62 replies to this topic

[Old Crow]

We did the counter-clockwise version of the Newfoundland-TransLab circle in 2010 and had a great time.  We spent three and a half weeks in Newfoundland and then worked our way home via the Trans-Lab and Quebec.  We left August 21st and arrived home September 29th.  We were traveling in our van.

 

We had decided we'd take the Trans-Lab home from Newfoundland after learning they had just completed the section between Happy Valley/Goose Bay and Cartwright Junction the previous December.  Completion of that last section meant the Trans-Lab could now be driven end-to-end.

 

A few things come to mind.... (in more or less random order)

 

- Decide how you're going to pronounce 'Newfoundland'

 

- The only part of historical New France still under control of the French government since the Treaty of Paris is The Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and it's only 25K off the coast of Newfoundland.  We took the (passenger-only) ferry from Fortune, NL with our bikes and spent two days on St. Pierre.  We didn't have reservations for the ferry or a place to stay on the island.  During the crossing we struck up a conversation with a local and learned her sister owns a B&B. When we reached the island, we had the tourist office call the B&B (Chez Ines) and a room was available.  Ines was friendly and wonderful and gave us maps and local insights and made reservations for us at a nice restaurant, L'Atelier Gourmand. Oh là là!

The second day was a bit rainy so we spent part of it in the local library and the librarian recognized we were tourists and brought us a few English-language books about the island's history.  Also- we even enjoyed such simple things as going into a hardware store or pharmacy to look at how different things are from what we normally see.

 

- Random Passage was a 2002 Canadian mini-series about the struggles of a colonial Newfoundland outport community.  It was filmed near Trinity and the movie set can still be toured at New Bonaventure.  We had bought the novel early in the trip and had been watching the DVD set each night so we greatly enjoyed the tour.  I see the DVD set can be bought used on Amazon for about $10 if that's of any interest.

 

- The Maritimes have very rich music and theater traditions.  Keep an eye out for any opportunities to attend plays and live-music venues. We loved seeing 'Terese's Creed' at the Rising Tide Theatre in Trinity (and wish we had been able to see other shows).

 

- We enjoyed sitting down to a Jiggs dinner one Sunday with local folks.  We had seen a hand-written notice on a bulletin-board about the dinner being available and someone gave us directions to what looked like a long-closed gas station.  The only sign (and it was barely visible) said 'Yes, We're Open' but it wasn't clear what was open.  Inside were a six-seat table and two four-seat tables and all but two seats were filled.  We were given a friendly invitation to the open seats..."if you don't mind company".  And of course we didn't.  It turned out to be much like a big family dinner back home.

 

- If you happen to be a fan of the Appalachian Trail, consider that its extension, the International Appalachian Trail, runs through eastern Canada to Belle Isle, NL.  We walked a section of it in Gros Morne National Park.  This older film about it is an eye opener but has a mistake at the end.  It says more info is available at iatnl.ca but that should be www.iatnl.com.

 

- If you happen to be interested in geology, I see the IANTL web site currently includes an article about the Cabox Geopark Information Center at Benoit's Cove opening last November.  Further searches led me to the Canadian Geoparks Network.  Very interesting!  We learn there are Geoparks and there are Aspiring Geoparks (i.e., under development).  For us tourists, these are interesting geological areas to research further.

 

The UNESCO World Heritage sites are well worth a visit....

 

- Red Bay Basque Whaling Station in Labrador is very interesting historically.  It's a European summer whaling station founded in the 1530s (!!)

 

- L'Anse Aux Meadows dates to around the year 1000.  (!!!!!) 

 

- Gros Morne National Park.  We also took the tour boat at Western Brook Pond and were sorry we hadn't planned on hiking from the dock at the far end of the fjord.

 

(Those three are the well-known ones. The list of World Heritage Sites in Canada also includes Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve in Newfoundland and several very interesting sites in Nova Scotia.)

 

We also enjoyed seeing the reconstructed Marconi wireless station at Cape Race in southeastern Newfoundland. The wireless station relayed the distress signals from the Titanic some 107 years ago this month (and it was at Signal Hill, St. John's that Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless transmission in 1901.)

 

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Edited by Old Crow, 06 April 2019 - 01:28 PM.

[buckland]

Hello again Old Crow! That is a big drop of info! And greatly appreciated. It really is a different flavor trip up there and that makes it that much more interesting...another way of life. I keep thinking of the trips to the desert in contrast and how these places require such different planning...somewhat similar to the AK trip. Did you camp at the Res. Manicouagan? That is such a wild looking crater. It's huge! 

[Old Crow]

<snip> Did you camp at the Res. Manicouagan? That is such a wild looking crater. It's huge! 

 

No, sorry, we didn't camp near there.  We had stayed in Labrador City the night before and that put us in that area at mid-day.

