June 27-28: Sydney, NS to Gros Morne National Park, Nfld

June 27

Oooh the ferry, how I hate having to rely on other transportation systems to get me where I need to be.  Let me back up a bit – last night was the stormiest night we’ve had so far.  I’m surprised our tarp  didn’t rip right off and blow away.  Along with the wind was a torrential down pour, luckily because our tarp held in place, we managed to stay somewhat dry.  Ok, now back to the ferry…We got up early this morning to make sure we got to the ferry on time but found out that our ferry has actually been delayed by about 4 hours!   So now, not only are we taking a different ferry, we have to wait even longer.  On the bright side, they have refunded our money and this ferry trip is free!!!  After talking to our neighbours at our campsite (who are actually from Belleville, about 45minutes away from Kingston), we learned that the ferry is in fact never reliable!  They’ve done this trip a few times and one time were delayed 4 days!!!  I was almost considering saying the heck with Newfoundland altogether but Carl talked me back into my senses and so away we went!

My 24 week picture taken on the ferry

 

June 28

After the 6 hour ferry ride, we changed our watches ahead by 30 minutes (we are now currently 4.5 hours ahead of Vancouver time) and arrived in Newfoundland at about 9:30pm and found a campsite.  Before the ferry even docked, we were amazed at the sight of Newfoundland and it’s beauty.  Waves crashed up against the rocky shore, brightly colored houses dotted the ocean front and as we drove farther into the island we saw tree covered mountains and open fields with wild flowers that made it feel like we were driving in the alpine.  I’m already glad we made the decision to still come to Newfoundland!  

A view from the ferry

It drizzled throughout the night and besides the fact that Carl spilled his water bottle inside the tent, we once again managed to stay dry!

The waterfall behind our campsite.  Apparently, the day before you could walk across this
waterfall but from all the rain they had gotten that day, the water level rose significantly.

Staying dry during breakfast with a garbage bag as our table cloth
and 2 plastic grocery bags to sit on!

It took about 4 hours to get to Gros Morne today and it seemed that when we stopped, it was sunny but once we started driving, we would hit the rain again – we were rain chasers!  Here are some photo op's from along the way:

This is Moose Number Three we've seen!!!

We arrived at Gros Morne and the sun was shining and I am thrilled to report that at 9:30pm, it’s still extrememly light, warm and there are clear skies!!!  Thank you Jesus!  After setting up camp, we went on a short hike to see if we could get some good views, which we did.  

A cariboo Momma with her caribou baby

We are currently camped at Trout River by the Tablelands.  The Tablelands “are made of rock that comes from deep within the earth’s crust.  Nowhere in the world is such material as easily accessed as in Gros Morne (it’s usually only found at the unfathomable ocean depths)” says Lonely Planet.  We have a full day planned for tomorrow and so far the forecast is rain!  We're hoping that changes but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see!