Day 54 French Ancestors Route

It rained most of the night and was overcast and foggy this morning. The agenda for the day was to explore the French Ancestors Route. Maybe it was the fog or maybe we have seen so many wonderful sights, it turned out to be a pleasant drive but not super. Enjoy the pictures.

Day 53 Chores to be done

A short drive again today and arrived in Hippens. Took and exploratory trip to
Stephenville. This was and US Airforce Base until some time in the 60s. They have it all here, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Mary Browns, KFC, McDonalds, and Sue's favorite was Paddy's Pub for the lanudry. Can you believe this place.

So many things in one place!

Truck and trailer both got a bath.

Day 52 Southern Coast Corner Brook

I hope you will agree that today's trip along the southern cost of Corner Brook was much more scenic than the north was. We drove out through Corner Brook and the pulp and paper mill. Some of the stops included Halfway Point, Frenchman's Cove, York Harbor, Blow Me Down Provincial Park, Bottle Cove, and Little Port.

Blow Me Down has a campground but few of the sites would be easy to get into with the truck and trailer. The problem is the narrowness of the road and the inability to maneuver with out hitting trees, or posts. The sites were generous however.

Had a very nice hike round Bottle Cove.

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Day 51 North Coast Corner Brook

Today was a short drive down to /Corner Brook. We explored the North coast this morning and it provided a good overview of the main part of the town. Took the road to the end at Cox Bay. There we met a resident who gave us the low down about this area. He has lived here all of his life of 59 years. The told us about the local Mink farm just outside of town. You could see it from the road. He indicated the 5 or 6 barns housed around 20,000 minks.

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Day 50 Gros Morne Revisited

We had to take the opportunity to revisit Gros Morne NP. The main target was to visit Trout River on the South side of the park. We had been there before but need to take more time to explore. Had a nice walk along their boardwalk. Also found a very secluded park campground at the end of the road. It would be a little tight for the Airstream but very nice. Also discovered another great NP campground in Lonond. It was right on the water with great views. Of course on this side of the park you go by the Tablelands. They are always special.

If you have not discovered we are on the final legs of the trip, and I'm becoming more abbreviated.

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Day 49 Deer Lake

Set up camp at Gateway to the North RV park in Deer Lake. The lone activity was a hike along the shore of the Humber River.

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Day 48 Fleur de Lys

This morning it is raining and we are being lazy. We waited till 11:30 to leave the campground. The destination was to be Subway in Baie Verte, mainly to get access to their free WiFi.

On the drive to Fleur de Lys we passed this hugh open pit mine. Later we found out it was and asbestos mine. It opened in 1983 and closed some time in the late 1990s. To us this seem very recent for asbestos to be actively mined.

Fleur de Lys was the target for the day. It turned out that it was a civic holiday and a funeral in town and it appeared that was where everyone was. The chief attraction is the Dorset Soapstoe Quarry Site and Museum. The Museum was closed but we could hike the trail out back. The quarry is the only known soapstone outcrop in the northern hemisphere that preserves evidence of Paloeskimo vessel-quarring. You can see in the photos the shapes where the carving had been done. The trail also went up to a good vantage point to view the area.

The rain relented in the afternoon, so everything worked out.

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