To: n0abe@sio.midco.net

X-Type: Email; Outmail

Subject: "A Touch Sadness" Travelogue

X-Via: KN6KB

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As we leave the northland there is a touch of sadness, the feeling you have when you say good bye to a very, very good friend you know you will never see again!

What sticks out? Certainly Newfoundland scenery and its friendly people! It is a lot like Alaska but does not have the high snow covered mountains. If Minnesota has 10,000 lakes Newfoundland has 100,000. It is a big place, over 600 miles from one end to the other. Labrador has very friendly people and the scenery is very nice; particularly around Goose Bay but on a whole not as nice as Newfoundland. The roads to Goose Bay are not as tough as some in Northern Canada and Alaska but they are tough and there are some lonely stretches. Three flats on the F-350, one rock, one piece of road grader blade and one scissors blade going to Goose Bay. The Cabot Trail of Cape Britton is nice as well as the coast of Nova Scotia south west of Halifax. The most outstanding new thing to us were the ice bergs in Labrador. We now have 9 major ferry rides with the F-350 and 5th on board. We met a lot of great people and 3 times had people get in their vehicle and lead us to a place we were looking for. NEW FRANCE sometimes known as Quebec certainly is scenic at Percie Rock, Gaspe Point and north to Labrador. It is more French than you can imagine! In many area's ALL THE HIGHWAY SIGNS, everything is FRENCH! From our viewpoint though they get a bad rap as many say they are not very friendly to those who speak English. We found the opposite and even off the beaten path everyone "STRUGGLED" their upmost to communicate with us via a little English, our 10 words of French, sign language, drawings and printing things out or going and finding someone who could speak a little English! The final stop old Quebec City is rich in history with nearly all of it being original or restored to the original.

As with the best friends we all have a few faults and the major fault; especially of Labrador are the "CURSED BLACK FLIES"! They make your worst mosquito experience like a Sunday School Picnic. The are immune to spray and repellent, they just swarm around you in your ears, eyes and nose and when they bite they hurt and I eventually started reacting to them and got itchey, red bumps! They like to bite around the cap line or the back of your neck in your hair! The only cure is a mesh bug hooded shirt which would not seem like it would be hot but they are and they block your vision. The other cure is about a 20 mph wind!

I have a song about Labrador that we play a couple of times a day on the CD player in the F-350 that I want to share a few lines of as we leave the northland with a touch of sadness!

It is a mixture of country and celtic music!

To be a part of this great land

should be the pride of any man

To know that we were born on this great shore

so listen while I tell

and it makes my old heart swell

I'm proud to be a son of Labrador

I love to hear the call

of the geese in the early fall

and see the black bear roaming by the shore

or hunt the artic deer or fish the artic char

on this great land but most of all to me is to have

the liberty to be the son of Labrador

It rugged mountains rise above the ocean

Where polar bears and seals are to be found

Its sparkling rivers flow through mountain valleys

Where the caribou wolf and fox abound

We are now in Maine. What do we notice most about being back in the USA, GOOD ROADS! What was most different about the Maritime provinces? Clothes lines on a pulley, everyone has one and the party atmosphere while waiting in line for the ferry with live music, tail gate parties, people strolling around, visiting with people and kids playing games!

Ed and Edith

[MID: 1521_W0SD Sent Via: KN6KB Date: 2002/08/21 22:45:34]