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Day 7 - Headed for Twillingate

Today is the longest day we have planned on the island.

Headed for Twillingate, and going to try and take a bit of the coastal route. This was recommended to us by the two local guys on the Victory motorcycles.

We were going to do the straight shot thru, they said it was worth it to do the coastal route, up thru Lumsden and Musgrave Harbour.

So instead of 467 km, we're gonna try and do 572 km.


So it's an early start...







...got everything packed up and ready to roll out to the TG...







...and it all fit, with lots of space leftover. 







And we're off...







...thru downtown St. John's...







...back on the same road we took into St. John's from Argentia...






...a last look at St. Johns, not sure when we'll be back here.






Back on the Trans-Canada Highway...






...which we take 2/3's of the way...







...back to Argentia.

 

 

There's water everywhere...






...if there's not water in front of you, it is probably beside you or right behind you!







Yes, you read that right. More on Newfoundland and some of their city names later.






This is where we're staying on the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1). Exit 28 is what would take us back to Argentia.







My new policy is to stop for gas whenever I see it if we are anywhere near half a tank...







...ended up talking to the owner of this pristine El Camino for a bit. He also has a Road King. There are only 2.5 months a year where he can ride his Road King or drive the El Camino. The rest of the time there is too much snow and ice. Crazy!!!!






Back rolling...







...heading north now...






...toward the isthmus...






...that connects the Avalon Peninsula to the rest of Newfoundland.

 

 

It's been looking like rain...







...here and there all morning, so far we've been avoiding it.







Mary in the Mirror, and some fellow travelers!








This is some beautiful land...







...it's crazy to think about...







...how cold and windy it is here most of the year.







We do not need gas again so soon, but this looks like a good place to stop and put on our rain suits...don't think we're going to be able to avoid the rain any longer.







Yep. It's raining now!







Not a lot, but enough...







...to get very cold in this chilly weather.




btw, we're also running our electric jackets to stay toasty warm, it's been ranging between 40-44 degrees all morning.

 

 

We're now on the isthmus...







...headed toward the "mainland" of the Island.








Even though we're getting a little rain...







...we are thoroughly enjoying the road and...






...the fantastic views! (above is water to the left of us, and at the same time-below- water to the right of us)






There are over 110,000 moose on Newfoundland Island. There are signs everywhere warning drivers/riders to be careful of them.

We have not seen any yet. We did see this sign...for so many, there are relatively very few accidents.







What a great road!








Some more fellow travelers.






I have no desire to get a ticket here...even with the rain coming down a bit heavier, I am 5 km over the limit and still getting passed here and there.






We're on the "mainland" now, and it also looks like we're out of most of the rain.

 

 

This is where we have to make a decision...






...we pull over to a little clearing to discuss...do we want to turn off the Trans-Canada Highway & take this extra 110 km loop, on what will be a 2 lane road of questionable quality, with a 30-70 km speed limit?







Yep, we don't know when we'll be back up here...it is along a lot of coastline, let's go for it!






Looking back, we're on the way around the coastal loop...








...we are right on the water...







...and other bits we are cutting inland some...







...but mostly...







...on the water...








...and more water. lol





Before we got up here, we thought there would be big sections of Newfoundland where there were no people or buildings. While the towns are small, there are a lot of them, and it is rare to go very far without passing thru or near one.

This is about a 10 mile stretch of road with nothing...but it is inland.

 

 

We are starting to see...







...a lot of rocks sticking up out of the water along the shoreline...







...this is some beautiful land...







...we're glad we took this route...







...and are glad we are not up here during the winter! We can't imagine there's enough firewood to keep us warm. lol







I suppose I should google it...what are all these rocks about?







Open ocean...







...if we were here a few months earlier, that is when icebergs are passing by...






...but we have our electric gear at about half strength now...








...it would not be enough a few months ago. lol

 

We cut inland again...






...we are almost at the end of the coastal loop...







...getting ready to turn right, up toward Twillingate.







If you do a google map of the area between Clarkes Head and Twillingate...






Hold that thought, we are a tad tired and hungry...







...so we stopped along the water, at a wide spot in the road at this abandoned store, for a snack and a walk around.






...on the map you will see there is a lot of water...







...then when you zoom in, you see they are not lakes, but there are dozens of islands...







...we assumed that the road connecting these islands were bridges...






...nope. They are mostly causeways that have been built. Only saw a couple of small bridges at the end of some causeways, like this.

 

 

It is so different up here...




...than anywhere we've traveled before...







...picturesque...







...but we wonder what it is like to live in a place that is so cold, so many months of the year...







...and so isolated from the rest of the world?







We're getting closer!







Just little chunks of land that the ocean has not overtaken!







A couple of links on Canadian Town Names-

https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-dest...d-and-Labrador

https://www.readersdigest.ca/travel/...st-town-names/








Amazing place!







And even though they are fairly small chunks of land, still some pretty good sized hills.

 

 

Around almost every curve is another stunning view!

 



The road in the center of the photo is...







...another causeway, connecting pieces of land.







We are a long way from mainland North America...







...shoot, we are a long way from the mainland of Newfoundland Island! lol






A look ahead...







...and behind.

 

 

We're Here!







A left turn, toward North Twillingate, a ride thru town, and we are at the Motel we have reservations at.







After checking in & unloading the TG into the room, we take a walk out to the back of the parking lot. This is the view, looking back at the motel...







...and this is the view, across the harbor, of Twillingate.







Me taking a photo of Mary, looking out toward the open ocean...






...and the photo she took a few seconds later.

 

Next Day HERE