Southwestern Newfoundland July 13-15, 2017

We left our campground on the central western coast late after making many phone calls about our water pump problem.  Winnebago confirmed my suspicion that the fault is probably a simple valve on our water intake and we have it all set up to be repaired on Monday.  We stopped in the major town of Corner Brook to do some shopping and stopped for a campsite in Barachois Pond Provincial Park.  No hookups, but being on the lake was wonderful, except the black flies found me and now my face looks like I have hives all over.  Jack has no bites.  Hmmm.

Campsite path to water where we enjoyed a cocktail

Next morning, we drove on the central western coast and headed south.  We stopped and toured the Codroy Valley loop - one of the few agricultural areas of Newfoundland.  We even saw some grazing cows - rare, here.  Lots of granite mountains mostly covered in deep green pine trees.

Cannot go further west!

We drove to Cape Anguille, the westernmost point on Newfoundland.  We stopped among the wildflowers overlooking the ocean for lunch and a quick nap.  There is a lighthouse and the former lightkeeper's house is now a small Inn.  I am not quite sure what a self-catered breakfast is in their brochure, but I assume it is bring your own!

Cape Anguille Lighthouse

Formerly the Lightkeeper's House, now an Inn

We also stopped at the Wetlands Interpretation Centre on an estuary, but apparently the birds only visit during spring and fall migration because there were none when we were there.  Some interesting roadside art on these side roads...

Fishermen use the church steeples to locate their favorite fishing spots

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We would have stopped to visit this "museum" but no place to park for us

We continued south and made a quick detour to check out Cape Ray where Dorset paleo-Eskimo artifacts were discovered.  A pretty lighthouse and sandy beach were good photo ops.

Pretty public beach with not a soul on this beautiful day

We tried to get a campsite at J. T. Cheeseman Provincial Park, but no electric sites were available.  From my research, I knew of a place to stay overnight overlooking the ocean for free - so why pay for a spot when we can get a better site at no cost!

So, we continued to the southernmost point and then headed east along the southern coast to the end of the road at Rose Blanche.  We stopped at Hairyman Cafe for their famous scalded buns, made with pork fat and currants - delicious.  The name of the restaurant is not as gross as it sounds....this southern coast is the site of many wrecks - as many as 40 major ships just off one town appropriately named Isle aux Morts (Isle of the Dead).  In the 1820's, a local man with his family and dog saved almost everyone aboard a sinking vessel by tying fishing nets together and making a lifeline to shore.  Somehow, their dog, Hairyman, was involved, but I have yet to find out how.  Anyway, the family and their Newfoundland dog, Hairyman, are heroes with  many things named after them.

Rose Blanche is famous for its unique lighthouse built of granite high atop the boulders.  I walked out to the overlook and toured the lighthouse.

RV center of photo - our free campsite with the ocean to the right

I double checked with the office about staying at the picnic spot overlooking the sea right next to the lighthouse area and they said "sure."
We spent a beautiful, quiet night watching the waves crashing on the boulders and woke to blue skies.

We drove leisurely back along the same road, stopping to visit a couple of small fishing villages.  Many of these small towns consist of very dilapidated old houses and modern-looking prefabs.  We were told the newish homes are the result of former cod fishermen in remote small fishing villages  relocating to towns that had roads, electricity and access to jobs.

Town of Burnt Islands

Rose Blanche

We hiked to a nice waterfall along a path going through the arctic type barrens and a bog with carnivorous plants.

Carnivorous Plant

Carnivorous Plant

This are of Newfoundland is beautiful country - great, hulking granite boulders with small deep blue fresh water ponds with water lilies one one side and the ocean (technically Cabot Strait) on the other.

We returned north up the coast and got a campsite with electric, cellphone service and internet - first time in two days so we can recharge electronics and camera batteries and check email and update the blog.

Grand Falls and Corner Brook, Newfoundland July 7-12, 2017

Our last morning in Fogo was super windy.  I was planning to hike up the ridge (see the stairs in the left portion of the photo?) up to the top for a 360 degree view and this is one of the corners of the Earth, according to the Flat Earth Society (a tongue-in-cheek critical thinking philosophical organization).

One of the corners of the Earth according to the Flat Earth Society

We left Fogo and the wonderful icebergs via ferry - this time I was driving on and they all the large vehicles back onto the ferry (instead of backing off)!  The ship and our RV survived my second encounter with backing up into a very tight space.

After a quick crossing, we were on our way back south to the major central town in Newfoundland - Grand Falls-Windsor.  We got in a round of golf, playing with a very nice couple from town.  Course was pretty rough, but greens were in good shape.  A couple of holes were on the river with pretty views.

Mama grouse and her baby - the rest of the babies were on the other side of the road

We spent the weekend there, hoping on Monday to have a freightliner garage (only one Mercedes dealer and that is way back in St. John's) check out the funny engine noise we get when we first start up on cold mornings. They didn't have the right diagnostic tools, but after being referred to two other places, we found one that could take us.  Fortunately/unfortunately, they found nothing serious in the codes to explain the noise, so we will just keep on going.

Next up, the west coast.  We drove a couple of hours to Howley for a campsite, just outside Deer Lake.  We headed a bit south into the second largest town in Newfoundland - Corner Brook.  Our water pump started cycling on and off, indicating a probably water leak somewhere in the system, so spent the day having RV repair shop check things out.  They could not find anything wrong with the pump, but did not have time to chase down the leak and suggested we should just let the pump run and look for the leak ourselves.

Marble Mountain Ski Runs - 14 feet of snow/year

We drove out along the Humber Arm on a twisty road through lots of small towns and fishing villages to a Provincial Park called Blow Me Down - an apt name as the wind was really howling.

Directions to our campground

We found a beautiful spot on the water and spent cocktail hour with our neighbors who were locals just there for a few days.  No electric here, but it is light until 10 or later so we played cards.  No sunset or moonrise that we were hoping to see as clouds moved in.

Campsite next to Humber Arm that connects to the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Clouds moved in, blocking the sunset

Company

The next morning, we drove a few kilometers to the end of the Arm to see a couple of quaint fishing villages before returning to Corner Brook.

We decided to try another RV repair place to fix the surging water pump.  The owner and another guy spent four hours, but could not find anything and only charged us $100 because they were not successful.  We paid double their fee as they repaired a few minor things they found as they inspected every nook and cranny and took down walls, removed the hot water tank, etc., etc., looking for the leak until 8pm!  We finally told them we had to call it quits, otherwise, I am sure they would still be working this morning.

Got a local campground and take-out for a late dinner and fell into bed, exhausted.

Tomorrow we resume our work -- touring the southwest coast of the "Rock."