(2022 Newfoundland Ep 19)

From Canada we crossed the border into Vermont. It felt like home.

• Road signs were in feet/miles, not meters/kilometers.
• We didn’t have to do mental math to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit when seeing a roadside thermometer. 
• Gasoline was less expensive – $3.40 (US) gallon, versus $1.60 (CDN) liter (about $4.46 (US) gallon).  On Newfoundland gas was as much as $5.50 (US) gallon.
• We no longer needed loonies, toonies or multicolored paper currency displaying the Queen.  We could use paper currency adorned with George, Abe, Alexander and Andrew. 
• We got pennies in our change.  Canada doesn’t use pennies – all transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents.
• And, if you think US sales taxes are high, be thankful they are not as high as those in Canada. 15% HST (harmonized sales tax) is charged on most transactions in Canada.  Those taxes quickly add up!

It was early October and we experienced the lowest nighttime temperatures thus far in our trip, dropping to near freezing as we camped on the grounds of the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT.  We stayed warm with several blankets and a thick comforter, and ran the RV furnace the next morning.

The museum is part of Brownington Historic Village and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The large stone building was built in 1836 by Alexander Twilight, the nation’s first African-American college graduate.  He was minister of the Brownington Congregational Church and principal of  Orleans County Grammar School, both in the village.  The building was originally a dormitory for students attending the school.

Today, the museum houses four floors of fascinating artifacts.  During a guided tour of the museum, we learned about Twilight and various museum displays, and were told many interesting stories about the building through the years.

The village and museum are worth a visit when in the area.

We continued south to central Vermont, where the fall colors were on full display.  Around every turn we enjoyed the yellow, red and orange leaves and deep blue autumn sky.

One day we drove back roads in Green Mountain National Forest across several covered bridges.  After coffee and a toasted bagel at a coffee shop in an old house in Warrenton, we hiked to several waterfalls. The next day we sampled donuts and hot apple cider at Cold Hollow Cider Mill near Waterbury and later toured Ben and Jerry’s ice cream production plant nearby.

In just about every town there are quaint markets that sell jams, fresh baked goods, maple syrup, pumpkins and lots more.  Outside Woodstock, we crossed a narrow covered bridge and drove nearly 10 miles down a dusty dirt road to Sugarbush Farm.   We toured the farm’s sugar house to see where watery maple tree sap is boiled to become sweet syrup – it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.   We then hiked to a nearby hillside where thousands of maple trees are impaled with small plastic taps and interconnected with miles of plastic tubing used to collect sap from late February to mid-March.

As we drove through the town nearest our campground, we noticed a sign for Vermont Castings Stove Company.  During the 1970s Ed’s parents subscribed to Yankee Magazine where there were enticing advertisements for wood burning stoves made by the company. 

Pat and I added a family room to our home in 1991 and installed a small Vermont Castings Intrepid stove for heat.  More than 30 years later we toured the factory where the Intrepid and other stove models are cast. 

Shown above: the process where recycled auto brake drums are melted and poured into casts, and then cleaned and packed for shipment to an assembly plant in Pennsylvania. We are admiring one of the colorful finished models.

Next week:  we continue south through the Adirondacks to the finger lakes region in New York, where we hike an amazing trail in Watkins Glen State Park and visit the Museum of Glass in Corning NY.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 18)

Over the course of 90 days and nearly 10,000 miles, one is bound to see some interesting sights.  Our trip to NF didn’t disappoint!

LONG EXTENSION CORD: Between NF towns there are few houses, fewer gas stations and scant cell service. 

After leaving the remote Codroy Valley, we stopped for a break at a small parking area ‘in the middle of nowhere.’ We couldn’t buy gas or use our cell phones. But we could have charged our Tesla (if we had one)! 

PRONOUNCE THIS:  The route to a campground in Nova Scotia included a short distance on the road below.  We thought there might be a science research center or hazardous waste site nearby.  There wasn’t.

Biorachan is associated with a traditional Scottish Gaelic children’s story and is pronounced “bear-i-can.’

RED CHAIRS:  We enjoyed sitting in red Adirondack chairs throughout NF. They can be found at scenic locations at many of Canada’s National Parks.

OUR NEXT RV?  We saw a variety of camping rigs on our trip.  A large family was travelling in this interesting “schoolie” parked in a Walmart parking lot. 

