Rex and Nancy's Travels - "ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST" - JRR Tolkein

  Tuesday morning, we drove south to JT Cheesman Provincial Park in the rain. We stayed in the same site we were in when we were here on July 2 nd .   After lunch we drove along the Granite Coast to Rose Blanche about 45 miles east of Port Aux Basques.   The coast along this drive was beautiful. Rose Blanche Lighthouse was constructed from local granite. The lighthouse was built in 1871 and restored in 1999.  We walked along a short path to reach the lighthouse. Inside the tower is a stone spiral staircase.  This staircase kept the tower from collapsing while the remainder of the lighthouse fell to ruin.  This is looking up the staircase. The lighthouse keeper's quarters have been furnished with locally reproduced furniture and local antiques. There were 5 lightkeepers over the approximately 70 years of lighthouse operation. After touring the lighthouse, we continued walking the path to an overlook of the fishing village of Rose Blanche.   The vil...

  Monday it was rainy and foggy, so we decided to drive to Stephenville and take a short hike along Blanche Brook.   All along this section of the brook you can see fossilized tree trunks embedded in the sandstone. The fossil beds here provide a rare glimpse of the remains of 305-million-year-old tropical Cordiatalean Trees.  The giant 160 ft trees grew on a mountain range when the island of Newfoundland was part of the great continent Pangaea.                     Nancy on the trail in the forest beside the brook. More logs in the water. We found logs of various sizes on this short section of the brook.   This was a great hike despite the foggy weather, and we enjoyed finding the fossilized logs. We next drove around parts of Ernest Harmon Air Force Base – an abandoned US Air Force Base.  The beginning of World War II changed everything for the small community of Stephenville. When the "Destroyers f...

We left The Blue Canoe Campground on Saturday morning and drove Southwest to Kippens where we are staying at the Zenzville Campground. This is an area on the southwest coast that we did not see when we came up the coast the first part of July.   After getting settled in the campground we did some necessary chores around the motorhome. Sunday morning, we drove the French Ancestors Route on the Port au Port Peninsula.   Newfoundland only gained control over the west coast in 1904.   Prior to that, it was known as the French Shore, because France had exclusive fishing right there.   Today, many French place names remain, and the area is still the hub of French Newfoundland culture. Our first stop was at Long Point at the northern tip of the peninsula.   We hiked to the end of the point where Rex could not resist climbing to the top of this warning beacon. The point gradually disappears into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.          ...

We left Terra Nova National Park Thursday morning and drove north towards the Baie Verte Peninsula.   On our way we stopped in Gander at the Compassion Monument.   We all remember the events of 9-11-2001 and the closing of North American airspace resulting in 38 aircraft landing at the Gander Airport.   This monument sits on the lawn in front of the town hall. The rock that the beam sits upon signified Newfoundland (often referred to as The Rock). The shape of the rock is meant to invite people to sit down and ponder the events. This is the plaque that is on the side of the monument.  It reads: “Town of Gander Compassion Monument On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States resulted in the closing of North American airspace.   Gander received 38 aircraft with over 6,500 people from 95 countries.   Our population increased by 70%.   For 6 days, the plane people had a place to sleep, eat and feel safe. The Bethpage Fire Department,...