LOCALadk Magazine

48 Fall 2018 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk the reddish orange rocks, which were originally beneath the ocean, to their present visible position. The next hike that day was the Green Gardens Trail, a longer trail that provides a mix of scener y: coastal sea stacks, volcanic rocks, seclud- ed coves with waterfalls, and beautiful forests with lots of moose scat and tracks. We topped off the day with moose burgers in Rocky Harbour at the Fisherman's Landing Restau- rant. When in Rome, right? The next day, Evan and I made our way north toward West- ern Brook Pond for one of the most anticipated parts of our trip. The weather was fantastic – warm and sunny – perfect for a boat trip through an incredible old fjord! After about a two-mile walk over coastal bogs and low limestone ridg- es, we arrived at the lakefront where BonTours offers two- hour interpretive boat tours through Western Brook Pond. The waters of the "pond" (which is more like a huge lake at 10 miles long and just over 50 ft deep) are pristine, having had ver y little impact from human activities. The interpre- tive tour also included entertainment with traditional New- fie music and interactive wooden spoon playing— guests in- cluded! Feeling hot for the first time on the trip, we continued further north to The Arches Provincial Park and then cir- cled back to Shallow Bay—a big beach with shallow water that warms up for swimming in the summer (definitely not warm enough when we were there!). It was in the parking lot at Shallow Bay that we had our best moose encounter. We had just pulled into the lot and opened the rear hatch when Evan hushed me —"Moose!" he said. A lone female moose wandered through the field next to the playground, crossed the road, and paused in a meadow next to the tree line. We approached slowly, watching to see if she felt comfortable, and she just kept munching away at the greens. Evan and I watched her for around 20 minutes, until she wandered into the trees. After, we ate dinner on the beach and stopped at a pair of red Adirondack chairs sitting on the coast to catch the sun- set. Parks Canada has strategically placed Adirondack chairs throughout the province in spots where they encourage you to sit down and just take in the scener y. Making the most of the limited good weather the follow- ing morning, we packed up our campsite and then went to Green Point, a geologist's dream come true. The cliffs at Green Point hold fossils that define the boundar y between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, making the area an in- ternationally recognized geological benchmark. Later that morning we made our way to Deer Lake, where we decided to give ourselves a bit of a rest day. We went to the Holiday Inn to relax and watch some playoff hockey.

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