Monday 6/20/2022 - Day 9 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

On Monday June 20, 2022, we left the Arm of Gold Campground in Little Bras d’Or and traveled to the eastern terminus of Highway 105, the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in North Sydney. Where we planned to travel on and continue to Newfoundland.

Once at the Ferry Terminal, we were ready to have our coaches were measured again. But, we were so prepared … they said it was not necessary! We parked in the marshalling line we were directed to and now, we waited. The purpose of getting there early is to ensure that we are manifested early enough to get all 9 coaches on the same ferry. Ambulances and a few other vehicle types have priority, no matter what time they arrive. Rod told us, the caravan was only separated once in 30 years of leading this caravan.

When it was our turn, we drove onto our ferry, the MV Blue Puttees. The ship was named the MV Blue Puttees, a little bit about this ship. The MV Blue Puttees joined the fleet just 10 years ago, along with her sister ship, the MV Highlander. At almost 650 feet in length, this vessel features comfortable seating areas, 96 spacious cabins (featuring 2 and 4 berths), approximately 500 reclining seats, a gift shop, personal headphone jacks, USB charging stations, deck access with panoramic views and several dining options. This vessel helped increase their capacity by 25 percent with 2,840 lane meters on the vehicle decks. These two ships were designed to make our journey a relaxing one.  These ships are a modern fleet, traveling a historic route and offering passengers a vital connection between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

Our journey on the ferry is what is considered Route 1. It ferries passengers and vehicles between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. It is an approximately 7 hour ride across the Cabot Straight. Ferries have been operating across the strait since 1898 and a submarine telegraph cable was laid in 1856 as part of the transatlantic telegraph cable project.

The Cabot Strait is approximately 70 miles wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso. It is named for the Genoese explorer Giovanni Caboto. A strategically important waterway throughout Canadian and Newfoundland history, the strait is also an important international shipping route, being the primary waterway linking the Atlantic with inland ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. An infamous location in the strait for shipwrecks, was St Paul's Island. It came to be known as the "Graveyard of the Gulf" of St Lawrence. In October 1942, German U-boat U-69 torpedoed and sank the unlit Newfoundland ferry SS Caribou, killing 137 people. Then on 25 November 1944 HMCS Shawinigan was torpedoed and sunk with all hands on board (91 crew) by U-1228. On the extended ride, ventured out onto the deck for pictures or fresh air, watched TV, read, worked on loom knitting socks for the Inuits, some ate at the restaurant. We were given notice to return to our vehicles from the comfortable reclining chairs we had in the TV lounge. Once in our vehicles, we exited the Ferry in the same orderly fashion we boarded it. We followed the signs for TCH #1. We all rallied at a planned rest stop. The advice we were given, is move now … before the winds pick up! So, we headed out quickly!

Newfoundland has a long and colorful history, some might say there isn't a rock, cliff, tree or cave around here without a legend attached to it.

The complex human history of this province can be traced to about 9,000 years ago when the first groups of a marine-oriented people moved into southeastern Labrador. Those first groups developed into what is now called the Maritime Archaic Indians. They buried a child in what is the oldest known funeral mound in North America. Their descendants moved into Newfoundland. A separate and distinct culture arrived in northern Labrador, later. These arctic-adapted people are now called Paleoeskimos and spread to the Island of Newfoundland. Some 3,600 years ago a new culture showed up in the Labrador archaeological record. They are known as the Intermediate Indians and moved into central Labrador, and shortly after that the Maritime Archaic Indians vanished. Then, about 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Innu and the Beothuk are recognized in Labrador. These people were more land-adapted than some of the earlier groups. The most recent aboriginal group to arrive was the Thule people who migrated across the northern part of the continent from the Bering Strait to Labrador, their descendants of the Thule are today’s Inuit.

