Trekking around Squires Island

FeaturedTrekking around Squires Island

The area of Notre Dame Bay around  Comfort Cove-Newstead is not known for its sandy beaches. It is however, ideal for kayaking and exploring. The bay is dotted with islands, some large, some small. On this particular day we decided to explore one of the smaller islands and traveled there in our boat with  family members.

 

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What will we find, what will we see…….

Searching for wildflowers.

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Roseroot…..Rhodiola rosea

 

Like wildflowers, you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.

 

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Sea urchin & blackberries…a winning combination.

 

My favourite scent…blackberry bushes.

Washed Ashore
Squires Island
Old lobster traps and bushes

Exploring is one of my favourite things to do……. exploring with daughters and grandchildren is even nicer.

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A boil up is an old tradition in my family. These mussels were small but oh so tasty.

 

My photo tribute to Newfoundland artist Gerald Squires.

 

Driftwood Fire
Photo c.white
photo c.white

Rocky beaches & driftwood fires with family and Ginger, the saltwater dog.

 

Use all your senses and go…..explore.

 

 

Trekking through Mary March Wilderness Park…..

FeaturedTrekking through Mary March Wilderness Park…..

……on the shores of Red Indian Lake. Red Indian Lake is the second longest lake on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is 64.4 km long and averages 5.8 km in width.  Mary March Wilderness Park is located near Buchans Junction and has been privately owned for 25 years.

 

Wild irises are everywhere.

Textures.

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A great way to start the day.

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A hammock tent!

Defying the odds.

The owners keep animals at the park. The pig and goat share a home and are best buds.  Their daughter’s dog used to live with them too but decided to move out, they do however, remain the best of friends.:) I was told that sometimes you can see the daughter, followed by her dog, then the pig and finally the goat at the rear, walking on the beach.

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Chaga?

 

 

Mary March Wilderness Park, Newfoundland & Labrador

If you love glamping and enjoy posh settings when you camp, this may not be the place for you. If you like seeing the world from a different perspective, go…walk the shoreline of the lake, see the shore birds, walk in the woods and listen to the song birds, study the trees, listen to the loons at night, see how nature thrives on the rocky shores, light a soothing campfire, breath deeply and relax totally.

Everything we meet is equally important or unimportant.

In Praise of Walking…..Thomas A. Clark

Greenspond NL…..Hub of the North

FeaturedGreenspond NL…..Hub of the North

Greenspond was first settled in the1690s and is situated in the Bonivista North area on the northeast coast of Newfoundland.

I recommend this community for your staycation 2020.    Scenic…at times wild…… at times serene, but never dull to your senses.

 

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Beautiful Greenspond, NL

 

Check out Ida’s Place before you hike, that way you will at least  burn off some of the calories!

 

Check out their Facebook page, go talk to the owners, inquire about their story….I discovered I had both people AND  place connections to both husband and wife! Ask about the history of the house, sit, relax and enjoy.

 

We first attempted to walk the Greenspond Hiking Trail in August of 2016, but the wind and rain were so ferocious  that we had to turn back. We finally completed it a couple of weeks ago.  My phone with my Map My Walk App died shortly after beginning the trail and I didn’t log my kms,  but I was told that the trail is 6 kms in length.

Greenspond Hiking Trail

 

 

Walk the beautiful trail, check out the B & Bs, visit Hub of the North Restaurant and Hotel, do a walkabout, check out the wildflowers, talk to the locals, embrace the ocean with Come from Away Boat Tours, learn about the history of Greenspond and thoroughly enjoy your visit, as we did.

For additional information on Greenspond,  please check out my blog post of August 30, 2016.

 

Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.

Jumpers Head Lookout, Birchy Bay NL

FeaturedJumpers Head Lookout, Birchy Bay NL

Jumpers Head Trail is located in Birchy Bay on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. Birchy Bay is located on the Road to the Isles and is a tidy little community which offers many scenic views. The trail begins not far from the Pentecostal Church on the opposite side of the road from beautiful Jumpers brook.  The trail is short, just 1 km and climbs gradually up to the lookout.
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The Birth of a Community, The Story of Birchy Bay- Virtual Museum of Canada has this to say about Birchy Bay and Jumpers Head……..

” The rolling hills were covered with birch and pine right up to Jumpers Head, the sentinel rock that rises dramatically with its bald granite core exposed and weathered with time. Its name brings back to life the tale of a Beothuck warrior who took his own life on this hill.”

 

 

 

The lovely  green and intricate root patterns always catch my attention.

 

Light and shadow, rocks and moss and always, the stunning root system.

 

 

Steps and caribou moss.

