Morne National Park.  Although that hike didn’t  take me anyplace else in Newfoundland, , Gros Morne was one of the most unusual landscapes I’d ever seen and I promised myself that I’d return someday.  Since then I have been nagging Maria to come back here and last winter we decided this summer was the time.  We’re here for two days at Woody Point south of the main park but an area with powerful mountains and fjord like inlets and ponds.   Lots of interesting hikes in this area -  all day hikes. Our B&B here at Woody Point is the  Bonne Bay Inn.  We were having wine last night at the Inn and the music playing in the bar consisted solely of two Eagle tunes, "Lying Eyes" and "Peaceful and Easy Feeling" over and over.   I like the Eagles, but........   Kind of funn

July 30 th   Fogo Island A wonderful day hiking around and exploring Fogo Island.  These way out of the way places really tug at  me.  I was thinking maybe we could  spend a couple of years in a place like this and then I remembered that I’m seventy one and the days of flitting here and there (Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida) are in the rear view mirror.   The Canadians staying at our B&B told us over breakfast that they’d met some Texans at a B&B earlier in the trip who were proud Trump supporters.  Newfoundland seems like a strange place for a  Trump  supporter  to go, but I don’t know why  I feel that way.  After breakfast we headed up the hill outside the B&B for a trek over  to a rare sandy beach, the first sandy beach we’ve seen in Newfoundland.   Took off my shirt and shoes and submerged myself in some seriously cold water for a couple of milliseconds.   The walk took us by some old paddocks, a graveyard, and, of course, gorgeous coastal vi

28 July Trinity to Twillingate When we rented a car back in St. Johns, we didn’t ask for this big ass Cadillac-pretend-Chrysler 300 and not being a big ass car owner it took a while to get comfortable handling this behemoth.   But after driving a lot on this trip, including a 4 ½ hour drive to Twillingate today, I’m thinking this is the most comfortable vehicle I’ve ever driven.  Minimal fatigue and as quiet as a New Year’s Eve party in Sanibel.  But while highway driving is fine, navigating this yacht through small towns and parking spaces is not easy.  Also, while I’m apologizing to Canadians for Trump, I might as well apologize for accelerating global warming with this  big ass car.  The drive from Trinity to Twillingate today was a hump, half of which was on the Trans Canadian Highway with the other half on small roads with a few very small seaside villages.  For long stretches we had the roads all to ourselves.  No other cars or trucks in sight.   Just rolling green wi

July 27, 2018   Trinity, Trinity Bay Lets get serious.  Why would anyone  go to Newfoundland?  Be honest.  There’s really only one reason to go to Newfoundland and that’s to see Puffins.  The Puffin is the gold standard of the cute-bird-group.   This morning Maria and I headed north on the Bonavista Penninsula to Elliston where there’s a point that juts out for a view across a channel where hundreds of Puffins nest.  We parked and started walking out but were stopped by an Asian lady coming back who was beside herself with joy describing to us how a Puffin came right up to her.   She was practically crying with joy.  Does any other bird inspire  that  reaction?   Once we got to the viewing point we joined five other Puffin aficionados for the show.   They’re just funny and cute,  and beautiful.  Great characters.  One puffin flew across to our viewing spot and hung  around within a  few feet of us for no other reason than to entertain  us  with some great poses.  After a

26 July 2018 Cupids to Trinity Bay Hiked outside of Cupids today for a couple of hours and then drove  three hours further west to Trinity Bay.  You should check Google Earth to see where we are.   The unheralded Burnt Head Trail hike just outside of Cupids knocked us out it was so stunning.   The drive was miles and miles of rolling forest, fog, lakes and, other than a gas station, almost nothing else.    Hwy 1 is Newfoundland's leg of the Trans Canadian Highway and it is just about the only road around.  Brutal fog first half of the trip and then real honest to goodness sunshine.  Arrived in the very beautiful village of Trinity Bay around 2 where we'll stay for two nights.  Tomorrow we'll day trip up to Bonavista and Ellis to find Maria's favorite bird - the Puffin.  I am out of superlatives to describe the beauty of Newfoundland's coast.   The innkeeper gave us a DVD of "The Shipping News" which was a best seller about  a lost soul getti