Trails, Tales and Tunes - Newfoundland

Lighthouse near Rocky Harbour Newfoundland, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Norris Point and the nearby (slightly larger) town of Rocky Harbour were amazing. t was like being home but with a different forrest.
We decided to go there for 2 reasons. The first was because Mary's friend from the conference was going to be there, and the second was because of the park. What sealed the deal though was the trails tales and tunes festival that was going on that weekend.
The festival is mostly for the locals - kind of a kick off to the tourist season. Almost all of the activities we participated in were outdoors. There were guided hikes every day - almost all of them ending in homemade pie and treats. So nice!
There were also live performances that we took in and listened to on the radio. It was really fun and we had a fantastic time.

We ended up renting a cabin and were amazed at how big it was (a bedroom each!).. We also discovered there wasn't really a proper grocery store in town. What we did find though was hard tack (which we attempted to cook), salted cod (that stunk up our cabin), and local jams (which we started a collection of).

Our time in Norris Point was really a highlight of our stay in Newfoundland and I would encourage anyone to go.

Hike to see birds - Gros Morne National Park, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

A lot (and I mean A LOT) of my photos are not uploaded yet as they are on my sisters computer - in Whitehorse. so this post (and possibly a few other posts) will be updated with more pictures from Norris Point, Rocky Harbour and Mary and my awesome take on the Discover Newfoundland ads.

Lighthouse near Rocky Harbour Newfoundland, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Travel - Newfoundland

After the conference was complete Mary and I rented a car and headed across the island.

Our original plan was to go over to St. Pierre and Miquelon but that proved to be too difficult due to the time we were traveling (May is not high season).

So when I said we headed across the island I really do mean that literally. From St. John's it took two days of almost solid driving (by Mary - bless her) to get to Gros Morne National Park and the little cabin we rented in Norris Point.

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I seem to be missing a few pictures so I'll update this later if I can find a good shot of the highway - I remember taking a few :)

Around St. John's - Newfoundland

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

The first few days we were in St. John's Mary was at her conference and I got to explore a little bit of the city.

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I walked up and around signal hill - a little dangerous.

And Mary and I went on a few trips - to Ferryland an active archeological site which was very cool and whale watching in a huge windy storm (which resulted in the boat turning around and no wildlife being seen.

Newfoundland!

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld, originally uploaded by girl from finito.

I know this is a little late but I'd still like to share some pics and stories from Mary and my trip to Newfoundland. Every year Mary attends a museums conference somewhere in Canada and I am lucky enough to often tag along. Trips to Ottawa, Victoria and err.. Toronto (we ended up going to Iceland after that one) have sprouted from these meetings and I love that every year we get to meet up and spend 2 weeks together.

Signal Hill - St. John's Nfld), originally uploaded by girl from finito.

Newfoundland was the last maritime province that I needed to visit, we didn't make it there with the family and I wish we had. Dad, I think, will love Newfoundland.. This trip also means that I only have one more province (Saskatchewan) to go and then I've been to them all (not including territories). I must say I wish I had gone to Newfoundland sooner. I really loved it there - lots of culture and energy - plus the whole province felt like a bigger east coast version of the Vancouver Island in my head (ie/ the 80's). I loved all the small towns and crazy food.