GROS MORNE NATIONAL PARK – TROUT RIVER & BACK.
Day 139 – We took a couple of days off from the blog; now we’re back. It’s warmer here than it was up north – mid 60’s at night; mid 70’s during the day. There’s much less wind and the sun has been out most of the time so far.
From the Newfoundland/Labrador Traveller’s Guide 2023: “Follow Route 430 and get ready for Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mere words cannot paint the picture that is Gros Morne. It is one of those rare places where its beauty reaches right into your soul.” We could not agree more.
Today we drove from the campground southeast on Route 430, then headed northwest on Route 431 to the end of the road at Trout River. This trip was a scenic drive that took us thru the lower section of Gros Morne National Park. Along the way we stopped at Lomond Campground, a National Park campground, and checked out the campsites. It was a small campground and we noted the few sites that we liked. Further along the 431, we came across several small towns located on beautiful Bonne Bay. It was getting closer to lunch time, so we decided to drive through the towns on the way back from Trout River.
We had lunch at the Seaside Restaurant in Trout River, which is located in a pretty cove overlooking the water. Rob had the “Skipper’s Skuff” which he said was excellent – pan-fried fresh Halibut, Cod, and Capelin served with vegetables and baked potato. I had the fresh Scallops over mixed greens. We started with a bowl of Fish Chowder, and for dessert we split a piece of Cheesecake with Partridgeberries. We took a walk afterwards through the town; they had a nice boardwalk along the water. The town of Trout River was in a nice location. There were some old buildings that told of days long ago.
We drove to a couple of small campgrounds, each located at opposite ends of Trout River. Elephant Head RV Park was on a hill overlooking the ocean and the town; Trout River National Park Campground was situated by the Trout River. They would be okay in a pinch, but neither held a candle to where we are staying now. There was supposedly a Zodiac boat tour on the Trout River, but we didn’t see anything about it. It may not be operating now since it’s after Labor Day.
We headed back on Route 431 enjoying the scenery of Tablelands & other scenic places, and driving & stopping at several villages on the way back to the campground. Tablelands is a mesa-like formation of a rock type usually found deep in the earth. This is one of a handful of places where the earth’s mantle has been pushed to the surface by tectonic forces. Tablelands is a very popular tourist destination with guided tours by National Park rangers, and hiking trails throughout. We didn’t get good pictures of Tablelands today, but we’ll post some pictures tomorrow from a boat ride we took.
We drove through the smaller villages of Birchy Head, Glenburnie, Shoal Brook, Curzon Village, and the bigger town of Woody Point. In Woody Point there is a large Interpretive Centre, plus restaurants, inns, gift stores, hiking trails, and “step back in time” with a self-guided walk through the Provincially Registered Heritage District. It’s a place worth visiting.
We returned to the RV and went out to the screened tent to relax. We were reading our books when my worst nightmare began. You know I’m a bit bug-phobic, right? (That’s the main reason why we’re always sitting in a screened tent rather than just sitting outside. If an insect is in the area that bites or stings, it will find me.) A flying bug, longer and bigger than a house fly, but definitely not a mosquito or horse fly, landed on the arm of my chair. I brushed it away. No big deal. Another one landed on the arm of my chair, and on my arm. Brushed it away. Then there were 4. Then 6. Then 10. Crawling all over my water bottle, etc. This happened in spite of being INSIDE the screened tent. I’m like, EEEK! Rob went into the RV to get the handy-dandy Bug Zapper. We’ve mentioned this tool before – it doesn’t kill the bug, it just catches it through suction and you can release it later. It took him less that 2 minutes to return to the tent. By then, the ceiling of the tent was swarming with MANY more of these insects. Rob was shocked. We hurried back to the RV leaving the flaps to the tent open so they could leave. Evidently, we’d put the tent on top of a termite den, or something like that? We watched from inside the RV as they swarmed out of the opening of the tent. For hours they were crawling on the roof of the tent and flying around our campsite. OMG. (Not sure what they were, but they looked like termites.)
Later, we were reading and we kept hearing noise from the tent. Were the darn insects walking away with the tent?! No, a female Pine Grosbeak was inside the tent and kept trying to get out but couldn’t find the exit. It had evidently gone inside the tent and she couldn’t find her way back out. She was wearing herself out and was stressed. Rob went out to the tent and helped it escape the confines of the tent. Poor thing. After the bird got out, it flew to a tree and rested for a little while, then flew away. The cats were fascinated. A couple of pictures are below.
