Month: July 2016

Today we were up and out to a Tide Pool hike. We ran into our new friend and we had a great time exploring the tide pools. I think the parents were all nervous to let us explore the outer slippery rocks but you have to get wet and slimy to find the best stuff! After some negotiating the parents got us back to less slippery rocks but we still all had wet feet and pants!

We found some really cool critters: sea urchins, green crab, crab worms, chiton, clam worms, sea stars, hermit crabs, snails and a few more things. We found the most of the group but we were willing to get down and dirty to find critters.

We hiked down the beach a ways and saw a really spectacular two story driftwood house that the local youth build. It has been washed away a few times and this is the 3rd structure. We played around and added our names and a few new pieces to the structure.

This was another stop. This is the remains of the S.S. Ethie that ran ashore over a hundred years ago! It is impressive that the remains still are here.

Next we headed up to Broom Point and did a tour called Of Fish and Family. We learned about the family that fished there for over 30 years. We saw their residence and fishing shed. We learned about how they processed cod with salt and dried it in the sun for up to a month. It was a long complex process to preserve the cod. When a road was built they were able to sell directly to the marketers without having to preserve the fish.

We learned about the collapse of the cod fishing industry in the early 1990s and how that effected the livelihoods of the fisherman. The trollers, from Canada and many other countries, overfished the cod causing a massive collapse in the stock. Their dragging nets also destroyed reefs and habitat for many animals.  It is extremely regulated now and they are hoping in 10-20 more years the cod industry will again be fishable in the area.

These are capelin drying out. Apparently people EAT these! ICK!

We visited the playground in town before dinner and met our friend again. We had some adventures and played games until it was time for us all to go home for dinner. It is really nice to meet a kindred spirit along the road and to have a friend. We plan to keep in touch via email!

Oh, we area really into sea chanties right now. We are all walking about singing “What do you do with a drunken sailor?” We are listening non stop to a band called Great Big Sea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the morning we went on a guided hike of the Tablelands. We learned a lot about the reasons that Gros Morne is a UNESCO site. Tablelands was formed a long time ago when the continents were shifting. During the shifts a piece slammed into north America and then pulled away.  A piece of the mantel was pushed up and stayed there and over time the top crust above it (which was really ancient seafloor) eroded away and left the exposed mantle. The mantle piece is made of peridotite. It is normally a greenish-black rock but due to the exposure it is rusting and turned orangish. Technically they call the color umber. The rock lacks the nutrients to sustain life so it is mostly barren. The rock is low in calcium and high in magnesium along with high quantity of other toxic metals. Usually the peridotite undergoes metamorphose and becomes soap stone or asbestos but for some reason this area never got that chance.

There was another rock called seperntinite that was all over the place. It looks like snake skin! I bet Uncle Matt would LOVE it!

As we learned about plate tectonics we got to act out the plates for the interpreter. I love how everything is kid friendly and they make things easy to understand. We also enjoyed a VERY knowledgable guide.

We learned about some of the plants that do manage to survive on the Tablelands. One was called Canadian Wormwood and it was once used to deworm children and livestock.

We learned about cryoturbation rings that were caused by permafrost. The larger rocks appear to have circles around them. It was really neat.

We also saw some grey wool moss come to life when water was added to it. It acts as a garden bed for seeds that blow by allowing them a place to grow.

The plants all had a similar structure in that they were all low to the ground and had leaves facing many directions and were domed shape to gather the most sunlight.

We sucked the liquid and bugs out of pitcher plants to see what was inside. We put the back after out science investigation.

We hiked out to the waterfall after the guided hike was over.

Oh we made a new friend, Marion. We enjoyed collecting pitcher plant juice together and checking out all the rocks and plants. I am sure we all drove the interpreted batty with our questions!

After the hike we visited the Discovery Center and met Mr. Kevin again and learned about flint-napping to make arrow heads. He was making them out of glass and a tool.

We were asking him if he thought we could do a program tomorrow and then make it back for a Medicine walk he does and he offered to take us out right then!

We explored birch, fir, dandelion and many other plants and learned their benefits. We even got to pick wild strawberries. Boy were those YUMMY! Kevin rubbed some tree sap on a bug bite Mom had and it is healing very fast. We munched on several leaves that tasted like wintergreen. Breighton even got to try mother nature’s chewing gum! It was a ball of resin on a tree that you allow to soften between your teeth and cheek and then in about 20 minutes can chew.

