2022 Endings, 2023 Beginnings

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 22)

Leaving Corning, NY, we drove south through colorful rolling hills in central Pennsylvania. We boondocked at a Cracker Barrel near Harrisburg and continued on I-81 across the tips of Maryland and West Virginia.

Our destination was near Roanoke, VA, where we planned to camp for a couple nights at Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway. From there, we would continue south to visit friends near Knoxville and our daughter and her family in Georgia.

But we had to make an unexpected change to these plans!

A few miles into western Virginia, Max started to shudder and make odd noises. We limped to a garage in the next town to have Max looked at. The mechanic gave us bad news: he suspected Max’ problems were the transmission.

We backtracked a few miles to the nearest Chevrolet dealer in Winchester, VA and the diagnosis was confirmed. Max needed a new transmission.

After two days and quite a few dollars, Max was repaired.

Deciding not to risk further travels through the mountains to Knoxville and Georgia, we beelined it down I-95, instead, arriving home on October 15.

We are thankful despite issues with Max

Our three month Newfoundland trip spanned nearly 10,000 miles, across 17 states and 4 provinces. We camped in 44 different locations and visited remote areas where we enjoyed exploring, biking and hiking during overall great weather. Oscar provided trouble-free accommodations and we were healthy throughout the trip.

Back Home

After Thanksgiving with family at our home, we spent several days in Ft Myers, FL doing hurricane relief work for homeowners affected by Hurricane Ian on September 28. We volunteered again with Samaritan’s Purse, part of the Billy Graham organization, gutting flood damaged homes so they could be rebuilt.

Ready for Hurricane Relief Work in Ft Meyers

Steve and Audra were among the 80+ volunteers serving that week with SP. We learned that we share a passion for travel, adventure and giving back. Their YouTube blog has excellent videos about their cargo van conversion and recent Florida travels.

One of their recent blog episodes gives a moving recap of the impact of Hurricane Ian and the work done by Samaritan’s Purse teams. This video is definitely worth watching: click here for video

Christmas and Beyond

We had an enjoyable Christmas as we celebrated the ‘Good News’ of Jesus’ birth.

Starting in January, we will explore new RabbiTRAILS at several Florida state parks south of Tampa and in the Florida Keys. We’re also planning a longer journey in the Spring and will share plans when things firm up. Watch for blog updates.

Until then, we pray you will be blessed as you take the LONG ROAD and follow your own RabbiTRAILS in 2023!

Gorgeous Gorge and Classy Glass

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 21)

From the Utica area, we drove southwest through New York hill country past small towns, lush vineyards and fertile farms. Our destination was a Harvest Host location and state park in Watkins Glen, NY.

We camped for the night in a field at Sunset View Creamery. The creamery is a large dairy farm with a nice store where we sampled (and purchased) several types of cheese along with other local farm products.

By then, it was mid-afternoon and we had to hurry to visit Watkins Glen. Although the town is noted for its role in auto racing, our visit was to see the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park

The large parking lot was crowded when we arrived. There is a charge to park but entrance to the state park and gorge is free. We crossed a busy street and the entrance to the gorge trail was ahead.

The trail starts at the bottom of the 400-foot deep gorge and continues for 1.5 miles as it follows a small stream up 832 steps. The paved trail goes over and under waterfalls, bridges and tunnels. The layered sides of the gorge were accented here and there with trees displaying colorful autumn leaves.

The trail ends at the top of the gorge, where you can hike one of two trails along the top of the gorge or take an inexpensive shuttle back to the bottom of the gorge. Some visitors start with the shuttle and then take the steps down to the entrance. We think the views are better hiking up the gorge however.

The park has a lot to offer in addition to the gorge – a campground and cabins (both were closed for the season when we visited), biking and other hiking trails.

After a chilly no-hookups night at the Creamery, we arose early the next morning for a short drive to Corning NY to visit the Corning Museum of Glass.

The museum and town of Corning are worthy of a day or two visit, but we only had a few hours to explore the museum.

The museum has exhibits ranging from ancient glass artifacts more than 3500 years old to contemporary glass art, as well as various scientific and practical uses of glass in modern society. There were also several live glass-blowing demonstrations.

CMOG has glass antiquities and modern art displays, plus live glassblowing demonstrations

Who’d have thought there was so much to see at a glass museum!

After a quick lunch we were on the road again heading south to spend the night in Pennsylvania. We were on the way to Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Next week: our plans take yet another unexpected turn.

What was it?

