RV Squid: October 2026

Oct 31, 2026

On Tour - Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

July 27 - August 3, 2026

Our next stop in Newfoundland was in Bonavista. There we toured the lighthouse. Our photos were somewhat limited because of the fog. I was trying to remember if I had ever heard a foghorn in action.

Perhaps the real reason to visit that area though is not the lighthouse, but rather the puffin nesting area in nearby Elliston. It's one of the very few places in the world where you can get near puffins without a boat ride. The braver puffins would come within a few feet of you.

Our next stop was St. Johns, where over 60% of the Newfoundland population lives. We took a bus tour to Signal Hill and Cabot Tower, with a quick stop at Quidi Vidi. Lunch at a local restaurant was followed by a boat tour to see a large puffin colony. Signal Hill, before it was used by Marconi, was used to signal the town merchants as to which fishing boat was arriving.

The next night was spent on the ferry. Thankfully Fantasy made sure we had cabins where we stood a reasonable chance of sleep. We saw numerous people and families with sleeping bags and air mattresses claiming rows of seats for their overnight in the main cabins.

Back in Nova Scotia, the tour stayed at the same campground as we did on our way to Newfoundland. Our next day was a tour to Louisbourg Fortress. It was a rebuilt site with period costumed employees. It's the largest rebuilt site in Canada and is pretty true to it's original layout thanks to copious original documents stored by the French.

Where Are We Going Next?

Oct 24, 2026

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?

Oct 17, 2026

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?

Oct 10, 2026

On Tour - New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia

July 4 - July 11, 2026

Our Independence Day was celebrated in New Brunswick with the group having a cook out. First though, we had to wait for our campsite pedestal to be repaired.

The next day we had a self-paced tour of the Historic Acadian Village. It reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg with re-enactors playing their role. The time period covered is greater though as they include time up to the 1950's.

We then spent several days on Prince Edward Island. It was nice to be in the same spot for more than two nights. We started with a fabulous lobster supper that included all-you-can-eat mussels. Our table went through buckets!

Our North Shore tour the next day included the Anne of Green Gables house, Cavendish beach, and a North Rustico museum where they baked us bannock (similar to biscuits) and churned a bit of butter for us.

The next day we were treated with another lobster dinner and a theater production of Anne of Green Gables. Anne is very important to the tourism industry on the island.

Our last day there included an educational tour of Prince Edward Island potatoes. Most are sold to Cavendish who then sells them to McDonalds, Burger King, and many others. There are very specific parameters the potatoes must meet. If your russet potatoes aren't long enough for those fries, your crop could be rejected, and it will be up to you to sell them for another purpose. New Potatoes are gaining in popularity, and there were many roadside stands throughout the island.

After our long day of driving to Nova Scotia, we decided to take it easy the next day. The famous Cabot Trail was nearby, but we opted out of the 4 -5 hour loop after traveling all day the day prior. We touched on the trail on our way back from the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site in nearby Baddack. We finished the day with a short 410 ft ferry ride to get back to the campground.