ALIEN SPACE POD:  This interesting ‘cabin’ at Terra Nova NP is called an Oasis.   Each Oasis pod has a convertible table/bed on the main level, a hammock suspended above and a windowed top to watch for the mother ship.

BROWN GRAVY: A fellow camper and I were discussing the blessings of long marriage – he had been married for more than 50 years.  He told me about a traditional NF wedding greeting:  may your marriage last longer than this bottle of gravy browning. 

Only a few drops are needed to brown gravy – a small bottle is said to last a lifetime!

WHERE ARE THEY HIDING?  Canada has lots of road signs that warn drivers about moose and caribou.  We saw no (live) caribou, four moose and two moose burgers.

COLD WINTER:  Pictured below is a mounted fur bearing (beaver) trout caught during the winter of 1927-28 at a lake in Vermont.  The rare fish and photo of the lucky fisherman can be seen at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT.

COMMUNITY MAPS:  Many small towns in western NF have kiosks with useful maps that show local points of interest. 

ONE MAN’s TRASH… In western NF each house has a treasure box at the end of the driveway.  The boxes are used to store garbage before weekly pickup.    

HONEST PEOPLE:  There are massive piles of firewood, tall stacks of drying lobster traps and small garden plots along the roads in western NF.  There is a code of honor in the small communities where everyone knows everyone and property is respected.

NEXT WEEK: fall colors in Vermont and New York.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 17)

Old Quebec City has similarities to St. Augustine, FL – an interesting history, a large fort used for defense and delightful restaurants.  Both have natural features worth visiting as well. 

St. Augustine has beautiful beaches nearby and Quebec City has Parc de la Chute-Montmorency or Montmorency Waterfalls just 15 minutes east of the city.

At 272 feet, Montmorency Falls are spectacular – nearly 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls! 

Our falls visit was damp, alternating between light rain and mist from the falls.  We viewed the top of falls from a suspension bridge – only few yards away from the brink of the falls.  Far below, the flow from the falls extended to the St. Lawrence River. 

We descended a steep panorama staircase for a bottom-up view and stop at the visitor center. 

Although a cable car was available for a ride to the top of the falls where Max was parked, we decided to climb 487 stairs back to the top.  We stopped often to enjoy the views and catch our breath!

We left Quebec City the next morning and headed south towards Vermont.  The warm weather we enjoyed since coming to Canada nearly two months earlier was changing to cooler days and cold nights.  The fall colors were at their peak as we camped two nights and hiked at Quebec’s Parc national de Frontenac (Frontenac Provincial Park).  What a beautiful sight it was!

Our last night in Canada was at The Farmhouse, a Harvest Host location near our border crossing to Vermont. 

The Farmhouse is a small farm dedicated to education and poverty relief, where food grown is shared with others.   It is part of Foundations for Farming, an organization that trains small scale farmers in all aspects of farming conservation, agriculture and sustainability.  Started in 1982 by a farmer of Dutch descent in Zimbabwe, FtF is now in 11 countries. Their farming practices have been taught to more than three million farmers around the world.

We were given a tour of the farm by Serge, who picked an interesting selection of lettuce, kale and colorful flowers that we enjoyed with dinner that evening.

The next morning we rose to the sound of corn being harvested across the highway.  Before reentering the US a couple of hours later, we made a final, mandatory stop at Tim Horton’s for coffee and a donut. 

Our visit to Canada had come to a close and we were glad to be HOME!

NEXT WEEK:  autumn in Vermont and New York.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 15)

During our six weeks on Newfoundland we traveled nearly 3000 miles.  We camped in 17 different locations including five national park, four provincial and two city campgrounds, three private campgrounds, two Harvest Host/Boondockers Welcome locations and even a pull-off on the side of the road. 

Here are some reflections on our visit:

Favorite campgrounds:  all three campgrounds in Gros Morne NP (Trout River Pond, Shallow Bay and Berry Hill).  Although only one of the three had water/electrical hookups, all three had spacious campsites with good privacy, clean and modern washrooms, and reasonably fast wifi.  Each was close to interesting and challenging hiking trails and towns with restaurants and other services.

Favorite place visited:  Pat’s was Western Brook Pond. We had amazing views during a two-hour boat trip on this steep-walled freshwater fjord in Gros Morne NP.  My choice was St John’s – lots to see and do from hiking near Cabot Tower/Signal Tower to sunrise at Cape Spear to quirky Quidi Vidi.

