day 4 – july 4:

got up bright and early again. the plan for this day was to visit the small communities in and around rocky harbour – my home base for a couple of days. the weather was somewhat unsettled but the early morning light, however, did not disappoint. first, i headed to rocky harbour’s main street along the waterfront…

then proceeded to lobster cove head again to view the lighthouse and its surroundings in the morning light.

next, were a few of the coastal communities located within the boundaries of gros morne national park:

norris point:

glenburnie-birchy head-shoal brook (gbs for short):

trout river: a rural fishing village first settled in 1815. i had the pleasure of chatting with a couple of locals; one a fisherman, the other a retired government worker. very welcoming folks to this quaint, paradise-like part of the world! i had been told by a young lady at the tourist information to look for elephant head when and if i visited this community. my first look around yielded nothing; it was the government worker who pointed me in the right direction… 😉

the drive to/from trout river provides a bonus photo op – the tablelands.

“the tablelands, found between the towns of trout river and woody point in gros morne national park, look more like a barren desert than traditional newfoundland. this is due to the ultramafic rock – peridotite – which makes up the tablelands. it is thought to originate in the earth’s mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several hundred million years ago. peridotite lacks the usual nutrients required to sustain most plant life, hence its barren appearance. the rock is very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and has toxic amounts of heavy metals. peridotite is also high in iron, which accounts for its brownish colour (rusted colour). underneath this weathered zone, the rock is really a dark green colour.” – wikipedia

woody point:

The beauty of doing a solo trip like this is that you are on your own schedule – reminiscing now about my daily excursions, i wonder how i got it all done! i will have to do a better job of pacing myself next time… 😉