Roadside Chronicles: Life On The Road: DAY 10 Doyles, NF to Stephenville to Cape St. George (Acadian Community)

Rush hour in Newfoundland

May 29, 2013
Awoke to a crisp 35 degrees outside and 55 degrees inside with the little electric heater running nonstop on low all night. Slept great.

The Cliffs at St. George

Soon after we got on the Trans Canada Highway we both noticed a mini van on the opposite side that had a big bullseye smash in its driver’s window. We both said, “moose” at the same time. Then, I said, yeah, and there he is dead on the road maybe 100 feet before the car. Our first sighting unfortunately.

More of the Awesome Cliffs at St. George

After we had driven a few miles. I thought to myself…oh, no! there was too much moisture from within that car…we should have stopped to check if anyone was still inside. David tried to convince me that no one was still in it or someone coming upon them from that side would handle it. Okay. But maybe ½ hour later an ambulance comes streaming by us. Yeah, I am thinking that someone was in there. The windows were very fogged up…like someone had slept in it all night. Hmmmm.

Park in St. George

We saw touring cyclists today. In Newfoundland that is a cold, probably wet proposition with any kind of services few and far between. Kudos for their sense of adventure.

Cliffside park in St. George

The maximum speed is 60 mph…I am guessing because of the moose? The roads are somewhat windy but not that bad that 60 would be max.

This is area where we saw the WHALES

Our motorhome route today took us from Doyles, NL to Stephenville to Cape St. George (Acadian Community) where we walked around the small park with interpretive panels/history. It was a cliffside park with trails to walk (they weren’t too close to the edge) and very pretty since it was a super fine day with temps in the 60’s and SUNNY. The bread crumb trail. The signage said that fin and minke whales could be spotted down below in these crystal clear waters. Sure enough, I heard a blow and whipped around to see a whale and watched again to see if I would see him again…sure enough. David saw one also. That was special to see them so close to shore something you don’t see in USA. The ocean waters here are SO clear…crystal clear…pure. On another trip here we will spend the night.

Pristine Waters

After Cape St. George, NL we returned to Stephenville where we found a grocery store with a nice selection of vegetables that were priced slightly more than our local market (and in some cases the same). Veggies make me happy! And fresh strawberries. The night’s lodgings are at the beach in Stephenville which is behind the airport. We heard no noise from the airport….thankfully. We took a nice LONG walk on the rock beach (maybe 4 miles and kind of hard to walk on the rocks (think rocks rounded by the water action).

Free camping in Newfoundland is the way to go for us and opportunities abound.