MORE ON NEWFOUNDLAND

One  National Park

Terra Nova National Park is located at Bonavista Bay where native Archaic and Paleo-Eskimo peoples stood more than 5000 years ago. Established in 1957, it is the Province’s first National Park. Located on the eastern edge of Newfoundland and also Canada’s most easterly national park, the park's beautiful rugged coastal area has a variety of habitats. Fingers of the Sea protect remnants of the ancient Appalachian Mountains. Rocky headlands provide shelter from the awesome power of the open ocean.

    Its 154 square miles of pristine wilderness includes thick marsh land, rugged cliffs and sheltered inlets of the coastal region to the rolling forested hills, bogs, marshes, coves, ponds and boreal forests and inland sheltered bays. The natural and untouched ponds and bogs provide a safe haven for moose, black bear and lynx. Fourteen native species live in the park, but that is a small number compared to the 40 species in Labrador and 50 in Nova Scotia. It is home to the largest bald eagle population in North America.

    Cultural history abounds in the remnants of sawmills and past human cultures. It is an excellent area for nature viewing. Whales can be seen from the shoreline and birds soar above the trees. Kayaking is a popular activity, and there are 60 miles of hiking paths.

    At the Discovery Center there is a touch and feel aquatic tank which was a fascination to many who had not experienced such a thing. A short movie runs almost continually.

   Not far from the park is the Joey Overlook giving a view of the village of Gambo located down by the river. Joey Smallwood is considered the father of federation. A man of passion and vision he fought hard for Newfoundland and Labrador to join the federation. Joey’s grandfather established a saw mill in Gambo in 1862. Fire a hundred years later burned the forest and brought that industry to an end. Joey, born in 1900, was the first of 13 children.

    Restaurants in the province were almost always connected to a motel and of course there was no fast food or cafés. We had wonderful food the whole trip---some of the best cod I’ve ever eaten. One memorable lunch included moose pie that I ordered and decided to top off the meal with wonderful piece of flaky rhubarb pie and ice cream! My mouth waters now as I recall the friendly staff, ambiance and great meal.

 

   One a Sunday a visit at the Salmonid Interpretative Center in Grand Falls was most interesting. Paul Parsons came in on his day off to tell us all about the center and tour us around the facility. The first thing Paul said was, “We operate under ERMA which stands for Environmental Resources Management Association, which is not a government agency, even though it sounds like one. We are the largest watershed enhancement center of Atlantic salmon. The Exploits River, largest river in the province, divides the province and has been industrialized for a long time, primarily by the paper mill.

    “The center came into being in the late 1970s. Fish ladders and a fish elevator at Red Indian Lake help the salmon get to their spawning grounds. After spawning followed by three years in fresh water then two years in salt water, the salmon return to spawn. These salmon are repeat spawners and do not die after spawning like other salmon do. In the beginning we had to seed the river. We removed eggs, incubated them and had a 95% success rate compared to only 10% in the wild. The salmon could not be removed to a new area because the new fish would still be imprinted to return to mom’s spawning area.”

    While viewing the salmon in the counting window Paul said, “The salmon are just beginning to return. We’ll probably open the gate in a couple of days and start this year’s count. The numbers have been steadily increasing and we expect that to be true this year.”

    Paul was a very passionate environmentalist. From the center it was only a short walk up to a viewing area to see the falls that the city was named for. The water was clear and clean. Purple and pink lupines bloomed in many patches.

NEWFOUNDLAND TRIVIA

Fun  Bits and  Pieces

The trans-Canada highway opened in 1962

Cape Spear is the most easterly point in North America. I had thought I’d like to get there for sunrise since it is the first place to see the sun. However, the sun was up a bit before 5 AM and it would mean trying to get a cab very early in the morning for the 15-20 minute ride to the area. However, on our visit, another gal walked with me to the point for a photo op. The rugged coastline is spectacular.

The Newfoundlander dog we ran into was very friendly and behaved well on his leash. These dogs have a thick curly black coat and big webbed feet. The breed was brought to Newfoundland from England over 200 years ago. They are known for their loyalty and their many historic rescues. This Newfoundlander was very agreeable to being petted and actually was the only one we saw.

Mug up is the expression for when friends and family get together to drink, talk, tell stories and sing. One evening we enjoyed the young brother and sister who entertained us. She had a lovely voice and her brother, a junior at Memorial U accompanied her on the piano. It was a fun evening.

The caribou is native to the area, but moose were introduced in 1878. It was hoped the one pair would provide a food source, but the introduction was unsuccessful. In 1902 two females and two bulls were imported from New Brunswick, and now with over 200,000 animals in the province, as they say, the rest is history. Moose are shy animals, graceful in the water, but sort of lumbering on land. They are the largest of the deer family. A male bull can stand seven foot and weigh 1200 pounds. The female cow is smaller. Males grow a rack of antlers and a flap of skin around the neck that is known as a bell. After an eight month gestation period the calf spends a full year with its mother.

St Johns, largest city in the province, is known as the foggiest city in Canada.

At a large grocery store in Gander, instead of a handicap parking spot, expectant moms have a special stork parking space which is painted pink with a stork holding a baby in a diaper in its bill.

Gander is an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle.

The last public hanging in St. Johns was in 1835 when John Flood was hanged for robbing 


the stagecoach.

During WW II 100,000 American servicemen were stationed at five Newfoundland bases.

Screech is a local rum---which many say is pretty terrible.

A Screech In is an affair that makes a person from away an honorary Newfoundlander. The ceremony varies in various parts of the province. But includes drinking screech, kissing a fish and usually eating dry bread and pickled baloney. Entertainment is also included and may include most anything,

Legend says that during WW II when many Americans were stationed on bases in Newfoundland one evening a US sailor wanted to try the local drink. Once he caught his breath he let out a blood curdling noise someone called a screech. And after that the word screech just stuck to the local rum.