After over 6 months of preparation, we are now executing the plan. Let's hope for good weather throughout our trip. This is a 17 days trip. Here is my final itinerary.
Day 1
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| Day 1 route - Left home to Canadian Border |
It's a late start. Due to work commitment and busy kids schedule, we started our journey after 3:30pm. Throughout the day, we were preparing and packing. Once we hit the road, we get traffic delay due to Friday after office hour traffic. It take at least 1+ hr to reach a section where traffic ease off. Due to the late start, I have to change my original plan. Luckily, I didn't book a campground as I try to do a walk up. We are 5 hrs late on our original departure plan and will not reach my original planned destination, Fundy National Park. Instead, I make a decision to drive through the night to reach our destination early.
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| Hanging out with the big trucks |
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| Driving up to Canadian Border |
We stopped at a rest area in Maine. Dinner is packed from home and we are eating dinner at the rest area. This ME rest area (Near Gray, ME) is our typical stop. There is a Moose & Bears at the entrance to the building. Kids love to hang around with the Moose and Bears.
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| Moose !!!! |
Day 2
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| Beautiful Sunrise |
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| Sunrise |
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| Gas stop @ Irving Big Stop |
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| Day 2 route - Border to Stanhope PEI via Sheridan |
I reached Houlton ME around 12am. After a gas stop (cheaper gas in US), we head to the border and crossed into Canada. I continue to drive toward PEI. I didn't manage to stay awake all the time. At around 4am, I stopped on roadside (off the highway exit) and take a nap. I have about 1.5 hrs of nap before continue our journey to PEI.
That probably the best decision made. We arrived our campground at 12pm. Prior to arriving, we have many extra time and I stop several locations. We stopped and visit Shediac NB to see a giant lobster. Then, we head to PEI crossing confederation bridge. Our campsite is Stanhope Campground in PEI National Park. After setting up our camper, we head out for a short visit. We visited Rustico Harbor and finally visit Anne of Green Gable in Cavendish (we miss it on our 2014 visit). Kids get to do the Parks Canada Xplorer program (not start till July 1). My daughter is collecting all the Xplorer badge from all the visit to National Park and National historic sites.
To visit the Green Gable, there is a fee. Since we purchased the Discovery Passes, the entrance fee is included with the Discovery Passes. I would highly encourage all family to purchase discovery passes. Discovery passes will include all entrance fee to to participate National Park, National Historic Sites & National Marine Conservation. For 2017, all Discovery passes will have 2 years expiration date instead of 1 year. You could find all the info at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/ar-sr/lpac-ppri/ced-ndp.aspx
We end our day after getting some fresh seafood @ Rustico. We have 2 lobsters and some fresh scallops. Wife cook dinner at the campsite while I'm with kids playing at Stanhope Beach.
To visit the Green Gable, there is a fee. Since we purchased the Discovery Passes, the entrance fee is included with the Discovery Passes. I would highly encourage all family to purchase discovery passes. Discovery passes will include all entrance fee to to participate National Park, National Historic Sites & National Marine Conservation. For 2017, all Discovery passes will have 2 years expiration date instead of 1 year. You could find all the info at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/ar-sr/lpac-ppri/ced-ndp.aspx
We end our day after getting some fresh seafood @ Rustico. We have 2 lobsters and some fresh scallops. Wife cook dinner at the campsite while I'm with kids playing at Stanhope Beach.
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| Huge Lobster |
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| Shediac NB |
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| Confederation Bridge |
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| Confederation Bridge @ NB |
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| Confederation Bridge @ PEI |
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| Camper Selfie with Confederation Bridge |
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| Our camp site @ Stanhope Campground |
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| Lobster suppers |
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| Fishermen boat in Rustic |
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| Our Dinner for Day 1 in PEI |
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| Very nice sunset at Stanhope Beach |
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| Park Canada Logo |
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| Children playground @ Stanhope Campground |
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| We use this grill a lot |
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| $10 for Lobster Traps. |
Day 3
Start the morning late and try to recuperate after the overnight driving marathon. After eating
breakfast, we head out. I'm heading east of the island. Using the Point East Coastal Drive, we visited several places. First stop is PEI National Park at Greenwich. We took a hike ~ 4.5 km to the sand dunes and beach area. We also have lunch break at the Greenwich interpreter center. Continuing our east, we reach the East Point Lighthouse. We have some PEI ice cream served from the lighthouse cafe. We stayed for about an hour before we start to drive South. We stopped by town of Souris. At the Souris beach, family enjoyed beach exploration. It was low tide and you can walk around the sandy beach. The family did some clam digging. Got some fresh catch of the day. There are some razor, cherrystone & littlenecks clams.
When we visit the Greenwich interpreter center, our kids ask for Xplorer program. It was sad to say, the Xplorer program for Prince Edward Island National Park do not start until July 1. So, no badges to add to the collection.
breakfast, we head out. I'm heading east of the island. Using the Point East Coastal Drive, we visited several places. First stop is PEI National Park at Greenwich. We took a hike ~ 4.5 km to the sand dunes and beach area. We also have lunch break at the Greenwich interpreter center. Continuing our east, we reach the East Point Lighthouse. We have some PEI ice cream served from the lighthouse cafe. We stayed for about an hour before we start to drive South. We stopped by town of Souris. At the Souris beach, family enjoyed beach exploration. It was low tide and you can walk around the sandy beach. The family did some clam digging. Got some fresh catch of the day. There are some razor, cherrystone & littlenecks clams.
When we visit the Greenwich interpreter center, our kids ask for Xplorer program. It was sad to say, the Xplorer program for Prince Edward Island National Park do not start until July 1. So, no badges to add to the collection.
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| PEI National Park - Greenwich |
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| Greenwich beach |
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| East Point Lighthouse |
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| Is this the end of the world? |
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| Clam digging in Souris Beach |
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| Food from the beach |
Day 4
The vehicle pick up a lot of dust from driving around in PEI. Kiddos try to be creative and decorate the dusty rear windshield.
Another late morning start. We cooked breakfast. After late breakfast, we head out. Today, we planned to drive to North Cape. Our first stop is Cavendish. We stopped at a frozen yogurt store and enjoyed some frozen yogurt. Wife got online and do some work and I started to upload photo to Facebook. After about 1 hr, we start our journey to driving to North Cape. The drive is long and boring. I have to stop at Tim Hortons and get some coffee/donuts. We finally reach North Cape around 4pm and start exploring the area. We visited the small exhibit and walk the nature trail. This area is filled with windmill. There is a working lighthouse. We stayed till 7pm. Due to summer time, the sun light is plenty till 9 pm. The drive to North Cape take about 3 hrs. 6 hrs roundtrip. The road is good, but slow. On our way back. We found a diner @ summertime. Classic diner with lots of 60's decoration. I ordered a loaded Poutine. Gravy, cheese and Ground beef. Yummy !!!!
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| Tim Horton Donuts |
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| North Cape Windmill Farm |
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| North Cape Lighthouse |
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| North Cape Visitor Center |
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| Windmill body |
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| Windmill at North Cape |
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| Loaded Poutine |
Day 5
The family members seems to be getting used to late morning start. After preparing breakfast and lunch, we are heading out to beach. Today, we will try to relax at the beach. We choose to return to greenwich beach as Stanhope beach is a bit rocky. When we start our drive toward greenwich beach (1 hr away), we have our first animal sighting (grey fox). We also found a Osprey Nest.
Today, the weather is windy. The greenwich beach is beautiful. Soft pink sand. But the wind turn the soft sand into our enemy. The wind blow up the sand and start pounding our face/body. We are on the beach for about 1/2 hour before we have enough abuse. We head out.
During the morning visit to Greenwich beach, we meet an older couples and have a brief chat with them. From the conversation, I found out some local info about Panmure Island, PEI.
