So we finally got some real North Atlantic weather - and the rollers in the little bay near our cabin to show for it.
Our first stop was Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve, 1,000 acres of oceanfront rock, karst topography, alpine and tundra flora, gulls and plovers, and only known spot in the world where the Burnt Cape Cinquefoil grows. We don't know one plant from another, but they were all tiny, colorful, beautiful.
The is the park's "entrance." Of course we were the only ones here.
And yup, Allen drove us all the way to the end of the so-called road. I was terrified we'd fall or roll off the path and not be found for months.
End of the road. You could hardly stand up for the wind, yet crows were bobbing up and down, playing, at ocean's edge near us.
This "tree" was 2-3 feet tall, the tallest thing around by far. Alpine flora is so....elfin-perfect.
Back to civilization...whew! These would be snow crab pots, and the boats below that use them. They're HUGE!
Still no real moose sighting, just a new sign to taunt Allen.
At Newfoundland's northernmost point, L'anse aux Meadows is the confirmed site where Leif Ericsson and party first set foot in North America around 1,000 A.D. Today it is another of the stellar UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I'm sheltered from the wind by the statue of the Norwegian archeologists who showed up here in the 1960's, asked locals about mounds or hills, and were shown to the "old Indian camp." With little effort, the Ingstads quickly realized they'd found a Norse settlement - neat story.
An intrepid park ranger leads our hearty band of crazies from the visitors center to the recreated camp site. Wind, rain, wind, rain, cold, cold, cold.
But hey, we got to stand in Leif Ericsson's bedroom!
The camp has been stunningly recreated, and re-enactors who know the answer to any question you can imagine are waiting for us. Indoor "fire pits" were gas-fired and the most welcome sight of our entire day. Unlike U.S. museums, you can touch, try on, heft, and/or work anything you see.
Allen and Ragnar got in some really good conversations, and Allen came away with a new reading list of Norse epics.
Our hosts, Marina and Ted, provided a home-made local fish dinner for us and some of their friends, one of whom was a North Carolina girl whose daughter is attending UNC. The evening turned into a really fun party, we only had to blow across the street to go home, and we made some great new friends.
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