NEWFOUNDLAND – RODDICKTON/BIDE ARM TO DEER LAKE.
Day 42 – A travel day, we were up early; it was 41 degrees with some sun at 6:30 a.m. this morning. We departed Armistice RV Park and Bide Arm after dumping tanks. It was 10:10, 54 degrees & mostly sunny. The Red Fox came by to say good-bye.
Our Fox, Bide Arm RV Park, Bide Arm, NF
221 miles, (5:25), 39597-39818
In Bide Arm on the way to the dumping station there was a Moose in someone’s front yard eating some greenery. They are everywhere. Today’s count: Moose 2; Caribou 3; Icebergs 0. We knew what direction we were going, but not where we’d be stopping for the night. We figured we’d just drive until we got tired, then stop. We saw another Moose, and we also saw three Caribou (2 males & a female). What we didn’t see was any icebergs, nor any ice at all. The last time we drove this route was 13 days ago when we were heading north. We’d been so amazed at the ice-packed waterways and the snow everywhere. Now, less than 2 weeks later, we saw no ice whatsoever where the bays were clogged with ice before. The mountains either had no snow on them at all, or a substantial amount had melted. Where we had seen leafless White Birch trees, we now saw brilliantly green leaves & buds on the trees. It was very lovely then, it is very lovely now, in a different way. Spring is here.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
We had the PRIVILEGE of driving through Gros Morne National Park again. It really is an incredibly beautiful place. We hope to be able to come back in the fall this year and spend some real quality time exploring. Just in the minus two weeks since we drove through last time, the crowds have swelled to almost-full parking lots. What will summer be like here. We don’t want to be there then.
After stopping at a pull-out for lunch, buried in dense fog because we were on the Ocean, we drove straight through to Deer Lake, stopping at the same campground we stayed at exactly two weeks ago. They were more crowded this time, but we still got a campsite easily. Site #33, full hook-ups, $43.80 for one night, Canadian currency. We arrived at 3:35 p.m. and it was 65 degrees and sunny.
Gateway to the North RV Park, Deer Lake, NF
Site 33, Gateway to the North RV Park, Deer Lake, NF
In the mail we received yesterday, we got the Canadian map & colored stickers for the RV that we’d ordered awhile back. Rob put the empty map on the RV near the U.S. map. Then he added a sticker to each of the Canadian provinces we’ve camped at during this trip. I wonder if they have these maps for Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Finland, & Sweden. But how would we get the RV there?
Our new Canada travel map
Added New Brunswick, Canada
Added Nova Scotia, Canada
Added Newfoundland, Canada
Gateway to the North RV Park: #1 Bonne Bay Road, Deer Lake NL A8A 2V1; (709) 635-5888 or (709) 635-2693 or 1-888-8898; website www.gatewaytothenorthrvpark.com; e-mail geribeaulieu@hotmail.com. There are 60 campsites in the campground, many of them along the pretty Humber River, most of them occupied by seasonal campers. The campground is conveniently located near the city of Deer Lake, the two major roads heading either east or north, and across from the Newfoundland Insectarium & Butterfly Gardens. The campsites offer full hook-ups, The campground is clean and well-maintained, but there is traffic noise. It cost us $43.80 Canadian currency for one night but we forgot to ask for the Good Sam Club 10% discount. We had site #33. We would stay here again. (We also stayed here on the way north earlier this trip.) This is a good one night stopover campground.