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They say there are no accidental tourists in Newfoundland. You have to plan your trip to get here since there are no easy links to the Island. Ferries link a few key locations and they are the main entry point for visitors travelling by car or recreational vehicle. Marine Atlantic through its fleet of ferries is a main contact and the Newfoundland ports of entry are Port aux Basques and Argentia. Port aux Basques serves visitors wishing to explore the West Coast of Newfoundland, while Argentia is conveniently located for people visiting St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula.

What’s with the alliterative names of Newfoundland and Labrador festivals?

The weather forecast was not looking great but the music line up included one of our favourite bands – The Dardenelles – so we booked a room at the clean and comfortable Meeting Hill Cottages (http://grosmorne.com/meetinghillcottages/) and decided to check out the ever popular Trail, Tales and Tunes Festival in Norris Point on Friday, May 24 and Saturday May 25. We arrived in Rocky Harbour in light rain showers and met Marilyn Butt who showed us to our cottage.

The Tablelands are backcountry skiing mecca in Newfoundland that attracts skiers from across the Island and beyond in the months of April and May. This area is located between the communities of Woody Point and Trout River in Gros Morne National Park and there is a turn off and large parking lot giving quick access to the mountains.

Five highlights from a road trip down Newfoundland’s Route 430.

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 John Moores and I headed up to check out the snow stability and snow depths along the flank of Blow me down Mountain near Corner Brook. This area has a great setting for exploring in all seasons but it is particularly scenic in the winter when the white snow contrasts with the deep blue water of the Bay of Islands. Add to this the progressively steeper snow slopes mean that you have terrain that can be adapted to your skills and equipment.

“You know most of my clients are novice snowmobilers. I would say that at least 60% have never driven a sled before so we spend the first 15-20 minutes of a tour showing them how to steer and stop a snowmobile as well as the basic hand signals. I have had people this year from England, Ireland and even Pakistan but most of my clients come from the East Coast of the province.” Darren told us recently over the phone.

If you’re a winter enthusiast, Newfoundland and Labrador is the ultimate destination for outdoor adventure. With an annual snowfall of up to 16 feet, and the activity season running into March and April, there’s no shortage of winter fun. 

Cross country skiing is a great way to get out and enjoy winter in Newfoundland. Cross country skiing is good exercise since both legs and arms get a workout and like its name suggests, you can cross country ski just about anywhere there is snow. But a popular option for many people is to visit a cross country ski facility. Many communities in the province have ski clubs where there are trails groomed specifically for cross country skiing.

Fall hiking in the Humber Valley of Western Newfoundland has numerous options but a favourite with many people is the short trek to Barry’s Lookout. We did this trail on Sunday, October 14 and the autumn leaves were splendid. The trail was abit muddy due to the recent wet weather so waterproof hiking boots are recommended. What makes this trip such a standout is that it is short-just 1. 8 km (1 way) yet it gives outstanding views of Humber Valley.

Corner Brook is the envy of many places in Newfoundland due to its impressive outdoor setting which really comes into its own in October when the trees change colour. As we write this on October 9, 2012 the colours are nearing their peak and the view of the city from the quarry overlook is one place to get great images of the whole area.

Fall in the Humber Valley means brilliant autumn colours and where better to enjoy these than on Newfoundland’s top rated golf course. The golf course at Humber Valley Resort is ranked as the second best course in Atlantic Canada and one of Canada’s top 20 courses according to manager Gary Oke. We recently got a chance to play the course and it was in very good shape, despite from recent heavy rains. This course will test all of your golfing skills from tee to green.

A few weeks ago we had an opportunity to try out 2 golf courses in Central Newfoundland and we recently had a chance to check out 2 others in Western Newfoundland. On Wednesday, August 22 we played  at the Blomidon Golf Club in Corner Brook. Although a few showers passed overhead in the morning by the time we hit the first tee at 12:40 pm the sun was out and fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The Blomidon Golf Course was the host of the 2012 Provincial Golf Championships and is a very scenic course, especially in the fall as the trees change colour. 

Daniel Payne is a well known musician from Cow Head who is in demand as a performer across the province. In fact, when we saw his Gros Morne Summer Music performance on Tuesday, August 7 he told us he had just arrived from the St. John’s Folk Festival just before the show was to start. He had planned on getting to the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre earlier than 7:50 pm (for his 8:00 pm show!) but there was fog on the Avalon Peninsula to which he said “That is no surprise” but then he got a flat tire just outside of Grand Falls “and that was a surprise”.

One focus of Gros Morne Summer Music (GMSM) for this year is Andrew Lloyd Webber who is best known for creating some of the best known musicals of the last 40 years. Musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat are just some of his creations....

“Elvis and Mavis” has many themes that will resonate with people from Newfoundland where the tug of the big city dreams runs full tilt into the living in the province’s rural areas. And in the 1990’s when this play is set, the cod fishery is gone so trying to earn a living in Newfoundland’s outports is harder than ever. Elvis (Colin Furlong) has just lost his job at the Roddickton fish plant and is frustrated with the general loss of control of Newfoundland’s resources so he decides to blow up the dam at Churchill Falls unless the unfair contract with Quebec can be renegotiated.

f you want to go cod fishing from a traditional Newfoundland dory then you need to contact Darren Park. Darren is a top notch guide and operates 2 Newfoundland dories for tours of the Goose and Penguin Arm and is based in Cox’s Cove at the end of the North Shore highway (highway 440) near Corner Brook. His dory fishing trips are unique in the province and are very popular during the recreational cod fishery which runs from July 21-August 12, 2012.

Gros Morne Summer Music (GMSM) has just started its summer season and has a full schedule of performances that will run until August 26, 2012. On Mondays in Corner Brook and Saturdays in Woody Point you can catch the show “Sherlock Holmes and the German of Bonne Bay” which is styled after radio drama which was popular in the 1930’s and 40’s. On stage you see an announcer, a sound effects specialist and 2 musicians which provide the superb background music and even advertisements for such things as kidney pills!

“My goal is to create memorable performances about this place –Cow Head and Newfoundland in general -that will appeal to both local residents and visitors alike” Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s artistic director Jeff Pitcher told us recently. And the dinner theatre performance of “Sinking of the S.S. Ethie” fits this philosophy to a tee. This is the show that started it all for Theatre Newfoundland Labrador in Cow Head and it has been running to full houses since 1996.

“I love my office” grinned Ryan Young above the roar of the motor as we skipped over the small waves of Trout River Pond. “This southern part of Gros Morne National Park is undiscovered by many people and it is too bad since it is a spectacular area.”

We were doing a new Ocean Quest boat tour (http://www.oceanquestadventures.com/services/tourist/gros-morne-national-park) that started on Trout River Pond, and we had to agree - Trout River Pond is amazing since it is surrounded by steep cliffs 550-600 meters high and it is 15 km long.