Dear Gilles.
We're here. The ultimate destination we've been leading up to. 'The Rock'.
You would love it here. Thank you so much for staying home and keeping everything running there (and income into the bank account). Thank you for allowing me to take this crazy adventure so far from home and give the experience to our family.
We are so privileged to be able to do this trip in a nice truck with the option of staying in a tent on a budget or hiding under hotel shelters. Privileged is the right word. I have a secure job that allows me to take leave. I have your who is keeping Snowshoe Gardens moving forward and will allow me to still put away some harvest in the fall.
The boys are at an age where they are helpful, healthy, and aware of their surroundings. They can take care of their own needs like hunger and showers and packing up. I'm making sure we have food and they are fed, but they do the dishes once I'm done with the food preparation.
I am super satisfied with the SmartCap canopy. The gear inside is staying clean and not collecting dust. We've been on a few (not many) dirt roads and the seal around the window does keep the dust outside the tailgate.
Since we were first off the boat - I just drove north. We did not spend any time in Port aux Basques - even though I should have stopped for breakfast - We didn't even stop at the tourist info centre that was open at 7:30 am. I just wanted to beat the stream of vehicles behind us.
I didn't realize that that portion of road is similar to so much of the rest of Canada. Long stretches of trees and rocks and water with no services in between.
We made it to Corner Brook as our breakfast destination at 10am. The Tim Hortons was CLOSED. Walmart had a McDonald's. It was food in bellys and coffee by this point.
A cruise ship had landed in to Corner Brook too - so that added to my stress levels of driving down the main square with piles of pedestrians around. And ATVs driving down the major streets. It's the norm here - street signs posted and all.
We finally found an acceptable parking spot - popped in to City Hall and got three pins. Then we found the Captain James Cook lookout spot. Learned how he circumnavigated the coast of Newfoundland. Said hello to an older couple who drove from Vancouver and then made our way north to Deer Lake.
We spent some time at the beach. Very coarse sand. I much prefer that than the fine grained stuff that gets everywhere.
The highlight of Deer Lake is definitely the Insectarium.
This is the BEST in Canada. We can say that from the experience of visiting all four of Canada's Insectariums - Victoria, Sault Ste Marie, Montreal and here. Deer Lake is a destination for anyone passionate about insects.
It's a privately run location and everyone is passionate about their creatures inside.
The butterflies are imported weekly for hatching and they have a long greenhouse style butterfly garden that can rival Niagara Falls for the number of fluttering creatures (almost too many).
The mounted insects are beautiful and sorted by geographic area of origin - where in Montreal they were sorted by colour and size.
There was a new leaf-cutter ant colony just starting that Luc enjoyed knowing how immature it was, and how big it could get - especially with all the clear PVC tubing they have throughout the facility.
We (Luc and Patric) spent more than an hour immersed in the insect world - I went out and had a good voice chat with you on the phone with one of the rare days off and time zone availability. We even spent an extra half hour after it closed - chatting with the owners.
We're still chasing spring here. The ferns are still curled up and not leafed out yet. The bugs are very bearable still. We're set up at the KOA in Gros Morne for the next few days - so we're moving in - and set up the screenhouse for the first time this trip. It promises to rain on our last day here - but that's ok - our next stop is St. Anthony and L'Anse aux Meadows and vikings.
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