After you visit somewhere, you’re supposed to check it off of your bucket list.  However, every once in a while you find somewhere with so much depth and so much to see that you feel that in order to truly experience it you have to spend at least a month there, seeing numerous sights and getting to know the people who call it home.  That’s how I feel about Newfoundland.

To be honest, it’s a place that I knew very little about.  But, everything that I did know said that the place was incredible.  As a result, when the fall foliage was being stubborn (due to the drought and a warm fall), I rearranged what was supposed to be a Maine vacation to a trip to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.  We couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.

Arriving off of the ferry in Newfoundland, we were greeted to some of the island’s famous weather of 50km/hr winds, 4 deg. C temps, and rain squalls.  However, the skies began to clear and the island soon revealed it’s glory.  Autumn color had begun to arrive, turning the tundra like “barrens” red and the boreal forests a mix of bright colors.  By the end of the week, bright blue skies abounded and an “Indian summer” was in full swing, helping to usher in even more brilliant autumn foliage.

To an American who’s never seen the island, the best way to describe it is to cross what Maine was in the 1950s with the scenery (and wilderness) of Alaska.  Between the small fishing villages that dot the coast (and produce incredibly delicious seafood!) and the boreal/sub arctic landscapes, this land is a landscape photographer’s dream.  However, there’s more: Newfoundlanders are a wonderfully friendly people with a distinct culture all their own.  While most are proud Canadians, there is a strong sense of independence here, born out of the island’s isolation and the self sufficiency that it requires.

While we spent 5 days on the “rock”, most of it within the confines of the massive sized Gros Morne National Park, there is so much more to see.  Everyday we were out from sunrise to sunset and only saw a small fraction of the island.  And based upon that fraction, I can only imagine what the rest of the island looks like.  For that reason, Newfoundland will remain on my bucket list.  That and I want to come back and see the island in spring/summer when whales, wildflowers, and icebergs (melting off of glaciers in Greenland) abound!

Early morning lighting on the Tablelands and the South Arm of Bonne Bay in Gros Morne National Park

Coastal boreal forest at Green Point, Gros Morne National Park

Welcome to Canada (Natiaonal Parks)!

Credit goes to my wife who snapped this image while I was charging across this mountain pass.

Humber River in full autumn glory

A local tipped me off to Steve’s Trail at Green Point. We went out 2 nights in a row to catch sunset and were the only ones enjoying this view

The Southern edn of Bonne Bay, which is actually a fjord that (due to its depth) houses subfreezing water that supports arctic marine species

UN, Canadian, and Newfoundland & Labrador flags flying outside of the Gros Morne National Park Visitor’s Center

Bonne Bay at Norris Point.

Trout River Pond

The Tablelands are equally as stunning at sunrise as they are beautiful

The mars like appearance of the Tablelands is due to the mineral rich rocks. The rocks, which are from the earht’s mantle are the only place on the Earth’s surface where the mantle is exposed.

Tools of the trade

Certainly one of the prettier settings for a cemetery…

Tablelands and fall foliage

Woody Point lighthouse overlooking Bonne Bay

Spruce Grouse

Bakers Brook Falls, Gros Morne

Sunrise on the Tablelands from Norris Point

The Arches Provincial Park on the Gulf of St. lawrence

The prettiest picnic table in all of Canada…

Norris Point, NL

The sun’s last rays filtering through the Spruces along Steve’s Trail in Gros Morne

Sunset in Norris Point

Rose Blanche Lighthouse on the Southwestern coast

Blowmidown Falls. There was barely a sign off the highway to the “tree clearing” of a parking lot. I guess this is just “normal” everyday scenery in these parts