Before we left L’Anse aux Meadows, I made it a point to have a traditional Newfoundland fisherman’s dinner - Brewis - which consists of what seems to be stewed cod, mashed together with hardtack which has been softened with the liquid from the stew.  Different, it certainly was!  With the addition of considerable spices and seasoning, it could be tasty, I guess, but as served, I’d call it “glop.”

By the way, have I told you about the Canadian coins?  There’s a coin, featuring a loon on one side, valued at CN $1 - called “the loonie”.  Then there’s the CN coin, featuring the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II, valued at CN $2, called “the toonie”.  Loonies and Toonies.  What more could you ask?

From L’Anse aux Meadows, we departed southward, then a bit westward, to park for the night on the large and level gravel parking lot of a small regional airport.  The next morning, we headed off early, driving south along the western seacoast of Newfoundland to the old fishing port of Port au Choix ( pronounced somewhat like “Port Oh Shwah”).  Once again, we were there for just one night, but that was sufficient, as some local pre-teen boys kept running around the area, yelling and screaming until midnight!  Worse yet, when I had unhitched the trailer, I discovered that the shock absorbing section of the hitch was continuing to deteriorate, although the towing capability remained undamaged.  What to do, what to do?

I checked on the Internet for RV repair shops along our route of travel, and located a couple businesses in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, about 170 miles south of us.  I also called Good Sam’s Roadside Assist, but the only thing they could find near us, also in Corner Brook, was a business called “Mr. Furnace.”  And I harbored real serious doubts about the ability of Mr. Furnace to address my hitch problem.  So we continued south along the mostly flat seacoast toward Corner Pond to visit “Paul” at Maple Hill Auto.  En route, we passed through Gros Morne National Park (pronounced like “Gross Morn”), with it’s majestic cliffs and hills (almost mountains) rising over 2000 feet above us.  So the latter part of the journey was up over one hill, then racing down the other side, but also in the same process, taking in some serious curves with sharp dropoffs.  Beautiful country, but I had to pay close attention to the roadway - and to the roadway conditions!  Major jarring bumps!  Bad for that deteriorating hitch!

But we made it, and Paul went out of his way to find a solution, but it would be a few days at the minimum, before he could replace the hitch, so we drove 75 miles back to the north to stay at an RV park in Rocky Harbour for three nights while we toured Gros Morne Nat’l Park.  

We visited a place called the “Salmon Underground Pool” where the river flows underground for several hundred feet, and the fish, including salmon and trout flow with it.   While I didn’t get a good picture of the very large fish in the stream, we were able to make the out, vaguely.  And I got a picture of the attractive stream, itself.

Later, we stopped in a small village for a snack and conversation, where I observed a fellow painting a nautical picture on his garage, while standing on his home made ladder.

And alongside the roadway, we finally found our first moose, although she didn’t look any too happy.

On another day, I traveled with Mike & Judy in their truck north of Cow Head, NL to visit the Arches Provincial Park, where the sea has carved parallel tunnels, or arches, through a section of limestone.

We also observed a section of pine forest that had been entirely killed off.

On the way back, we stopped at Parson’s Pond to view some old fishing shacks,

and an attractive clump of clover.

We also stopped at Three Mile Rock to walk to sand shoreline at low tide, where we found many large jelly fishes stranded.  Nothing sufficient to photograph, but when we got back to the parking lot, we found one sea gull had laid claim to one vehicle,

and another was admiring his reflection in the window on Mike’s truck.  What a handsome fellah!

The status of the hitch repair was that Paul had checked everywhere, and could not get a replacement hitch for anywhere from two to three weeks!  But he was able to recommend a couple heavy duty steel fabrication companies in the area who might be able to make repairs on the existing hitch.  I called them on a Tuesday morning, and they both said they’d not be able to do anything until Thursday, and that I’d have to bring the trailer in on that day for them to look at before they could make a relatively solid determination.  So we had toured on Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we bought tickets for that day’s 1 P.M. boat tour of the Western Brook Pond.  Now, Western Brook Pond sounds rather innocuous, but it’s a magnificent ancient (and former) fjord which no longer connects with the sea.  It was carved from those majestic highlands by a glacier, the weight of which had depressed the coastline sufficiently to allow it to connect to the sea, hence the word fjord.  But after the glaciers melted, the sea coast rebounded, and the pond now no longer connects directly to the sea, and the sea water has been replaced by some of the purest and cleanest water to be found anywhere on the earth.  The water is so pure that it will not even conduct electricity!

The boat tour will take us back into the valley seen below.

Two tiny thin waterfalls, all the way from the very top of the cliffs.

And another, the official name of which is “Pissing Mare Falls.”  Our guide emphasized that they did not make up this name.

And we motored for a hour before we reached the far end of the Pond.  The view at the very end of the Pond:

And views on our way back out:

If you’re ever fortunate enough to find your way here, this tour is an absolute must for anyone who loves nature, and what the forces of nature can do.

The next morning, I called Cameron in Deer Lake, about half-way between Rocky Harbour and Corner Brook.  He runs a shop that is associated with one of the businesses that I contacted earlier in Corner Brook.  He told me to bring my rig in, and that they’d take a look at it.  So I was there by 10 A.M., and he was most helpful and encouraging.  He gave me a place to park, assured me they’d have the problem fixed either by that night or the next day (Friday).  Further investigation by the welder resulted in the suggestion of the possibility of replacing the broken component, rather that simply trying to “mend” it, and while I hadn’t considered this alternative, I thought it was a superb suggestion.  So they brought a forklift out to support the hitch while they disconnected it, removed the hitch and took it inside to work on while I remained in my rig, writing this blog and eating my lunch.  At 9 P.M., Randy, the master welder, invited me in to the shop to view his repairs.  Boy!  It looked strong enough to tow a battleship!  And despite all his work, and all his overtime, he wouldn't even consider accepting a tip!

The next morning at 8 A.M., the workmen returned to install the repaired kingpin, and an hour or so later, I met up with Mike & Judy and we were on our way toward Springdale, Newfoundland.