Time for the Come-From-Aways to Leave

Today was our last day on The Rock and we made the most of it by seeing more of Gros Morne National Park. We left Rocky Harbour and drove south around two beautiful glacial lakes to Woody Point on the south side of Bonne Bay. The main Park Visitor Center is there with great exhibits on the geology of the region, which is unique in North America. There was also a great exhibit space curated by local Mi'kmaq artists and historians. One of the coolest panels was a map all marked up with indigenous place names and locations where traditinal activities like berry picking happened in the past.
The trail most recommended to Park visitors is at the Tablelands area so we drove the short distance and took the hour-long hike. This area is distinct in Gros Morne because it’s barren brown rock with a perfectly flat top and is totally unlike every other mountain in the park. It’s origin was a mystery until the 1960s, when a geology grad student figured out that the mineral that caused the brown color in the rock was only found on ancient ocean floor deposits. Long story short, his studies proved the theory of plate tectonics, which up to that point was still being vigorously debated! While that’s incredibly cool, actually seeing this rock and the sharp boundary where it ends and the forest begins is waaaay more cool! We managed to get in our short hike around fast-moving low clouds and rain and the views down through the valleys were probably more interesting because of the mix of bright sun and mist. We didn’t have time to do the Green Gardens hike, which begins only about a mile away but has completely different geology and looks completely different. Next time.
We made the 3-hour drive back down to Channel Port aux Basques passing in and out of heavy rain and figured we could explore the small port town after we dropped the car in the ferry line. Unlike the Nova Scotia terminal, however, this one is located away from town and there’s no way to get to town on foot. Now we’re stuck in the ferry terminal for 3 more hours with intermittant/non-functioning internet and nowhere to explore. Good thing we have another week in Nova Scotia to plan!
I’m posting early today because the wifi didn’t work at all on the first ferry crossing. We couldn’t get a cabin for this trip, so I’ll report tomorrow on how much or little sleep we were able to get in the Reserved Seating reclining chairs. I’m betting on little. I'll drop over round, by and by Newfoundland!

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