The next day we left Terra Nova for Lockston Path Provincial Park. Stopping in Caitlin  for groceries and a small ice maker before proceeding to Port Rexton and the campground which is out five kilometers on a 17 kilometer gravel road. It is a nice CG with water and electric on a lake and river. We took a walk through the CG which is actually on a hill and around part of the large pond at the bottom. I never did and still don’t understand the difference between a lake and a pond. When planning this trip I expected relatively cold temperature but we had everything but. The locals of course weren't used to this kind of warm weather and took the opportunity to hang out in the river and cool off.
our campsite in Lokston Path cooling in the river
Sunday July 21 we went to Trinity a small historical fishing village that has replaced the fishing industry in the area with tourism. Newfoundland used to rely on cod mainly salted and seal hunting for it’s lively hood. Both of these resources have been depleted in numbers and their popularity has been reduced in recent years.
Trinity Tour

 In some regard Sunday was not the best day to go to Trinity as some of the artisans like the blacksmith and cooper have the day off.  Notice the Jello not authentic as there is a company that makes this type of display for museums and other venues.
grocery storycooper's shopcoopers shop

One of the historic buildings hosts a free Tea Lunch. We even had birthday cake for the youngest daughter of the historical homeowner the daughter would have been 126 on the day we visited. During Tea lunch we had the opportunity to meet and talk to several interesting people. One couple from Warwick N.Y had just bought a summer home in Trinity. His father had originally been from Trinity moving down into the States as a young man. Then there was a young lady who taught in Alberta during the winter but she and her family including two young children spent 6 months in Trinity. Her husband ran the Whale touring company. Another local lady who’s grandchildren had come to visit from St Johns where most of Newfoundland’s population lives. After our tea lunch we continued to walk around town. We met and talked to some folks on a tour bus visiting from the States. They don’t do Tea lunch as their tour includes lunch in the town restaurant. CK Chesterton has said “ The traveler sees what he sees the tourist sees what he has come to see” Guess we are travelers.
debby at tea lunch

On Monday we drove to the end of the Bonavista Peninsula and visited Ellison and Bonavista. Ellison is the root cellar capital of the world. There are 103 root cellars with many still in use. They also have a series of islands where nesting puffins can be seen without the need to go boating.

Root Cellerroot cellerinside root cellar

they were creative with their Adirondack chair
Puffin Adirondack Chair

Puffin IslandPuffins


The town is also famous for the now depleted seal hunting industry. There is a monument and interpretive center dedicated to the sealers lost in a 1919 tragic storm. I know seal hunting is frowned upon. In many quarters but seals provided needed resources to the pre modern world and these men supported their families in this harsh dangerous occupation. Many lost their lives during the normal course of everyday seal hunting. The boats brought the men out to the seals and then the men trudged across the ice flow to the seals with harpoons bringing the dead seals back to the ships for processing.

In Bonavista we went to the Ryan Premises, consisting of  a dock and combined buildings of the Ryan family a Newfoundland merchant family business. They bought fish and seals from the fisherman and dealers processed them and sold world wide. Fisherman borrowed for what needed using what they called the “Truck System” and paid up with fish hoping to have a surplus at the end of the season. All the building were built in the 1800’s and were timber framed built with pegs and fitted joints essentially without nails and bolts and the building contained period appropriate antiques like this dentist suit.
timber framingdental suitAntique Dental Suite


We didn’t see any more of Bonavista although I don’t think there was much more that interested us as it was pouring so we went back to the truck getting soaked along the way,  went shopping for groceries mostly produce and returned to the campground. One of the downsides of not having a working refrigerator is the need to shop more often.


Tuesday brought us to the Skerwink trail supposedly one of the top 35 trails in North America. It is listed as moderate but for us older folk it was downright difficult with lots of stairs to climb and descend.

Skerwink TrailSkerwink Trail
 The view of and from the cliffs was spectacular and the whales were unbelievably entertaining.

Skerwink Trailskerwink trailSkerwink Trail

Whales
Wednesday we hung around till the afternoon and then went back to Trinity. At 2:39 we attended The Trinity pageant. A two hour street theater and tour of the physical town and it’s history  with local actors displaying the various periods in the towns history and then there was the ubiquitous  Adirondack chairs except this time in yellow. The pageant was written and is presented by the Rising Tide Theater Group. They also have a dinner theater and present  several locally written plays.

church and graveyard actors in the Trinity Pagentyellow adirondack chairs
The next morning we left Lockston Path a day earlier then planned and drove to Winterton stopping in Caitlin first for groceries..