The photo below (2022 Newfoundland Ep 19 Autumn in Vermont blog post) was taken at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT.

The device is a MOUSE TRAP! When triggered, a portion of the trap rotates and deposits the mouse in the adjacent screened box. This trap is more humane than a spring-loaded mouse crusher!

Garlic Fries and Feasts for Eyes

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 20)

With Vermont behind us, we continued through the Adirondacks and were surprised with the remoteness of the area, considering we were in New York. We passed through Spectacular, aptly named for the colorful fall drive we were enjoying.

Spectacular evening view of the farm adjacent to our campground

Max’ gas gauge was between half and quarter full. To continue or not to continue? We decided to play it safe and turned around to fill up at the only gas station in town and for more than 30 miles in each direction. You can’t take chances when you get 10 MPG.

Downtown Utica NY and Golden’s (Google Streetview)

We set up camp and the next rainy morning we visited Utica, a small city several miles away on the Mohawk River. Lunch was at Golden’s, a highly rated tiny downtown restaurant, where we tried Utica Burgers. The burgers were topped with cherry peppers, pesto, mozzarella and tomato, and included sides of garlic parmesan fries.

The burgers were good.

The fries were GREAT!

After lunch we visited the Erie Canal. Completed in 1825, the canal extends 351 miles east-west from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. It is 120 feet wide and 12 feet deep, and a series of 34 locks raise and lower vessels a total of 565 feet.

At Lock 20 State Canal Park, just outside Utica, we watched a small tug boat and canal maintenance barge enter the lock. The downstream gates closed and the lock filled with water. A few minutes later the water level had risen 16 feet and the upstream gates opened. The tug and barge were on their way.

Quiet Erie Canal downstream from Lock 20

Similar to historic railroads, Pat and I are fascinated by canals – they are rich in history and much slower paced than interstates and airports. We dreamed of taking a boat trip on the canal or riding some of the bike trail adjacent to the canal. Unfortunately, our time was short. Perhaps on a future trip…

Where is the trail? Hard-to-find blazes showed us the way

We hiked the Vista Trail in Black River Wild Forest near our campground the next morning. The hike wasn’t long but it was challenging because a thick mat of colorful leaves completely covered the forest floor and trail itself. We hiked across low wet areas and climbed rock outcroppings as we searched for small blaze markers attached to trees and rocks. Our slow-going efforts were finally rewarded: we enjoyed lunch at the vista where the fall leaves had peaked and were visible all the way to the distant hills.

Next week: we near the end of our Newfoundland Journey as we hike Watkins Glen State Park and tour the Corning Museum of Glass.

Autumn in Vermont

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 19)

From Canada we crossed the border into Vermont. It felt like home.

Road signs were in feet/miles, not meters/kilometers.
We didn’t have to do mental math to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit when seeing a roadside thermometer.
Gasoline was less expensive – $3.40 (US) gallon, versus $1.60 (CDN) liter (about $4.46 (US) gallon). On Newfoundland gas was as much as $5.50 (US) gallon.
We no longer needed loonies, toonies or multicolored paper currency displaying the Queen. We could use paper currency adorned with George, Abe, Alexander and Andrew.
We got pennies in our change. Canada doesn’t use pennies – all transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents.
And, if you think US sales taxes are high, be thankful they are not as high as those in Canada. 15% HST (harmonized sales tax) is charged on most transactions in Canada. Those taxes quickly add up!

Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT

It was early October and we experienced the lowest nighttime temperatures thus far in our trip, dropping to near freezing as we camped on the grounds of the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT. We stayed warm with several blankets and a thick comforter, and ran the RV furnace the next morning.

The museum is part of Brownington Historic Village and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The large stone building was built in 1836 by Alexander Twilight, the nation’s first African-American college graduate. He was minister of the Brownington Congregational Church and principal of Orleans County Grammar School, both in the village. The building was originally a dormitory for students attending the school.

Today, the museum houses four floors of fascinating artifacts. During a guided tour of the museum, we learned about Twilight and various museum displays, and were told many interesting stories about the building through the years.

The village and museum are worth a visit when in the area.

We continued south to central Vermont, where the fall colors were on full display. Around every turn we enjoyed the yellow, red and orange leaves and deep blue autumn sky.

Covered bridges, waterfalls and beautiful fall vistas

One day we drove back roads in Green Mountain National Forest across several covered bridges. After coffee and a toasted bagel at a coffee shop in an old house in Warrenton, we hiked to several waterfalls. The next day we sampled donuts and hot apple cider at Cold Hollow Cider Mill near Waterbury and later toured Ben and Jerry’s ice cream production plant nearby.

