MONDAY 15 August
A final look at the pond across from our site at the County Inn Motel & RV Park in Gander, Newfoundland. (This was not representative of our views, in general.)
We woke to a pleasant morning, with scattered clouds, sunshine, and cool temperatures. Our five nights in Gander had come to an end and it was time to move on. Although more time than we needed, it was a good place from which to explore the area. We also had convenient access to shopping, and it turned out to be a good place to just sit and rest and continue to recover from our bout with COVID-19. Had we not been ill, we would likely have done some additional exploring.
Yesterday, a 5th-wheel trailer pulled into the site to our right and we recognized the owners as the couple we had met at the Long Point Lighthouse in Crow Head the other day. They were leaving this morning as well, and I got a chance to chat briefly with the husband before the pulled out ahead of us.
We each had one cup of coffee (mine was half-caff) and for breakfast a bowl of cereal with blueberries. With a 10:15 AM departure target, we took about an hour to get ready to leave, and actually pulled out of the Country Inn Motel & RV Park at 10:33 AM. We would have been out on time, but spent 15 minutes trying to enter an address for our next destination into the F-150 navigation system, without success.
Sometimes the entry in the GPS database (if it exists at all) is different from what it “should” be, and unless we enter it just right, we get the “no matches found” message. We tried searching for “Bellevue Beach Campground” and it found one, in Kentucky, USA. Really? Surely the GPS knows we are in Newfoundland, Canada.
We could have entered the GPS coordinates, which Linda had, but we weren’t sure how to do that with the system built into the F-150. Besides, Linda could see clearly on her phone exactly how to get there, so we did not want to take the time to figure it out right then and there. It is, however, something we need to figure out how to do.
The route was really simple: Exit the RV Park onto Hwy-330 south for a few miles to the T-CH (Hwy-1) east for ~120 miles to Hwy-201 north for a couple of miles to the Bellevue Beach Campground. Except for a short stretch of Hwy-201, the roads were all in excellent condition, and we rolled along comfortably.
On the T-CH, the posted maximum speed limit was usually 100 km/hr (61 mph) except when passing through Terra Nova National Park, where the maximum speed limit was either 80 km/hr (50 mph) or 90 km/hr (56 mph). We encountered a few construction zones with 50 km/hr (31 mph) speed limits, but they were short and we never had to wait to get through. There were a LOT of hills, some with long and/or steeper grades, but also frequent passing lanes. The cruise control on the F-150 was able to maintain the set speeds going uphill, so the grades were not too steep. It did pretty well holding the speed going downhill as well, but I did have to apply the brakes from time to time.
We arrived at the Bellevue Beach Campground entrance at 1:08 PM and Linda got us registered. We could not tell if this was a private park or a municipal park, but either way it had that small, “we don’t put a lot money into maintaining this place” kind of look and feel. No campground map with a route to our site, for instance. But the price was right, the location was what we needed, and the setting was very nice, as shown in the photos that follow at the end of this post.
We had some momentary confusion trying to find our site (#89) as Linda confirmed it was a pull-through, but it wasn’t. We did really well, however, getting the trailer backed in and level, and were done setting up by 2:20 PM. Our What 3 Words location was (W3W=trashing.fluctuates.lighters). We are at 47.635… (N) latitude, -53.778… (W) longitude. We’ve been farther north, but this was the farthest east we had traveled in North America up to this point in our trip.
While we were setting up camp, a large 5th-wheel trailer pulled in and parked a few sites away from us. We recognized the owners as a couple we had met and talked to at the Gros Morne – Norris Point KOA. The couple in the trailer next to them recognized us and waved, so I think they were also at the same KOA at the same time. We did not get a chance to talk to them today, but will likely cross paths tomorrow.
We had a quick lunch of garlic hummus with potato chips (Linda) and veggie straws (me). We then went for a long walk around a part of the RV portion of the campground, and then down the isthmus Vinland Trail and back up the beach. When we got back to the rig, Linda started making vegan German potato salad for dinner to go along with vegan Italian sausages on buns. The cool breeze from the south that greeted us when we arrived earlier had intensified to the point where we had to close the door and most of the windows in the trailer. The rest of the evening Linda read and I processed photos and put the blog post together.
Before turning in for the night I checked outside to see what the sky conditions were like. Some stars were visible, but there were some thin clouds and light pollution, so not a “dark sky” area. But I did get to see the moon rise, which is always a treat.
Our truck and trailer neatly tucked into our corner back-in site (89) at Bellevue Beach Campground, in Bellevue Beach, Newfoundland. We had trouble finding it because the lady at the registration office assured Linda it was a “pull-thru” site. Apparently, she meant “you pull through the campground until you find the site, and then you back in.” Water and electric (30A) as promised on the phone. The site looks nice from this point of view, and we had a nice view of a freshwater pond looking back from the trailer in this direction. Not shown is the trailer that is just off the rear of our trailer, or the one that is in woods just on the other side of our trailer. The pond is separated from Trickle Bay by an isthmus. The campground occupies part of the isthmus, and a trail goes to a small village at the other end.
A view of our truck and trailer in site 89 from the other side. The location of the “services” (water and electric) was a bit unusual, but our shorepower cord and fresh water components were able to reach. The site was not flat, but we were able to position the trailer so it was only 1/2” low on the driver side and only 1-3/4” high in the front. That’s about as good as we have encountered on the whole trip, and getting level was fairly easy. A small portion of the freshwater pond is visible behind the truck. We are obviously in the RV portion of the campground, but most of the sites are here were for tents in a separate area.
A view of part of Tickle Bay from the bay side of the isthmus. Tickle Bay is a small bay at the southwest end of the much large Trinity Bay. The land to the left is part of the Avalon Peninsula. The low area, center-right, is Bull Arm. The land to the right of Bull Arm is the Bonavista Peninsula.
In this view, Bull Arm is center-left, and the land to the right is the beginning of the Bonavista Peninsula, which extends a very long way out into the North Atlantic Ocean from here.
From a bit farther down the beach on the isthmus. Land on the left is the Avalon Peninsula. Low area in the center is Bull Arm. Land to the right is the Bonavista Peninsula.
This is the land that forms the other (east) side of Tickle Bay, as seen from the Vinland Trail that runs along the isthmus. It’s a small peninsula that ends at Tickle Harbor Point. Collier Bay is on the other side of this peninsula. Looking at our map, we could not determine the location of Tickle Harbor, or if it even exists, but it’s a large-scale map with limited detail.
A large flock of these bids where feeding along the beach on the bay side of the isthmus, just beyond of the reach of the waves that were breaking onto the shore. We think they were Sanderling (Sandpipers).
The best shot I had that allowed us to identify these birds as probably being Sanderling Sandpipers.
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