Saturday 9/21/13 L'anse-au-Medows to Doyles

Sometime before daylight Jack Frost visited the area and did his magic on everything and put a nip in the air.  We decided to start out and find somewhere to get breakfast.  There is no fast food up here unless you are in one of the larger towns like Deer Lake, Corner Brook, or Stephenville.  As we left Quirpon up ahead we saw a good size building with parking in front.  Linda said “That looks like a restaurant!”  When we got there it was someone’s house near the road, with several cars, pickups and four-wheelers out front.  I said “I guess we could knock on the door and ask if we could get breakfast.”  The look I got was not the Adorable Look!

 

Triple Rose B&B

 Soon after turning south onto route 430 we saw another place that had a little more of a restaurant appearance.  It was Triple Rose Bed and Breakfast.  I pulled in to the drive but when I saw “Bed and Breakfast” I almost backed out… but Linda said “There is an open sign in the window.  How ‘bout I go in and see if it’s a restaurant too?”  As I looked through the picture window I could see there was more conversation than a simple yes or no answer.   Linda came back to the van smiling.  She said, “They’re not a restaurant, but they will make us anything we want for breakfast.”  They told her the closest restaurant was in Flower Cove (an hour’s drive) but they didn’t think it was open. 

 

Linda and Edna

So, we went in and were greeted by two of the sweetest ladies you could ever want to meet.  Their names are Edna and Linda.  In a few minutes we were enjoying ham, eggs, toast and coffee.  Edna and Linda are sisters who run Triple Rose B&B and they smiled the whole time we were there.  They said the day before a couple from Toronto came through and they served breakfast to them.  The place was spotless and the food was excellent.  Soon three of their guests came in.  The husband and wife are from Edmonton, Alberta and their gentleman friend is from near King of Prussia, PA.  Somebody from home!  Edna and Linda are very representative of the friendly folks we found here in Newfoundland.  They are making it harder to leave every day.

The Girls in the Kitchen.

Ready for breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is fair weather and made for traveling.  We didn’t let any grass grow under the wheels. 

 

Moose Hunters
Hope they have better luck than us.

Road side gardening

There were some things we noticed on our trip up so I asked Paul at the National Park about them. There are garden plots right along the road.  Much of the soil is a dark bog.  It is full of tannic acid which is not good for growing veggies.  When the highway was put through the soil was turned up deeply and the soil that was left is less acidic making it better for growing.  Bonnie added that many of the yards are small in the villages and too rocky for a garden. On a Sunday drive you tend your gardens.

 

In a few weeks the wood will
be relocated to the owner's
home for the winter

We noticed large wood piles with hand painted numbered signs.  With a permit wood can be removed from Crown lands.  Many times several families will go together to store the wood along the road.  A government inspector will check the piles and make sure no more wood is taken than allowed by the permit’s number.

 

This is a small stack of crab traps

Stacks and stacks of crab traps are stored along the road.  Again as Bonnie said, the yards are small so the traps are stored where it is convenient for the fishermen.   I mentioned apparently theft is not a problem.  Paul said “No it’s not.”  The communities are very small and everybody knows everybody so, if someone would turn thief, it would be found out, and life in the community would be over for them.  They would have to leave.  Logical justice.

 

We had planned to stop in Deer Lake at Gateway to the North RV Park.  We stopped at Mary Brown’s Chicken and Taters for a quick lunch and we found Mary could teach the Colonel a few things.  Then we hit the grocery store.  When we finally stopped at Gateway I realized that it was only 3:00 PM and in three hours we could be back in Doyles (Grand Codroy).  The people at Gateway must have thought we were batty.  We were there for a whole five minutes.

 

Across the street from Gateway is an Insectarium.  We had to get a picture for our great granddaughter, Layla.  She loves to collect bugs. 

 

By 5:30 we were in Grand Codroy sharing our experiences with Arlene and Alice.  We felt as if we had come home.  The evening was complete with a supper of Campbell’s Chunky Soup on the camp stove and a fire in the fire box.  I worked on the blog and Linda worked on her journal by lantern light.

NOW THIS IS CAMPING!