The alarm clock went off early this morning. You see, we are only about a half an hour from Cape Spear, the Easternmost point in all of North America. This is where the suns' rays strike first on this side of the the great pond. Well we gotta be there for sunrise right? It was still very dark out when we made coffee and stumbled around. But we were able to get out of the driveway, with the headlights on, and head for Cape Spear.
Final approach to Cape Spear
We crossed the Waterford River in town to the eastern side of the harbor and started up the switchbacks, ascending up the high protective bluffs that keep St. John's safe. It was dark and the roads narrow and we had high hopes of seeing a moose, but to no avail. This was a windy road though and presented us with some interesting driving. As we made the final few miles the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. We parked with about a half an hour to sunrise. Harper was confused as why we would be out in 40 degree weather, in the dark, but she is a trooper and seemed to be happy on the trails.
The clouds were in the east
Interestingly we did not see but one or two cars in the twenty or so miles to the Cape, but when we got there the parking lot was almost filled and cars began to come in behind us. A popular spot at a quarter til six in the morning. There was a cloud bank hanging over the eastern sky so we knew it would not be one of those clear mornings, but some clouds give character to the seascapes.
Great surf on the rocky shore
The surf was huge and beating on the rocks below. This place was amazing, and it has two lighthouses! And a Cafe that opens at six every morning. Those that came to Cape Spear this morning were silently waiting, and watching. Some people had huge lenses on their cameras, some just had their phones, some just watched, and we all had this sunrise as a common bond.
Amazing way to start the day with the suns first rays.
The sunrise did not disappoint. Carol, Harper and I stood and watched, and took pictures and video and pointed out this and that. We watched the gulls play over the water, people hiking the rocks and trails and ships leaving the distant harbor of St. John's. Our little trio did some hiking as well, but not without a mishap. Carol found a slippery wet spot as we were descending down the bluffs. She fell on her behind hard enough to scare the hell out of her Apple Watch which began asking if she was OK. She was, a bit shaken but she is a trooper and we pressed on.
This sign was a little late. . .
After hiking the shoreline, we ascended the many many stairs up to the Cafe at the Lighthouse. My phone said we ascended one flight of stairs, and technically it is correct, however I am guessing there were at the very least 200 stairs in that flight. (OK I looked it up - 185 steps to the first light and about 80 to the second light) We got a yummy breakfast and very nice hot coffee at the cafe.
At the cafe, ‘mug shot’
Then up the next flight of steps to the second lighthouse. I sketched for a while doing a drawing of each light. They were done quick, but I will remember this place forever. Sketching helps with that.
Second set of steps to the second lighthouse
Stairs going down are easier for this old guy
We wandered our way back down to the car to start our next adventure for the day - off to Ferryland. It was approaching 9:00AM, the day has begun. My GPS says it is about an hour and a half to Ferryland, we took longer. We explored several of the little villages along the water, hidden in back coves, and we stopped to check out a Provincial Park and found a Tim Horton's. More coffee.
Petty Harbour, along the road to Ferryland.
Our plan was to visit an archeological dig in Ferryland, have a picnic lunch (which Carol purchased last night online) and then head to the southernmost part of this area and find a memorial to the Titanic. However we have dallied and dallied and it didn't work out that way. Ferryland was awesome. Not as good as the sunrise but awesome.
Ferryland
So the picnic at the Ferryland Point Lighthouse is a real thing. A very enterprising couple have created a picnic you can purchase online and pick up at the light house, complete with a blanket to make it a proper picnic. Simply drive out to the parking area and walk the short walk to the lighthouse and pick up your picnic. Well... Driving out to the parking area is an exercise in driving skills and courtesy. The pavement ends halfway out and the road becomes a single lane gravel and stone path that has a vertical drop off to the sea. The drop-off is quite literally within about 1 foot from the tires on the waterside going out, and on the passenger side the land rises to the crest of the ridge we were driving on. What the hell are you supposed to do if you meet someone?
Narrow lane
We did not meet anyone and found the parking area and parked on a grassy area, safe from the edges. However the adventure was just beginning. We had already done a lifetimes worth of stairs this morning, not to mention a couple of miles of trails around Cape Spear. The gravel road continues but vehicles are not allowed. We crossed a couple of hundred yards of gravel road where the edge was close at hand on both sides. Carol really does not like this sort of thing, Harper didn't seem to mind.
Almost there
It was at least another mile to the lighthouse and our awaiting picnic lunch. We wandered along the gravel lane that wound through a lush pine woods with a carpet of mosses under their canopy. We met other folks along the way, all with the typical good humored greeting that is common along most any trail. The final couple of hundred yards (or meters I guess) were very much uphill.
Harper had a great picnic too.
It was all good. We found the picnic folks, our lunch was waiting complete with homemade lemonade in Mason Jars and a wool blanket. We found a great spot overlooking the sea, out of the wind and spread our blanket. We had a great lunch, and we chatted and I sketched and Harper napped.
I spent some time sketching.
The walk back down seemed shorter.
We headed back down the trail after returning the blanket and things. and the walk seemed shorter, it is always shorter going downhill. The same thing happened on the stairs, shorter downhill. Now for the drive back down that darned gravel lane. Cars were coming. One lane. Damn! There are several spots along the road, on the side away from the sea where the road had been widened just a scooch. We passed four cars on the way back, an inch away from a collision on the left and a fall to the sea on the right. Now I know I am being a bit dramatic, but that is exactly how it felt. It was a very narrow lane. Carol did NOT like this drive, the picnic was great, the drive was not.
Ferryland Harbour
We ended up timing it just right to join the archeological tour of the settlement that they are working on here in Ferryland.
The dig is ongoing
Over the course of about an hour or so we hiked another mile or so and visited the dig where the settlement was first attempted in 1620 by George Calvert, later the first Lord Baltimore in Maryland. It was unsuccessful but others came as the fishing here was good, but life was hard. The archeologists are slowly piecing together the history of the settlement. Fascinating stuff. After our fill of history, a couple of bio-breaks, a sketch or two, we were back on the road.
Ice Cream on the edge of the world.
Wouldn't you know it, about a mile down the road was an ice cream stand. Stopping for ice cream seemed the neighborly thing to do. I had vanilla so I can share with my four legged buddy, Carol had a sundae. We wandered back to St. John's and 'home'. Carol absolutely destroyed me in tonight’s cribbage game! She is now ahead by one game.
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