It's still early and we have no destination. Since the kids enjoyed clam digging, we head back to Souris beach. We arrived a bit early and the tide is still high. The Souris beach is still covered with water and sea water hitting the sea wall. We decide to wait for low tide water. I have couple hours to burn, so we drove south. I drove south to Georgetown. I found the town, but seems a bit boring. I saw a great golf course near Georgetown. If I have the time, I would play a round of golf here. We head more south to Panmure Island. Before reaching Panmure Island, we passed by Montague PEI. After a short visit to Panmure Island Light house, we try to head back to Souris. It's 6:00pm and dinner time. While passing through Montague Main Street, I saw a food truck. There is a line of peoples waiting to purchase food. I always want to try new food/taste, so I decide to stop by the food truck and check it out. I have visited many food truck, but this is ranked the best food truck I've been. If anyone visiting Montague PEI, try this food truck "Fun on a Bun". The food truck is on facebook too. We ordered 4 items, Fish burger, Fried Clams, Fish & Chips and Garden salad.
Fun on a Bun Food Truck - Highly Recommended !!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/funonabun1/?fref=ts
Note : I actually order an additional fried clams because it was so tasty.
After finding the hidden gem food truck and we are all fill up with yummy food, we head back to Souris. Kids were having fun digging clams at the beach till sunset. We are enjoying another beautiful day at PEI.
It's time to pack up and hit the road again. We have a long 8 hrs drive from PEI to Cape Breton NS. Our next stop is Cheticamp NS. I have 2 nights campground reservation at Cheticamp Campground in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Since it's a long hrs driving, we wake up early and start finished packing up. I'm attempting to reduce the time to prep the camper roadworthy. This is our first drill for our camping trip. I wake up at 7am and start to prep. Once we got all kids awake, the packing process started. This process take about 2 hrs. By 9am, I'm ready to hit the road.
After a few sunshine day, we are finally greet by black cloud. The rain storm start to roll in before we reach Confederation Bridge. We are luck out for having 3 great sunny day. As we left PEI, it started to rain. The rain persist most day as we travel from PEI to Cape Breton. There is time where there is a rain break. Before reach our destination, Cheticamp NS, we stopped at Antigonish for food resupplied & refueling. We arrived at our destination Cheticamp NS around 7:30pm. After a short stop at the National Park visitor center, we checked into our campsite.
When we arrived to our camp site, it started to rain again. It's a steady rain. I grabbed a wind jacket with hoodies and start setting up the camper. I selected a site with lots of shade. So, I'm luck out. Without too wet, I can slide out the camper and have the camper ready in record time, 15 mins. Family is sitting inside the vehicle while I'm setting up the camper. I'm not too soak after 15 mins standing in the rain. I finally pop the camper and have a dry area to rest. The temperature for tonight will be dropping a bit.
We ate dinner inside the camper with the food we purchased from the grocery store. I got a mixed fried chicken wings with honey garlic and traditional spices.
The day start out with rain. It was raining steadily. Our camper hold up the first rain. No leak and it works flawlessly. Despite of rain, we will head out. First, we stop at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Visitor Center. The visitor center is located right next to our campground. The kids got the Xplorer booklet and start working on their assignment. After a short stay at the visitor center, we head out. Our first stop is Pleasant Bay, NS. Along the cabot trail, I stop to take a few pictures. Due to rain, only quick picture allowed. Along the cabot trail from Cheticamp to Pleasant Bay, there are a few construction area. A section of Cabot trail is under heavy construction. The asphalt is removed and only exposing packed gravel road. With rain, it's more like dirt road. There is also a section of Cabot Trail where bridge is being reconstructing. Only one way traffic in this section. So, a few mins wait if you missed the signal light.
We arrived Pleasant Bay after noon time. This is a fishing village/harbor with a few tourist attraction available. You can catch a tour from here for whale watch and deep sea fishing. We are not interested in whale watch, but found a whale interpreter center. It's like a small museum regards whale. We paid C$24 for a family entrance fee. It's a small museum, but we want to stop for a lunch break. We had lunch at the Whale interpreter center outdoor deck. The rain finally slow down and the sky is clearing up.
It's time to move on to the next stop. It was about 2pm. There is no next destination, but I want to continue exploring the cabot trail. While doing some research previously, I found some information about a fishing village which can only access via dirt road. Hence I have some interest to find out more. This fishing village is Meat Cove. The drive to Meat Cove is not too bad. Mostly asphalt but with about 15 km of hard packed gravel road. Meat Cove is actually the most Northern community accessible by road in Cape Breton.
At the end of the road at Meat Cove, there is a hidden treasure. I found a campground which sit at the rocky cliff. All the camp sites is facing the ocean overlooking Meat Cove Beach. Finding this hidden campground is awesome as I would come back and camp at this location. At the campground, there is a family owned restaurant. Even if I'm not hungry, I went in and ordered a seafood chowder. It was a very good chowder. Not cheap, but very tasty. I could taste seafood, but I can't smell the salty seafood. The chowder was loaded with fresh seafood from the local catch. Before we head out, I got a tour of the campground and also head down to the beach for some relax time. Kids is having fun stacking rocks on the beach. I'm having fun taking pics of the surrounding. I got to admit, I fall in love with this community. I found out there is a few hiking trails, but we didn't have time to explore the trail. Maybe next visit, I would hike the trail. We saw some pictures taken from other tourist that hiking the trail. It was a good trail to hike as the view is awesome.
As day getting late, we decide it's time to head back to our campground. We need to pack up for tomorrow as we are on our next journey heading to Newfoundland. Our ferry reservation is firmed and we can't be late for car loading. On our way back from Meat Cove, the sky along the cabot trail is open up. Blue sky can be seen and the cloud is disappearing. I have taken many photos along the way. Once we reach the campground, my wife stayed and will preparing meal. I picked up both girls and head to town. My car is so dirty because of the rain + dirt road. I found a car wash and also fill up gas for tomorrow journey. C$10 is what I spend to wash off all the dirt and vacuum the SUV. The SUV is now all clean and ready for it next road trip.
Car wash is a hard task and I need some treats for all the hardwork. We passed by a local fast food chain store (fry chicken) and they served ice cream. Maple ice cream is one of my fav on this trip. We enjoyed some ice cream while watching the sunset. This is the best combination you wish to experience. After sweet treat, we went back to camp site and eat dinner. We will sleep early and try to wake up early tomorrow. We have a ferry to catch.
Happy Canada Day !!!!! We have an early start today. This is due to the ferry schedule. We need to be at North Sydney by 10am to catch our ferry to Newfoundland. The drive from Cheticamp to North Sydney should be around 2+ hrs. We will be driving south using the Cabot Trail.
Since we have limited time, we wake up at 6:30am and start packing up. We are ready by 8:00am. The noise for packing up and lowering down our camper will annoyed our neighbor camper. I would like to apologize on my blog and hope someday they can read it.
The weather has calm down since yesterday. I'm able to make up time and reach North Sydney by 9:30am. After getting our ticket, we lined up with others waiting for our turn to board.
After unloaded from the ferry, we head to our campground, JT Cheesemen Provincial Park. We are now officially landed on Newfoundland. About 1.5 km from the Ferry Terminal, it is the Newfoundland Visitor Center. We stop over to get some info and use free Wifi. Since today is a holiday, the visitor center also have Cake and candy for all visitor. From the visitor, we get to know about Canada day evening celebration @ Port Aux Basques at 8pm. We quickly get to our destination, which is 5 km, from the Visitor Center. Our campsite is ready. I found our special reserved site, 74. Unload and pop the trailer. Then, we head out to Port Aux Basques. We enjoyed the Canada day celebration with the local peoples. There is a concert by local band and fireworks display at the harbor. Beside, there is food, drink and art/craft. There isn't asian folks among the crowd, but we blend in just fine.
