We drove over to the Ocean View Motel and made our reservations for the Western Brook Pond tour on Friday, before heading up the road to the Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse. It sets on a bluff overlooking the town of Rocky Harbour and has hiking trails and steps leading down to the rocky beach.
As we all three headed down one trail, it came to a Y. Hunter announced that Grandpa should take the left and she & I would take the right. Our way led to some stairs and we found ourselves on the very rocky beach. I made it to a huge piece of drift wood and made myself comfortable while Hunter proceeded to climb all over the rocks, while Grandpa snapped pictures from up on the ledge. He eventually made his way down too, and we spent a good part of the afternoon wandering the beach (me) and climbing rocks (Hunter & Grandpa).
As we were hiking up the trail back to the truck, we came, once again, to the fork in the trail. Hunter stopped and announced, "That's Grandpa's way and this is our way!" Out of the mouth of babes. . .
Back at the top, I decided to take a rest at the picnic table by the lighthouse. Grandpa and Hunter headed down the other side of the bluff. In a bit, Roger called for me to come to were he was at. From there you could see Hunter perched on a huge rock that sits next to the lighthouse. She had her arms flung out like wings. She was 'on top of the world". About that time an older couple strolled up and said, "How come you aren't up there with her?" Without missing a beat, I replied, "About 50 years!" He laughed and said, "That's the best answer I've heard in a long time!" (Actually it's more like 45 years.)
We headed back to the campground with our pockets loaded with treasures - from pieces of driftwood to lots of pretty shells and rocks. One of our missions was to find Hunter a Newfoundland sweatshirt. Stopped by a little shop and not only found one, but it was on sale. Fit her to a tee - and she hasn't had it off since, except when she sleeps!
On one of the web pages for Newfoundland/Labrador it said (LOST: my watch FOUND: time) and that is truly what ones does here.
As we pulled in to the campground about 3:00 p.m., Hunter spied Natalie & Joshua. She was hanging out the truck window yelling, "I'll be right there!" She took only long enough to let me spray her down with repellent and doctor the bites that were itching, before she was gone. Saw her once when she came in long enough to devour two helpings of chicken & dumplings and she was gone again until bedtime. Nothing wrong with that girls appetite since she's been with us!
Saturday dawned sunny and bright. Since Hunter and Natalie have hit it off so well, we 'borrowed' Natalie for our trip to Western Brook Pond. From the campground, you drive north about 20 miles, then it's an 'easy' 3 km hike to the boat dock for a 2 hour tour. Someone 'lied' and told me that 3 km is just a bit over a mile. This last spring when I had been walking with Shelly, we did 2 miles one day, so I thought 'no problem!'.
Well, 2 miles on relative smooth pavement in a neighborhood is NOT anything like 3 km in Newfoundland! We started our hike about 11:30 to make it to the 1:00 p.m. boat tour. Of course, both the girls had backpacks full of snacks and water to sustain them. Had hardly made it out of the truck before they both had to have a snack. It was a bit windy and we made several stops while they either shed - or added - a shirt or jacket.
We made it to the dock in plenty of time and saw moose tracks (and droppings) in several places along the way, along with many different plants & flowers. Large parts of the path were wooden walkways over the bog, which has been building up for the past 8,000 years! Our native Newfie, Natalie, was a wealth of information and she was content to walk with us 'turtles' (Roger & I) and chase an occasional butterfly. However, our 'rabbit' Hunter was always running ahead and out of sight. When we reached the dock, we found Hunter perched on a step having 'lunch' and thinking we would NEVER get there!
We did spot one moose across the lake before we got on the boat. The boat tour was packed full - but the girls were hardly ever still as they went from the front to the back, top to the bottom as the boat wound it's way around the 'pond' - which is a very large lake nestled between the majestic peaks of mountains that towered over 2,000 feet above us. Very picturesque, with several pretty waterfalls. The water is some of the purist in the world here.
Would have been the perfect day if my yellow truck had been waiting for me at the dock. But no, we had that 3 km hike back. Roger & I wanted to take a bit of a snack break before starting back, but found that the girls had eaten all the snacks, and our only 'choices' were the jar of peanut butter and a package of crackers. Didn't take Roger long to get enough of that!
The hike back was a bit quicker, without so many 'stops' - but I personally didn't think we would ever get there! As I climbed into the truck, aching all over, I said to Roger "Don't tell me you aren't hurting, too!" His reply was, "Ok, I'm hurting - but I'm really not." About that time both of the girls piped up and confessed their feet were hurting! It made me feel a bit better, but not much! All I could think of was my comfy recliner back at the park.
We were supposed to go to an open-air concert on the Norris Point dock from 4:00 - 6:00, but by the time we got back to the truck it was 4:30 and we all decided we just really wanted to go home. The girls were anxious to get to the game room and spend their quarters - and Roger and I were ready for something besides peanut butter & crackers to eat.
Popped chicken patties & nuggets in the oven - quick and easy. Natalie's folks came over for a visit and then the girls decided they had recovered enough that they wanted to go for a swim. So Charlene took them to the community indoor, heated pool for the evening. Roger and I relaxed and he indulged me a bit by letting me watch one of my favorites "Fiddler on the Roof".
Hunter finally made it back about 10:00, and it didn't take her - or Grandma - long to hit the sack.
So, awake this morning, I decided to go on-line and see just how far 3 km is. Went on the world-wide metric conversion site - and no wonder I hurt in places I didn't even know I had! Three kilometers is 1.86411 miles. Times two - that means we hiked almost 4 miles yesterday!
I'm going back to bed!
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