The oldest known European contact was made here a few thousand years later when Leif Eriksson and his crew of Vikings landed on the Northern Peninsula in 1000 AD. Although they didn't settle permanently, they left their mark on this part of the world at L'Anse aux Meadows – now a National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fast forward hundreds of years to 1497, when Italian-born Giovanni Caboto – more commonly known as John Cabot – dropped anchor in Bonavista and "discovered" the New found land. During the 16th and 17th centuries, fishermen from France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and eventually England arrived to feed on the fish of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of the early permanent settlers came from southwest England and southeast Ireland, with the majority emigrating between 1750 and 1850 prior to the Great Irish Famine. Although Newfoundland was England's oldest overseas colony, France played an important part in helping shape their history. French explorer, Jacques Cartier, arrived in 1534 and eventually the French established a colony in Placentia in 1662. By then, tiny settlements popped up around Placentia Bay, the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon – still a colony of France today. During the 17th century, Newfoundland was more French than it was English. Oddly enough, by the middle of the next century, French settlement disappeared, mostly due to military success elsewhere.

Before 1949, Newfoundland had a history as a British colony, Britain’s "Grand Cod Fishery of the Universe", eventually becoming equal to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand as a full Dominion of the British Empire. Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada on 31 March 1949 and the next day, the leader of the Confederation campaigns, Joseph R. Smallwood, became the new province’s first Premier. Today, even though they are the youngest province in Canada, they are considered one of the fastest growing in the country with booming oil and gas, mineral exploration, and marine industries. On the cultural side, the eastern edge, St. John's is brimming with musicians, artists, writers, dancers, and craftspeople. However, many of us are drawn to Newfoundland’s western edge for the inspiring natural beauty.

Just ahead north on the Trans-Canada Highway from Port aux Basques. The first thing you will notice are the Twin Hills aka Mae West by the locals. The symmetry is amazing. Oddly enough if you are coming from the north, heading south, you do not see them.

As we started our drive on the west coast of Newfoundland, we traversed alongside of the Long Range Mountains. They form the northernmost section of the Appalachian Mountain chain. The International Appalachian Trail extends through the Long Range Mountains. We found snow on these mountains!

Just about 5 miles up the highway you will enter the area of Wreckhouse. On your right, the east side of the highway, there is a large paved parking lot. This marks the homestead site of Lochie MacDougal referred to as the Human Wind Gauge. For 30 years he would notify the railway in this area of dangerous high winds. His advice, being ignored one time, led to 22 rail cars being completely blown off the rails. Winds as high as 125 miles per hour have been recorded here. Today transport trucks put themselves at great risk if they ignore high wind warnings in this area. Across the highway from the parking lot, you will see the old railroad bed. It is part of a massive walking trail, the T-Railway Provincial Park, which stretches almost 900 km from Port aux Basques to St John's.

As you look to the east, you can watch how the winds play with the clouds as they meet the mountains. Look to the west and you can see the clear blue Gulf of St Lawrence. We entered the Codroy Valley, where those wicked winds continue. It is a glacial valley formed in the Anguille Mountains, a sub-range of the Long Range Mountains which run along Newfoundland's west coast fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The valley runs inland at a perpendicular angle from the coast carrying the Codroy River and its tributaries to the gulf. The area was settled families of French, Irish, Micmac, English, and Scots. The Scots were Highlanders who arrived between the 1840s and 1860s, most of them secondary migrants who had been living on Cape Breton Island. Of the roughly 171 households at Codroy Valley in the 1880s, 38% belonged to people of Scottish descent. The Scottish Gaelic language was once commonly spoken here, with some families continuing to speak Gaelic at home until the 1960s.

We spent the night at the Grand Codroy Campground. This was a much better option than we had in the past. We used to drive almost 130 miles after we exited the ferry. Usually, it was dark when we got there. Today, it was a half an hour and easy into the campground. Back in sites for most and three pull-thrus. 

We enjoyed a dinner of cheese and crackers and soda with the caravanners, before we had our road log briefing for the next day. The campground owner said the sunsets over the lake were beautiful, but Mother Nature did not cooperate!

See you tomorrow for more adventures!