We sampled apple cider and donuts, and visited Ben and Jerry’s, where there’s a line for ice cream even when it’s cold!

In just about every town there are quaint markets that sell jams, fresh baked goods, maple syrup, pumpkins and lots more. Outside Woodstock, we crossed a narrow covered bridge and drove nearly 10 miles down a dusty dirt road to Sugarbush Farm. We toured the farm’s sugar house to see where watery maple tree sap is boiled to become sweet syrup – it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. We then hiked to a nearby hillside where thousands of maple trees are impaled with small plastic taps and interconnected with miles of plastic tubing used to collect sap from late February to mid-March.

Maple syrup boiler and tapped maple trees at Sugarbush Farm

As we drove through the town nearest our campground, we noticed a sign for Vermont Castings Stove Company. During the 1970s Ed’s parents subscribed to Yankee Magazine where there were enticing advertisements for wood burning stoves made by the company.

Pat and I added a family room to our home in 1991 and installed a small Vermont Castings Intrepid stove for heat. More than 30 years later we toured the factory where the Intrepid and other stove models are cast.

Shown above: the process where recycled auto brake drums are melted and poured into casts, and then cleaned and packed for shipment to an assembly plant in Pennsylvania. We are admiring one of the colorful finished models.

Next week: we continue south through the Adirondacks to the finger lakes region in New York, where we hike an amazing trail in Watkins Glen State Park and visit the Museum of Glass in Corning NY.

Along the LONG ROAD

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 18)

Over the course of 90 days and nearly 10,000 miles, one is bound to see some interesting sights. Our trip to NF didn’t disappoint!

LONG EXTENSION CORD: Between NF towns there are few houses, fewer gas stations and scant cell service.

After leaving the remote Codroy Valley, we stopped for a break at a small parking area ‘in the middle of nowhere.’ We couldn’t buy gas or use our cell phones. But we could have charged our Tesla (if we had one)!

PRONOUNCE THIS: The route to a campground in Nova Scotia included a short distance on the road below. We thought there might be a science research center or hazardous waste site nearby. There wasn’t.

Biorachan is associated with a traditional Scottish Gaelic children’s story and is pronounced “bear-i-can.’

RED CHAIRS: We enjoyed sitting in red Adirondack chairs throughout NF. They can be found at scenic locations at many of Canada’s National Parks.

Red chairs at Fundy, Cape Spear Sunrise Point, Gros Morne, Lobster Cove, Signal Hill and Cape Spear Lighthouse.

OUR NEXT RV? We saw a variety of camping rigs on our trip. A large family was travelling in this interesting “schoolie” parked in a Walmart parking lot.

ALIEN SPACE POD: This interesting ‘cabin’ at Terra Nova NP is called an Oasis. Each Oasis pod has a convertible table/bed on the main level, a hammock suspended above and a windowed top to watch for the mother ship.

BROWN GRAVY: A fellow camper and I were discussing the blessings of long marriage – he had been married for more than 50 years. He told me about a traditional NF wedding greeting: may your marriage last longer than this bottle of gravy browning.

Only a few drops are needed to brown gravy – a small bottle is said to last a lifetime!

WHERE ARE THEY HIDING? Canada has lots of road signs that warn drivers about moose and caribou. We saw no (live) caribou, four moose and two moose burgers.

COLD WINTER: Pictured below is a mounted fur bearing (beaver) trout caught during the winter of 1927-28 at a lake in Vermont. The rare fish and photo of the lucky fisherman can be seen at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT.

COMMUNITY MAPS: Many small towns in western NF have kiosks with useful maps that show local points of interest.

ONE MAN’s TRASH… In western NF each house has a treasure box at the end of the driveway. The boxes are used to store garbage before weekly pickup.

HONEST PEOPLE: There are massive piles of firewood, tall stacks of drying lobster traps and small garden plots along the roads in western NF. There is a code of honor in the small communities where everyone knows everyone and property is respected.

NEXT WEEK: fall colors in Vermont and New York.

Taller Than Niagara!

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 17)

Old Quebec City has similarities to St. Augustine, FL – an interesting history, a large fort used for defense and delightful restaurants. Both have natural features worth visiting as well.

St. Augustine has beautiful beaches nearby and Quebec City has Parc de la Chute-Montmorency or Montmorency Waterfalls just 15 minutes east of the city.

At 272 feet, Montmorency Falls are spectacular – nearly 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls!

