Argentia - Before and After the Snow

If you want to see more pictures from Argentia, I have many! Just click the Argentia link on the left side or at the end of this post and you'll see why I love it there so much.

The last time I was there before the snow started falling I got to wandering and woolgathering and then noticed that sunset was around the corner and maybe I had better get a move on.

So I went straight up over the rock instead of crashing through the trees.  Why not, after all?

From the top is where you get the best views anyway.

With all the weather we've been having I haven't bothered making the 20 minute drive back over until a few days ago when our temps got up above freezing again.  I parked the car and followed the skidoo tracks up past the campground and the bunkers.

The last time I ended up in this spot I picked a few very late blueberries.  They weren't tasty after the frost, or plentiful, but there were enough to note that maybe it wouldn't hurt to come back next year with a bucket since obviously no one else had bothered.

This bunker hill is covered in blueberries come September

Any excuse to go wandering...

The following day I returned, this time taking my walk uphill from the Pavillion to Argentia Pond.

still knee deep in the shade

On my third day in a row in Argentia I went past Argentia Pond and kept going uphill.  The lack of fresh snow made it hard to get a snow angel going, but I did my best.  All that sun and walking had me feeling like myself again!

When I had the choice of following along the skidoo tracks or veering off toward a rock peak you know which way I had to go.

I was so hot I had to take off my hat and gloves, and without a breath of wind on my face I kicked back and admired the view of Argentia Pond. 

A few more catch up posts and then I should have lots to say about the other Maritime Provinces next week when I arrive in Nova Scotia!

We Could All Use a Little Change

Since we left Wisconsin on May 1st we have had a lot of changes in our life.

We stayed at Argentia Sunset Park for 5 weeks while house hunting, relieved to get a spot since the park was technically full.  With all the work going on in Argentia the park is full of workers living in their RV's.  Not the best news for travelers coming off the ferry, but great for the area economy that jobs are plentiful.

Argentia hospital, probably the 1950's according to my father

We got to know the staff really well, and Loren even dug out a photo of the old Argentia hospital for me.  That's where I was born!  Many of the pregnant women on base were sent to St. John's to have their babies, so I feel pretty lucky to have been born in the town where my mother's family lived before the Americans built the Naval base during World War II.

Our boat parked in front of Wayne's mother's house in Placentia

Before we even had an offer in on a house we picked up the boat Wayne had ordered.

Nephew Tom's puppy was sometimes hard to coax

There are options for boat storage and boat slips here, but Wayne decided to use his father's old mooring out in the Northeast Arm.  That means you have to row out to the boat on its anchor though.

Ready to row

Every time someone would ask about his boat he was proud to say it was moored where his father used to keep his own boat.  It didn't take us long to come up with a name - Nomad!

The Nomad at anchor

Once cod season began Wayne and his brothers had no trouble hauling in their daily limit of fish.

Wayne's brother Harold 

But lobsters were bought, not caught, for $6 a pound!

Lobster season is short in Newfoundland though.  That's okay, we can go out on our Quad instead...

...Or go shopping in St. John's...

M y favorite Newfie slang

...Or volunteer as a leader with local youth.  I'm going to be a Girl Guider!

Marching in the Canada Day Parade

It's been fun meeting people in the community, and after we were in our house we even ran into our realtor at the Canada Day Fireworks.

We were thrilled when we found out that two of our neighbors are sisters to Wayne's brother Tom's wife.  Not everyone has their next door neighbor be "almost related" and get invited to raid their rhubarb patch and greenhouse.  Next year when ours is up and running we plan to plant some things they don't have so we can reciprocate!

Argentia sunset over Red Island

We don't see as many sunsets since we left Argentia; that's the one thing I miss since we moved from Argentia to Southeast Placentia.  

Moon over the RV

And one of those Argentia nights at the campground I successfully photographed a moon for the first time ever.

As the Barenaked Ladies song says, We could all use a little change.  And the change to move here has been the right one for us.  I'll get around to talking about the health care system here and financial comparisons one of these days, but for now I'll just say that any changes there have been wonderful as well!

Birthday View

I can't remember if I've ever been in Newfoundland on my birthday before.  I kind of didn't know what to do! Wayne was off to New Brunswick to pick up our trailer full of furniture for our move next week, and the sun was out so I had to figure something out on my own.

A walk on Castle Hill sounded grand!  Nothing like a view of Placentia on a sunny day from there!

I talked my Aunt Agatha into joining me for a quick walk around, nothing like being able to say "for my birthday" to get people to do what you want them to.

So excited that I left my sunglasses in the car!

After our short walk on Castle Hill it was back to the campground where another walk in Argentia was how I wanted to spend my time before supper.

It's been warm (for Newfoundland) so the plants are coming back and things are greening nicely.

Strawberry blossoms everywhere,
lawns are full of them!

