On The Trail of Vikings
Wednesday June 19 2002
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Location
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Odometer (km)
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Time of Arrival
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Rest Time
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Gas Expenses
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The Arches
|
2878
|
10:15
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30 min.
|
-
|
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Port Aux Choix
|
2977
|
12:00
|
2 hrs 30 min
|
$29
|
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Pistolet Bay Campsite
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3197
|
17:00
|
15 hrs
|
-
|
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Céline was up at the crack of dawn again and cooked up a great breakfast with possibly the best coffee I ever had, a nice dark roasted Colombian that has been perking on a fire for 30 minutes. I was sure geared up for the long drive up north after a couple of cups of that. We packed up after breakfast and were underway by 9 am our first destination along the Viking Trail was only 70 km away and the weather was just perfect, around 15° and sunny. |
| Just after exiting Berry Hill we had the prettiest views of the southern part of The Long Range Mountains. As we headed northward the anticipation of arriving at L'Anse aux Meadows was building in both of us. |  |
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A little more than an hour later we arrived at The Arches. A stunning display of the power of the sea. These rocks are all that remain of a bed of dolomite that was the bottom of an ancient sea during the Cambrian & Ordovician periods of prehistory. Walking under it to get to the seashore was kinda strange as there were several seal carcass's lying around. |
| Despite the seals lying about the view from under the arches was worth it, what caught my interest was the blueness of the water. The Gulf of St. Lawrence seen here is fed by the St. Lawrence River which runs around the island of Montreal (home) and it's always various shades of brown back home. |  |
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Port aux Choix, site of a 1967 discovery of an 3,500 year old burial ground of the Maritime Archaic people, a group of hunters that inhabited the east coast from Labrador to Maine including Newfoundland. The site was a disappointment to us as there was little to see other than a local information center as the remains of the people were removed for study we were told. |
| Céline on the steps of a great restaurant we stopped at for lunch and a glass of blueberry wine! The Atlantic Salmon was served with a glass of iceberg ice water as well.. Inside one of the locals told us the land to the right is the ancient burial ground and holds no remains of what and who was there. A plaque is posted to remember the site. |  |
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After meeting this horny Viking I felt a picture was in order. Behind me, a small craft store at Port aux Choix that held a lot of nice things to bring home for the kids. |
| The photo depicts what most of this 400 km drive was like. Alot of desolate places that was still quite beautiful in it's way. The horizontal lines seen on Cloud Mountain to the right indicates water levels of the ancient ocean that once filled this area. |  |
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Camping at Pistolet Bay Campground on the northern tip of "The Rock" was a quiet and chilly experience. The temperature was a cool 3° at night and there was one other campsite in use in the whole area. The facilities were the best we saw on the the whole trip. If you ever get up to northern Newfoundland plan a stop here. The bird (a Grey Jay) seen next to the van was a constant companion while we were here. |