Best hike:  we did lots of hiking during our NF visit. Our favorite was the North Head Trail that descended steep stairs from Signal Hill and followed a cliffside trail.  The views of the St. John’s harbor were great!

Memorable cultural moment:  (Ed) NF folk tunes performed by the boat crew on the Western Brook Pond boat trip.  Pat’s was local humor and music at the Twillingate Dinner Theatre.  Both experiences gave us a sample of the free spirited and fun Newfoundlanders.

Best meal in a restaurant:  Fish and chips at Chuck’s Restaurant in Happy Adventure.  We enjoyed battered, crunchy pieces of white fish with a mountain of chips (fries).  Honorable mention:  coffee and a toasted bagel (or donut) at just about any Tim Horton’s.  TH can be found nearly everywhere on NF!

Favorite attraction:  (Ed) the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander, a small museum that tells a big story about Gander.   Pat’s was the Transatlantic Cable Museum in Heart’s Content – a true RabbiTRAIL experience with historical significance that is remarkably well preserved.

Most amazing view:  as we were eating dinner at Trout River Pond Campground, we looked out the back window of Oscar. Beyond the colorful fireweed and other fall flowers immediately behind our camper, a sea of golden sunshine shone through broken clouds on the mountains across the pond.  When we stepped outside, we noticed other campers were caught up in the moment as well!

Biggest NF surprise:  (both) a surprising lack of wildlife.  We saw only four moose, no caribou and just a few other small animals and birds.  The forests were quiet and the roads were free of roadkill.

Best RabbiTRAIL:  for me it was the Transatlantic Cable Museum above.  Pat enjoyed the Ferryland Lighthouse south of St John’s.  We had a great views of the lighthouse and seacoast, and then thick fog rolled in. 

Most unique thing we did:  (Pat) the first sunrise in North America on August 30 at Cape Spear near St John’s.  Mine was leaving NF for an overnight stay on Labrador.

Next week – we flee Hurricane Fiona and endure language challenges in Quebec.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 14)

Our time on NF was coming to a close.  After six weeks on the island, we had just a few days before we were scheduled to leave via ferry.

In early August we camped in Gros Morne NP, three days at the southern area of the park at Trout River Pond and three days at Cow Head to the north.  It was mid-September and to round out our visit to Gros Morne, we camped for three additional days in the middle of the park. 

We started with the small town of Rocky Harbor where we shopped for supplies and souvenirs.  Nearby we visited the Lobster Cove Head Light for views of the harbor and distant seacoast. 

The next morning we endured the longest hike of our trip through meadows and balsam fir forest to Baker’s Brook Falls.  We enjoyed the beautiful stairstep falls and had two aggressive birds join us for lunch!   

On the hike back from the falls, we visited an interesting moose ‘ex-closure’ to observe the impact of moose grazing on area vegetation. Inside a 100-meter-square fenced area, the trees and undergrowth were dense and lush.  Outside, there were scattered trees, grasses and limited undergrowth.  Though we didn’t see many moose during our NF travels, their impact in the area was very evident!

We saw our final views of Gros Morne and the distant coast from atop Berry Hill after hiking up a short and steep trail.  It was a scenic end to our visit.

We camped at Barachois Pond Provincial Park midway on our final 200 miles to Port aux Basques.   During an evening bike ride and hike, we saw a shadowy critter scurrying along the edge of the pond. It was likely a wet otter, not a NF chupacabra.

Barachois Pond was a remote and quiet ending to our time on NF. We were ready to return to Nova Scotia and begin the long drive home.

Little did we know then how we would spend the next week: making truck repairs and dodging Hurricane Fiona! 

Two very hungry birds
A few squirrels
A wet otter

Next week – NF reflections and recollections!

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 13)

After driving about a third of the way back across NF, we camped for the night in Gander, a small town with a large airport. 

At the North Atlantic Aviation Museum, we learned about the interesting history of the town and airport.

The Gander Airport was built in the late 1930s, then the most easterly airport in North America.  During WWII, the airport was a refueling stop for Allied aircraft flying to and from Europe.  It was considered a vital military asset during the war.

The town grew in the 1950s, as commercial flights between North America and Europe refueled at Gander.  With longer flight distances possible by the early 1960s, there was less of need for refueling at Gander. Meanwhile, Communist-bloc airlines began to use Gander as they flew between Russia, Eastern Europe and Cuba.