After celebrate Canada day with local, we head back to our campground and have late dinner. We did not rest until late night. It was a good day/night. The night was cloudless and moonless. I can clearly see the milky way. I took a few photos of the milky way. There is some light noise from the building next to our camper.
The road going into Gros Morne National Park become steep with sharp turn. It was high grade climbing and descending. The road is very curve with sharp turn. But the view is getting better and better. Once driving through the hard part, you will get to Rocky Harbor. Rocky Harbor is the big town reside inside Gros Morne National Park.
First stop on our arrival, we visited the visitor center for Gros Morne National Park. The kids got the Xplorers workbook and start working on it. The next stop is to find our campground, KOA Gros Morne. After some detour and lost direction, I finally found the entrance KOA. During check-in, I get to know about some activities for the remaining of the day. There will be kids activities at 7pm and Santa will be visiting. Santa? In July? Is this a joke? Apparently, this is no joke (see picture below). In additional to Santa, there will be fireworks show to celebrate Canada Days. Today is July 2 and Canada Day is July 1. Due to fog/rain on July 1, the firework original set to show is postponed. Aren't we lucky? We got to enjoy 2 firework show back-to-back.
As I continue to setup our camper, we started to cook dinner. The food we purchased from Walmart is ready for consumed. The kids playing at the kids playground and bouncy air pillow. I went out to gather the kids and bring them back to the camper for dinner. After a short dinner, we are ready to head to the lake where the firework show will begin shortly.
At the end of the day, the cloud again covered the sky. We will be expecting a rainy night. We head back to our camp site and cook/eat dinner at the camper.
Still raining. We don't want to stay in camper so we head out and drive north on The Viking Trail. I really don't have a plan. We just plan as we drive north. I'm hoping to reach L'Anse Aux Meadows to see some viking history. Another goal for northbound is hope to get a glimpse on floating iceberg. As we drive north, the weather start to clear our. But even rain is settle, the fog is thick and visibility is poor. Driving in thick fog, heavy rain and 1 lane traffic is not a fun experience. I would rate this driving experience as one of the worst.
Our first stop of the trip is Port Au Choix. I saw the Park Canada sign on the roadside and I decided to take a detour and visit the attraction. The stop turn out very good. We are visiting a National History Site @ Port Au Choix. The attraction is about 8 km from the viking trail. More info about this site can be found at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/nl/portauchoix/index.aspx. As usual, there is a fee to visit this National Historic Site. I have annual Discovery Pass and all fee is included with the Pass. I'm recommending again on the benefit of buying Discovery Pass.
We visited the visitor center. The visitor center has a exhibit and movie theater. Here, we learn about native Indian who has live in this area long time ago.
After a brief stop at Port Au Choix, we are back on the road (still heading north). The Viking Trail,
We arrived to our 2nd destination, L'Anse Aux Meadows around 4pm (open from 9am-6pm). This is another National Historic Sites. This site show viking settlement from long time ago. I learned a lot of viking history and have fun interacting with the Viking interpreter. This visit also get me started binge watching the Viking series on Amazon Prime. To find out more info about L'Anse Aux Meadows, a UNESCO world heritage site, please visit http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index.aspx
We also got to enjoy some ice cream treat at the cafe inside the Visitor Center. At 6pm, the visitor center is closing. We hike around the visitor center area. Found some red chair and take some photos.
Today, the weather is windy. The greenwich beach is beautiful. Soft pink sand. But the wind turn the soft sand into our enemy. The wind blow up the sand and start pounding our face/body. We are on the beach for about 1/2 hour before we have enough abuse. We head out.
During the morning visit to Greenwich beach, we meet an older couples and have a brief chat with them. From the conversation, I found out some local info about Panmure Island, PEI.
It's still early and we have no destination. Since the kids enjoyed clam digging, we head back to Souris beach. We arrived a bit early and the tide is still high. The Souris beach is still covered with water and sea water hitting the sea wall. We decide to wait for low tide water. I have couple hours to burn, so we drove south. I drove south to Georgetown. I found the town, but seems a bit boring. I saw a great golf course near Georgetown. If I have the time, I would play a round of golf here. We head more south to Panmure Island. Before reaching Panmure Island, we passed by Montague PEI. After a short visit to Panmure Island Light house, we try to head back to Souris. It's 6:00pm and dinner time. While passing through Montague Main Street, I saw a food truck. There is a line of peoples waiting to purchase food. I always want to try new food/taste, so I decide to stop by the food truck and check it out. I have visited many food truck, but this is ranked the best food truck I've been. If anyone visiting Montague PEI, try this food truck "Fun on a Bun". The food truck is on facebook too. We ordered 4 items, Fish burger, Fried Clams, Fish & Chips and Garden salad.
Fun on a Bun Food Truck - Highly Recommended !!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/funonabun1/?fref=ts
Note : I actually order an additional fried clams because it was so tasty.
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| Animal sighting !!!! It's a fox |
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| Osprey nest |
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| Broadwalk to Greenwich Beach |
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| Fine pink sand at Greenwich beach |
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| Panmure Island Lighthouse |
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| Food Truck |
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| Selfie with my FAV Food Truck |
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| Fried Clam - IT WAS SO GOOD !!!! |
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| Fish Burger |
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| Montague PEI |
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| My Fav hot sauce - Moonshine |
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| Fish & Chips |
After finding the hidden gem food truck and we are all fill up with yummy food, we head back to Souris. Kids were having fun digging clams at the beach till sunset. We are enjoying another beautiful day at PEI.
Day 6
It's time to pack up and hit the road again. We have a long 8 hrs drive from PEI to Cape Breton NS. Our next stop is Cheticamp NS. I have 2 nights campground reservation at Cheticamp Campground in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Since it's a long hrs driving, we wake up early and start finished packing up. I'm attempting to reduce the time to prep the camper roadworthy. This is our first drill for our camping trip. I wake up at 7am and start to prep. Once we got all kids awake, the packing process started. This process take about 2 hrs. By 9am, I'm ready to hit the road.
After a few sunshine day, we are finally greet by black cloud. The rain storm start to roll in before we reach Confederation Bridge. We are luck out for having 3 great sunny day. As we left PEI, it started to rain. The rain persist most day as we travel from PEI to Cape Breton. There is time where there is a rain break. Before reach our destination, Cheticamp NS, we stopped at Antigonish for food resupplied & refueling. We arrived at our destination Cheticamp NS around 7:30pm. After a short stop at the National Park visitor center, we checked into our campsite.
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| Food resupply |
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| Welcome sign for Nova Scotia |
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| Cabot Trail |
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| Rocky Seashore |
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| Rocky Cliff of Cape Breton |
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| View of Cabot Trail |
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| Cheticamp Campground |
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| Rain Rain Go Away !!!!! |
We ate dinner inside the camper with the food we purchased from the grocery store. I got a mixed fried chicken wings with honey garlic and traditional spices.
Day 7
The day start out with rain. It was raining steadily. Our camper hold up the first rain. No leak and it works flawlessly. Despite of rain, we will head out. First, we stop at the Cape Breton Highlands National Park Visitor Center. The visitor center is located right next to our campground. The kids got the Xplorer booklet and start working on their assignment. After a short stay at the visitor center, we head out. Our first stop is Pleasant Bay, NS. Along the cabot trail, I stop to take a few pictures. Due to rain, only quick picture allowed. Along the cabot trail from Cheticamp to Pleasant Bay, there are a few construction area. A section of Cabot trail is under heavy construction. The asphalt is removed and only exposing packed gravel road. With rain, it's more like dirt road. There is also a section of Cabot Trail where bridge is being reconstructing. Only one way traffic in this section. So, a few mins wait if you missed the signal light.
