Visions of Newfoundland & Nova Scotia
 

So my planned ride to photograph parts of Newfoundland last year was postponed last year due to an Atlantic depression that pounded the Maritime. So this year it’s finally is underway. 2 weeks off work and a fairly good handle of my new camera. I didn’t know what I would encounter on this ride, it was 5,000 miles roundtrip. I did grab some cool shots, saw a lot of moose, plugged 3 holes from nails in the rear tire, before the tire wore out completely and I had to get a new one. Came within a second of death when a semi crossed the line on the Cabot Trail road, I got a small bruise on my elbow from??? the truck??? Well I’ll tell all this in the report.

I’d been reading on the history of Newfoundland from the fishing industry POV, and it was really interesting. I took this book along for the ferry ride and rain stops. I did order Cod Au Gratin in NFLD, quite delicious.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_001.jpg

I used this luggage setup so I could lock up my stuff when away from the bike for extended times. Manfrotto 190XB tripod is in the same bag as the $12 campchair and the tripod went with me on most of my hikes. Halfdome tent under that. Camera and lenses in the tank bag. Sleeping bag, rain gear (used a lot), cookset, clothes, towel/toileties, parts/tools, chargers/batteries, journal and maps in the luggage. Nice thing is that I had a lot of extra room.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_001b.jpg

So I took off Saturday morning under a warm sun. Mrs Donnymoto gave a nice escort out to the highway. Bye!!
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_002.jpg

On i95 crossing the George Washington Bridge into New York it backed up and got HOT. I knew it would be about the only warm riding I’d get on the trip. Was right about that. In Maine after some chowder, I saw a little rain that night. 14 days on the road, only 4 had no rain. But several days had sun.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_003.jpg http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_004.jpg


Here's a little jump forward to some of my photo grabs... Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_intro.jpg

Next: onward to Nova Scotia!

Bring on Nova Scotia :thumb

:lurk

Stunning first photo.:lurk

Thanks guys, yes here we go. Nova Scotia has some great roads, and views. Although fog was definitely the challenge, it's also the reason I went in June. So the cold Atlantic waters would create cool lighting and fog. I got what I wished for, and then some. But today's ride was mostly wet, until I got to Baddeck.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_005.jpg http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_006.jpg

Clearing,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_012.jpg

You know you're up north when you see the Birch,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_011.jpg

Oh yea, I also came up here in search of seafood; especially mussels,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_010.jpg

I'm heading to Baddeck in Aug, so I'd love to see more of that area... great pics :thumb

:lurk

Gidday Don

:lurk

Hi Ted! :wave

Gadet B; I didn’t get a lot of shots right in Baddeck but I did get this lighthouse. And a few shots around St. Anns Harbour which is right up the road.

Baddeck,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_015_Baddeck.jpg

St. Anns,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_015_StAnn.jpg

This eagle was coming in screaming fast, I was lucky the photo wasn’t more blurred that it is. Somewhere around the Baddeck/St. Ann area,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_013.jpg

I'm assuming you'll be riding the Cabot Trail.. and the Bras d'Or Lake drive has some very cool sections; pavement is a little rough on the SW part but little traffic, nice views and cool twisties;
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_015_BrasdOr.jpg

Oh Hell Yeah Donny! Bring it on man, bring it on! :thumb

Great to see you made it back to NOVA. I was one of the guys you found at Carriage House just west of Port Jervis, NY on Friday.

Pics look awesome. Looks like you had a beautiful journey.

ac

avc8130, alright! I didn't even ask if any of you were on ADV but yes, I headed south across the bridge. I have to say I almost liked that road better for.. um 'riding' than the one along the river. Hope you guys had a good run.

Dave, you should come over for the slideshow! (there is cold beer in the fridge, :1drink)

PM pending :D

Tablelands
 

So as I’m writing this I realize there are 2 parts to this report; 1) landscape photos I captured, and 2) the ride itself. So I’ll do the landscape shots first, then the ride info. I need to process the GoPro video for that part anyway and I haven’t done that yet.

Tablelands
 

First I visited Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park. I’d seen pictures of this and it was top on my places to visit. So after getting off the ferry early this morning, I headed north. I was elated to get such good light and partially clear skies. Especially since the weather had been so bad. I shot pics thru the afternoon but clouds obscured the late day sun, so these were the best I captured. Newfoundland, or The Rock lives up to it’s name here. Ultramafic rock, peridotite, is thought to originate in the earth's mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several hundred million years ago. Very cool and it does stand out differently than the surrounding landscape.
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table1.jpg

http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table2.jpg

http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table3.jpg

http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table4.jpg

This waterfall shot from melting snow was a bit of a hike, but nice payoff,
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table5.jpg

Self portrait taking the shot above, my better side :D
http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table6.jpg

Saaweeet! :thumb
Great stuff, keep bringing it on, that's one of the most photogenic areas on the continent.

http://pxlpilot.com/moto/2011NFLD/nfld_020_table1.jpg

Wow that's quite a cool site you've got there, I should have looked through that before I took my trip! :thumb