Decades later, on September 11, 2001, US airspace was shut down following the attacks on the World Trade Center and other US locations.  42 aircraft with nearly 6700 passengers were grounded at Gander, nearly doubling the town’s population of 10000 with passengers from around the world.  Many of the ‘plane people’ did not know what was going on, how long they would be stranded or even where Gander was located! 

Gander and surrounding communities opened their hearts and doors to the passengers by collecting food, toiletries and other necessities, and by providing makeshift shelters in a number of locations.  The phone company even set up phones so passengers could call their families.  The museum has a display of letters from grounded passengers thanking the community for their care during the incident.

From Gander we drove a few miles north to camp near Twillingate, a popular summer NL vacation destination. 

We fueled up with coffee and muffins at the Crow’s Nest Café before visiting the Long Point Lighthouse and hiking down stairs and a steep trail to Nanny’s Hole and Sleepy Cove. 

At the café owner’s suggestion, we ate dinner and enjoyed spirited NL music and skits at the Twillingate Dinner Theater that evening.

Early the next morning we took a ferry to Fogo Island, an ‘island off an island.’  It is said Fogo Island is not so much a place as a state of mind with bright-colored clapboard houses, sea-cliff footpaths and a most unusual (perhaps out of place) hotel, the 29-room Fogo Island Inn.  From a vista overlooking the inn, we picked handfuls of Fogo Island blueberries that we enjoyed in pancakes the next morning. 

Before ferrying back to NL, we hiked to the top of Brimstone Head, said to be one of the four corners of the flat earth.  From the stony crest, we had an amazing view of the island’s northwestern rocky coast and a small town far below.

A few squirrels and chipmunks
Lots of sea birds

Next week:  we visit Gros Morne NP for a second time during our last few days on NF.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 11)

(Last week’s special blog post was about our challenges dodging Fiona.  This week, we are praying for family, friends and the many persons in Florida and the Carolinas affected by Hurricane Ian) 

We return now to blog time and our arrival at St John’s, NF.

We arrived at St John’s (right side of map above) more than three weeks and 2000 miles after coming to Port aux Basques.  Despite having only 115,000 residents, St John’s feels like a BIG CITY.  There are lots of stores, a few high-rise buildings, and busy highways.  Downtown St John’s was especially crowded because of two large cruise ships that were docked for the weekend.

St John’s is very hilly.  Colorful townhouse-style residences line many of the narrow downtown streets – these streets are often described as ‘jellybean rows.’

A couple miles to the east, Signal Hill overlooks the city, and 50 foot Cabot Tower sits atop the hill.  The tower was built around the turn of the 20^th century to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of the discovery of NF by Italian explorer John Cabot. 

Signal Hill has an interesting history.  Flags were flown on the hill as ships approached the harbor from the early 1700s through the mid-20^th century.  In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first wireless message from England on the hill (the Morse Code letter ‘S’), and in 1920, one of the first transatlantic transmissions of the human voice was made there.

After touring Cabot Tower, we descended a steep series of stairs and then hiked along an amazing cliffside trail overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.   The trail continued along the narrow inlet to the St John’s harbor with views of the downtown and cruise ships.  A short section of the trail followed a very narrow cliffside ledge.  We were glad for chains to hold on to!  This trail would definitely be on our top 10 list of most scenic hikes!

We got up at 4 am the next morning for a 30-minute drive to Cape Spear to see where the sun rises first in North America.  We weren’t disappointed – it was a pleasant morning with a few colorful clouds on the horizon. 

After welcoming the new day, we returned to town and stopped at Tim Horton’s for breakfast.  ‘Timmy H’, as we call it, is a Canadian institution that serves great coffee and donuts. They are located throughout NF and Canada.

Our time in St John’s ended with a little downtown shopping and a visit to Quidi Vidi, a quirky and picturesque fishing village nearby.   At the Quidi Vidi Brewery Company, visitors get ‘screeched’ to become honorary NF citizens.  When we heard this involved drinking rum and kissing a codfish, we respectfully declined the ceremony!

One rabbit at the campground
(not many critters in the city unless you count 6000 cruise ship passengers)

Next week:  we spend a few days on the Avalon Peninsula south of St Johns and begin traveling back to Port aux Basques.  Enroute, we follow one amazing RabbiTRAIL and decline another.

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 10)

Hello all, as with most travel blogs, RabbiTRAILS postings lag real time by several weeks.  In blog time, the next post will be about St Johns, NF. 

Meanwhile, it is Sept 24 real time and we’re safely back on ‘mainland’ Canada close to the Maine border.

