Hard to believe it's Saturday already! The day started out with lovely blue skies when we woke up, but as the day progressed, the rains that plagued us in the beginning of our trip returned.
Before we left Jackladder, I placed a few Kindness Rocks around the campground for the next group of campers to find.
We drove through the Tablelands today, an interesting area found in Gros Morne National Park. The Tablelands is a large mountainous area in the southern half of Gros Morne National Park, that stretches from Woody Point to Trout River. It's one of the only areas on earth where the mantle is exposed. The make up of this ancient rock shows as a light rusty looking color. The rocks and soil are not suitable for the growth of trees or other plants. There is snow in these mountains for a good part of the summer months. The melting snow feeds several small waterfalls and rapids.
(Click on a photo to be taken to a larger view )
Drive into the southern section of the park on Route 431 from Wiltondale. Just before you get to Woody Point follow the sign for Trout River to stay on 431. It's quite a sharp switch-back turn. You'll climb a steep hill and The Tablelands appear before you. Take note; when you are returning on this road this last section is quite dangerous. Slow down, or you'll end up in Bonne Bay.
From the flat top of this mountain, you can see why it is called the Tablelands.
We are now in Trout River.
Along the way, you'll see the Gros Morne Interpretation Center. Stop there if you'd like to learn more about the area's geology or to find out when the next guided tour along the Tablelands Trail is. Those little dots in the picture above are people hiking on the Tablelands trail.
The road between Woody Point and Trout River is truly one of the most spectacular you'll see. What strikes you most is the contrast of color between the mountains that tower above you. One side is lush green; the other, a brilliant, amber color - all divided, it would seem, by the yellow line of the highway.
Well, we found his place. He had a saw mill and he had some gardens in his front yard, but no bags of wood. And no one was around on his property to ask about the wood either.
After our enjoyable ride through the Tablelands, we went in search of some wood for tonight's campfire. Last night while we were having a campfire, one of the local Newfoundlanders who keeps his camper at Jackladder year round dropped by to chat and bring us some firewood. He told our crew about a guy who puts out bags of firewood at the end of his driveway. He sells the bags for just a few bucks, much less than it costs to purchase at the campgrounds. So after our drive in and out of the Tablelands, we drove into Wiltondale in search of said man.
But there was a man sitting next door with his wife. So out jumps John out of our RV to ask if he we were in the right place and if he man next door was selling wood anymore. Well, the man used to do that, but he hadn't put any out this year. But the man that John was talking to was happy to give us some wood for our campfires. He had some lovely split and seasoned wood in his shed and was pleased as punch to help John and Grant load it into the back storage area of our RV. When asked what we owed him, he said, "Nothing!" We tried to offer him some money, but he refused to take any. The people of Newfoundland as a whole are quite a kind and generous group of people. No matter where we are, what we are doing, they are friendly, helpful, and quite humorous. Our firewood angel was Dan Keitchet.
We had heard from the Facebook page Newfoundland Iceberg Reports, that icebergs were spotted in King's Point, so we headed up there to find them. The road was under construction, so it was 12 miles of bumping and bouncing all over the place.
The town of King's Point is small, but rather adorable. It has a few gift shops, grocery stores, a museum, and restaurants. We were delighted to see that there were 4 icebergs in the bay. We found a place to park and got out and began to take some pictures. We heard that there was a boat tour, so we made our way up the road to find out some information about times and prices.
We talked to Ang at King's Point Boat Tours. Her husband, Barry, is the captain of the boat. We tried to get reservations on a boat tour for today, but they were booked for the entire day. After talking it over,we decided to spend the night here and made reservations for all of us at 10 and 11. The 40 minute tour only would cost $20 a person. We chatted with Ang for a while and she told us about a great campground and some local tourist information. We then hit the two gift stores in town. We bought a metal key holder of a leaning tree.
While we were shopping, one of the icebergs broke and toppled over. It was the most amazing thing to see that iceburg bobbing in the water, when minutes before it was sitting there, motionless. It no longer looked the same, it was so much smaller than it was not 10 minutes earlier.
This is the before.
This is the after.
After all of that excitement, we decided to take a quick ride around the bay to grab some pictures of the other icebergs that were farther down before heading to the King's Point Municipal Campground.
We did some laundry at the Campground as it was free. Around 5, it started to rain. We ate dinner in but everyone else went there separate ways and ate out. Terry Lee and Karen came back from dinner and told us one of the far icebergs had split, so we unplugged the trailer and went for a ride to see. It was amazing the change in just a few hours.
After the laundry was done, we had a campfire. Dave was able to purchase a piece of an iceberg for $2 and we chopped it up and used it in our drinks for much of the rest of the trip. Iceberg ice is much denser and melts slower, keeping our drinks colder a lot longer. After getting eaten by the local mosquitoes, the girls and Rob when in to play Pegs and Jokers, then an earlier bedtime.
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