Wreckhouse was a windy location and the sound of the wind blowing was crazy until it just stopped; like a switch was flipped. I was up early and saw a bit of sunrise but opted to roll over untill Pete started his good morning performance for the second time. With coffee in hand, we took Pete for a walk to the ocean cliffs again, before heading upland towards Stephenville. We found another lighthouse and checked out an old cemetery around Highlands where the church blew down in the wind back in the 1930's.
They recount a story from back in the 1700's where 8 young boys (ages 8-22) who were stowaways on a ship were sent off the ship and onto the ice when the ship became stuck in the ice. While making their way off the ice, two drowned, while the other six made it to Highlands where they were taken in by a local family where they recovered from frostbite and malnutrition. The story was unique in that they followed the history of the six through their lives, five went back to the UK or on to Australia with varying degrees of success. Only one remained at Highlands and married. The captain and first mate went to prison for the death of the two who died. It gave a different perspective that started with local hospitality and the impact that it can make to individuals and rippling out to the world at large.
We carried on to Cape St George and stayed at Port au Port Peninsula, Boutte du Cape park. Camping is free, park in sheltered spots (not us) or take a view up on the cliffs (yup, that's us). The view really was amazing though Pete kept going to close to the edge for our comfort. We arrived with storms in the air, but they mostly stayed at sea where we could watch the changing light and shadows of the rain. We watched seals and cormorants waiting for night fall. We thought we would get a sunset, but nothing, it just got dark then windy, then windy-er. Those storms kept blowing well through the night, with the wind catching the van broadside and rocking us back and forth. Two nights running and the wind kept waking us up. We were up early, figures there was no sunrise to speak of, but the wind had died down at least. While the campsite was the most epic of the trip, I think we will aim for something more sheltered from the wind next time.
We headed back to the TCH and headed up to Cornerbrook for lunch. We Chatted with Charlie, the maintenance guy at the info center, place was closed but he let us come in and get brochures on Gros Morne park and gave directions for most anything we might have wanted. We drove up to the park, coming to Rocky Harbour where we checked out another lighthouse and found the Red Chairs by the sea. We decided to camp at Berry Hill for a couple of nights. We are tucked nicely between a bunch of trees so we are hoping to get a solid nights sleep.
That’s an epic camping spot for sure!