Day 15...July 28. Having left Shallow Bay a day early, we headed up the penninsula towards St.Anthony, with clear skies again. Reservation tonight at Pistolet Bay near the tip of the land.
At 3:30 today we see our first moose of the trip near Castor River! He was off the road browsing at a distance.
We had been very careful not to drive after dusk so far in the trip, on account of story after story of troubles on the road. Indeed, many of the people we had casually spoken with had relatives or friends that had met varied ends with car-moose collisions.
A long way up the coast, the land is edging towards its closest approach to mainland Labrador.
Taking the usual detours down unmarked shore roads, we find huge concrete block markers
for the undersea power cables coming from Labrador- under dark skies but no rain yet.. Looking back inland we can also see the start of a big power station to receive the power before sending it into the Nfld grid.
Shortly after the power cables, the road turns inland - cross country so to speak - and we arrive early evening in St. Anthony after an afternoon of sunshine.. We take a drive around casually before ordering a pizza, and then set camp at Pistolet Bay.
The registration system is buggered up at Pistolet Bay. Upon arrival there was evident site confusion, and some sort of uncertainty in the ranger booth.
We finally got a site and a free park pass for the trouble. No fires allowed.
Day 16..a wonderful day of exploration and learning,. Up from Pistolet Bay we travel on the northern most shore road and notice a small island off the shore at Ship Cove. It has buildings on it, and the perspective from the road is perfect. Viewed with one eye, it could've been a quarter to half a mile offshore .
So off to the island we go, especially to visit the lighthouse...
As we start up the climb towards the village, Jackie poses with houses in the background.
Telephoto of the lighthouse, and then looking way down from the top to one of the nice holiday cottages.
But something is a bit unusual about this village.....
Brian Decker of Ship Cove has poured a lot of care, love and attention into building and maintaining this perfect miniature village and its lighthouse, for travelers around the world to enjoy. Thanks Brian!
Not far from Ship Cove is Onion Cove, right at the tip of the land. A small cemetery is testament to the pioneers and seafarers resting there, overlooking the vast ocean reaches stretching to Greenland, the arctic, and Europe more easterly.
We get chatting with a two locals Mike and Pauline Windsor and learn how Mike's story led him from mentoring in Alberta to moving to Newfoundland with Suncor, and then thriving here.
We then backtracked a few miles and set out to the Burnt Island Preserve, a high up very rocky and tree-barren area with lots of micro fauna, much like the southwest deserts in some ways.
Then it was off to the World Heritage Site L'Anse aux Meadows, where evidence of early Norse settlements were literally unearthed starting in the 1960's. It's fascinating to see the village reconstruction and exhibits, and hear the story of the discovery and it's implications for North American history.
All along our trip so far, we've come across a number of Westfalia Vans out exploring. There so many...