We arrived Pleasant Bay after noon time. This is a fishing village/harbor with a few tourist attraction available. You can catch a tour from here for whale watch and deep sea fishing. We are not interested in whale watch, but found a whale interpreter center. It's like a small museum regards whale. We paid C$24 for a family entrance fee. It's a small museum, but we want to stop for a lunch break. We had lunch at the Whale interpreter center outdoor deck. The rain finally slow down and the sky is clearing up.
It's time to move on to the next stop. It was about 2pm. There is no next destination, but I want to continue exploring the cabot trail. While doing some research previously, I found some information about a fishing village which can only access via dirt road. Hence I have some interest to find out more. This fishing village is Meat Cove. The drive to Meat Cove is not too bad. Mostly asphalt but with about 15 km of hard packed gravel road. Meat Cove is actually the most Northern community accessible by road in Cape Breton.
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| Cabot trail |
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| View of Cabot Trail |
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| Panorama of a beach along cabot trail |
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| Raining pretty heavy |
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| Red Adirondack chair of Park Canada |
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| Cabot Trail |
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| Rain + Dirt road = Mud |
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| View of Pleasant Bay from high ground |
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| This is Pleasant Bay Harbor |
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| Mr. Seal |
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| Moby Dick |
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| Kiddo watching whale video |
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| Pleasant Bay, NS |
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| Some art decoration |
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| Meat Cove Campground |
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| Muddy vehicle |
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| View of campground |
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| I ordered a seafood chowder. It was delicious. |
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| Meat Cove Campground |
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| Stacking rock at the beach |
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| The rocky cliff actually is a campground |
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| Panorama of Meat Cove Beach |
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| Having some fun at the rocky Meat Cove Beach |
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| Meat Cove Beach |
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| Great reflection |
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| Meat Cove Info |
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| I see blue sky |
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| Where is the blue sky? |
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| Rain cloud is breaking off. Sun is popping out |
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| Morning = Rain, Afternoon = Sun |
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| SUV getting a bath |
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| Clean SUV = happy driver |
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| Sunset at Cheticamp Harbor |
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| Cold ice cream |
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| Sunset + SUV |
At the end of the road at Meat Cove, there is a hidden treasure. I found a campground which sit at the rocky cliff. All the camp sites is facing the ocean overlooking Meat Cove Beach. Finding this hidden campground is awesome as I would come back and camp at this location. At the campground, there is a family owned restaurant. Even if I'm not hungry, I went in and ordered a seafood chowder. It was a very good chowder. Not cheap, but very tasty. I could taste seafood, but I can't smell the salty seafood. The chowder was loaded with fresh seafood from the local catch. Before we head out, I got a tour of the campground and also head down to the beach for some relax time. Kids is having fun stacking rocks on the beach. I'm having fun taking pics of the surrounding. I got to admit, I fall in love with this community. I found out there is a few hiking trails, but we didn't have time to explore the trail. Maybe next visit, I would hike the trail. We saw some pictures taken from other tourist that hiking the trail. It was a good trail to hike as the view is awesome.
As day getting late, we decide it's time to head back to our campground. We need to pack up for tomorrow as we are on our next journey heading to Newfoundland. Our ferry reservation is firmed and we can't be late for car loading. On our way back from Meat Cove, the sky along the cabot trail is open up. Blue sky can be seen and the cloud is disappearing. I have taken many photos along the way. Once we reach the campground, my wife stayed and will preparing meal. I picked up both girls and head to town. My car is so dirty because of the rain + dirt road. I found a car wash and also fill up gas for tomorrow journey. C$10 is what I spend to wash off all the dirt and vacuum the SUV. The SUV is now all clean and ready for it next road trip.
Car wash is a hard task and I need some treats for all the hardwork. We passed by a local fast food chain store (fry chicken) and they served ice cream. Maple ice cream is one of my fav on this trip. We enjoyed some ice cream while watching the sunset. This is the best combination you wish to experience. After sweet treat, we went back to camp site and eat dinner. We will sleep early and try to wake up early tomorrow. We have a ferry to catch.
Day 8 (Day 1 in Newfoundland)
Since we have limited time, we wake up at 6:30am and start packing up. We are ready by 8:00am. The noise for packing up and lowering down our camper will annoyed our neighbor camper. I would like to apologize on my blog and hope someday they can read it.
The weather has calm down since yesterday. I'm able to make up time and reach North Sydney by 9:30am. After getting our ticket, we lined up with others waiting for our turn to board.
We arrived the Marine Atlantic Ferry terminal early, but there is a line of RV's, cars & trucks. Once we get to our assigned line up, we parked and head to the Ferry Terminal. The car loading will begin at 10:45am. We have more than 1 hrs to explore the terminal, get access to internet (free wifi) and relax. The terminal has TV, kids area, gift shop, rest room & offices. There is no food/cafeteria. I'm craving for some coffee, but the closest Tim Hortons is 5 mins walk from the terminal. I will need to exit the terminal and re-enter the terminal again (using my ferry ticket). During our 1+ hr layover at the Ferry Terminal, Marine Atlantic employee presented a cake to celebrate Canada Day. Every customer get a chance to have some swags and a slide of cake.
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| Happy Canada Day on July 1st |
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| Free Canada Flags and pins |
At 10:45am, the terminal start to announce loading/boarding process. We got back to our car and get ready for loading. This is a huge process. Managing many trucks, RV and vehicle to be loaded into the ferry. The ferry also transporting containers. It was an eye opening experience to see such a smooth process to get everything loaded and sailed on time. There is a lot of engineering to keep the boat not heavily sided as vehicles/trucks getting loaded.
We boarded MV Highlanders. There is 3 level for vehicles/trucks, level 1, 3 & 5. Our SUV & Trailer parked on level 3. For all passengers, there are 3 level to relax plus the sundeck, level 10, where you can get a great view and enjoying ocean breeze. Level 7,8 & 9. Level 7 has customer service desk, computer (free internet access), gift shop, restaurant, bar & general seating. Level 8 has suites, cabin, general seating area & cafe. Level 9 has a cafe with reserved seating area. Level 9 also have access to Sundeck, level 10. Since I have a cabin reservation, we head up to Level 8 and find our assigned room.
The ferry ride from North Sydney to Port Aux Basques is about 5+ hours. On the sailing day, the sea was calm and the boat didn't rock much. It was a smooth ride. The ferry departed on time at 12:15pm and we arrived Port Aux Basques around 6:30pm NL time. Newfoundland time is about 30 mins in advance than Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia time is 1 hr in advance of EST.
After unloaded from the ferry, we head to our campground, JT Cheesemen Provincial Park. We are now officially landed on Newfoundland. About 1.5 km from the Ferry Terminal, it is the Newfoundland Visitor Center. We stop over to get some info and use free Wifi. Since today is a holiday, the visitor center also have Cake and candy for all visitor. From the visitor, we get to know about Canada day evening celebration @ Port Aux Basques at 8pm. We quickly get to our destination, which is 5 km, from the Visitor Center. Our campsite is ready. I found our special reserved site, 74. Unload and pop the trailer. Then, we head out to Port Aux Basques. We enjoyed the Canada day celebration with the local peoples. There is a concert by local band and fireworks display at the harbor. Beside, there is food, drink and art/craft. There isn't asian folks among the crowd, but we blend in just fine.
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| Welcome To Newfoundland |
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| Visitor Center |
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| Cake and treats for Canada Day Celebration |
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| Time to go online |
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| Wifi password for JT Cheesemen Campground |
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| Campsite 74 @ JT Cheesemen |
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| MV Highlanders |
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| MV Highlanders |
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| MV Highlanders |
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| Port Aux Basques Harbor |
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| Trans-Canada Highway 1 |
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| Fireworks at Port Aux Basques |
After celebrate Canada day with local, we head back to our campground and have late dinner. We did not rest until late night. It was a good day/night. The night was cloudless and moonless. I can clearly see the milky way. I took a few photos of the milky way. There is some light noise from the building next to our camper.
