The Nomads

Pippy’s Park Campground
Near St John’s


It poured all night; we had a slight break around eight just long enough to pack a wet tent and head up around Conception bay. The most memorable stop on the way was Burgis. What an amazing, neat little town tucked into the nooks and crannies of Conception bay! And just as we were leaving Burgis we came across four young folk musicians who had sat to busk in front of the local convenience store. Nice jam until the banjo player broke a string. I dug out my pliers and patched his string back together, he had no spare, listened to them for a while and headed on up the road.
The rain and fog came back at us for some of the trip north and ALL of the trip south from Heart’s Content and west to clarenville. The rain at times was so heavy I couldn’t see twenty feet in front of me, and with absolutely nothing by way of human presence for over a hundred kilometers, we were committed to press on!
No tenting in store for us tonight; it’ll take all night in the Clarenville Inn just to dry our gear!
The forecast is for more rain and high winds tomorrow….???!!!

Pippy’s Park Campground
Near St John’s

Today was a laundry and email day and while sue attended to those necessities I went to work cleaning and waxing the green Hornet. By one thirty, Sue being fed up with the questionable quality of their “free wireless service” and myself fed up with skinnin’ my knuckles, we decided the rainy day they had promised us wasn’t going to materialize and jumped on the moto and headed out to circle the Avalon Peninsula.
No Rain….. but from Chance Cove clear down to Trepassey and on up all the way on the Irish Loop to TCH we had about 250 kms of heavy “pea soup” fog so thick and wet we’d have much preferred rain! To top it all off, that was the worst stretch of narrow, beaten up and potholed poor excuse for a road as we have yet to encounter in Newfoundland! What a white-knuckled adventure!
Just as we made it out to the TCH we ran into three Dieppe boys we met on the Port aux Basques ferry, Mike, Remi and Matt. Mike was in rough shape and his sport bike in even worse condition. He got cut off by an old blue haired gal and wracked himself and his bike up pretty good!
The ol’ girl drove off home and left him without offering help. By the time Remi and Matt followed her into her yard she was such a wreck that she had to hold on to Remi’s bike to stop from shaking apart! She was scared to death, very apologetic, and had absolutely no idea what to do…..
Duct tape’s got nuthin’ on J B Weld but Mike’s ribs, left shoulder and arm won’t be the same again for a long time!

Jonathan’s Pond Campground
Near Gander



We headed out to tour the Burin Peninsula, got part way to Mary’s Town, hit rain and a black sky throughout the peninsula so we about turned and headed for St John’s. We came to roost in Pippy Park campground, set up camp, then headed into the city to check out Signal Hill and the old town. We partied down on George St until the wee hours and still managed to find our way back to the tent!
George St is like a poor man’s version of Bourbon St in New Orleans. We were quite disappointed with the music scene but did luck into a good acoustic bluesman at the “Fatcat Blues Club”! …..and a couple of draft beer plus the tip will run you three fins!!!! Ouch!
I had been led to believe that the Celtic music scene was strong and well represented here but all I heard was a hackneyed version of the ol’ chestnut “Black Velvet Band”.
Oh well, all the musical talent at Memorial’s Much vaunted Fine Arts faculty must have bigger fish to fry………..

Notre Dame Prov. Campground
Near Grand Falls/ Windsor
Raining 200 C


There was a boil order warning on the water at the campground so we boiled and made coffee and breakfast while waiting for the tent to dry some.
Then off on the “Road to the Isles” out past chapel Island, New World Island, Fogo Island, moreton’s Harbour, Twillingate and out to Crow’s Head. By the time we had gotten to New World Island the sky had cleared and the sun was beaming down hard.
The view from the causeway between Chapel and New World Island was spectacular to say the least; either side with huge bays populated with numerous small islands and coves as far as the eye can see! And the trip all the way to Crow’s Head didn’t disappoint either! There is an amazing vista from the viewing station on a high promontory at the end of the island overlooking `Iceberg Alley`! Unfortunately we were three weeks too late to see a large tabulated iceberg fetch up at the mouth of Back Harbour!
Next, two Possibilities: camp in Dildo Run or push on out towards Gander via Victoria Cove. to camp in Terra Nova National Park.

We had all the best of intentions to be on the road early, were up and packed by 7:30 but an older couple from Québec invited us over for coffee and we spent the next three hours discussing the places worth seeing or going to. This was their fourth or fifth trip over and they very much like to check all the nooks and crannies off the beaten path.
Left Corner Brook in rain and showers which persisted all day. We were determined to get off the TCH and headed up towards Roberts Arm and Triton.
We stopped in to Triton for lunch, chickened out on the cod cheeks and cod tongues as well as the speciality of the place…. Squid Rings…..”the best, the way we does ‘em here, my dear, you’se gots to try ‘em! We cooks ‘em real tender, ‘kay? Youse’ll love ‘em my darlin’s“

We had an awful feed of fish and scallops and chips instead. I know, not very exciting…..
Then off towards Bishops Falls and the provincial campground just beyond; passing a long stretch of marsh and water on the way there we spied a Cow moose with two calves swimming and feeding.
That section of highway has seen 660 collisions with moose last year! Moose burgers anyone?

We got the tent pitched about three minutes before the storm clouds really opened up so we climbed into the tent with our books and read till we passed out. I think it poured steady all night!

Barachois Pond Prov. Park
Newfoundland
200 C

Oh man! Did we pass out! We were in the tent by ten and the next thing we knew it was almost nine in the morning, with a sunny one to boot!
Woot!
Off again too the Port aux Port Peninsula, this time with blue skies and no wind. What a gorgeous ride! The road follows the coastline like a rollercoaster for better than 200 kilometers, providing vistas and geography like we’ve never seen before….. Definitely worth doubling back to do!
Next stop, Corner Brook., nothing remarkable about the city but it’s nestled in some interesting hills and valleys, quite pretty.
By the time we left Corner Brook we were ready to pull into Deer Lake for the night; actually the campground was in Nicholsville, adjacent to the town.
I don’t think we’ll be as lucky tomorrow. They’re calling for rain!

Port Aux Basques
Newfoundland
15 0 C



Boarded the ferry at 5AM just minutes before a cloudburst downpour!
A rough morning of trying to catch a little sleep in reclining chairs, a long tiring nine hour crossing, and we were finally disembarking at five Pm under sunny skies!
First impressions were “now I know why they call it ‘the rock’!”
Our intention was to circle the Port aux Port Peninsula but by the time we got to Stephenville we were being hammered by a strong crosswind, the sky was black and a heavy squall was hitting the peninsula hard, so we about turned and headed to Barachois Pond Provincial Campground about thirty kilometres away to spend the night.