We drove from Gros Morne to the St. Anthony area on the
Northern Peninsula. All the time, keeping our eye open for moose and icebergs, the moose being dangerous
and the icebergs majestic.
We saw four moose at different times as we went. For the
most part, they were grazing along the ditches, and didn't seem particularly
interested in the traffic. The animals all appeared well fed and the bucks had
lost their antlers over the winter.
We also saw a caribou, but weren't in a position to stop and get pictures. We're hoping to see more before we leave
the Peninsula.
The icebergs we saw were quite small, but sure enough, at
least some were bluish green. You might wonder as we did, what makes an iceberg
bluish green? According to Wikipedia, the dense Glacier ice, absorbs the
sunlight's red wavelengths but reflects the blue and green.
Without doubt, winter has extended here. Where there were icebergs flowing freely in
the Labrador Strait further south, all the bays here are still filled with ice
pack. The fishermen are chomping at the bit to get their boats in, and anxious
to get fishing.
On land, there are still snow drifts 4 feet high, and yesterday,
the folks were very thankful to see the sun with plus 10 degrees C.
The cuisine has caught our attention. We're getting used to
having seafood wherever we go, but had Cod Tongues for the first time last
evening. We've even seen Mooseburgers and
Iceberg donuts advertised.
Though comfortable in Penny, we woke to a chilly morning of
light rain, fog and 1 degree C. Some sunshine is in the forecast, so the
weather should be perfect for the Iceberg Festival that is on. We're going to
head over to the east side of the Peninsula where possibly the winds have moved
the pack ice out, and we'll get a chance
to see some larger icebergs.
So today's Northern Tip agenda calls for more moose, a few
caribou, and large iceberg sightings. We better get packed up and get going.
Postscript
We weren't out on the road long when we spotted our first caribou for the day. As a matter of fact there were four, all with velvety antlers. Apparently, both the males and female caribou grow new antlers annually.
Within the hour there were more, this time younger ones, probably last year's calves. They had no signs of antlers yet.
We noted the caribou were starting to shed some of their winter coat, even though we were still bundling up.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2017/06/hunkered-down-listening-and-waiting.html
Postscript
We weren't out on the road long when we spotted our first caribou for the day. As a matter of fact there were four, all with velvety antlers. Apparently, both the males and female caribou grow new antlers annually.
Within the hour there were more, this time younger ones, probably last year's calves. They had no signs of antlers yet.
We noted the caribou were starting to shed some of their winter coat, even though we were still bundling up.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2017/06/hunkered-down-listening-and-waiting.html