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| Dark Sky in JT Cheeseman Campground |
Day 9 (Day 2 in Newfoundland)
We all sleep in a bit late today. After breakfast ~ 10am, we start to pack up. We are ready to hit the road around 11:30am. We need to head north to our destination, Gros Morne National Park. I have a 5 days reservation at KOA Gros Morne. The drive from Port Aux Basques to Rocky Harbour is about 4.5 hrs. Due to late start, we will just take an easy day. We need a pit stop at a city for food/drink. Corner Brook is where we choose to stop. From my research, there is a walmart at this city. We stopped at Walmart / Grocery store and restock our supply. We also stop at a gas station to fill up gas.
From the town Deer Lake, we exited TransCanada Highway 1 and entered Rt 430, aka The Viking Trail.
For more information about Viking Trail, you can visit http://www.vikingtrail.org/
For about 20 mins from Deer Lake, we will be entering Gros Morne National Park.
The road going into Gros Morne National Park become steep with sharp turn. It was high grade climbing and descending. The road is very curve with sharp turn. But the view is getting better and better. Once driving through the hard part, you will get to Rocky Harbor. Rocky Harbor is the big town reside inside Gros Morne National Park.
First stop on our arrival, we visited the visitor center for Gros Morne National Park. The kids got the Xplorers workbook and start working on it. The next stop is to find our campground, KOA Gros Morne. After some detour and lost direction, I finally found the entrance KOA. During check-in, I get to know about some activities for the remaining of the day. There will be kids activities at 7pm and Santa will be visiting. Santa? In July? Is this a joke? Apparently, this is no joke (see picture below). In additional to Santa, there will be fireworks show to celebrate Canada Days. Today is July 2 and Canada Day is July 1. Due to fog/rain on July 1, the firework original set to show is postponed. Aren't we lucky? We got to enjoy 2 firework show back-to-back.
As I continue to setup our camper, we started to cook dinner. The food we purchased from Walmart is ready for consumed. The kids playing at the kids playground and bouncy air pillow. I went out to gather the kids and bring them back to the camper for dinner. After a short dinner, we are ready to head to the lake where the firework show will begin shortly.
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| Santa in July |
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| KOA Gros Morne - a hidden jewel |
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| Site 32 - home for 5 days |
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| Firework show @ KOA |
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| Firework show @ KOA |
We enjoyed the firework show hosted by KOA Gros Morne. Comparing to Disney firework, it's no comparison, but it was good show.
Comparing commercial campground vs Park Canada Campground. KOA is a commercial campground. Run by individual family. KOA Gros Morne is the same. I would like to say KOA Gros Morne is a hidden jewel. From KOA website, I cannot find too much info about this campground. For reservation, I have to call the campground before I submit an online reservation. This campground is surrounded by a lake. There is 2 playground and also a jumping air pillow. At the lake, there are water activities like canoe, kayak and water pedal bike. At the office, there is a grocery store and gift shop. Guest can also rented pedal bike. Wifi access is mostly available throught the campground. I'm refering this KOA campground as Four Season hotel for camper.
Day 10 (Day 3 in Newfoundland)
It's a rainy day. The rain started last night and it's still going this morning. Today, I wake up by the rain drop on our camper. It was also windy too. I can't go back to sleep and decide to hang out a bit at the KOA office area (WiFi spot). After some breakfast, we hang out at the office. Wife use wifi for some work and I'm posting picture to facebook. I also try to postpone a reservation for today. I have a reservation for boat tour of Western Brook Pond. Since it's raining, I need to postpone the tour. Looking at future forecast, Tuesday is the best chance to have clear sky. I called Bontours, the company that run boat/hiking tours within Gros Morne National Park, to postpone our reservation. For anyone need the information on Bontours tour, please visit http://www.bontours.ca/
Around 11am, the rain start to slow down and we want to visit Gros Morne National Park. The kids started the Xplorers workbook so they hope to earn a badge. We head back to the Visitor Center. The visitor center located about 2 km from the campground. Next stop, we head out to several interesting tourist spot within Gros Morne National Park.
We pass through Rocky Harbor to get to Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse. At this location, I have several great picture (although it's still sprinkling/light rain). The lighthouse actually a small museum. I got to dress up like a mummering or janneying. The kids also got to play with a homemade music instrument, call Ugly Stick. The ugly stick is made by a stick, lots of bottle beer caps, nails, tin can and a boot. It is a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument. We also got to learn some history of Newfoundland with the display within the museum. Since it was raining, the kids stay in the museum. I walked out and try to walk the short trail around the lighthouse. I'm able to capture some image, but the rain/cloud kind of spoil the beautiful Fjord view.
After visiting Lobster Cove Lighthouse, the kids want me to take them north to Broom Point. They continue to finish up the workbook and need to complete a worksheet which is a visit to Green Point. Broom Point has a fishing village setup and staff with park ranger. There is a fishermen house and boathouse. It was raining when we start to walk toward the village from the parking lot. When we arrived to the village, the kids start the workbook assignment. It was an interesting assignment. The assignment include how to fillet a cod fish.
After the kids assignment completed, we start to walk back to our car. From our conversation with the ranger, we found out a trail called Steve's Trail near the parking lot. Me and my older daughter decide we want to check it out. It was our mission to seek out as many Park Canada red adrickdock chair. We hike the Steve's Trail. Got some interesting picture on the trail. I hike through a very spocky forest trail.
At the end of the spocky trail, we found ocean and red adrickdock chair.
After the kids completed the assignment, we head back to the visitor center. They earned their badges. While at the visitor center, we saw a bird blindly hit the windows of the building. We pick up the bird, but the bird dead on impact.
We stay at the visitor center for a while. Then we headed to south side of the Gros Morne National Park. On the south side, there is a Gros Morne National Park interpreter center (Boone Bay, NL). We planned to hike the tableland. Tableland is a 4km round trip easy trail. We spend about 2 hrs hiking the trail.
Around 11am, the rain start to slow down and we want to visit Gros Morne National Park. The kids started the Xplorers workbook so they hope to earn a badge. We head back to the Visitor Center. The visitor center located about 2 km from the campground. Next stop, we head out to several interesting tourist spot within Gros Morne National Park.
We pass through Rocky Harbor to get to Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse. At this location, I have several great picture (although it's still sprinkling/light rain). The lighthouse actually a small museum. I got to dress up like a mummering or janneying. The kids also got to play with a homemade music instrument, call Ugly Stick. The ugly stick is made by a stick, lots of bottle beer caps, nails, tin can and a boot. It is a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument. We also got to learn some history of Newfoundland with the display within the museum. Since it was raining, the kids stay in the museum. I walked out and try to walk the short trail around the lighthouse. I'm able to capture some image, but the rain/cloud kind of spoil the beautiful Fjord view.
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| Rocky Harbor |
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| Rocky Harbor |
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| Lobster Cove Head |
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| I'm being Mummering |
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| Trail on Lobster cove lighthouse |
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| Lighthouse |
After visiting Lobster Cove Lighthouse, the kids want me to take them north to Broom Point. They continue to finish up the workbook and need to complete a worksheet which is a visit to Green Point. Broom Point has a fishing village setup and staff with park ranger. There is a fishermen house and boathouse. It was raining when we start to walk toward the village from the parking lot. When we arrived to the village, the kids start the workbook assignment. It was an interesting assignment. The assignment include how to fillet a cod fish.
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| Fillet cod fish assignment |
After the kids assignment completed, we start to walk back to our car. From our conversation with the ranger, we found out a trail called Steve's Trail near the parking lot. Me and my older daughter decide we want to check it out. It was our mission to seek out as many Park Canada red adrickdock chair. We hike the Steve's Trail. Got some interesting picture on the trail. I hike through a very spocky forest trail.