Our falls visit was damp, alternating between light rain and mist from the falls. We viewed the top of falls from a suspension bridge – only few yards away from the brink of the falls. Far below, the flow from the falls extended to the St. Lawrence River.

We descended a steep panorama staircase for a bottom-up view and stop at the visitor center.

Although a cable car was available for a ride to the top of the falls where Max was parked, we decided to climb 487 stairs back to the top. We stopped often to enjoy the views and catch our breath!

We left Quebec City the next morning and headed south towards Vermont. The warm weather we enjoyed since coming to Canada nearly two months earlier was changing to cooler days and cold nights. The fall colors were at their peak as we camped two nights and hiked at Quebec’s Parc national de Frontenac (Frontenac Provincial Park). What a beautiful sight it was!

Even ladybugs were displaying all colors

Our last night in Canada was at The Farmhouse, a Harvest Host location near our border crossing to Vermont.

The Farmhouse is a small farm dedicated to education and poverty relief, where food grown is shared with others. It is part of Foundations for Farming, an organization that trains small scale farmers in all aspects of farming conservation, agriculture and sustainability. Started in 1982 by a farmer of Dutch descent in Zimbabwe, FtF is now in 11 countries. Their farming practices have been taught to more than three million farmers around the world.

We were given a tour of the farm by Serge, who picked an interesting selection of lettuce, kale and colorful flowers that we enjoyed with dinner that evening.

The next morning we rose to the sound of corn being harvested across the highway. Before reentering the US a couple of hours later, we made a final, mandatory stop at Tim Horton’s for coffee and a donut.

Our visit to Canada had come to a close and we were glad to be HOME!

NEXT WEEK: autumn in Vermont and New York.

Fiona, Falls and French Canada

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 16)

With Max repaired, we left eastern Nova Scotia on Thursday, September 22. as Hurricane Fiona was set to strike after a destructive and deadly path across the Caribbean.

We were surprised that traffic on the Trans-Canada highway, the main east-west route across Nova Scotia, was light. This was unlike Florida’s major highways that would be bumper-to-bumper two days (or more) before an approaching hurricane.

Fiona made landfall near Whitehead, Nova Scotia, 150 miles southwest of Sydney, early Saturday, September 24. The category 2 storm had sustained winds of around 105 mph and Fiona was regarded to be the strongest such storm in Canadian history.

By then, we were safely camped 550 miles away near Grand Falls, New Brunswick. We were thankful for light rain and a few moderate gusts, and our prayers were for the people of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the storm’s path.

We stopped to see the world’s longest covered bridge in Hartland, NB as we traveled. We drove down a steep road that led to the 1282-foot-long single lane bridge where it crossed the St John River. As we neared the bridge, we realized the bridge had a height limit of 10 feet. We had to do some quick rerouting – Oscar is 11 feet 6 inches tall!

Waiting to cross the RV-unfriendly covered bridge

The covered bridge keeps going and going….for 1282 feet!

That afternoon, we were surprised to find out the campgrounds in Grand Falls had closed for the season. We finally found a campground several miles away that kept a few campsites available for fall travelers.

We hiked to several viewpoints of Grand Falls and then along the gorge downstream. At 75 feet, the falls are third highest major waterfall in eastern North America after Niagara Falls and Quebec’s Montmorency Falls. During the spring runoff, the volume of water flowing over Grand Falls is nearly 2/3 that of Niagara Falls!

From Grand Falls, we drove north to the Gulf of St Lawrence and then west to a campground near Quebec City. It was there we wished we had learned French when we were in school.

Windy Gulf of St Lawrence with Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains beyond

The campground office was closed when we arrived, so we called a phone number posted at the entry gate for assistance. The man who answered did not speak English – he only spoke French! Several minutes later he pulled up on a golf cart. We showed him our reservation email and after trying to communicate via various hand signals and pidgin English/French, he let us in and showed us to a campsite. We were glad the campground was not full.

One of the entry gates into Old Quebec City

We toured Old Quebec City the next day to take in over 400 years of history in the birthplace of French North America.

At the recommendation of two travelers we met at Crow’s Nest Café in Twillingate, Newfoundland, we started our day with coffee and amazing French pastries at Paillard Pastry Shop in the Old City. It was raining lightly when we finished.

We walked down narrow streets, stopping to shop in a quaint district with interesting souvenir shops. Then we visited the magnificent Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral and Seminaire de Quebec next door. The Seminaire had a large courtyard that reminded us of a scene from the movie Papillon.

