Cow Head to Woody Point

Photos: August 15, 2016

We started our day with a hike to the beach. Indentations in the rock hold mini pools.



Flowers manage to grow amid the pebbles.



Some of the rock seems to be formed of many small rocks.



There is a small community on the peninsula as well as a fish plant.



Some houses are clad in bright colours.



Others have faded.



We drove to Woody Point in Gros Morne park on the other side of Bonne Bay from where we had stayed on the way up north. You can see Gros Morne mountain in the background to the right of the lighthouse.



We took a lovely walk along the shore. At one point we heard a constant high pitched peeping sound. It was a juvenile seagull in the company of its mother.



The mother would stop and feed its young whose peeping was quite insistent.



The views in every direction are jaw-dropping.



Woody Point itself is quite charming - it is the most picturesque community in Gros Morne Park.

From St. Lunaire-Griquet to Cow Head

Photos: August 14, 2016

The sky was so clear you could see for many kilometers - right across the strait to Labrador. With binoculars we could see the lighthouse we had visited just a few days earlier.



The perspective on this photograph is off, but this is the ship we think we saw from the Labrador coast. It looks near, but is out in the strait. We think it is the ship that is laying cable across the strait as part of the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric project.  The little strip of blue it sits on is actually the Strait of Belle Isle and may be about 30 km wide here (I have found very conflicting articles about the width of the strait). The land behind is Labrador.



We passed by Flowers Cove again - this time on a sunny day. The lighthouse looked crisp in the clear air.



Our destination for the day was Cow Head. We went for a hike on the peninsula. These are Cow Head heads at at the amphitheatre.



There are great views along the way. Here we were looking back to the community of Cow Head with the Long Range Mountains in the background.




This lighthouse is no longer in use, but its exterior is maintained.



Berries grow in abundance here. I think these are bunchberries.



I had never seen these flowers before. They are called Indian Pipes or Ghost Plants. It seems they are edible in small quantities.



With so much coast, weather-permitting there are always lovely sunsets to end the day.

In Gros Morne Park

Photos: August 2, 2016

Imagine waking up to this view! The air is clear, the water sparkling and the skies are a perfect blue.



Gros Morne National Park is one of the most spectacular places. It encompasses mountains which are part of the Long Mountains which go right up from Port-aux-Basques to the tip of the Northern Peninsula. These are a continuation of the Appalachians. There are open meadows, bogs, lakes and fjords as well as seacoast. We went to hike up Berry Hill and were greeted by gray jays. They are incredibly friendly birds. One time in Charlevoix they followed along with us as we hiked.




As we climbed higher we were treated to fabulous views. On one side we could see the Gulf of St. Lawrence.



Bogs and meadows...



On the other we looked out towards the mountains. The mountain range stretches all the way from Port au Basques to the tip of the Northern Peninsula. They are considered part of the Appalachian chain, cut off from the rest of the chain when the land masses took their current shape.



The park takes its name from Gros Morne mountain, one of the highest peaks in the Long Range. Many people climb it - but it was more than we wanted to tackle! I bumped into someone from CAMMAC and he told us it took them ten hours and sore knees!

For much of Newfoundland’s history fishing has been the chief industry. The Basques and later the French were fishing the Grand Banks in the sixteenth century. Most of the fish was salted and went to Spain and Portugal. Lighthouses were essential to keeping the sailors safe. Each lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes of the lights.



We drove to Cow Head. Jacques Cartier was here on one of his voyages and named the area Cap Pointe. The beach is shallow and with the tide out it seemed to reach quite a way.

We attended a play at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival: As Loved our Fathers by Tom Cahill. It dealt with the referendums in 1948 and the final decision on the part of Newfoundland to join Canada – great to learn more about Newfoundland’s history. The play was beautifully performed and well-written. Lots to think about, - always good when the issues play in your head after you leave the theatre.