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| Steve's Trail |
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| Steve's Trail |
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| Steve's Trail |
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| Steve's Trail |
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| Steve's Trail |
At the end of the spocky trail, we found ocean and red adrickdock chair.
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| Western Brook connecting to the ocean |
After the kids completed the assignment, we head back to the visitor center. They earned their badges. While at the visitor center, we saw a bird blindly hit the windows of the building. We pick up the bird, but the bird dead on impact.
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| Badge earned after completing Xplorers workbook |
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| Poor Bird hit the building windows |
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| Poor Bird hit the building windows |
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| Gros Morne National Park Visitor Center |
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| On our way to Bonne Bay |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Rock on Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
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| Tableland |
We are thankful because we got a break from the rain so we can do some activities. It was raining most of the morning till 2pm. The sunset can be view while we hike the tableland trail.
At the end of the day, the cloud again covered the sky. We will be expecting a rainy night. We head back to our camp site and cook/eat dinner at the camper.
Day 11 (Day 4 in Newfoundland)
Still raining. We don't want to stay in camper so we head out and drive north on The Viking Trail. I really don't have a plan. We just plan as we drive north. I'm hoping to reach L'Anse Aux Meadows to see some viking history. Another goal for northbound is hope to get a glimpse on floating iceberg. As we drive north, the weather start to clear our. But even rain is settle, the fog is thick and visibility is poor. Driving in thick fog, heavy rain and 1 lane traffic is not a fun experience. I would rate this driving experience as one of the worst.
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| Foggy along the Viking Trail |
We visited the visitor center. The visitor center has a exhibit and movie theater. Here, we learn about native Indian who has live in this area long time ago.
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| Welcome sign of Port Au Choix National Historic Site |
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| All the Park Canada National Park/Historic site in Newfoundland |
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| Dress up as a native |
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| I look like Pocahontas |
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| Nice costume |
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After a brief stop at Port Au Choix, we are back on the road (still heading north). The Viking Trail,
Before we reach our next stop, we found ICEBERG at Saint Lunaire-Griquet!!!! It's not a huge iceberg, but the first sighting actually keep our spirit up. These floating iceberg aged as old as 10,000 years. They breakoff from a glacier and float on the ocean and finally stuck on a shallow ground before it's all melted.
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| Taste like ice |
We arrived to our 2nd destination, L'Anse Aux Meadows around 4pm (open from 9am-6pm). This is another National Historic Sites. This site show viking settlement from long time ago. I learned a lot of viking history and have fun interacting with the Viking interpreter. This visit also get me started binge watching the Viking series on Amazon Prime. To find out more info about L'Anse Aux Meadows, a UNESCO world heritage site, please visit http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index.aspx
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| L'Anse Aux Meadows |
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| L'Anse Aux Meadows |
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| Model of the Viking settlement |
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| My viking buddy |
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| Iceberg sighting at L'Anse Aux Meadow. That a huge iceberg. |
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| Viking Settlement |
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| Viking Settlement |
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| Viking Interpreter |
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| Norsemen |
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| Viking Settlement |
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| Charged |
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| Weapon of Vikings |
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| Walnut |
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| Shield up |
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| On guard |
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| I become a viking |
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| The helmet fits |
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| Don't mess with me |
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| Finish up the Xplorers workbook |
After visiting the viking site, the rain start to pour again. I'm able to run fast enough to reach the visitor center and avoid rain drops. The kids now get ready for some homework. They got the Xplorers workbook and start working on the assignment. We also watch a short documentary video. All activities completed before 6pm. Kids got their badges and we learned some information about viking settlement in this area. It's time to head out.
Before I head back to the Viking Trail, I have a decision to make. I can either turn around and head back to Gros Morne National Park or keep going till the end of Viking Trail. I decided to keep driving till the end of the Viking Trail. The trail end at St Anthony, a town in the northern Peninsula. Over here, I found more floating iceberg.
A little info about the town of St Anthony. St Anthony is a largest town in the Northern Peninsular. Many tourist will visit the town and hope to see floating iceberg and whales. There are several popular tours being operate in this area. You can find some info here http://www.town.stanthony.nf.ca/index.php
Our time is limited and we only can have a short stay at St. Anthony. I need to head back. It's almost 8pm when we left St. Anthony. Since it's summer, the sunset is at 9pm or later. While driving south on the Viking Trail, we got to see the sunset along the coast. It was one of the best sunset scenery as we got a double rainbow on east side and a glowing red sun on the west side. We stop for a brief to capture the scene.
After the sunset, we continue our journey back to Rocky Harbour. It was still rainy/fog in some area and the driving become very dangerous. Dark fill in, fog limited road visibility and rain cause water pool on the road. The water pooling on the road cause my SUV traction slipping. In order to get more traction to the road, I have activated 4WD on the SUV. The fog and darkness also limit road visibility. I'm afraid of wild animal crossing the road. I'm so lucky that I didn't see any moose on our trip back south. I did kill a wild rabbit when the noise of the vehicle scare the animal and it just running in front of my car. All I heard is some rumbling noise beneath the vehicle and that's my first road kill in Newfoundland. We arrived our campground around 1am.
Before I head back to the Viking Trail, I have a decision to make. I can either turn around and head back to Gros Morne National Park or keep going till the end of Viking Trail. I decided to keep driving till the end of the Viking Trail. The trail end at St Anthony, a town in the northern Peninsula. Over here, I found more floating iceberg.
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| Bigger chunk of icebergs |
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| I'm hungry for some iceberg |
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| I can touch the iceberg |
A little info about the town of St Anthony. St Anthony is a largest town in the Northern Peninsular. Many tourist will visit the town and hope to see floating iceberg and whales. There are several popular tours being operate in this area. You can find some info here http://www.town.stanthony.nf.ca/index.php
Our time is limited and we only can have a short stay at St. Anthony. I need to head back. It's almost 8pm when we left St. Anthony. Since it's summer, the sunset is at 9pm or later. While driving south on the Viking Trail, we got to see the sunset along the coast. It was one of the best sunset scenery as we got a double rainbow on east side and a glowing red sun on the west side. We stop for a brief to capture the scene.
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| Double Rainbow on the east side |
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| Sunset on the west side |
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| Capturing both Rainbow and sunset |
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| Sun is almost at the edge of the horizon |
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| Beautiful Sunset |
After the sunset, we continue our journey back to Rocky Harbour. It was still rainy/fog in some area and the driving become very dangerous. Dark fill in, fog limited road visibility and rain cause water pool on the road. The water pooling on the road cause my SUV traction slipping. In order to get more traction to the road, I have activated 4WD on the SUV. The fog and darkness also limit road visibility. I'm afraid of wild animal crossing the road. I'm so lucky that I didn't see any moose on our trip back south. I did kill a wild rabbit when the noise of the vehicle scare the animal and it just running in front of my car. All I heard is some rumbling noise beneath the vehicle and that's my first road kill in Newfoundland. We arrived our campground around 1am.
Day 12 (Day 5 in Newfoundland)
After several days/nights of rain, the sky is finally clear up. Today, the weather clear up and blue sky/sun is on horizon.
Bontour - Tour of Western Brook Pond. This is the highlight of the trip. There is a 3km hike required to reach the dock for the boat tour (6km roundtrip). For more info about the tour, please visit http://www.bontours.ca/
The cost for a family of 5 on this tour is C$188. The boat tour is 2 hrs long. Our tour start at 11am. Since there is a 3km hike from the parking lot & it's 45 mins from our campground, we wake up early and get ready. We start to head out around 8:30am after breakfast.
