20020607

June 7, 2002

Day 29

Start: Gros Morne RV Park, Rocky Harbour, NF
End: 
Miles: 0

The low last night was 39f and the high today was 56f in western Newfoundland. The winds were calm this morning and 10knots in the afternoon; the skies were mostly sunny all day. It was a nice day.

We loafed a little after breakfast, then went out. We bought a park pass for the day, and then we bought groceries. We came back and put them away.

Then we headed north. First, we stopped at a viewpoint for the “SS Ethie”. The Ethie was a sail-and-steam ship that was driven onto the rocks in December, 1914, it what was called “the worst storm on the coast”. Everyone aboard was brought off the ship, and no one died, but it must have been a bad night, anyway. The forecastle machinery, the boiler, and the major part of the reciprocating steam engine can still be seen, rusting away. It will make a nice picture if it comes out.

Next, we went to Cow Head. Dolores had heard an announcement on radio that a theatre was opening there 
tonight, and wanted to see the place. So we went north to Cow Head, looked, and then returned south to the parking lot for the trail to Western Brook Pond. 

We started out the trail to hike the two miles to the boat dock for the tour. At the first observation point, we saw three moose. We watched, but more people came up and made the moose nervous. They left. We went on with the hike, a good hike with a sunny day (still cool – 45f) and not much wind. Most of the ground we walked over was a real peat bog. In one place, a sign on the boardwalk said the peat was 12 feet 
thick below us. The scrubby trees and brush (collectively called “tuckamore”) that grow on the ridges next to the bog might get to ten feet high, but no more. On the bog, it’s strictly grasses. We arrived at the dock, paid our fee ($33CDN each), and looked around while waiting.

A few days ago, Dolores bought me a Newfoundland music CD by a local group - "Anchors Aweigh". One performer on it was listed on the program for the boat tour. I asked the person who appeared to be in charge if he were that person, and why. He said “Reg” was off today, but that he was the leader of the group. So Wayne Parsons autographed my CD for me. He answered a few questions about Newfoundland music, and told a few stories about Newfie groups. He was sorry we’d miss their first appearance this year (next week). So were we.

The tour boat filled to capacity. We started off after some safety instructions. The boat headed east, up the pond (all bodies of water in Newfoundland are ponds; lake is an unknown word). We kept the port side close to the shoreline. We started into the fjord part of it – and it really looks like one. The walls are nearly vertical. There are beautiful little waterfalls into the pond. We saw another moose who thought he was a mountain goat – he was way up the side of a steep slope. 

The water in the pond is very clear. We were told the story that the first water tank installation failed – the pump would fill the tank and never shut off. It turned out that there were so few impurities in the water that it would not conduct electricity well enough to be detected by the sensor. It was more an insulator than a conductor.

It is estimated that the total waterfall and other flow into the pond and out of the pond results in flushing the pond totally only once in 16 years. Thus, if anything gets into that water, it will be there for a long time. So, they take strict precautions to keep things out of the water.

You’ll have to wait to see the pictures I’ll send out later to understand the beauty of this place. I can’t describe it well enough to try here. It was a great tour. It’s a major attraction of this park and now I know why.