Blogs

We recently returned from a 1-night get away that saw us sampling great food and accommodations as well as hiking on one of our favourite trails in the southern part of Gros Morne National Park. Since Gros Morne Park is so large, many people opt to see just the north side or the south side with Bonne Bay acting as a geographical dividing line.

Theatre Newfoundland Labrador (TNL) is back in Cow Head and they are performing several new plays for the summer 2012 season. We recently saw “The Fly Fisher’s Companion” and would recommend this play to anyone since although it deals with salmon fishing, its main theme is the changing face of friendship. The play follows Wes (played by Michael Chaisson) and Don (performed by John Dartt) as they gear up to go salmon fishing from a cabin they built together many years ago.

From May 19 to 21, two hikers from Paris, France braved chilly nightime temperatures and colder patches of snow and ice to make a rare spring trek of the Blow-Me-Down Mountain Trail. Fabien Mignot and Loris Pennacchioli took a break from their studies in Montreal to visit Western Newfoundland - formerly a part of the French Shore of Newfoundland - and hike sections of the IATNL.

This is a big year for Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s “Tempting Providence” as it celebrates 10 years of performances around the world. “Tempting Providence” tells the story of Myra Bennett, a dedicated nurse who practiced on the Northern Peninsula. I recently got a chance to speak to Gaylene Buckle, Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s general manager. “When we developed this play we purposively created it so that it could be performed in a variety of “stages” around the province, from church basements to school gyms.

The Humber Valley Hikers has started its 2012 hiking season with a fine hike to Cedar Cove near Little Port in the Bay of Islands. Judie Gushue is an avid hiker and coordinator of the Humber Valley Hikers. She lives in Corner Brook and we chatted to her while walking the 1.8 km (1 way trail) to Cedar Cove on Sunday, May 13. "I am pleased that we had 16 hikers out for our first hike of the season" said Judie.

We had enjoyed dog sledding with Les Skis Doux in Wiltondale earlier in March (see our post dated March 4, 2012) and were keen to head out again with Elaine and her dogs. For Snow West 2012 they had arranged to be at the base of Marble Mountain and this is an ideal place to get a feeling of dog sledding.

On Friday, March 23, 2012 we decided to head to the Ocean View Hotel in Rocky Harbour in Gros
Morne National Park to see executive chef, Steve Watson, do his magic with a block of ice and watch him in the kitchen preparing Newfoundland mussels. This event is part of Snow West 2012 which is running in various locations in Western Newfoundland from March 21-24, 2012.

Newfoundland and Labrador has an enduring Irish culture, which is why we go all out celebrating St. Patrick's day, but some of our Irish history is really quite mysterious, stretching back thousands of years...

What a great afternoon ! The sun was out, the sky was blue and we were going zip lining at Marble Mountain. We met our guides Reg Flynn and Daniel Kean at the Marble Zip Tours (MZT) office (conveniently located at the base of Marble) for the 2 pm tour. We had enjoyed zip lining with MZT previously but had not experienced their newest zip line which brings you back to the base of Marble Mountain via their longest and fastest zip line yet!

Dog sledding was more exercise and more challenging than we originally thought. It was also a whole lot of fun! Elaine Pinard (owner of Les Skis Doux) has been taking people dog sledding for the past six winters from her base in Wiltondale at the entrance to Gros Morne National Park.

Last winter we had a chance to join Darren Park for a great trip to the North Arm Hills, which are located along the North Shore of Bay of Islands near Corner Brook. These mountains are visible in the distance as you drive along the south shore of the Bay of Islands but are generally inaccessible unless you take a snowmobile trip.

On February 11, Corey and I attended an evening of fine dining at St. Christopher's Hotel with a fabulous menu created and prepared by Eric Kinch & Pauline Gilliam.

Last year was a pretty amazing ski year in the northeastern United States - abundant and high quality snow continued well into March for some wonderful spring skiing (which I missed out on since I was in Chile). However winter 2011-2012 in the northeast has so far failed to produce more than a sprinkling of snow, which is why I headed north to Newfoundland with my friends Bruce and Nate in search of natural snow in excess of 3 inches.

One Friday morning this past August we started our journey to the Great Northern Peninsula in search of what everyone was talking about, the icebergs that broke off of the Petermann Glacier in August, 2010. Iceberg season on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland typically begins in late May however it was closer to the end of July before icebergs began to arrive this year. These late arrivals were due to the 280 square kilometre ice island that broke off of the Petermann Glacier near Greenland last August. The late arrival was not the only surprise this year, the sheer size and large number of bergs was also quite astonishing. Reports indicated that over seventy-five icebergs could be seen in the St Anthony area and that’s what we were setting out to see.

Cross country skiing is alive and well in Canada's eastern most province. Cross Country Newfoundland and Labrador (CCNL) is the umbrella group for cross country ski clubs and there are dozens of kilometres of groomed tracks waiting for any visitor.

Five years ago I started snowboarding. I was 34. And I learned here at Marble Mountain. 

At the time it seemed like the perfect suicide mission. I was petrified. But it matched my criteria: face fears of heights and speed. My friends thought I was nuts.

The autumn colours are usually at their peak over the Thanksgiving weekend in western Newfoundland but this year they seem to be lasting longer. Over the past few days we have been out kayaking down the Humber River and hiking through the fall splendour in the Humber Valley.

The Corner Brook-Humber Valley area of Western Newfoundland has some of the best autumn foliage in the province due the extensive stands of birch as well as colourful maples in many places. One of our favourite trails to hike is on the International Appalachian Trail from Humber Village to Barry's Lookout.

There are so many things to enjoy when I go back home to Newfoundland. From spending time with family and friends to hiking along the rugged coast, and taking in live music in St. John's. One of the things I look most forward to is getting out in a boat to catch a few cod.

This is the iceberg season that just won't stop! The Petermann Ice Island which I wrote about in several earlier posts in mid August, 2011 is now making its appearance closer to Corner Brook. Not long after we were in St. Anthony the ice island drifted to the south and broke in half. These 2 pieces have been spawning icebergs that have now drifted into the Hampden area of White Bay.