We arrived at the parking lots about 9:15am. The parking lot already packed with cars, RV and buses. I had my camera bag and the kids all carry a backpack. We loaded the backpack with snacks and drinks. We head off to the trail and hike to the dock. It take about 1 hrs for the hike as we are not in a rush. We rest as needed and take photos stop as frequent as possible. We reach the dock area about 10:15am. There is a store where I entered and confirmed our reservation. Once I get the payment all set and our ticket is printed, we waited outside the deck area. There is free wifi at the store. The store building have bathroom, a cafe and ticket counter. Outside the store, it has a huge deck with connected to the dock.
It's 10:30am and all visitor are asked to board the boat. The next 2+ hours is the most interesting time we spend for the trip. I highly recommended (again) for all visitor of Gros Morne National Park to book a tour and experience the beautiful fjord of Western Brook Pond. This is a tour guided boat and I learned a lot of history about the glacier carved fjord. At the return journey, the guide even play some traditional newfoundland music for every visitor to enjoy.
After the boat tour, we decide to take a easy day and head back near our campground. We took a detour to Norris Point and visited Boone Bay Marine Station. This is a small marine museum run operated by Memorial University of Newfoundland.
After a short visit to Norris Point, we went back to the campground. The kids want to play with peddle bike at the campground. We cooked and have dinner at the campground. The sunny day finally turn cloudy and it is forecast to have some rain at late night. We call it a day.
Bontour - Tour of Western Brook Pond. This is the highlight of the trip. There is a 3km hike required to reach the dock for the boat tour (6km roundtrip). For more info about the tour, please visit http://www.bontours.ca/
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| Hiking start |
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| Hiking toward the fjord. |
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| Broadwalk to the dock. |
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| Hiking toward the dock. We can see the Fjord. |
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| Boat tour at Western Brook Pond |
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| Our boat is waiting |
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| Western Brook Pond |
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| Nice day for a boat tour |
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| Entering the Fjord |
We arrived at the parking lots about 9:15am. The parking lot already packed with cars, RV and buses. I had my camera bag and the kids all carry a backpack. We loaded the backpack with snacks and drinks. We head off to the trail and hike to the dock. It take about 1 hrs for the hike as we are not in a rush. We rest as needed and take photos stop as frequent as possible. We reach the dock area about 10:15am. There is a store where I entered and confirmed our reservation. Once I get the payment all set and our ticket is printed, we waited outside the deck area. There is free wifi at the store. The store building have bathroom, a cafe and ticket counter. Outside the store, it has a huge deck with connected to the dock.
It's 10:30am and all visitor are asked to board the boat. The next 2+ hours is the most interesting time we spend for the trip. I highly recommended (again) for all visitor of Gros Morne National Park to book a tour and experience the beautiful fjord of Western Brook Pond. This is a tour guided boat and I learned a lot of history about the glacier carved fjord. At the return journey, the guide even play some traditional newfoundland music for every visitor to enjoy.
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| Waterfall |
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| Steep cliff |
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| Cruising |
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| Beautiful fjord |
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| Fjord |
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| Cruising |
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| Cruising |
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| old man shape rock |
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| Cruising |
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| Cruising |
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| Panorama picture |
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| Happy kiddo |
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| Cruising |
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| Happy kiddo |
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| Fjord |
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| Waterfall |
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| Waterfall |
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| The ledge at the middle of the picture is the hike. It's on my bucket to hike to the ledge and have a selfie. |
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| Groupie |
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| Super Saiyan mode |
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| This is the evil mastermind |
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| Snow Crabs |
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| Boone Bay Marine Station |
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| Boone Bay Marine Station |
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| Boone Bay Marine Station |
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| Boone Bay Marine Station |
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| Boone Bay Marine Station |
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| Norris Point |
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| Norris Point |
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| Norris Point |
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| Norris Point |
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| Norris Point |
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| Food Truck |
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| Hungry Seagull |
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| Watch out, I want poutine |
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| Hungry Seagull |
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| Poutine |
After a short visit to Norris Point, we went back to the campground. The kids want to play with peddle bike at the campground. We cooked and have dinner at the campground. The sunny day finally turn cloudy and it is forecast to have some rain at late night. We call it a day.
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| paddle bike |
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| paddle bike |
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| paddle bike |
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| paddle bike |
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| KOA Gros Morne |
Day 13 (Day 6 in Newfoundland)
It's been a very chill for the last several night. Most night, the temperature is either low 40's or upper 30's. It felt like winter or late falls. We have been turning up our heater on our camper almost every night. The heater use propane as heat fuel. Our camper propane tank is finally running low.
Today, the weather is getting rainy, cloudy and windy again. Early morning, I wake up and take out our propane tank and head out to the nearest Gas station. I fill up the car and also inquiry about propane fillup. This Irving Gas station (closest to KOA) has a propane filling station. On my previous visit, I already scout out and know about it. To fill up propane, you need to drop off the tank and at 3pm, the gas station will only start filling the propane tank. The only certified person to fill propane don't work until 3pm. I left the propane tank with a tag next to the filling station. I will be back to pick up the propane later in the day.
Since it's a wet day, we try to ease off. Our food is runing low so we decide to head back to Corner Brook for food shopping. We visited Captain James Cook Historic Site in Corner Brook. This is a low key day which we spend our time food shopping in Corner Brook. We went to 2 grocery stores and Walmart. We buy as much food/water/snack we needed for our journey to Terra Nova National Park. On our way back to Rocky Harbor, we went back to visit Gros Morne interpretation centre at Woody Point.
Today, the weather is getting rainy, cloudy and windy again. Early morning, I wake up and take out our propane tank and head out to the nearest Gas station. I fill up the car and also inquiry about propane fillup. This Irving Gas station (closest to KOA) has a propane filling station. On my previous visit, I already scout out and know about it. To fill up propane, you need to drop off the tank and at 3pm, the gas station will only start filling the propane tank. The only certified person to fill propane don't work until 3pm. I left the propane tank with a tag next to the filling station. I will be back to pick up the propane later in the day.
Since it's a wet day, we try to ease off. Our food is runing low so we decide to head back to Corner Brook for food shopping. We visited Captain James Cook Historic Site in Corner Brook. This is a low key day which we spend our time food shopping in Corner Brook. We went to 2 grocery stores and Walmart. We buy as much food/water/snack we needed for our journey to Terra Nova National Park. On our way back to Rocky Harbor, we went back to visit Gros Morne interpretation centre at Woody Point.
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| Exploration chart by Captain James Cook |
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| Captain James Cook |
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| Overlook Corner Brook harbor |
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| Captain James Cook Historic Site |
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| Gros Morne Intrepretation Centre |
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| Gros Morne Intrepretation Centre |
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| Gros Morne Intrepretation Centre |
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| Trout River town |
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| Trout River town |
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| Trout River town |
The day ended with some good food from the grill. I also remember to head back to the Irving Gas station at Rocky Harbor and pick up the newly filled propane tank. It will be another wet and cold night. We will rest early as we will need to continue our trip to Terra Nova National Park.
Day 14 (Day 7 in Newfoundland)
Today, We need to pack up and leave Gros Morne National Park. It's been a fun 4 days in the area. Although the rain kind of delay/postpone our schedule, but overall we love this area. I will be back. I love to do the backpacking trip on Western Brook Pond and hike up to the ledge where this famous photos taken.
Good Bye, Gros Morne National Park.
The drive from Gros Morne National Park to Terra Nova National Park is about 5+ hours. Thankfully, the rain stop over the night and our camper canvas is not wet. After packed up, we left KOA Gros Morne and head to TC1.
The drive is not too bad. We stop for lunch at a Grand Falls-Windsor. After a quick lunch, we continue our journey to Terra Nova National Park. We arrived the visitor center of Terra Nova National Park around 5pm. Kids start the Xplorers program book and we hang out. I've a great review for this visitor center. Beside a small display, there is a salt water touch tank located inside the visitor center. Kids are happy to get close to crabs, star fish....
Good Bye, Gros Morne National Park.
