20020613

June 13, 2002

Day 35

Start: Pippy Park CG & Trailer Park, St John’s, NF
End: 
Miles: 0

The high today was 55f and the low was 39 last night or early this morning. The wind was calm, and it was sunny. It was a nice, cool, day.

We ate and walked to the Fluvarium. The Fluvarium is a fish-oriented thing on a stream running through Pippy Park, in which we are camped. They do all the education oriented things you’d expect (there were a couple school buses there). There are also several viewing windows into a pond on the small river. A whole bunch of brown trout were wandering around in it. A plaque on the wall said it was really great one 
day when a moose got into the pond and began eating the water lily roots.

Then we hopped in the truck to do the local scene. First, we went out to Cape Spear. This is the easternmost point of land in North America. The lighthouse is located at latitude 47 degrees, 31 minutes, 17 seconds North, and longitude 52 degrees, 37 minutes, 24 seconds West.  We could see up the coast to the narrow entrance into St John's harbor. 

The driving distances via shortest routes are 3847 miles to Bend, Oregon, 1672 miles to Holland, Michigan, and 1328 miles to Manassas, Virginia.

The surf wasn’t all that spectacular today, with sea state less than 3, but one could imagine what it would be like on a day with a nor’easter blowing. 

Then we went back into town to try to get to the St John’s harbor entrance lighthouse. Turns out you have to park quite a ways short of it and hike to it, since there is no parking and not even room to turn around at the lighthouse. It clings to the side of the entry.

Then I tried to locate the local micro-brewery, Quidi Vidi Brewing. It turned out to be on the waterfront of the smallest harbor I’ve ever seen, first entry north of St John’s. This tiny place has an entry about 15’ wide. I don’t know how they get in during a storm. It has space for about 12 small to moderate size lobster boats. The brewery has a three-car parking lot if there’s not a fork lift working the boats running around. It was, so the lot was unusable. The nearest parking lot was farther than I’m going to lug a case of beer, so we gave it up. Pity.

We did a turn around the harbor; not much had changed but a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker had come in since we last looked.

We had a Wendy’s attack about that time, so we satisfied our urge.

Then we came back to the Fluvarium to watch the 4:00pm fish feeding. One of the staff flings a bunch of worms into the pond, one at a time. The fish you think are loafing are capable of high speed and great maneuverability. The worm never sinks more than an foot before it’s in the jaws of a trout. 

We went back out to visit the local RV supply shop to get needed items – the sewer hose has a pinhole leak that I don’t want to use duct tape on for very long, and other little things. We filled the truck so we can move on tomorrow without having to pull through a gas station with the trailer attached. Then we loaded up on groceries in case the coast we’re going to is lacking in them.

We returned to the campground and took a hike around the place. Tomorrow, we’ll get out of the big city with all the conveniences and all the inconveniences (they have lousy drivers here, too). It was a nice stop, though.

Tomorrow, back to Gander, then onward to Twillingate.