Around Badger's Quay
Deadman's Bay
The purple bits are wild iris'
Well Dears,
Yesterday was the longest ride so far on this trip, 653 k, and the weather generally was favourable; that is there was not much rain after a short bit out of Avalon Peninsula. I rode from St Johns to Gander and made a long detour north of the Trans Canada Highway on routes 330, 332 and 320 which took me throug such beautiful spots as Beaver Cove, Noggin Cove, Musgrave Harbour, Deadman's Bay, Badger's Quay, and Hare Bay. It's along those secondary roads that hug the shoreline that one really sees what the small fishing villages look like. In many places houses facing narrow streets are perched on rocky outcrops, or along the sides of narrow coves, with fishing boats tied to flimsy looking docks in their back yards. There are many small churches, mainly white and mainly Angelican or United, with small cemeteries near them. There is an overall sense of quiet and tranquility, and the beauty of flowers growing in boggy areas between the road and the shore is stunning. One senses that a slower pace orders the affairs of the day around here; only the endless crashing of the waves on exposed rocky shores disturbs the peace.
The room at the Comfort Inn in Gander was, well like any other Comfort Inn room, and I had a good night's rest after a very good T-bone steak with salad and Bloody Ceasar dinner in a palce called Jungle Jim's.
After meeting two couples from Sudbury (actually one of the women attended the same parish as I did in Coniston) at breakfast in the hotel, I rode 316k under variable skies (it was raining when I left, the sun came out and the temperature rose from 18 to 24, and then it clouded over again and raindrops reappeared) from Gander to Deer Lake on the TCH. One covers a lot of k's rather quickly on a road with a posted speed limit of 100k where everyone rides between 110 and 120, but there is not much to see except for 'watch for the moose' signs and Christmas trees. "Someone should put up a string of lights every now and then"!
On arrival in Deer Lake I stopped at a Newfounland and Labrador tourist information kiosk to obtain information about the availability of premium fuel on the Northern Peninsula. This is not a trivial matter when riding a motorcycle that operates only on higher octane fuel. After a few calls the helpful employee was able to confirm that I would be able to refuel in Port Saunders about half way between here and L'Anse aux Meadows where I'm off to tomorrow.
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