ClockWise

With today being Sunday, I decided to keep it low key and plan for the coming week.

I went to the park visitor center and hammered out an itinerary that consisted of seeing the sites here at the park for the next three days. After dinner I took the laptop to the outdoor area of the campground here where they have wireless internet and typed until the about 10:30…about the same time the temp started to di[ to about 32 degrees...brrrrr..

Last night I saw an awesome local band called Anchors Aweigh at a hotel in Rocky Harbor. The band (bass, banjo, guitar, accordion vocals) had a traditional Newfoundland sound and feel. The music with a lot of Scottish influences and local comedy referencing fishing, bad weather and more bad weather was pretty darn fun.

While listening to the band play I met a couple about my age from Alberta that were 6 months into an 8 month road trip. Wow, I thought 2 months was a long time to be on the road!

Today I explored Norris Point and a bit more of Rocky Harbor, two small fishing towns located in the park.

One interesting note about this area is that the moose are as abundant as black flies. So when exploring the country side here people only drive about 45 mph on the highway cause you do not want to meet a moose on the road. There are so many moose accidents that the park actually tallies up the YTD count and posts it on a sign at the park entrance.

YTD moose accidents – 16.

Somehow two mosquitoes ended up in my tent last night.

I sure as heck didn’t see them before bed. I can just see it…these two conspiring on me as I lay down for a “good nights rest”. They know that if I caught them before bed, that I’d rip off each of their legs and wings before they got away.

Well, turns out that my forehead made a perfect spot for them to peck away at all night. So, after waking up to these two (by now) fat SOBs buzzing around my head, I proceeded to trap and rip each on of their legs and wings off. I know it sounds weird, but it felt darn good!

The Keeping’s (who owned the campground) recommended that a hike to Starlight Mountain makes for a good workout and nice view once you reach the top. So, after packing up camp and turning the orange portion of my rain jacket inside out (because it’s moose hunting season) I hiked to the top for a spectacular view of the area. To the north was Cambell’s Lake with hanging waterfalls and to the south, the mighty Atlantic. The hike only took about 3 hours and was well worth the short time.

Next stop: Gros Morne National Park...about a four hour drive.

At the recommendation of Tim and Donna from Texas I stayed at the Grand Codroy camp and RV park. It was quite a nice place with free firewood, internet and awesome hospitality to boot.

The Codroy Valley area in Newfoundland is a very scenic area so I decided to take a drive. The drive led me to the ocean front where gigantic 20 foot waves were pounding the shoreline. This was impressive.

Further along on the drive I happened upon another lighthouse and stopped to visit it for a good while. Once I reached the town of Codroy I stopped at the local auto mechanic so I could tighten up the bike rack. With a welcoming greeting the local mechanic sold me a 7/16ths washer and loaned me his nicest adjustable wrench in the shop. They say up here that if you’re ever in need of some help, go find a Newfie (short for Newfoundlander) – they will assist with pleasure. I found this to be nothing less than true.

After a stop at the wetland interpretive center, I picked up some gifts for family and headed back to camp.

Yesterday pretty much ran into today because, frankly, I didn’t get a minute of sleep last night.

In fact, I packed up my soaking wet tent (and gear) at about 3am because the high winds kept blowing it over. That was the worst storm I’d ever witnessed from the inside of the tent. With the hurricane-like winds and rain pounding the walls, it was like a never ending freight train was rolling over head.

I arrived in Sydney at about 4am and decided to try and find a laundry mat to dry some of my wet cloths and also hang up the tent. With no laundry mats open, I drove to a Wal-Mart style parking lot and proceeded to tidy up the car since everything was so disheveled.

After seeing a policeman drive by and park on the other side of the lot, I decided to go and inform him of my situation. He was totally cool with me laying over in the parking lot for an hour or two until my ferry was ready to depart later in the morning.

After a good break in the parking lot I drove to the ferry terminal and saddled up for an 8 hour ride to Newfoundland. It ended up being a pretty rough ride due to the stormy weather even though the boat was nearly 600 feet long.