“No Stress!” in Leading Tickles and the Oceanview Trail

Saturday, July 27, 2013

The rain and fog continued all night. We both slept in. By mid-morning the rain stopped and it looked like it might be dry for a while so we put on our hiking boots and walked up the road from the campground to the Oceanview Trail. We literally climbed up the side of the wooded trail with the help of a metal cable and began the seven km total trail. The path traveled along the peninsula on the back side of town, and then we walked back through Leading Tickles to get back to the park.



The trail was beautiful, but rugged. Many places we climbed up or down steep slopes with roots, rocks and wet moss and earth. From time to time we were rewarded with majestic views of bays, coves and islands and one whale. Blueberries, raspberries, and other berries that we couldn't identify were forming and preparing to ripen. We walked through boggy areas, rocky cliffs, and mossy, spruce forested hillsides. We got drenched, not by rain, but by the wet bushes and boughs on the sides of the trail. Near the end we found an observation platform and spent time looking for more whales and icebergs. We could see in the distance that fog, or rain was coming over the hills, so we finished the trail and wound up coming out in the backyard of someone's house in town. Maybe we took a wrong turn? We were glad there was no dog on the end of the chain we saw!

Fireweed

Reindeer Moss in bloom, Fruiting bodies?

Quartz vugs in Ordovician sandstone

Cranberries

Blueberries

Lookoff platform

Old Cemetery along the trail

Back in Leading Tickles

Walking back through Leading Tickles, we stopped at the post office, checked out the town hall, primary school and then walked down the hill to the fishing wharf and the Heritage Center, an old general store. On the first floor we looked through the gift shop, and on the second floor we looked at an exhibit in several rooms that represented life in Leading Tickles in the “Olden Days”. Everything had been donated by the locals, including several antique wedding dresses donated by local women, as the labels proudly described. We spent some time talking with the 30 or 40 something woman tending the store.

Looking out Leading Tickles Harbor

Primary School

The biggest wharf of many in Leading Tickles

She told us that last summer they had lots of icebergs and whales, but this year very few. Apparently the icebergs come right into the cove we are camped on, and have been known to come all the way around the corner and into Leading Tickles harbor. She also commented that they are getting very little snow anymore. Last winter they only had six weeks of snow and it didn't come until late January. They couldn't use their snowmachines very long. The conversation continued into living in someplace as beautiful as Leading Tickles and how easy it is to be so used to the scenic beauty. But, she commented the best part of living here is, “that we have no stress!” I guess that no stress is the reason I couldn't make out her age!



When we commented that we were camping at the town park, she said there was a wedding reception there this afternoon and that there would be a lot of coming and going. I said that there seemed to be a lot of coming and going past our camper all day anyway, and we wondered how there could be that many people driving around in this small town. She said that a season pass is only $10, so when someone wants to see how the fishing is going to be and decide whether to take their boat out, they come here. From each side of the park you can view a different cove that you can't see from the secluded town harbor. She said for their $10 they can drive through 25 times a day if they like! She also said that it's a small town with not much to do, so people drive through the park to see who's there and what's going on.



On the walk back we passed the Anglican Church with balloons tied out front, so we thought that was probably where the wedding would be held. We got back for a late lunch and borrowed the key for the showers. The park locks them during the day to keep the day users out of them. As soon as we finished with it, the woman running the front office came to clean it. When we checked in she said they clean it after every use, and sure enough, there she was with her mop. It had started raining again, so we stayed in the camper the rest of the afternoon. Just before dinner there was a lull in the rain and we heard a lot of honking. Driving past us was a convertible Volkswagen Beetle, with the bride and groom in the back, he in his tux, and she in her strapless wedding gown and a tiara, with the horn blasting!



Shortly after that we glanced out the front window to see the islands disappearing. A squall was coming directly towards us down the tickle. I went outside to photograph it and lasted long enough to take a few quick photos. We could see it racing towards us, and the cold wind getting stronger. It hit just after I got inside. It rained sideways for a few minutes and then was gone. The islands were back in view.

Fisherman on our beach cleaning cod in the rain

The rain has continued through the late afternoon and evening. We've also had lots of cars driving past us, some with balloons tied to them. If it hadn't been raining we would have wandered past the reception, but with heavy rain and 56 degrees, we are content to stay inside.



Tomorrow we'll continue our journey west to the coast, and north to the very northwesterly tip of Newfoundland, where the Vikings landed. It will take a couple days. We are hoping to get out of the rainy weather!