On Tour - Newfoundland Continued

July 19 - July 27, 2026 

Our Newfoundland journey continued - with backtracking. From the northern tip of Newfoundland's peninsula, we backtracked the Viking Trail to Gros Morne National Park. The area is stunning. Lots of granite rock showing through pines, along with lots of bays and ponds lined with small fishing towns just make the whole area postcard perfect. 

However, the park was created and named a world UNESCO site, not for its beauty, but for its barren section. The Tablelands section is one of only a handful of sites in the world where the earth's mantle rock is exposed on the surface. It allowed scientists the opportunity to study plate tectonic theory when the theory was essentially in its infancy. The rock contains highly toxic minerals that limits plant life. The barrenness of the land is striking compared to the land around it. 

From Gros Morne, we headed east to Twillingate. The Iceberg Alley wasn't too active in July. Again, we saw some amazing scenery. I was sure wishing my ankle was up for some hiking. Harold managed to slip into the Wooden Boat Builder Museum and noted at least one builder with a sense of humor!

Where Are We Going Next?

On Tour - Newfoundland

 July 11 - July 19, 2026

We left our Nova Scotia campground bright and early. In a classic case of hurry up and wait, our tour needed to get our RVs in line for the ferry. Additionally, another tour was coming off the overnight ferry and would be arriving at the same campground. We needed to be cleared out. The ferry parks vehicles tightly. One member of our group couldn't get out their front door! It took some shenanigans like inching forward and sideways and airing down before they could get out. 

Our first stop in Newfoundland was Grand Codroy, about 30 minutes from the ferry terminal. We did some local wetland sightseeing and were dubbed honorary Newfoundlanders at the "Screeching" ceremony. The Rose Blanche Lighthouse is one of the nearby must-see locations. 

Our next stop was Port au Choix. We visited the Port au Choix National Historic Site where we learned about paleoeskimos and seal hunting. We enjoyed watching a caribou herd near the lighthouse. We attended a re-created French bread oven experience. Folks in period costumes baked bread in a stone oven and regaled us with Port au Choix codfishing history.

From Port au Choix, we traveled to the Griquet area, about 30 minutes from St. Anthony. We enjoyed a whale watching tour, a Viking Feast, and visits to Norstead, a re-created Viking village. We missed out on  L'anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. I had sprained my ankle at Port au Choix and was limiting my walking. 

Where Are We Going Next?