Canada 2018
  
 

Day 07

July 28

  
     
     
   
  The hotel has a nice sit down restaurant so we decide to get breakfast there before we take off. I get my usual traveling breakfast of an omelet with some pig meat mixed in. This is a good one and the taters ain't short either. Alain and I talk about the day and decide that we should be able to make a run over to Cape Spear on our way to the west side. It should only add 20 miles or so and maybe an hour and we ain't got nothing waiting on us except a motel room.  
   
  With that bit of business decided, I remember 'waste not, want not' so I apply that rule to what is before me.  
   
  We get the girls loaded up and the room cleared out. Alain can find Cape Spear easily on his GPS so he takes the lead.  
   
  We wander through a few local neighbors on the way but ...  
   
  soon we are right where we need to be.  
   
  It's a nice little run out to the point and as we near it we can see the old and the new lighthouses.  
   
  The usual welcome sign greets us to Cape Spear as we pull into the monument. The Portuguese named it 'Cape of Hope' which is 'Cap d'Espoir' in French. When the Brits took over the name was 'Englishsized' to the present day 'Cape Spear'.  
   
  The original lighthouse was completed in 1836 as the second lighthouse in Newfoundland. It resembles sort of a schoolhouse with the light tower in the middle of it. It was in service until 1955 and has now been restored back to what it looked like in 1839 shortly after it went into service. An interesting note is that the same family, the Cantwells, manned the lighthouse for most of it's 150 years of service.  
   
  The new one looks like most newer lighthouses and was finished and put in service in 1955.  
   
  Unfortunately, the access to the lighthouses are closed today for some reason, so we can only view them from a distance. I get a calendar shot of Frost near the walk to the farthest eastern point in North America then we are off on the rest of our journey.  
   
  As we make our way back toward St. Johns and the main highway, I can barely see Signal Hill in the distance  
   
  Our route for today is pretty simple - get on TC1 (also known as TCW) and head for Deer Lake, our stop for the evening.  
   
  I have to say that either the weather is not as severe along the road or they do better maintenance because the road surface is actually pretty decent - not to be confused with the roads we have previously ridden in the area.  
   
  But then I see that they persist in the persecution of the poor moose here as well. Just because a moose has an 'accident', do they really have to report him?  
   
  Not only that, they are so rude that they actually keep a tally of the times the poor moose have problems. It's no wonder we don't see any of them because they're probably ashamed to show up in public places with all the trouble that they receive from the government.  
   
  And when Alain and I see this sign we really begin to wonder. If the upcoming pot holes are serious enough to have a sign, we wonder if we will ever find our way out of them. We finally decide the the number of moose signs versus the number of moose we see and the number of pot hole signs versus the number of pot holes we hit obviously correlate inversely.  
   
  Soon we encounter the fog again and have to kick it back a notch. At least we know the fog is not just a coastal thing.  
   
  This scene reminds me so much as our run in New Zealand back from Glenorchy to Queenstown.  
   
  I never thought about it until we pass this place that float planes would be a mighty fine way to get around this province since there are lots of lakes and few roads.  
   
  Alain has encouraged me to stock up on snacks and drinks and take more frequent but shorter breaks. With the stuff on board, you can take a break when and where you want to instead of looking for a store. I'm still mulling over the idea but I figure I can give it a shot and see how it works. I'm usually a more of a 200 mile 'breaker' and he is more of a 100 mile 'breaker'. Neither one is wrong, just different approaches to the same thing.  
   
  As we continue west, we realize that there ain't much in the middle of Newfoundland except trees and lakes and one major highway.  
   
  But there is some mighty pretty scenery that catches a feller's eye along the way.  
   
  The sky up ahead does not look very friendly but we figure we'll just keep on keeping on as there are really no bridges to dunk under for cover to put on our rain gear.  
   
  Fortunately for us, the dark clouds seem to be moving south and away from the main highway.  
   
  There are a few sprinkles but soon we are back out into the beautiful blue skies, green forests, and lovely lakes.  
   
  It's been a bit of a long day, but not too bad for a 'cover some distance' ride. Nevertheless, I am glad when I see this sign knowing we're not far from the motel.  
   
  Deer Lake Motel seems to be about the most major thing in Deer Lake. But it has a nice restaurant attached and a gas station right across the street.  
   
  And at the gas station, I finally get a picture of a moose though I do question his lack of fur and mobility.  
   
  We get checked in and I get Frost bedded down for the evening. The rooms are really nice as we have inside access and outside access right from our room.  
   
  It's about time for me to wash up some clothes as I've been on the road seven days. Since this place has a washer and dryer I figure I'll put in a load to wash while we clean up and then throw them in dryer while we eat supper. It's a great plan, and executes well up to the drying part of it. Someone has beat me to it, so I just pile my clothes on top of the dryer and head on to supper.  
   
 

There's a waiting line to get into the restaurant, so I tell Alain -

"Either this place is really good or it's the only deal in town."

But they manage to get us to a table before we fall off to nothing from starvation. I decide that a BLT and seafood chowder is just the ticket - not too much but not too little. I have come to really appreciate good seafood chowder and this version is mighty tasty.

  
   
  But I do seem to have trouble with it evaporating out of the bowl. In fact I seem to have that problem in a lot of places that I go so it must not be just a Newfoundland thing.  
   
  When I get back from supper, the dryer is available so I feed it the requisite coinage required and my clothes and go back to the room to catch up electronically. It does not take long for my stuff to get dry, so now I am good for several more days. On long trips like this, I figure I'll wash clothes once or twice so I always carry some clothes detergent in my kit. Tomorrow will be a short day of riding since we plan to visit the only know certified Viking site in North America. With this cogitating in my brain, it is not long until the power turns off and I'm out.