What the Walrus said . . .

I am, once again, in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, waiting to board the car ferry for Nova Scotia. It has been a long day with about seven hours of driving from Dildo Run Provincial Park, outside Twilingate.

In some ways I am sad to go . . . the people and scenery here are magnificent. Even though about half of my time on the island was spent in grey and wet weather, the contry just seems to explode with color when the sun breaks through the clouds. If you like seafood, lobster here is selling for about $7.50 a pound, and the fresh cod is incredible!Also, the Provincial Parks in Newfoundland are well laid out, excellantly maintained, staffed by friendly and helpful people, and each offers a slightly different look into the nature of Newfoundland. I got to see moose and caribou closer than I ever imagined in the wild. I had a special encounter with a Red Fox and shared crackers with a very Brazen Jay!

The biggest thing I think I will miss is the lack of mass humanity. I drove for almost four hours today down the Trans Canadian Highway without a single, solitary car falling in behind me! It is Sunday, and for the first three hours of my drive, none of the gas stations or convenience stores were open, no one was stirring in any of the villages I passed through, because there is just not that “sense” of hurry here! Sunday is a day of rest . . . like it was when I was a child!! Life in Newfoundland is so much slower paced and lower stress than America . . . and people just seem happier here!

On the down side . . . two things . . . POTHOLES and BLACK FLIES!! Depending on where you are in Newfoundland, and what the population (tax) base is in the area is, so goes the condition of the roads. Main Roads that link population hubs are in generally good repair. Last winter was very, very hard on the transportation infrastructure across the Province, but road crews are out all ove the TCH filling holes and laying new asphalt. Yet, as you drive further and further off the main roadways, like the feeder roads to some of the more isolated fishing vilages, the roads can get “interesting”. The roads to a couple of the villages were not even paved but were manicured gravel. The potholes, if you were not constantly on your guard, could throw you for a loop . . . so I became very good at having “moose eyes” as well as “pothole eyes”!

The last two and a half days brought a warming trend to the coastal areas around Twilingate. With the warmer weather came the initial onset of gnats, mosquitoes and worst Black Flies. How all of these did not die off under the snow and freezing weather this past winter I do not know . . . but yesterday was my first true experience with dealing with biting Black Flies . . . and they are horrible. The worst ones are those that somehow would get between my eye and the inside of my glasses!! I cannot tell you how many times I whacked myself in the face trying to get the flies to go the hell away!! And people, this was only day two of the hotter weather . . . I cannot imagine how bad the insects must be by mid-summer!

As I sit here in the ferry terminal, I am going to get caught up on a bunch of photos that I want to share with you . . . so here goes!

By the way, as it was explained to me by a Newfoundlander, a “Dildo” is a large crevasse or hole. “Dildo Run” is named for the circular bay that it sits on! The person that told me this was having a really hard time keeping a straight face and not snickering the entire time!! LOL

If you stop in Crow Head, visit the Crow Head Restaurant and try the Chili. Best I think I have ever had, WITH the homemade biscuit!!

I was once again cold and wet, and not liking what the skies had to offer in the way of light. So I went back to the park. The only good thing I did find at the lighthouse was that the gift shop sold Bubblegum Ice Cream! Ask my kids to tell you how much I LOVE Bubblegum Ice Cream Milk Shakes!!

Thus ended the 9th of June. I went back to my tent and was again asleep by 7 PM . . . until the pounding rain woke me up at around 2 AM!! LOL Thus, the 10th of June was a domestic day. I donned my rain gear, rounded up my laundry, and trudged to the comfort center with the washer and dryer and got it all done, folded and put away. Then I pulled out my large container of food stuffs and got it reinventoried and reorganized. I then read my book for a while, filled out postcards for the grands, and even drafted the blog I sent yesterday. So . . . sometimes rain days are good days!!