HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.
Day 73 – It was cloudy today and very windy with a low of 60 degrees and a high of 63 degrees. The two women in the Van left. Later in the day another Van arrived and they stayed the night – we never saw the people. And a Class C RV arrived with 3 people, mom & dad & son. After unpacking, the man came out and sat by the cliff looking at the water and playing the guitar. The boy came out with a trumpet and attempted (grin) to play along. They stayed one night, also. Otherwise, no one but us has been camping here.
We called the restaurant. “Still closed. Call back tomorrow morning. Maybe it will be fixed by then.” There goes the anniversary plans. After lunch we sat outside, but the wind was really blowing. The wind made it feel much colder and the sun wasn’t out to help warm us up. We went back inside the RV. There was, however, a beautiful sunset as the sun dropped behind the hill.
About Grate’s Cove & places nearby:
“The most north-westerly point of the peninsula is where you’ll find Grate’s Cove, which has an unusual National Historic Site – hundreds of rock walls, some dating back to 1790, built by farmers to keep roaming animals off their fields.
The Grate’s Cove Studio & Cafe is a hidden gem. The two-room converted schoolhouse is both a place to try some unique Cajun/Newfoundland and Labrador fusion foods, and peruse the studio’s collection of woodworking, pottery, and printmaking art.
The Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve, a rocky island 3 km offshore, is home to an impressive number of seabirds, including 3-million pairs of Leach’s Storm Petrels – the largest nesting ground anywhere in the world for this species.
There’s an interpretive display about the Ecological Reserve in the nearby village of Bay de Verde, also home to the Bay de Verde Heritage Premises. Blundon Heritage House was built by merchant John Blundon in 1896. There are guided tours showing the difference between merchant and servant lifestyle in early times. Visit the town park where whales are often seen near the cove.” from the Newfoundland/Labrador Traveller’s Guide 2023
“The peninsula’s northernmost village, Grate’s Cove retains the look and feel of Ireland perhaps more than any other Irish-settled community, thanks to the hundreds of rock walls erected as livestock and farm enclosures by early settlers. The village was called “the Grates” by John Guy as early as 1612.
Off the eastern end of the peninsula’s tip, the Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve, shelters 11 species of seabirds, including Leach’s Storm Petrels, Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Eastern Gannets, Fulmars and Atlantic Puffins.” from Moon Handbooks, Atlantic Canada, 5th Edition, 2009