F*, f#, f%, f&...

...The Four F's. 😁

While diamonds are described by the four C's, our Newfoundland trip can be described by the four F's...fjords, fog, food, and frogs 

Fjords and falls

Much of the western coast of Newfoundland consists of rocky harbors formed by glaciers. Some of these harbors over time became landlocked, forming scenic fjords and magnificent vistas.  

Other times the same glaciers form "hanging valleys" that create falls.

Fog

Earlier in the trip I mentioned that we gave up on the weather forecasts. Too many sunny day forecasts turned into rainy day actualities. In Newfoundland it's even worse as every location seems to have its own microclimate.

At our campground, about 300 feet elevation, it could be hot. Go over the ridge on the ocean side and it's windy. Drop down to sea level and it's cool and misty. Turn the corner around the next point and it's sunny...or hot...or cloudy...or something.

Regardless of location and temperature one thing they all seem to have in common is fog. Everyday, mid-afternoon, it rolls in from the ocean. Hanging over the water in the harbors and bays. Filling the valleys where it's low. Obscuring the mountain and hilltops where it's higher.

And it rolls in quickly. In the course of 1-2 hours it can go from clear to foggy.  (Below are taken about two hours apart.)

Food

I wouldn't call western Newfoundland a foodie heaven. But if you stick to what they do best then you can find some pretty descent meals. And what they do best is seafood. Specifically seafood chowders, fish (cod, haddock, caplin, sole), mussels, clams, and lobster. Stick with these items on the menu and you won't be disappointed. Also the fresh baked goods, especially with local berries have been pretty good.

Frogs

I needed a fourth “F", so I'm going with frogs. Why frogs you might ask? Well to tell you the truth I haven't seen or heard a live frog our entire trip. But every morning when we walk the dogs there is plenty of evidence that there are tons of frogs in the area.

What type of evidence? Dead frogs on the roads! Mainly flattened by cars. Which is weird since there is very little car traffic in our secluded campground. We're still trying to figure out the frog thing.

Bonus “F”...Flexibility.

We originally were planning to stay in Gros Morne National Park for a week. We loved the area and the campground so much that we decided to stay an extra nine days. 

The flexibilty part comes from the fact that camp sites, especially ones with electric service for the Tesla, were few and far between. Where our first site was booked for a week straight, we've only been able to get other sites for a few days at a time. So we've been moving the Bowlus ever few days to a new site. We've also been carrying the big tent around the campground from site to site instead of assembling and disassembling. Surprisingly we've seen a few other campers changing sites and carrying their large canopy tents for the same reason.