Dad had hiked up the Tablelands and not the trail we took with the tour. He was exhausted after his up and downhill hike but his photos were amazing!

Mom liked the blue harebells.

In the evening we attended a Earth Odyssey program. It was a very bizarre program teaching about the significance of Gros Morne as a UNESCO site. There were aliens, space ships, teleporters, and lots of entertaining jokes and songs. It was written by the man who played the alien and it had elements of Star Trek, Star Wars, Beach Boys songs and much more. It was hilarious and educating.

We started the morning with a amazing hike to Western Brook Pond. The pond is really an old fjord. At the end of the nearly 3km trail we boarded a boat and took a 2 hour tour of the pond. We had an excellent narrator and guide and learned about the history of the area and how the glaciers carved the rocks.

 

There were many spectacular waterfalls, including one named Pissing Mare. Yup! Who names these things?

The scenery was just amazing. There are no real words to express the beauty.

 

In the evening we send to a fire circle and learned about aboriginal ancestors and their beliefs and practices. We learned the importance of story telling from generation to generation. We were challenged to have our families write down heritage stories and to start to write down ones we have been told from our grandparents.

Breighton was appointed fire watcher. He was in charge of the campfire and ensuring it was boring throughout the program. He took his job seriously and ensured it was handled well.

We learned about “smudging” medicinal herds (like sage) and had a chance to waft the smoke our selves.

We also sprinkled tobacco leafs into the fire and then walked around the fire it making a wish.

We learned a lot about being kind to the earth and taking only what we need from it.

At the end of the program Breighton was given a “talking stick” from the elder, Mr. Kevin,  who ran the program. He makes them and passes them out to special people.

We started the morning visiting Cape Ray Lighthouse and Museum. It was a quaint little place and we enjoyed learning about all he ship wrecks that occurred in the area over the last several hundred years. We saw some cool equipment used for communications.

We came back to the campsite and packed up and headed to Gros Morne 3 days early. A wise decision! The four hour drive wasn’t too bad. We are now leaving the Trans Canada Highway and have entered The Viking Trail.

We arrived at the campground just outside of the national park. We explored the town and settled in. After dinner Mom and the kids went an hour north in the park for an evening program about night animals.

We learned about birds, bats and other critters. It was a neat program because we learned a lot about the endangered animals in the area.

It was also cool to learn that Newfoundland has 100,000+ moose, invasive red squirrels, no raccoons and NO snakes!

These are FAKE piping plover eggs. We had to go on a hunt to find them. The bird is endangered and the eggs could have easily been stepped on if they were real.

 

We knew a lot about the bats and white nose syndrome already but were excellent volunteers and helped others know what they are doing in the USA to prevent its spread. Emmerson was selected to hang like a bat for 8 hours. He gave up quickly.

We learned about statistics and white nose syndrome. Some we are all infected!

It was a late night after the program ended and they gave us hot cocoa before we left. We watched a beautiful sunset not he drive home and kept out eyes out for MOOSE!

 

 

 

We spent the evening in a gas station parking lot last night and then at 11:15pm we moved the car and motorhome to the holding lot for the morning ferry service to Newfoundland aboard Marine Atlantic. We got a restless nights sleep but were up early and ready for our voyage.

We waited several hours to board and then were called to drive on to the ferry. Dad drove Luna (the motorhome) and Mom drove Baymax (the car) onto the ship. It was a very tight fit but we safely made it.

We parked and left the vehicles for the 6 hour crossing. We enjoyed a lunch in the restaurant and then checked out our special seats. We had reclining seats near the window so we could watch out. We also booked a berth so Mom and Dad could shower and get cleaned up. The berth was neat. It had a small bathroom and shower and bunkbeds for four people.

We safely made the passage and exited when we were told to. We drive 15km from Port Aux Basque to our campsite at JT Cheeseman Provincial Park. The campground was less than we desired and was under a boil water notice, that we weren’t told about until AFTER we checked in. We explored and checked out the offerings of the park. There was a nice beach but you weren’t allowed to swim or collect shells. We plan to leave tomorrow and head to our next destination early. The sunset was amazing at the campground.