Blogs from Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, North America - page 8

It is tempting to think that a bunch of half starved, frozen, lost and crazy Viking sailors landed by chance on the Northernmost tip of Newfoundland some 1,000 years ago, after a harrowing haphazard voyage through Ice Berg alley. But no! You would be wrong! After half an hour at the historical exhibit and archeological dig at L'Anse aux Meadows (a corruption of "the Cove of Medea" in French) it becomes clear that this settlement was intentional. The cove where those Vikings pulled in is calm and sheltered from the sea, in spite of the fierce wind that was blowing when we were there. The location has the kind of ancient peat that yields iron when heated and treated in the iron smelter and forge which they built. They have found iron nails made from iron ... read more

This entry is dedicated to Mike Parker who turns 57 today (June 5). Happy Birthday Mike ! You were right. There is nothing there. But for a few bear, a caribou and porcupine, today's trip across most of Labrador to the Atlantic Coast at Happy Valley/Goose Bay was uneventful. The road is smooth and empty. It rises and falls from a low of 200 to a high of 450 m above sea level. The stunted Northern forest seems to have little topsoil and humus to support it. With a long, smooth, empty road ahead and no-one in my field of vision, I did what any red blooded biker would do and let it rip… Of course, it wasn’t long before I went over a hill and faced a large incoming Royal Canadian Mounted Police car. The ... read more

This entry is dedicated to Dorothy Rhyne Blyth, Beth's much loved aunt, who passed away in Chapel Hill NC on June 3, 2017, aged 93. In empty uncultivable places such as Western Labrador with hunting and trapping no longer a viable alternative, small communities often become enclaves that exist in the shadow of the big natural resource companies: Big Oil in Alaska and North Western Canada, Big Hydro and Big Mining in Northern Quebec. I had wondered who was King in Labrador, until I visited the town of Churchill Falls, in the middle of Labrador on the Churchill River. NALCOR, a government owned hydro power corporation rules. Its initial base was in Churchill Falls, where in 1971, in partnership with Hydro Quebec, a large power project was completed producing some 5,000 Megawatts. Now it is engaged ... read more

The clouds and rain persisted up until we reached the majestic Gros Morne National Park, back on the western coast. This world heritage site was carved by glaciers and comprised mountains and picturesque lakes and fjords. Small little villages could be found along the main roads of this vast park. We stayed in one of the Federal campsites, and it was awesome. The weather seemed to be clearing up for the weekend too. We headed out towards Gros Morne Mountain the next day, with a mission of getting to the top. It was a perfect day when we set out. We gained elevation quickly and soon enough we could see the mountain, about 800 meters tall. The path to the top involved navigating up a steep and rocky gully, and the boulders making up the path ... read more

Hi, Friends -- I took these photos in St. Johns, the capitol of Newfoundland, which is on the far eastern side of Newfoundland. The first photos are of Cabot Tower on the top of Signal Hill. Some history from my friend, Wikipedia: "In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message at a position near the tower, the letter "S" in Morse Code sent from Poldhu, Cornwall, United Kingdom. . . .In 1933, a Marconi station was opened on the second floor of Cabot Tower, which operated until 1960. In 1920, one of the first wireless transatlantic transmissions of the human voice was made there. Men at the ... read more