Thrursday 9/12/2013 Grand Codroy Valley.

 

Thursday 9/12/2013 Grand Codroy Valley

 

Just a few quick facts about Newfoundland and Labrador: 

 

Newfoundland has its own time zone.  It is ½ hour ahead of Atlantic Time which is an hour ahead of our normal Eastern Time.  That right, every time we need to figure what time it is we must add 1 ½ hours to what’s on our watch.  I set my watch to “Newfie” Time and Linda has hers set for Eastern.  That should either keep us on time or terribly late!

 

With over 9,000 years of human habitation there is a rich and diverse history in Newfoundland and Labrador.   This diversity includes Eskimo, Inuit, Norseman (Vikings), French, Spanish and British.  Today you find an intriguing mix of Celtic and French in the accents of the local people.  We have found them to be friendly and welcoming.  It a beautiful landscape of rugged mountains reaching nearly 1,800 ft. with breathtaking seascapes.  What’s not to like about this place.

 

A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, Newfoundland and Labrador became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949, as Newfoundland. On December 6, 2001, an amendment was made to the constitution of Canada to change the provincial name to Newfoundland and Labrador. In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as Labrador.  The dominate language is English. 

To see more check out this link.

http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/AboutThisPlace/History

 

Newfoundland in the fog

The morning was heavy overcast and foggy.  Rain continued on and off so breakfast was at Joe’s Café just a few klicks down the road.  They had thick sliced homemade, whole wheat toast that could have been a meal in itself.   Then off to the general store for a few items.  Then we a stopped at a credit union for change.  We got quarters, Loonies and  Twoonies.  There are no one dollar bills here. The one dollar coins have a picture of a Loon on the back so they are called Loonies.  The two dollar coins are called Twoonies.  It takes a bit of getting used to but it all spends the same.  Canada no longer mints pennies so your change from a purchase is usually rounded to the next 5 cents.

 

We decided to do some sightseeing of the local area.  We drove over to Cape Anguille Lighthouse.  The fog was thick out on the water and you could hear the foghorn at the light station.  It would linger as you heard it echo off the surrounding hillsides.    

 

 

 

Linda looks out over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Then we went to Grand Codroy Provencal Park.  On the north side was the Grand Codroy River and on the south was a beach with crashing waves from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was a peaceful place to stand and enjoy nature at its finest.

 

Cape Anguille Provincial Park

 

 

Hauling in fish traps on the
Grand Codroy River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some say Dogwood Berry
Some say Ash Berry

Waterfalls on the Long Range Mountains

A view of the Grand Codroy River

 

 



 

 

 



This big guy could have literally stopped on a dime



 

 

 

 

Returning to the campgrounds we took a walking trail through the evergreen forest.  The owner’s wife put signs along the trail with cute or inspirational sayings about every 100 ft.  Linda’s favorite was “Seniors are recycled teenagers”. It was a bit of a rugged walk over the twisted roots but the view from the lookouts was worth the effort.  As we reached a footbridge across a stream we met a couple from Ottawa. We took their picture with their camera for them and they in turn for us.   

Newfie Wood Nymph

Beauty and the Beast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed that the garbage containers along the road are very interesting.  They are made of wood and seem to be designed to be critter proof.  Maybe it’s to keep out bears??  Later we found out that they are entirely decorative and practical.  Someone built/bought one and every one followed suit.  As far as critters are concerned we were told there are no porcupines, skunks or raccoons in Newfoundland.  And as for bears the only place to find black bears is in the internal mountains…not around here.  Linda breathed a loud whewwww!

It is to continue to rain on and off for the next few days so we decided to hunker down and wait until storm Gabrielle does her thing and then move on.  We may find ourselves spending our days in the Laundromat from time to time to enjoy the couch and table there and not go stir crazy in the van.

 

The rain continued on and off.  Unless you were in the mood for whatever you made on the camp stove to end up as cold soup, it would be best to find someplace to get supper…Hey, why not Joe’s Café?  The chicken wrap and fish platter was a whole lot better than Oscar Mayer.

 Because of the rain we retreated to the Laundromat to complete the blog and send emails. 

 

Late at night there was one clap of thunder followed by a torrential downpour that lasted all of 10 seconds.  That had Linda awake for most of the night.