Our last morning in Cow Head, our friends were heading back to the ferry while we were heading more east.  One couple left early and the other wanted to go walk on the beach again before they left. And we wanted to recreate our “toes in the water” test.  So, they unhooked and we all headed to the beach, and we had a nice walk. 

Then we waded into the water up to about mid-calf.  Even Gail joined in!  And quickly after photos, we scampered out of the water just before losing the feeling in our feet!  It was really cold!  But we did it.  The latitude is just a few miles under 50 deg North!  Although Talkeetna, Alaska is the furthest north we have ever been, this was the furthest north we have ever been in the water, even if just up to our knees! 

After we thawed out and our friends left, we went back to the park and unhooked ourselves.  Our next stop was going to be in Little Bay.  But Gail couldn’t find her scarf that she wore last night at the dinner.  We ran back to the church where they were having a festival breakfast and asked about the scarf.  It happened to be lying on the table by the door.  A lady (named Sid) from the night before had found it.  She had also seen our water travel cup on the street (see the last blog!) and when we told her we were going to stay in Sunnyside at the RV park, she got very excited because the owner was a friend and highly recommended that we stay there.  Small island, small world.

But first we had the stay in Little Bay.  Our trip over was uneventful and we pulled into a small park with just 5 spots right on the water.  The park was “full” with locals out for the weekend. 

You have seen and heard about the Rocks along the Granite Coast and in Gros Morne Park in our past blogs.  Now we found even more rocks and their history.

Little Bay is famous as we learned.  There was copper discovered in the late 1800’s in the area.  And the Little Bay mine turned out to be one of the most successful.  In fact, at one time, Little Bay had over 2000 residents and was the second largest town in Newfoundland.  The town had everything for that era.  It piqued my interest so much that I googled for more info and found a book called “Once Upon a Mine”.  It spoke of all the mining in the area and on the island.  He listed over 70 mines operating from one end of the island to another.  Some more successful than others.  And they also mined for other metals like iron, gold, and even antimony! 

I mention this because the next day we went for a 6-mile hike above the town that went by the old mines.  See the photos.  The Little Bay mine was an open pit with shafts going into the hill.  Remember this was 1880-ish.  The mining and movement of the ore was done by hand and by steam engines.  And this is Newfoundland with cold winters!  Most of the ore was shipped to England for processing (Newfoundland was still part of England until 1949) and some was smelted on the island then shipped to England in ingots. 

It was an amazing hike imagining the men working here.  But it is The Rock, remember.   And rocks contain all kinds of minerals.  So, it wasn’t really that surprising.  The mine operated until about 1910 then closed. It reopened in the 1960’s when the price of copper rose.  But closed again soon after.  The remnants of the digging could be seen everywhere.

One of the RVers next to us came by and we talked about mining story and the history.  He said that he still works at a mine that is recovering gold and copper.   The conditions are better than 140 years ago of course.  But The Rock is still The Rock. 

We went for a drive the next day to Back Cove Beach.  We had to walk down 96 steps to reach the shore.  But very nice.  Then on to King’s Point and Rattling Brook to see the waterfall (yes, another waterfall!)  There we had to walk up 124 steps, but it was well worth it.  Lots of huge boulders and “rocks” around the falls, in the stream and along the cliffs.  Saw a tree growing out of one of the larger ones.  Along the way you could see evidence of mining or at least the exploration of the area. 

We also stopped in Kings Point, where there is a humpback whale skeleton on display. The museum was closed, but they have large windows on the back side so we could see it! And they were getting ready for Christmas already. Interesting use of lobster traps! All in all, a very nice day. 

Then on to Gander the next day.  It was a rainy, dreary day but perfect for driving the 130 miles mostly on the TransCanada Highway 1.  So smooth and easy.

Gander is a story all its own so we will do a separate blog just for that area.  Until next time.