We continued a short ways to ledges high above the St Lawrence River displaying various restored cannons that once defended the city. At least four cruise ships were docked on the waterfront below and we surmised many of the visitors we saw that day were from those ships.

Shopping district – not very crowded on a rainy morning

At Dufferin Terrace we signed up for a two-hour walking tour of historical fortifications in the city. We walked past Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, an impressive hotel, and toured inner sections of La Citadelle de Quebec, a historic fort that is still an active military outpost. Our tour finished in Artillery Park, where there was large scale production of munitions during WWII.

(traveler tip – Parks Canada tours cost considerably less than comparable commercial tours)

Cannons like these can be seen throughout Old Quebec City

Charcuterie dinner at Le Petit Coin Latin that included shredded rabbit (center)

Our Old Quebec City visit came to an end, and we stopped for a light supper at Le Petit Coin Latin, a cozy little café close to where we parked Max. We dined on a delicious charcuterie board with various savory meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts and crackers. It was nice end to a very full day.

Despite the rain, we had a wonderful time in Old Quebec City and hope to visit again.

Next week: we visit Montmorency Falls, the second highest waterfall in eastern North America, a few miles outside Quebec City. Then we drive to a remote provincial park a few miles south where the fall colors were on glorious display!

Newfoundland Reflections

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 15)

During our six weeks on Newfoundland we traveled nearly 3000 miles. We camped in 17 different locations including five national park, four provincial and two city campgrounds, three private campgrounds, two Harvest Host/Boondockers Welcome locations and even a pull-off on the side of the road.

Here are some reflections on our visit:

Favorite campgrounds: all three campgrounds in Gros Morne NP (Trout River Pond, Shallow Bay and Berry Hill). Although only one of the three had water/electrical hookups, all three had spacious campsites with good privacy, clean and modern washrooms, and reasonably fast wifi. Each was close to interesting and challenging hiking trails and towns with restaurants and other services.

Favorite place visited: Pat’s was Western Brook Pond. We had amazing views during a two-hour boat trip on this steep-walled freshwater fjord in Gros Morne NP. My choice was St John’s – lots to see and do from hiking near Cabot Tower/Signal Tower to sunrise at Cape Spear to quirky Quidi Vidi.

Hiking the North Head Trail near Signal Hill

Best hike: we did lots of hiking during our NF visit. Our favorite was the North Head Trail that descended steep stairs from Signal Hill and followed a cliffside trail. The views of the St. John’s harbor were great!

Memorable cultural moment: (Ed) NF folk tunes performed by the boat crew on the Western Brook Pond boat trip. Pat’s was local humor and music at the Twillingate Dinner Theatre. Both experiences gave us a sample of the free spirited and fun Newfoundlanders.

Good eats: Happy Adventure fish and chips (complete with brown gravy and dressing) and Tim Hortons

Best meal in a restaurant: Fish and chips at Chuck’s Restaurant in Happy Adventure. We enjoyed battered, crunchy pieces of white fish with a mountain of chips (fries). Honorable mention: coffee and a toasted bagel (or donut) at just about any Tim Horton’s. TH can be found nearly everywhere on NF!

Control room at the Transatlantic Cable Museum

Favorite attraction: (Ed) the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander, a small museum that tells a big story about Gander. Pat’s was the Transatlantic Cable Museum in Heart’s Content – a true RabbiTRAIL experience with historical significance that is remarkably well preserved.

Most amazing view: as we were eating dinner at Trout River Pond Campground, we looked out the back window of Oscar. Beyond the colorful fireweed and other fall flowers immediately behind our camper, a sea of golden sunshine shone through broken clouds on the mountains across the pond. When we stepped outside, we noticed other campers were caught up in the moment as well!

Momma and baby NF moose; the others were hiding

Biggest NF surprise: (both) a surprising lack of wildlife. We saw only four moose, no caribou and just a few other small animals and birds. The forests were quiet and the roads were free of roadkill.

Best RabbiTRAIL: for me it was the Transatlantic Cable Museum above. Pat enjoyed the Ferryland Lighthouse south of St John’s. We had a great views of the lighthouse and seacoast, and then thick fog rolled in.

Most unique thing we did: (Pat) the first sunrise in North America on August 30 at Cape Spear near St John’s. Mine was leaving NF for an overnight stay on Labrador.

Next week – we flee Hurricane Fiona and endure language challenges in Quebec.

Final Days on NF

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 14)

Our time on NF was coming to a close. After six weeks on the island, we had just a few days before we were scheduled to leave via ferry.

