Saturday, August 19, 2023

BAKED GOODS, ROUGH ROAD, AND MOOSE.

TRAVEL DAY

From: Oceanside RV Park, Port au Choix, NL.

To:Armistice Town Park, Roddickton/Bide Arm, NL.

Day 122 – At 7:15 a.m. this morning, it was 62 degrees and raining. It had started raining in the middle of the night. The wind had picked up, too. We began packing up to leave, but took a break from that to go into town to The Bakery, which had gotten rave reviews but was only open on Saturdays.

We’re glad we took the time to go; it smelled so good when we walked in! Mouths watering, we bought a still-warm-from-the-oven Partridgeberry Pie, Cinnamon Sticky Buns, Lemon Bars, Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Peanut Sticks. The reason The Bakery was only open on Saturdays is that the owner’s main job is supplying grocery stores with homemade breads. They opened at 9 a.m. By 9:20 a.m. they had a line of customers. (Partridgeberries are a Newfoundland thing. They taste a little sweeter than cranberries and are grown locally. Partridgeberries and Bake Apples [another local wild berry] are everywhere here – in baked goods, as a topping to desserts, in sauces & dressings, and as a tea. The Peanut Bars. People raved about them and the Raisin Tea Cakes. I don’t care for Raisins, but when someone says the Peanut Bars are like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups only better? It’s a must try. They were shaped like sticks but completely covered in dark chocolate. Can’t wait to try each item. Our freezer is full again now.) MARK T., did this make you salivate?

Back at the RV, we finished packing up, dumped the tanks, and departed the Park at 10:30 a.m. It was 64 degrees, raining and windy. We stopped to get gas in the RV on the way out of town, turned north on Route 430, then later east on Route 432. The road conditions weren’t good; Route 432 was full of pot holes. The weather was lousy, too, and at one point dense fog rolled in. At least there was very little traffic. Eventually, we turned south on Route 433 and shortly thereafter reached the town of Roddickton. This whole area was remote, heavily wooded, and is known as Moose and Caribou country. With low visibility due to the weather, we didn’t see much, but we did see a young male Moose as he trotted away from the road into the trees. (No picture though.) The village of Bide Arm was soon after Roddickton, and then there was a sign for Armistice Park. We stayed there in 2019. Back again this trip, we chose Site #2, the same campsite we had previously. No one else was camping there.

We arrived at 12:55 p.m. It was raining lightly and very windy, 60 degrees. We were all glad to be done with the bumpy roads. There’s not much around here; – the roads less traveled. This is a town park, shared with the small towns of Roddickton and Bide Arm. We’ll be here 6 nights. There are only 11 campsites (8 with electric hook-ups & 3 tent sites). Drinking water and a dump station are available in Bide Arm.

We had a late lunch, then set up camp. It remained windy and will probably stay that way the whole time we’re here. We’re hoping for some sun during our stay. The few small villages off Route 433 are charming and pictures would be wonderful. And hopefully there will be plenty of Moose and Caribou, and a few Foxes, too.