 

'WIld' is almost an understatement for that crater.  214 million years ago. Meteor 3 miles across. Crater 60 miles across. The fireball from it reportedly went as far as New York City and there's evidence of it's ejecta in UK rocks. And for me, here's the mind-blower-- it may have been one of a several. (Ever heard of 'paleoalignment'?) Wow.

 

I see there's an iOverlander freebie site there and maybe even a campground with showers and wi-fi (I saw another post that says it closed).

 

And I see there are the Uapishka Art Cabins in the KM335 area near one of the Monts Groulx trailheads.  (And there are more photos in this Mont Provencher Climb post) . (I wasn't aware of them until today)

 

And tours of the Manic-5 generating station and Daniel-Johnson Dam

 

By the way, Churchill Falls (well north of there but on your way) is an interesting company town.  Most people and businesses are employed by or related to the hydro station operator, Nalcor Energy.  As I remember it we talked with someone about the fact that townspeople live in company-owned houses heated and lit by free electricity. The visitor center told us we could hook up to the electric outlets in a nearby parking lot for free if we liked.  We took the hydro station tour and the station was incredible.  It's built 1000 feet down into solid rock.  The station is also controversial in that the great majority of profit goes to Hydro Quebec.  They make $1.7 billion a year from it and Newfoundland-Labrador makes $63 million.  That led to a Supreme Court of Canada case which was decided last November in Hydro-Quebec's favor and the contract can't be renegotiated until 2041. (See Churchill Falls Generating Station.)

 

The other interesting thing in Churchill Falls is the Donald Gordon Town Centre-- it has the town hall, school, swimming pool, ice surface, auditorium, grocery store, library, hotel, kitchen and restaurant, fitness centre, gymnasium and bank... all in one big building.  Something like that can only be done in a company town, I suppose.

 

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[DavidGraves]

Hi Buckland

 

Enjoy that trip !

 

There is no greater sense of "getting away" than up through the Maritimes.

 

The brightest blue I have seen is an iceberg on a sunny day.

 

David Graves

[buckland]

Thanks David... i agree a blue hard to describe to someone. In 1979 i was traveling in S Chile.
Remote. Was crossing the Grey Glacier and at the base found a cave. Glaciers are loud. It took some time to summon the courage by I ventured in a hundred meters or so. I was blown away by the swirls and shades of a hundred blues. I took a few photos i still go back to.
My big decision us only whether to travel clockwise or counter. My wife pointed out if it was the later it would allow for more flexible return time doing the NS ferry to NL at the beginning. Makes sense.

[Missing Link]

Penner - I am no expert, but do not think that you are leaving too early.  Your experiences will vary depending on when you are there but they will all be great experiences, I'm sure.

 

Rob - I will dig out the details on the satellite phones and post them here in a little bit.  Basically, you pick up a phone at a hotel at one end of the Trans-Lab. Hwy. and turn it in at a hotel at the other end.  You must leave a credit card imprint to get the phone and they are only to be used for emergencies.  On the Quebec portion of the trip from Lab. City to Baie-Comeau, they take a different approach.  Every so-many kms. along the road you come to a phone booth which may only be used for emergencies.  You will likely have to walk long ways to get to the booth but it is comforting to know they are there.

 

Here is a photo of an iceberg that gives you an idea of the color that David Graves and Rob are talking about. 

 

One addition to Old Crows list of places to see is the Glace Bay miners Museum in Nova Scotia.  It is quite near Sydney (where the NL. Ferry is located and we found it fascinating.

 

 

 

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[buckland]

Granted these are 40 years old (old Kodachrome) ...it was freaky in there but a good memory. That white dot is the cave entrance.

 

 

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[Vic Harder]

Granted these are 40 years old (old Kodachrome) ...it was freaky in there but a good memory. That white dot is the cave entrance.

Yowza... freaky indeed, and wicked colours!

[searching for nowhere]

I hope you blog on your trip.  I enjoyed your writings and photos from your Alaska trip.

[buckland]

Thanks searching for nowhere. I hadn't thought to but may. I enjoy travel writing...it is reflective of the days' musing as ones' mind drifts while driving or hiking. It is a time when there aren't any obligations other than the days necessities. My life at home has tons of 'gotta do's' and people who depend on me... so it is a real liberation.... on the road. Life unfettered. 

 

I went to your blog and like the campsite map...that's good idea as I tried on the AK trip to share where we ended up but that is much better having the geo tags on a map. 

 

Old Crow... that last post has great info...just got through reading the  Mont Provencher Climb blog page. Certainly has that "way the heck up there" feel to these photos. I so enjoy being a long way from anywhere so the 'here' is all there is... and a lot of it. Thanks so much for the links.

Edited by buckland, 08 April 2019 - 01:15 PM.