 

The Y Trail.

 

The beautiful view from the top.

 

“For the right understanding of a landscape, information must come to the intelligence from all the senses.”          In Praise of Walking by Thomas A. Clark

 

Thanks to Marina of Saltwater Studio for informing me of this hike. Visit Saltwater Studio’s Facebook page and check out her beautiful work.

Visit Birchy Bay, stop by this beautiful brook, climb to the lookout…it can be done while social distancing.

Hiking Through 2019

FeaturedHiking Through 2019

A pictorial blog of some of the hikes I did in 2019.

Dinosaur tracks
Dinosaur Tracks Foothills Hiking
Dinosaur Tracks Foothills Hiking
Mosaic depicting Uruguay Plane Crash
Hiking with Foothills Hiking
Hiking with Foothills Hiking
Chile Puente Negro Foothills Hiking
Chile Puente Negro Foothills Hiking
Casuela de Ave
Stout beer mixed with condensed milk
Winery Tour

March 2019 found us in beautiful Chile, hiking with Foothills Hiking Chile

Sea Stack
Lichen on White Spruce
Lichen on White Spruce
Lichen on White Spruce

Also in March we did some hiking in Comfort Cove, Newfoundland. The temperature was a little different than Chile.

photo C. Fudge

April found us hiking down our lane and opening our new Little Free Library.:)

Hiking in Arnold’s Cove, Newfoundland

Blackberries
Wild Irises
Pike’s Arm, Nl
Pike’s Arm, NL
Pike’s Arm Trail
Pike’s Arm , NL
Pike’s Arm Trail
Pike’s Arm Lookout
Pike’s Arm Lookout
Pike’s Arm Lookout

Pike’s Arm, Newfoundland

Smith’s Lookout, Twillingate
Smith’s Lookout, Twillingate
Pike’s Arm

Twillingate and Pike’s Arm, Newfoundland

Fairy Landscaping
World Weary
Beaver Sticks
Birch Cove
Blackberries

Change Islands, Newfoundland

Tansy Ragwort
Writers in the Wild
Writers in the Wild
Joe-Pye Weed
Writers in the Wild
Meg Wolitzer
Writers in the Wild

Woody Point, Newfoundland ……be sure to check out Writers in Woody Point for 2020.

A moment in time.
Ethereal
Burgeo, NL
Beautiful mist and fog
Piping Plover
A moment in time.
Johanna in the mist
Ethereal
Burgeo, NL
Burgeo, NL
Exploring New Lands
Ancient City rising:}
Aargh

Sandbanks Burgeo, Newfoundland should be on everyone’s bucket list!

Find my friend in the rock

Twillingate, Newfoundland

Beginning in 2020, let’s do this and repeat:

Day One: Write down five things good that happened today.
Day Two: Meditate on one thing you love that makes your heart sing.
Day Three: Treat yourself to one small indulgence without guilt.
Day Four: Be good to your body and exercise and eat right.
Day Five: Commune with nature and feel how connected you are with life!

Gratitude by Janice Deal and Marie D. Jones

Twice Buried

FeaturedTwice Buried

After my previous blog posts on Burgeo and the beautiful trails in Sandbanks Provincial Park, I received a few inquiries on the effect of winds and tide on the area.

Tops of erect headstones!

One of the many trails leads to an old cemetery. One of the park employees told me that the last burial here was around 1915.

When the cemetery was first used, the dead were brought here by boat from Upper Burgeo, Lower Burgeo and, I believe, surrounding islands.

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That’s a lot of sand.

 

Slowly going………..interesting.

Three names, one side blank and names on the other three……1873,1882, and 1900. If only I knew their stories.

 

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No more, no more

The worldly shore

Unbraids me with its loud uproar!

With dreamful eyes

My spirit lies

Under the walls of Paradise.

  Thomas Buchan Read

A beautiful resting place, changed by tide, winds and sand.

 

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A Twillingate Trek on Batrix Island Trail with a Culinary Tale

FeaturedA Twillingate Trek on Batrix Island Trail with a Culinary Tale

Unscripted Twillingate     is a four day celebration of digital arts which began four years ago. Each year, each day offers many events/workshops to enjoy. This year I purchased a ticket for Fire Food and Photography and Crystal Anstey from Experience Twillingate did not disappoint!

The group met at Twillingate museum and walked approximately 15 minutes  in Back Harbour to Batrix Island. The information on this trail has the starting point from Main Street and lists its difficulty level as  moderate. I believe that is referring to the last climb to the top which is a little steep.

Along the way we did a little foraging for berries and edible  plants, with Crystal sharing information on identifying and usage. It was a gorgeous, windy day with awe-inspiring views.