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| This hiking trip is on my bucket list (Western Brook Pond) |
The drive from Gros Morne National Park to Terra Nova National Park is about 5+ hours. Thankfully, the rain stop over the night and our camper canvas is not wet. After packed up, we left KOA Gros Morne and head to TC1.
The drive is not too bad. We stop for lunch at a Grand Falls-Windsor. After a quick lunch, we continue our journey to Terra Nova National Park. We arrived the visitor center of Terra Nova National Park around 5pm. Kids start the Xplorers program book and we hang out. I've a great review for this visitor center. Beside a small display, there is a salt water touch tank located inside the visitor center. Kids are happy to get close to crabs, star fish....
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Terra Nova National Park |
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| I love activities |
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| Terra Nova National Park Visitor Center |
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| Working on Xplorer workbook |
We also got to enjoy some ice cream treat at the cafe inside the Visitor Center. At 6pm, the visitor center is closing. We hike around the visitor center area. Found some red chair and take some photos.
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| Trail |
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| Terra Nova National Park |
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| Terra Nova National Park |
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| Terra Nova National Park |
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| Red chair @ Terra Nova National Park |
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| Terra Nova National Park |
After some short hiking nearby, we get ready to continue our journey to the Campground. We have 3 days reservation at Newman Sound Campground inside Terra Nova National Park.
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| Site 34 is our home for 3 days |
I got to say this. I love Newman Sound Campground. This campground offer a lot of activities. The shower room is so clean and modernized. The wifi access near the activities center is very nice. A lot of activities available and organized/hosted at this activity center. There is tons of kids activities. In other word, parent just keep the kids here and they will be entertained by park rangers.
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| Activity Center in Newman Sound Campground |
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| Green House |
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| Operating hours |
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| Activity Center |
Day 15 (Day 8 in Newfoundland)
Our day 2 in Terra Nova National Park. After eating breakfast and a slow morning start, we start heading out. In the morning, I need to fill up the gas on my SUV. I found out that the nearest gas station within the National Park is actually 15 miles away. The SUV is telling me that I'm only about 18 miles from empty tank.
Today, we will try to visit Bonavista. Our goal is to see Puffin. According to my research and information gathering at Visitor Center, there is a town, Elliston, has a habitation of Puffin. On the way to Bonavista, we also visit Trinity Bay.
It was a long day driving to Bonavista. As we head back to our campground, there is a activity at 8pm. The dark sky celebration is happening at the campground at 8pm. I'm able to drive and reach our campground by 8:30pm. We got to attend the activity hosted at the activity center. Here is some picture I taken at night. The dark sky at the National Park is beautiful. I can clearly sea the milky way.
Today, we will try to visit Bonavista. Our goal is to see Puffin. According to my research and information gathering at Visitor Center, there is a town, Elliston, has a habitation of Puffin. On the way to Bonavista, we also visit Trinity Bay.
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin habitat |
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| Elliston |
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| Elliston Visitor Center |
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| Another food truck |
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| Rocky shore in Trinity |
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| Trinity light house |
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| Trinity light house |
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| Trinity light house |
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| Trinity, Trinity Bay |
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| Trinity, Trinity Bay |
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| Post Office |
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| Trinity, Trinity Bay |
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| Trinity, Trinity Bay |
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| Bona Vista Lighthouse |
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| Bonavista |
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| Bonavista |
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| Bonavista |
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| Bonavista Lighthouse |
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| Bonavista |
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| Bonavista Lighthouse |
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| Bonavista Lighthouse |
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| Red fox |
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| Red fox |
Day 16 (Day 9 in Newfoundland)
Today, we take it easy due to late night photography session. We will just explore the local area and will prep for our departure to Port Aux Basques. The decision is not an easy one. I have plan to visit St. John for the day. The drive from Terra Nova National Park and St. John is about 4 hours. I will have to wake up early and drive to the city. But I also consider the drive tomorrow from Terra Nova National Park to Port Aux Basques to catch our ferry ride back to Nova Scotia.
It was a hard decision to skip some awesome attraction in St. John.
We start out hiking around the campground. There is a loop around the campground and we will try to hike through the loop and hope to see some wild animals. The hiking didn't went well. We were bitten and chase by lots of black fly and mosquitoes. We have sprayed very thoroughly, but its only preventing mosquitoes. The black fly keep bitting and chasing us. We end up shorten the hiking and head back to main road.
Later the day, we hang out visiting a few sight attraction within Terra Nova National Park. We cooked dinner at the campground and eat. After finished dinner, we started to pack up and getting ready to leave. At 8pm, we drove out from the campground and start the driving toward Port Aux Basques.
Later the day, we hang out visiting a few sight attraction within Terra Nova National Park. We cooked dinner at the campground and eat. After finished dinner, we started to pack up and getting ready to leave. At 8pm, we drove out from the campground and start the driving toward Port Aux Basques.
Day 17 (Last day in Newfoundland)
I arrive to Deer Lake around 12am. I stop at the Irving gas station in Deer Lake. They are one of the gas station which open 24 hrs. After getting gas, I continue to drive toward Port Aux Basques. I drove through the night till about 4am. I stopped at the Visitor Center at Port Aux Basques. I just park at the parking lot and take a nap. We are all awake before 6am. I try to find an open facilities, but only Tim Hortons is open at this time. We drove to Tim Hortons at Port Aux Basques. After getting our breakfast and coffee at Tim Hortons, we head to the Ferry Terminal. The Terminal is open and I can check in. No doubt, we don't waste time and we just check in. We got our ticket printed and get to clear Canadian Custom process
During canadian custom process, we are being inspected. We are asked to open our cooler in the camper and they want to check out the cooler. They are concerned about local vegetables being transport back to mainland. My cooler is as empty as possible because we have consumed all food purchased for the last 3 days. I do have some left over gatorade drinks which is not a banned item. We all cleared and get to line up. I'm the first vehicle inline.
We boarded MV Blue Puttes and ready for our 6 hours journey back to Nova Scotia. We arrived North Sydney Nova Scotia around 5:30pm. After unloaded from the Ferry, we head down to Sydney and visit the big fiddle.
We did a take out at the local McDonald and continue our journey back home. At 8pm, we left Sydney Nova Scotia and will drive overnight. I hope to reach home by 12pm tomorrow. The drive from Nova Scotia to MA is about 16 hours.
During canadian custom process, we are being inspected. We are asked to open our cooler in the camper and they want to check out the cooler. They are concerned about local vegetables being transport back to mainland. My cooler is as empty as possible because we have consumed all food purchased for the last 3 days. I do have some left over gatorade drinks which is not a banned item. We all cleared and get to line up. I'm the first vehicle inline.
We boarded MV Blue Puttes and ready for our 6 hours journey back to Nova Scotia. We arrived North Sydney Nova Scotia around 5:30pm. After unloaded from the Ferry, we head down to Sydney and visit the big fiddle.
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| Fiddle |
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| Fiddle |
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| Fiddle |
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| Fiddle |
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| I'm a Lobster |
We did a take out at the local McDonald and continue our journey back home. At 8pm, we left Sydney Nova Scotia and will drive overnight. I hope to reach home by 12pm tomorrow. The drive from Nova Scotia to MA is about 16 hours.
Day 18
Last day of the trip. I was om Truro NS around midnight. I'm planning to drive overnight and plan on driving as much as possible. I managed to drive till 2:30am and almost reach Fredericton NB. I stopped at Esso at Oromocto NB. I slept on the parking lot until 6:00am. Then, I continue the driving session and reach the border around 7:00am (6:00 am EST). I earned an hour back which help. From Houlton ME, we are about 6+ hrs from home.
Overall info (Fuel, Camping Fee, Tolls)
I have driven for a total 4934 miles. My average Fuel Economy for my 2010 Toyota Sequoia is 14.5 mpg. I'm towing a 2002 Rockwood Premier 2317G.
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