Wednesday July 17

After a good night sleep we are on the road heading to the Labrador coast. Our destination for today is a provincial park about 40 miles north of the ferry. As we make our way towards Red Bay on the Labrador coast. From there the road turns just about due south. Until now we’ve been traveling mostly east. The landscape becomes rugged yet and isolated. Then way off to the left there stood a huge white structure. Both of us are thinking what is that and why way over there away from just everything. It dawned on us it was snow. A huge patch of snow sheltered from the south. Soon huge white patches appear frequently. Afterwards we asked locals how long will the snow hang around. The response, until the next snowfall.

We arrive at our destination, Pinware Provincial Park. We are at the entrance but there are no employees around so we are not able to check in yet. A cyclist, Brett, said the guy would be back in a bit. Brett’s doing is laundry at the comfort station next to the entrance. We decide it’s a good time to do our first laundry of the trip. We chat with Brett who is a dedicated long distance bicyclist. On this trip he’s cycling the Atlantic Providences now headed west along the route we had just traveled. His he destination for this year is British Columbia so he has many miles to go. Last year cycled in Alberta, British Columbia, The Yukon, and Northwest Territory including all the way to the Arctic Ocean along the Dempster Highway. In North America there are two roads that connect the Arctic Ocean to the rest of the continent.

The park person shows up and assigns us a campsite on the water with a fantastic view. He says it’s the best spot in the campground. We set up and are ready to explore.

Over the past several days we’ve battled mosquitos but along the coast it’s black flies. It’s what keeps people from visiting the Adirondacks in June. Here black fly season is July and August which we quickly discover makes being outside without full protection not fun. We head out to a nearby town and purchase two bug netting shirts that cover everything from just below the waist to the top of our heads. Out campsite being on the water is exposed to the wind so when it’s windy the black flies give us a small respite. We are here for the next few days so we are hoping for plenty of wind.

We called for ferry reservations and we secur one for Monday morning. We have plenty of time to explore the local area. We shower and enjoy a rousing game of cribbage then hit the hay.