The last eight days have been tough.  We’ve prayed, we’ve been patient and we’ve been blessed.

On Friday, Sept 16 we rose early to prepare to board the seven hour ferry back to Nova Scotia, after six weeks on Newfoundland.  When I started Max to hitch to Oscar, I heard an unusual tapping sound in the engine.  The tapping continued as I revved the engine.  Then the check engine light came on. 

Pat and I prayed for wisdom about what we should do.  We didn’t want to give up our reserved slot on the ferry as a number of people at the campground had been waiting for several days after several recent ferry cancellations (including the ferry from the prior evening).  In addition, the Chevy dealer in Port aux Basques (ferry departure town) was very small and we were concerned about repair timeframes and availability of parts. 

We decided to ride the ferry and take Max to a dealer Sydney, Nova Scotia, a sizeable town near the ferry landing. We tried to make an appointment online with the dealer as we waited to board the ferry – the next available appointment was Sept 26.  So, we called and left a message on the service department voice mail explaining our desperate situation.  A few minutes later they returned our call and we set an appointment for 9:30 am on Monday, Sept 19.   

As we drove onto the ferry, the tapping continued but the check engine light was no longer on.

The ferry arrived at North Sydney early Friday evening.  We camped nearby and didn’t drive Max over the weekend. 

Meanwhile, Hurricane Fiona was in the news. After hitting Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the storm was forecast to remain in the Atlantic, to intensify and to possibly impact Canada late in the coming week.

On Monday morning, the Chevy service advisor gave us bad news about Max.  The valve lifters for #1 and #4 cylinders were damaged and needed to be replaced.  They recommend replacing all eight valve lifters. 

The lifters weren’t in stock but we were told a dealer in Halifax, NS might have them.  The Sydney dealer hoped to complete the repairs by late Tuesday . 

A little later the service advisor told us the parts weren’t available after all and couldn’t be located elsewhere.  The dealer would have to order the parts and it could take two days to two weeks (or longer) for the parts to come in.

Monday’s updated Fiona projection was a track toward Sydney, at the northeast tip of Nova Scotia, sometime late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

Pat and I prayed, and then called the Chevy dealer in Halifax.  They located the parts at two other Chevy dealers in eastern Nova Scotia.  The parts were available at the first dealer we called and by mid-afternoon the parts were ordered!  They would be picked up Tuesday morning and delivered by the end of the day.

We decided to leave Max at the dealer and the service manager, Dennis, graciously shuttled us to our campground more than 20 miles away.

By Tuesday Fiona intensified and was projected to hit Sydney late Friday with sustained winds of more than 110 mph!  We were stranded with no vehicle and no way to move Oscar.

The parts did not arrive at the dealer until after closing on Tuesday.  Early Wednesday morning the dealer texted us the parts had come in and repairs were underway!

The repairs were finished by 3 pm, and again, Dennis kindly picked us up at the campground to retrieve Max.

Meanwhile, Fiona continued toward Sydney with no significant change in projected path or strength.  The storm was projected to have devastating impact on the area. 

We left Thursday morning with Max happily purring and were surprised the highways weren’t crowded.  We drove nearly 500 miles westward over the next two days, and we have been in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, as Fiona hit Nova Scotia early this morning.   It’s been very windy and cold all day. Skies began to clear this afternoon.

Fiona is said to be the worst hurricane ever to strike Canada.  Many on Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and western Newfoundland have lost power, and there has been widespread wind and flood damage.  Please join with us as we pray for the many persons affected by Fiona in Canada and the Caribbean.

Pat and I praise God for His provision and protection over the last eight days:  

• we had just completed a six week, 3000-mile trip across Newfoundland, much of it in very remote locations.  The problems didn’t occur until our the last day on the island.
• we were able to quickly locate available parts.
• Dennis and others at the Chevy dealerships worked to successfully resolve our dilemma.
• the campground manager was remarkably flexible as we renewed our site several times and great campground facilities made five days of being stranded bearable
• friends and family who prayed for our situation and offered timely encouragement.

We’re thankful for the opportunities God gives us to trust Him and develop faith, and pray that our thoughts, attitude and actions bring Him glory!  This was true for Max’s repairs and Hurricane Fiona, and is true now for Ian, as it targets Florida this coming week.

Next week:  we return to blog time for Jellybeans, a cliff trail and a first sunrise in North America during our St. Johns visit.