Want to know which way the wind is blowing?  Check the "Moldow" hanging from the trees.  No need to have a flag when nature provides.

Stay out in the open or follow the fork into the trees?  You know which path I chose.

 I was careful on the vegetation covered rocks as I made my way down the hill in the fading light, but I saw a familiar beacon that I couldn't resist.

 A view of the Isaacs and the discovery of a new path?  What a gift for the birthday girl!

Not wanting to go further without more supportive hiking boots I had to turn and go back the way I came after enjoying the view for awhile.

 One last look...

...and then it was time to get a cup of tea and a piece of cake with my mother-in-law.  Lovely end to a lovely day!

Haul on Yer Gran-Mudder's Boots

Before I forget I want to thank Barbara Rogers for her comment on "mother-in-law tongue", I've never heard of it and will look into it!  I too suffer from dust/mold allergies so I tend to be in and out of antique shops quickly but it's always fun to have a look around.

Panoramic shot of the Ambrose Shea bridge from Placentia as the snow starts to fall

But let's get to the promised wintry Newfoundland photos, shall we?

On the way out from St. John's yesterday I stopped in the middle of the road to take a picture of all the Christmas trees that will greet you if you to decide to visit this time of year.

Breaking a path through the snow

After their large snowfall a few days ago a few more centimeters came down last night so this morning I couldn't wait to get out for a walk in the woods in Argentia.  There is only so much one can fit into their suitcase so I hauled on my Nan's boots and off I went.  The locals are smarter than I am and take their walks along the road, but I knew the paths up through Argentia would provide solitude and shield me from some wind.

It's not often I spy something and say "Oh that looks like______", so when I saw this sawed off tree with some snow covered branches I had to stop for a photograph.  I swung my boot back and forth through the snow until I hit the gravel beneath and dug out a few rocks for the eyes and nose!  The spirit of one of Santa's reindeer perhaps?

Here's my footprint going up the hill a half hour or so earlier on the right next to my returning imprint on the way down.  The wind was filling them in fairly quickly.

One of the many bunkers in Argentia

 I decided to have a look-see at a bunker I passed, finally lucky enough to come upon an open door when bright light was spilling inside.

Concrete like new, never know it was 80 years old

Forty five minutes of plunging through the soft snow ranging from 6 inches to a foot in some spots and I was ready to get back to a warm kitchen and a nice cuppa tea with my Nan.

But first I had to stop and admire the view of Red Island. Look at the wind making whitecaps out on the bay. Thanks to that wind the air temperature felt like 9F instead of 24F according to the Weather Channel.  No wonder I wanted to hide out in the woods.

No trips out across the bay at this time of the year, thank you very much.  But that's okay, lot's to see and do right here, even if I have to do it in a borrowed pair of boots!

The View From Here

It took some doing, but we convinced Katrina's boyfriend Charlie to get a passport and come see what all the fuss was about.

Katrina, Charlie and Cory at Nickel Lookout in Argentia

Charlie even marveled at the size of the slugs in Newfoundland as we walked out to the viewing platform along the Backland Trails.

Let me clear up for you why that might be so.  Here is a photo of two of them next to my foot.  And these were small fries.  Watch where you step, they are everywhere.  It's not only the moose that are big on The Rock.

But who wants to look at slugs when you can look at pictures from my favorite trail out from one of the bunkers?  It's on the Backland Trails map, I think it's at then end of Bunker Alley.  It doesn't matter because Wayne drove us right to it even though I get terribly turned around on those roads.

The view was so breathtaking that even Wayne had to stop and take it in.  The path moves through the woods onto a boardwalk across the bog and then up a stairway to Annie Healy Lookout.

I don't know what my little group was discussing when I joined them on the stairs, but as I walked past Wayne I looked over his shoulder and shouted...

"It's a moose!"

I don't know how Wayne missed it, but I got to be the moose spotter for a change that night.  

Everyone but Katrina climbed up to the tallest rock to get the most of the view.  

My favorite shot of the whole trip...I think

Charlie was impressed.  Whew!  Now we can probably get him to come back again!

Wayne and I had actually been to that same spot just a day or two prior but didn't see a thing due to the fog.  We rode up on our quad with his friend, Gary.  Don't worry, tomorrow is another day and I'll get the details up on that adventure, too!

The moose was making its way down and we got a move on, hoping we wouldn't get an uncomfortably close look at it as we made our way back to the truck.

No moose, only gorgeous skies

As usual I was the last back to the truck, lingering for yet one more click of the shutter as the clouds changed color.

I really like this one of the bunker door, too.  Some of the bunkers are locked up and some of the doors are standing open.  On a different day I poked my head in one and heard some rustling.  Needless to say I pulled my head out quickly and backed away, expecting a fluttering of bats to follow my hasty exit.  Next time I'll have to remember to bring a flashlight!!