Day 30 to Port aux Basques, NL
Tue 9 Jul 2023
Distance covered 444km
A day of getting to the ferry and avoiding random minor hazards along the way.
Got up early in Norris Point with the sunlight blaring through and hey, it feels humid outside and it was. Stopped at the new Grow Morne National Park visitor center--the building is great, but no exhibits are installed yet--and then headed south to TCH (which is Trans Canada Highway in this context.
The weather was warm, too warm, as I pulled into Deer Lake it was already 25C at 10pm and little puffy clouds were popping up and this feels like it's gonna be a stormy afternoon, is that possible at this subarctic location? I stopped briefly in Corner Brook and checked, yes, Severe Thunderstorm Warning from Environment Canada so better get down the road sooner.
I missed the rain, fortunately, though a cloud or three looked ready to dump on me. I figured the closer I got to the chilly waters of the coast the lesser the thunderstorm chance would be, and yep, that was the case, as the air temp dropped from 31C (yes) down to 18 in a matter of minutes.
But now I'm in Port aux Basques and it's 2:30 and I have six hours to kill. Maybe I'll get gas? Nope, power's out at the gas station, erm wtf? What about some Tim Horton's? No, power's out there too. So why not a ride to the scenic Rose Blanche Lighthouse? It's 40km away, sure what else am I going to do.
It was a great little road and scenic, the kind of postcard views you'd expect from Newfoundland. More selfies of course, then back into town. The gas station was still closed, but Tim's had power and a massive lineup, so I'll just forage at the grocery store for dinner on the ferry.
Waited far too long to board but had a great time chatting up half a dozen other bikers from Shreveport for a couple of hours... they were unlucky and hit a nasty thunderstorm with hail... then we rolled on and I found a place to snooze for the six hour crossing. Yawn, but not without pizza first.
