Our drive north took us to Hopewell Rocks on Fundy Bay. The huge tides there cycle up and down on tall pillars of aggregate. We'd been there decades ago with good memories.
It seemed much more crowded now and more like an amusement park. It was less enjoyable this time. I guess the first time was enough. We moved on to our appointment with the ferry to Newfoundland.
Arriving in North Sydney, the sight of the MV Highlanders is impressive. At 200 meters, it is the largest ferry I have seen. It has eight decks including four for vehicles. It can load and unload from both bow and stern at two different levels. We made the mistake of being early, which put us on board first and thus in the lowest level - which I dubbed "the catacombs". It was pretty tight down there.
But I make no complaints. The accommodations were superb. Our cabin overlooked the bow directly below the ship's bridge where we could watch the loading process. After a restful night with calm seas, we were in Port aux Basques and ashore in time for a nice breakfast in town.
Our first of two objectives was Gros Morne National Park. To understand why we went there, see this link: https://www.tourgrosmorne.com/
Up early on our first full day, I explored a lighthouse at Lobster Cove just outside Rocky Harbor.
The lighthouse grounds were well restored, giving a feel for their history. Coming over the rise from the beach, one found the route to the light keeper's garden.
The day continued with an early start towards Western Brook Pond. This is a stranded fjord. Once open to the sea when oceans were higher, its mile wide glacial moraine now seals it off from the sea. There are excursion boats hauled there on sleds over the moraine in deep winter. With no road, we had a 3/4 hour walk to get to the docks. Along the way, I found this odd fellow hanging out at a viewing platform. He seems to be everywhere I go.As you trek to the pond, the massive walls of the fjord reveal themselves across one of the many shallow ponds on the moraine.
Once at the boat, and looking upwards, the fjord gains its true character. There are massive hard rock walls on both sides. (Here is a great photo that Pam made of the place.)
Along the way, the rock walls offer an infinite range of features, some capturing our tendency to see figures in the stone. Can you see the man's face in this wall? (Left of center looking right.)
There are more curiosities to be found at Gros Morne. Just north of Western Brook Pond are some sea arches that seem out of place being surrounded by glacial moraines.
There is another side to Gros Morne. Across Bonnie Bay to the south of our cabin in Rocky Harbor, lie small fishing villages and the expansive Tablelands. At Woody Point, I found one of the small lights guiding boats into the bay's west arm.
These are active fishing towns. We ventured to Trout River where the stacks of wooden lobster traps reminded me that some still do things the traditional way.
No visit to Gros Morne is complete without a visit to the Tablelands. Several hundred million years ago, a tectonic plate collision forced up material from the earth's mantle. As you enter the elevated valley, you see hard rock to one side and crumbly yellowish-red rock to the other. This softer rock, called mafic rock is peridotite thrust up from the earth's mantle. It is low in calcium but high in magnesium and iron with a toxic mix of heavy metals.
We spent three full days at Gros Morne and could have explored more, but we had a full day's travel to relocate to Cape St. Mary's for some serious birding time. I will be back with a second part devoted to that.
Paul
One of the reasons your narrative is so captivating is that you manage to see the seemingly insignificant with the same eye for detail as much as the big and beautiful, little flowers in the brush and such. The serpentinite is beautiful!
ReplyDelete