Sept 4, 2019
Port au Chiox is a picturesque fishing village that has an interesting history. There have been five different cultures that have lived in this area. Archeological digs have uncovered many artifacts and Parks Canada built a very interesting interpretive center. Parks Canada has designated the peninsula a National Historical Site. At the end of the peninsula is a lighthouse overlooking the Gulf. As we drove to the lighthouse we stopped to look at a small herd of caribou lying in a small hollow. I was able to get some great photos of them. The locals tell me that you can walk right up to them, but I felt I shouldn’t try to.
We hiked to an area called Phillip’s Garden. This is an area that archeological evidence proves that a large community of Paleo-Eskimo inhabited the region as far back as 2140 B.C! The dig area is about five acres in size and is carved out of the boreal forest, on the edge of the shore.
We returned to Port au Chiox, paid for our campsite and hooked up the trailer. We are now on our way to Gros Morne National Park to set up a campsite there and use it as the base for more exploring of the area.
We passed “The Arches”, an interesting pull off along the way. The rock along the shoreline has been eroded over many years by the tidal waves and have created large holes in the rocks creating these arches.
Back in May, we had met Laura and John while camping in Bragg Creek. We had stayed in contact with them as they followed our blog. They were now in Newfoundland on another vacation and we are meeting them in Gros Morne.
Debbie had learned that there was a popular Newfie band playing in the local pub in Rocky Harbor. The band has been performing for 23 years every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they sell out every night. We had agreed to meet them there. The problem is that the show starts at 7:00 and we still had to find a campsite, set up camp, get dressed and go into Rocky Harbor to catch the show. We registered into Berry Hill campground, found our site and unhitched. To say that we made it just in time is an understatement.
When we got to the pub we found out that we needed to buy the tickets at a different location. Debbie saved the seats, as I drove to the other side of Rocky Harbor, bought four tickets (not sure whether Laura and John had bought them in advance) and roared back. Whew, we made it and Laura and John arrived in time, and the ticket thing worked out!
Another crazy thing that happened was that Debbie started a conversation with a lady while waiting in line for the washroom. It turned out that this lady was also from Nanaimo and she and her husband were on a hiking vacation in Gros Morne!
The show was fantastic. The band was called Anchors Aweigh and they sang Newfoundland songs continuously for an hour and a half. It was nice to see Laura and John again and we caught up on our latest news. We drove back to our campsite singing Newfie songs and laughing about the jokes and things that we heard. It was a perfect way to arrive in Gros Morne.
Quilting in a Kayak 