How I'll always remember the Tablelands

One of those examples of excellent timing that are so rare in my life.

It was drizzling as we walked out into the Tablelands and listened to the Parks Canada ranger explaining the geology and plant life. I wandered around and took a few pictures, and it started to rain a little harder so I decided to head back to the bus.

It wasn't far -- maybe a 15 minute walk. The rain got a little heavier; I walked a little faster. The rain got a little heavier still; I started walking a lot faster. And just as I got to the bus, the skies opened up into a truly impressive deluge.

I was wet. But not nearly so wet as I would have been if I'd decided to turn back even a minute later.

Weird plants

Some plants can take the alien environment and thrive. What's interesting is that these same plants are now used to clean soil that's been polluted with the toxic metals found in the Tablelands. They suck the pollutants right out of the ground.

Life on Mars

The Tablelands is mostly barren, because the minerals in peridotite -- things like nickel and cadmium -- are toxic to most plant life. (The patches of green are mostly where swaths of non-toxic soil from somewhere else has been deposited.)

It was rainy so we didn't hike that far, but it really is an unearthly landscape.

The Tablelands

This is peridotite, an igneous rock found in the upper mantle below the Earth's crust. The Tablelands in Gros Morne is one of the few places on the planet where peridotite has been forced up to the surface.

You can see its dark green color in the broken stones; the surfaces oxidize to that rusty yellow color. I'm a novice at geology; when I think of what lies beneath the crust of our planet I immediately picture magma: molten, angry, bright red. So I loved learning that under the mountains, under the oceans, the mantle that makes up most of our planet is, at least at the upper levels, actually -- green.

The end of the pond

The boat stopped near the far end of the fjord so a group of hikers could get off and start a three-day hike out through the park.

Though it was a little bit like the setup of a bad horror movie, I was most impressed by the idea of carrying all the food and water you would need for three days -- plus a tent and a sleeping bag -- to hike over the mountains. I know people do it, but I don't think I ever actually saw a group of people hoisting all that gear on their backs and heading off into the trees.

And smiling as they waved goodbye.

Cliffs

I've been lucky enough to sail through several fjords now. Although the cliffs at Western Brook Pond rise a mere 2,000 feet -- half the height of Milford Sound -- there's nothing quite like sailing through still deep waters while walls of rock tower overhead.

But it's definitely a different experience with this heavy mist draped over the clifftops -- solemn, a little spooky. Though I rode on the top deck of the boat all the way out, when we turned around and the wind was in my face, I only lasted about fifteen minutes before moving inside.

Where, in typical Newfoundland fashion, a singalong was in progress. One of the crew was playing guitar, and I played the spoons on a couple of songs, which was so much fun I may buy a set to play at home.

Sailing into the fjord

Made it

At the end of the trail, the boats that sail Western Brook Pond.

The lake waters are pristine, and the boats are designed to have minimal impact on the environment.

Getting closer...

I would like to see these views on a sunny day sometime, but once again, the Newfoundland mist and the fog created such a beautiful, if eerie, atmosphere that I'm having a hard time picking just a few of the pictures.

...And the trees

Through the bogs...

Back to Western Brook Pond

Western Brook Pond is called a fjord but it's actually landlocked now. The surrounding cliffs tower up to 2,000 feet over the water, and you can see them from miles away.

You have to walk two miles on a trail through trees and boggy land to reach the edge of the water and board the boat.

Playtime

A little girl playing on the rocky beach in Woody Point. Look at how clear the water is!

Boats

I'm surprised by how many pictures I took in Woody Point. We were only there a couple of hours, in crappy weather, but it was ridiculously photogenic.

Bonus reflections

A little artsy, but I can't resist that yellow pole sticking out of the water -- still in Woody Point.

The lighthouse at Woody Point

Woody Point is the location of the Discovery Centre for Gros Morne National Park, and incidentally contained one of my favorite lighthouses on the trip.

Saturday reflections

Nautical reflections in Woody Point.

Pissing Mare Falls

This waterfall is more than 1100 feet above the freshwater fjord Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park.

I hadn't actually processed most of the Gros Morne pictures yet, so posting will take a couple of days. I have been cursing The Good Place all day because I have the 1-877-Karz-4-Kids jingle running through my brain on an infinite loop. On the other hand, making that truly hellish bit of music the anthem for the demons in the Bad Place was such a stroke of genius I really can't complain.

Random building break

This is completely out of sequence, but I found it in the latest batch of photos from Gros Morne National Park that I was processing today. I do love lonely buildings on the water, and Newfoundland has so many.

Saturday reflections

I'm home, and very much enjoying the fact that I don't have to pry my lazy ass off this bed if I don't feel like it. I'm daunted by the more than 600 pictures I have still to go through from Newfoundland and don't feel like hunting through them, so here's another picture from the ride back to Cow Head, just over a week ago.