In early August we camped in Gros Morne NP, three days at the southern area of the park at Trout River Pond and three days at Cow Head to the north. It was mid-September and to round out our visit to Gros Morne, we camped for three additional days in the middle of the park.

We started with the small town of Rocky Harbor where we shopped for supplies and souvenirs. Nearby we visited the Lobster Cove Head Light for views of the harbor and distant seacoast.

The next morning we endured the longest hike of our trip through meadows and balsam fir forest to Baker’s Brook Falls. We enjoyed the beautiful stairstep falls and had two aggressive birds join us for lunch!

On the hike back from the falls, we visited an interesting moose ‘ex-closure’ to observe the impact of moose grazing on area vegetation. Inside a 100-meter-square fenced area, the trees and undergrowth were dense and lush. Outside, there were scattered trees, grasses and limited undergrowth. Though we didn’t see many moose during our NF travels, their impact in the area was very evident!

We saw our final views of Gros Morne and the distant coast from atop Berry Hill after hiking up a short and steep trail. It was a scenic end to our visit.

Stairs on Berry Hill Trail, a steep climb of more than 400 feet

Panorama from Berry Hill: Gros Morne Mountain is the bump on the right

We camped at Barachois Pond Provincial Park midway on our final 200 miles to Port aux Basques. During an evening bike ride and hike, we saw a shadowy critter scurrying along the edge of the pond. It was likely a wet otter, not a NF chupacabra.

Barachois Pond was a remote and quiet ending to our time on NF. We were ready to return to Nova Scotia and begin the long drive home.

Little did we know then how we would spend the next week: making truck repairs and dodging Hurricane Fiona!

Two very hungry birds
A few squirrels
A wet otter

Next week – NF reflections and recollections!

A Central NF State of Mind

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 13)

After driving about a third of the way back across NF, we camped for the night in Gander, a small town with a large airport.

Camping among planes at the North Atlantic Aviation Museum

At the North Atlantic Aviation Museum, we learned about the interesting history of the town and airport.

Gander NF street layout – like a gander’s head!

The Gander Airport was built in the late 1930s, then the most easterly airport in North America. During WWII, the airport was a refueling stop for Allied aircraft flying to and from Europe. It was considered a vital military asset during the war.

The town grew in the 1950s, as commercial flights between North America and Europe refueled at Gander. With longer flight distances possible by the early 1960s, there was less of need for refueling at Gander. Meanwhile, Communist-bloc airlines began to use Gander as they flew between Russia, Eastern Europe and Cuba.

Decades later, on September 11, 2001, US airspace was shut down following the attacks on the World Trade Center and other US locations. 42 aircraft with nearly 6700 passengers were grounded at Gander, nearly doubling the town’s population of 10000 with passengers from around the world. Many of the ‘plane people’ did not know what was going on, how long they would be stranded or even where Gander was located!

Gander and surrounding communities opened their hearts and doors to the passengers by collecting food, toiletries and other necessities, and by providing makeshift shelters in a number of locations. The phone company even set up phones so passengers could call their families. The museum has a display of letters from grounded passengers thanking the community for their care during the incident.

From Gander we drove a few miles north to camp near Twillingate, a popular summer NL vacation destination.

Long Point Lighthouse – looks like a salt shaker!

We fueled up with coffee and muffins at the Crow’s Nest Café before visiting the Long Point Lighthouse and hiking down stairs and a steep trail to Nanny’s Hole and Sleepy Cove.

At the café owner’s suggestion, we ate dinner and enjoyed spirited NL music and skits at the Twillingate Dinner Theater that evening.

Songs and skits at the Twillingate Dinner Theatre

It’s an Ugly Stick: a **traditional NF percussion instrument made with household items**.

Early the next morning we took a ferry to Fogo Island, an ‘island off an island.’ It is said Fogo Island is not so much a place as a state of mind with bright-colored clapboard houses, sea-cliff footpaths and a most unusual (perhaps out of place) hotel, the 29-room Fogo Island Inn. From a vista overlooking the inn, we picked handfuls of Fogo Island blueberries that we enjoyed in pancakes the next morning.

Before ferrying back to NL, we hiked to the top of Brimstone Head, said to be one of the four corners of the flat earth. From the stony crest, we had an amazing view of the island’s northwestern rocky coast and a small town far below.

A few squirrels and chipmunks
Lots of sea birds

Next week: we visit Gros Morne NP for a second time during our last few days on NF.