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…..and then we arrived. A dining table on Batrix Island beach…sure why not!!!!

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.  Eleanor Roosevelt

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While we were waiting for the food to be prepared, a few of us walked to the top of Batrix Island ….so glad I did.

There’s dining and then there’s dining. 🙂

Food by Crystal………….

……..decor by Mother Earth.

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A little discussion on plating and each of us did our own arrangement…..think mine looks pretty good…and the food was delicious.

It was all cooked over an open fire on a beach with sun and sea, with new friends and laughter.  Thank you Crystal Anstey!

 

Lost City Found In Burgeo……

FeaturedLost City Found In Burgeo……

……..Italy has Pompeii, Burgeo Newfoundland has Sandbanks.

Rocks like no other

 

It’s not an old book, or a treasure map. Nope. Staring up at me was a pile of rocks.   Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Measure of Life

For the first time in my life I find myself wishing I had studied geology.  I always get a feeling of joy when picking up a smooth, warm rock….I close my eyes and feel my daughters’ little hand in mine and, in more recent years, my grandchildren’s. The texture and smoothness of these rocks on the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park in  Burgeo will be with me always. Because they appear to be made from many tiny rocks, I expected them to be course and rough to the touch, the opposite was true. Running my hand over them on many of my treks, I felt smoothness….like soapstone. I can only assume ( because I didn’t study geology) that over millions of years the ferocious winds, tides and blowing sands smoothed them into this most awesome state.

On the trails…… totally different, but so visually appealing.

 

Aargh
Aargh!

 

On the trails. How did this get here?……my imagination runs wild.

 

I take another look at the stone, round my fingertips over the meticulous brushstrokes and realize that nothing ever returns to time unless it is stored in mute, voiceless objects; rocks tell tales after all.”   Stefan Hertmans, War & Turpentine

Find my friend in the rock
Find my friend in the rock.

 

 

Displaced

Go…..explore!

Trekking Through Sandbanks Provincial Park, Burgeo.

FeaturedTrekking Through Sandbanks Provincial Park, Burgeo.

Just when I think I have seen the best of Newfoundland, I travel and trek to another. Burgeo is located on the south coast of Newfoundland. Take route 480 approximately 20 minutes west of  the Stephenville turnoff. A two hour ride down this road will bring you to Burgeo, home of the breathtaking Sandbanks Provincial Park.

Piping Plover
Piping Plover
Piping Plover

Piping Plover at Sandbanks Provincial Park.

 

Ethereal
Ethereal……..a foggy mist and a brilliant blue sky.
Burgeo, NL
Beautiful mist and fog

 

A moment in time.
A moment in time.

 

Free style driftwood art
Driftwood art…free style.
Walking in the fog
A moment in time.
Sandbanks Provincial Park, Burgeo NL

The park is a series of stunning beaches and connecting trails.

Ethereal
Ethereal
Ethereal

Can I stay forever?

Johanna in the mist
Sensory haven

“Let’s wander where the WiFi is weak.”

Sensory haven
Too nice to be real
Moss on an outcrop

 

Burgeo, NL
Find my friend in the rock
Exploring New Lands

Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the most modern. Carrie Latet

Burgeo, NL
Sandbanks Park, Burgeo NL
Find my friend in the rock

Beautiful Sandbanks, Burgeo NL

“And what is the sea?” asked Will.

“The Sea!” cried the miller.

“Lord help us all, it is the greatest thing God made!”   Robert Louis Stevenson

Burgeo, Sandbanks Provincial Park  Part I

Birch Cove Trail, Change Islands

FeaturedBirch Cove Trail, Change Islands
World Weary

Change Islands

 

Birch Cove
Beaver Sticks
Birch Cove
Blackberries
Blackberries

This trail is the next, I believe, to see some maintenance work.  The beavers have been very busy in this area.

Beaver Highrise
Beaver High Rise.

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Busy Beavers!
Beaver Sticks

I think it should be called Beaver Trail! Looks as if they have caused some damage, but you have to admire their work ethic.

Windy and sunny in an idyllic location.

Cracker-berry/BunchBerry

 

If you are a nature lover, Change Islands has much to see and do. Take a walkabout, ( a photographer’s and artist’s delight), visit  the  Newfoundland Pony Sanctuary , talk to the locals,  hike on one of several trails on the island, admire the architecture and coastline, study the wildflowers and birds.

When we visited the Pony Sanctuary,  a journalist from Germany was there gathering information to write an article for a magazine in Germany…..a long way from home.:)  Click the Change Islands link above to discover the island and all it has to offer.