Yuki (and Brody's) RV Adventures: Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

Greetings,

We are in Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, both for its exceptional natural beauty and the outstanding examples representing major stages of Earth's history. The spectacular landscape of the park tells the story of the Earth's transformation.

I was anxious to learn more about this, so one of our first stops was to hike the Tablelands.

Mom made me do some reading before we left and I learned that The Tablelands are a slice of the ancient ocean floor that was raised through tectonic upheaval.

I thought that The Tablelands provided a remarkable exposure of mantle rock, rarely seen at the earth's surface.

There is very little vegetation in this area but the Provincial flower of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Pitcher Plant, finds a way to survive by trapping bugs and extracting their nutrients.

It was a beautiful hike.

After our walk we drove to Trout River, right on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Mom and dad had lunch at the Seaside restaurant.

They brought us a special treat, a pan fried Caplin (remember those poor fish that died on the beach when they came up to spawn) Tasted just like sardines!

Our next stop was to Green Point. Formed at the bottom of an ancient ocean, the layers of shale at Green Point contain layers of fossils from ancient times (actually between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods if you want the specifics - hope you are impressed!)

It was a hike to get back up to the top

We also stopped at to visit the Lobster Cove lighthouse.

Mom and dad left us in the car on the day they took the boat trip through the fjords in Western Brook Pond.

Glaciers carved the massive cliffs of Western Brook Pond as ice bit through this 1.2 billion old block of granite and gneiss. It was a freezing cold and cloudy day, mom was glad she had brought her wool hat and gloves.

They sat in the open upper deck of the boat looking at the massive cliffs, 2,000 feet on both sides of the gorge

Can you see the bear? Look in the center of the picture.

and waterfalls.

Can you spot the face? I got it right away, but had to point it out to Brody.

Around Bonny Bay, the pink quartzite mountaintops and limestone cliffs were once sandy beaches and tropical reefs that formed the shoreline of an ancient ocean.