June 19-20 From Labrador to St. Anthony, NFL

A few glances back toward Labrador and then we had to board the ferry and head back to St. Anthony, NFL. This is a pencil sketch of the village of Red Bay. The view of the river was from the Pinware River bridge. A photo just can't show the magnificent beauty of the river.

I wish we could stay here another day!



My first glimpse of an iceberg! After we got settled at Triple Falls CG in St. Anthony, we drove out to this lookout point. We are on the Northern Peninsula (if you're looking at a map).

Joe performs a magic trick! He touches an iceberg.

It's cold and windy, but not enough to keep us inside, there's just too much to see.

During the Ice Age, the glaciers stripped off the topsoil, as it moved south, and deposited it on Prince Edward Island. So Newfoundland and Labrador are mostly rocks and PEI is rich and fertile. The soil depth here (NFL) is only 3-5 inches. When the government started grading the roads, the people collected the topsoil in wheelbarrows and bags and formed garden plots along the road. They added peat bog, seaweed and fish to enrich the dirt. Each family's garden is the size needed to feed the number of members in that family.

This is not a hobby for them! It is necessary to assure fresh root vegetables for their family and cut costs. Their main crops are potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets,broccoli and onions.



One of the most important men in the history of Northern Newfoundland was Wilford Grenfell. He was a doctor and missionary, greatly influenced by Dwight Moody, who established medical clinics across the country. He was so dedicated to providing care for the Inuit Eskimos that one day when a patient was having difficulty, he loaded his dog sled and crossed a frozen river to get to her quickly. A strong wind broke the ice and he was stranded on a small ice berg with only a few of his dogs. In order to survive he had to kill the dogs and wrap himself in their skins. This man knew he had a God given gift and mission, so he did whatever it took to fulfill that mission. He was also a driving force behind the economic development of this part of the country and he believed in teaching the people how to help themselves.

After touring the Grenfell Museum, we went to the house where he and his wife lived. The house contains about 85 percent of its original furnishings. Joe really loved this house. This is a picture of the house before the trees grew up around it. Couldn't get a shot of the real thing, too many trees.

We then drove out to Fishing Point which is the farthest northern point in Newfoundland.


There was a gift shop and a fabulous restaurant there. Joe finally found THE hat he has always wanted. Sam tried one on too. Don't they look like two little boys about to get into big trouble?

These bad boys looked pretty well behaved.

Very, Very Nice Day!

June 17,18 Port Aux Choix NFL and Labrador

June 17, We drove to Port Aux Choix and camped right on the beach. This is the view out our front window.

All these villages on the water are fishing towns. I can't imagine what its like in the winter. Its a rough and dangerous way to make a living but these people are rugged individualist and love the life they live. Many families have been here for generations and continue the traditions of their forefathers.

The towns are all so neat and clean. Although some homes are older and need repair, they pride themselves on keeping trash picked up and yards neatly trimmed. See the cute little trash can cover.

June 18, We traveled a short distance to St. Barbe NFL to board the ferry for Labrador. It's raining again, but who knows - in 15 min. it may stop. Here's the front of our boat. This is a

shorter ferry trip and the waters are calm. We went up to the top level which offers a great view of the water. Joe is busy watching for whales. We met other travelers from the states and enjoyed talking with them and hearing about their other journeys.
Sam and Margaret decided to stay below in the comfy lounge chairs. I think Sam is already yawning!

We landed at Blanc Sablon, which is actually in Quebec Canada, then drove 53 miles to Red Bay Labrador. This is a very small village, but our reason for coming here is big. There is a family here who adopted three young boys, rather than have the children split up. Marilyn, the foster mother to these kids runs a small restaurant, does all the cooking and sews the clothes for the people in the town. She makes her own patterns and sews on a machine donated by one of the Yankee RV caravaners. Each year the wagonmaster and caravaners brings gifts of new or used items for this family and others located in more remote villages. It is difficult to get certain items and very expensive since it has to be shipped or flown in.

The gratitude of these people was so touching. Our visit is the biggest thing they look forward to each year. We had lunch at the restaurant, which included some of the best seafood chowder we've had so far.


