Gros Morne National Park

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All sorts of strange things happen when your island is rising. For instance, what used to be a glacier gets changed into a fjord, and then becomes a lake. Same vertical walls sloping straight down into the sea – except that you can walk there. I did, at Gros Morne National Park. I must confess I was rather skeptical about a lake being a fjord, but it all made sense when I got there. The Park is right on the coast. The mountains are only 2,500 feet high, but they are dark, made of granite and go straight up, making them very imposing. Newfoundlanders being a fit bunch, they make you walk 3 km to get to the lake. The boat ride across the lake was quite exciting, as the wind was blowing 20 mph or so, and the freezing water kept splashing over the bow. The U shaped glacial valley was indeed just like a fjord, with waterfalls dropping down from the lip to the lake below. The walk in was fun, as Parks Canada never loses a chance for education, and we learned more about bogs and marshes along the boardwalk than we will ever remember. Not many Newfoundlanders amongst the passengers here. People from all over. Lots of them young, some madly in love. One guy was drawing, rather than take photographs like the rest of us. I liked him.

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Photos

First lesson of wilderness driving
Never get between a mother moose and her calf.

Comments

[Harry]

Different strokes for different folks
Some paint some click. Painting is harder and slower, but to the painter better. These pictures are very good. I see some similarity in style, probably because same school. Good riding and waking as the case may be,

[Rebecca]

Thanks so much for all of the flower pictures. I felt like this entry was just for me! The only one I recognized right away was the first: marsh marigold. There's a beautiful stand of it in one of Mike and Megan's neighbors' yard. I roamed around on the internet looking at info on Labrador tea, and discovered that the pitcher plant is the floral symbol of Labrador. I have always thought of that as a hot weather/Southern plant, but the critical factor must be bogs. What is the difference between a marsh and a bog?

[Jim Coates]

A marsh and a bog
Rebecca, I took a picture of that sign for you ! A bog is deep with long standing peat and humus and other matter. It can contain iron, and burn like coal when dried. You only see the top layer of decades of accumulation and consolidation. With a marsh, what you see is what you get -- grasses and bushes and other water loving live plants. [ I think ! ]

[Rebecca]

Thanks
I knew you photographed it--I just couldn't read it. But the sign title did get the curiosity stirring, so thank you for the answer.

[AnnieN]

Could have fooled me!
If you told me you shot this on Milford Sound, I would have believed you