Wordless Wednesday

..mmmph...um....ok..ok..I  have a hard time being wordless.

I love this last one...a rainbow of rocks from the ocean.

Hidden Falls in Sheaves Cove, Newfoundland.

Letting Go and Jumping Right In

This is a picture of me ziplining this summer. Yes, it's me hanging over a canyon with almost 300 feet to the ground.  It was amazing! It was exhilarating! It was so scary!  My hands were red and sore after the first zip because I was gripping on the cable for dear life.  Altogether there were nine zip lines and somewhere in the middle I actually managed to free both hands in the air for a few seconds.

It's a strange feeling as they attach your cables to the first line. You don't really even have time to think about it.  Both my daughters had already fearlessly lept off the platform and now it was my turn. All I had to do was run off the platform (eek!) and trust that my harness and cords and cables were all secure (don't think about it!).  It was somewhat comforting to know that this was all I had to do.  Stopping was left to a device on the cable that slightly slowed you down about 15 feet from the end and then one of the young, hunky crew members would catch you in his arms....{{snap out of it}}...oh, sorry about that...

It's one of those activities that gives you a real boost.  I think my husband and girls were pretty impressed that I didn't give a second thought to doing this (well, not out loud at least).  And for me I'll have the feelings and memories to fall back on whenever I feel that self doubt creeping in.

L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland

A beautiful day to remember from our August holidays in Newfoundland.

L'Anse aux Meadows is a National Historic Site located on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.  At this archeological site you'll find reconstructions of three Norse buildings, the earliest known European settlement in the New World. The archaeological remains at the site were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

The history and discovery of this area is very interesting.  It's also a very pretty place to visit with a lovely walk and trails around the shoreline.

The Moose are Loose in Newfoundland

With an expanding population of over 150,000 moose on the island you wouldn't think it would be too hard to spot one. Funny enough though when you are looking for them you don't see any for miles and miles.  We had to see one - it was on 'the list' - and we had already crossed off whales and icebergs.

Our first moose sighting was on the road into L'anse aux Meadows.  A baby, or perhaps better described as a  teenager moose, was there and he was very active. Running back and forth and playing (which I have never seen).  We were all thinking that his mom must be around and next we spotted her coming out of the brush.  It was quite a sight to see the teen running around and back to his mom and then running back again.  It reminded us of our dog who every now and then gets a spurt of overcharged energy and runs like a maniac around our main level.

Our second sighting was a day or two later in Gros Morne just north of Western Brook Pond.  A mom with twins. Which was quite exciting to see together, however they refused to be in the same picture.  Sibling rivalry already!

In the daytime, and off the road, it's exciting to see them but moose are a real hazard for night time driving. We only drove once at night and it was a tense drive with fog and mist coming off the ocean and no lights on the highway.  Luckily we only spotted one ourselves as his eyes reflected in our headlights and he was safely off to the side of the road...although we did have the feeling that they were lurking in the brush and snickering as we drove past! Mainlanders!

Icebergs in Newfoundland

St. Anthony, Newfoundland

On August 5, 2010, a large piece of the Petermann Glacier in Greenland broke off and became a massive ice island measuring about 251 square km in size. Wow!  I remember hearing about this at the time but didn't think much beyond the news story.  A year later it has worked its way south and is now is visible off of St. Anthony at the northern tip of Newfoundland. Over the last few weeks it has been breaking up producing dozens and dozens of icebergs. 

For our August trip to Newfoundland we didn't expect to see any icebergs as they typically disappear by the end of July. Here it is mid August and there are hundreds for us to see.  A definite once in a lifetime viewing!


 Smaller ones close to shore in St. Anthony.


We spoke to a fisherman from St. Carols who has never seen anything like it.  Pieces of ice much larger than houses drifted into this cove earlier last week. The waves and wind crashed them into each other and the shore breaking them into smaller pieces and also left heavy damage to their docks.







These icebergs in St. Carols immediately reminded me of a Lawren Harris painting.





"Icebergs, Davis Strait", Lawren Harris.

Beautiful and unforgettable experience.

Home, Sweet Home

We arrived home last night from a wonderful week in Newfoundland.

Today is filled with unpacking, laundry, packaging orders, sorting through mail and emails, scrounging through the fridge and cupboards to find some food for a meal, loading photos and walking our dog.  I have a lot of great trip photos and memories to share with you soon.