Labrador extends farther East than any other part of N. America. Really, the sun comes up here at 4:00AM. It's about the size of Colorado with a population of 30,000. This village was originally a Basque whaling community. After visiting the museum and Information Center, I have a much better understanding of how dangerous and difficult a life this was. Joe is standing in front of a boat used to assist the whale hunters. The other fellow is a replica of an Inuit Eskimo hunter and the bones are from a whale's fin.

This picture shows an Inushook, rocks stacked on top of each other, which was used to help hunters and other travelers find their way home. Guess it would stick up above the snow so they could see it??????

This is a place where eons of glacial action, erosion and geological movement have left a reminder of how this earth looked a million years ago. Only the stout hearted could survive and thrive in this environment. I will never forget this place and the proud, self reliant people who live here.

June 16 Newfoundland

A "Shakey" Welcome to Newfoundland

When the ferry docked at Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland it was raining very hard, cold and constant winds blowing at 40 MPH with gusts of 60-80 MPH. The wagonmaster knew it was too dangerous to drive to the appointed campground so he found one closer. Those 20 miles were the most terrifying I've ever driven. But thanks to our wonderful Lazy Daze rig and many unspoken prayers, we made it. The winds continued throughout the night . Most of us slept lightly, in case our rig was toppled over - very scary. The next day it was sunny and calmer.

We traveled to Deer Lake, NFL and began to discover the unbelievable beauty of this country.
The group loaded up in cars and went to a waterfall where salmon usually come to spawn. No salmon were jumping but the river was a sight to behold.


Here are our new friends from Albany, GA, Frank and Fay. They have been so kind to drive us around to the various sights. We've enjoyed their company and hope to see them again after the caravan. You can tell by how we are dressed and how our hair is blowing, that it is still cold and windy.

Tonight we had a special evening of entertainment. The guys you see are called the Sharecroppers. They have performed for royalty all over the world. They now limit their engagements, to stay close to their families. The thing that has been so touching about this part of the country is the strong family committment. I'll share a few of these stories with you later, but for now let me tell you about the Newfie Screech-In!

This fellow was an official Newfoundlander who initiates foreigners, who then become certified Newfoundlanders. It's all pretty hilarious and quite entertaining. I can't tell you exactly what he does because we don't want others who come on the caravan to know about it! We also had a great meal - but I didn't know I was eating moose until I'd already started eating it. Hey, it was good! Two of the predominant foods included in most meals, is mashed potatoes(real ones) and rutabagas. Never cared much for those until now.

Tomorrow it's off to Labrador, another ferry ride!

June 14-15

June 14, Cabot Trail

Today we all boarded a tour bus and spent the whole day traveling around the Cabot Trail. John Cabot claimed this area for England in 1497. The Trail was completed in 1939.

The little white line you see is the road we were riding on. We were 1,600 ft. above sea level.




There are beautiful vistas at every turn. When Joe and I visited here 15 years ago, in April, the road was icy and there was 6 inches of snow. That drive was terrifying, but gorgeous.


At several of the harbors we could see fishing boats out in the water. I think these fishermen were setting lobster traps. This is the best time of the season for fresh lobster.



This is a look-out area above a small harbor village.


We also stopped at the docks to watch the men bring in, unload and sell their catch. Right next to the man's behind is a crate of live lobsters caught just hours ago.

It was a splendid day with sights too beautiful to describe, (excluding the man's bum bums).

June 15, Ferry to Newfoundland

We caravaned to the ferry this morning - early. Here we are waiting to drive the RVs onto the ferry. I have to confess, this was a bit disconcerting for me, especially after I saw the huge tractor trailers in line with loads of timber, cars and other heavy equipment. There were 16 of our rigs, most of which are much larger than Chuckie. Plus there were other cars and people boarding. I wondered just how much weight this thing could carry.



This is the opening that we drove up to get into the vehicle holding area. Once out of the rig, we went up three levels to the passenger area where there was a cafeteria (like I could eat!), gift shop, movie area, etc. It certainly had all the amenities you needed, except for a valium dispenser.

Joe wanted to go to the top deck immediately. We climbed two more flights of stairs to get there.
I didn't get a good picture of the entire ship we were on, but here's the one docked next to us.

I did OK for the first 4 hours of the trip, but did get a little "yurpy" feeling the last hour. It's a 5 1/2 hr. trip. There were mixed emotions among the group; as you can see some people were totally relaxed, some a bit giddy!

The Wagonmaster takes it all in stride.

I knew some day "my ship would come in".

Check out the names on this boat.