One major attraction on our list for Day 8... Western Brook Pond Trail and Boat Tour. We set out at about 7:00 AM from Berry Hill to pick up gas and supplies for our trip to northern Newfoundland. Then a half hour road trip through Gros Morne to the Western Brook Pond trail head.

Western Brook Pond is basically a freshwater, inland fjord. It's very accessible via a friendly (much of it board walked) 3 km hike across a marshy lowland trail. We were among the earliest in the parking lot for the 10:00 AM boat tour and meandered at our leisure to the docking point for the tour vessels. They have a comfortable waiting area where we settled in after purchasing tickets (cost our family $152).

We boarded the vessel on time. We got out to the dock line up ahead of the majority of the passengers and nailed great seats on the upper deck. We were joined atop the vessel by "Keith", who was traveling back west to Victoria, BC. We exchanged stories, swapped picture taking opportunities with the backdrop of the mountainous landscape, and enjoyed our conversation with him entirely. Safe travels!!!

The two hour tour was worth every penny, as we were treated to a completely guided adventure into the land locked fjord, with its huge rock cliffs and waterfalls. My favourite was "Pissing Mare Falls" near the deepest part of the pond. I've never seen anything quite like it. To boot, at the end of the tour we passed a cow moose feeding on the spit of land beside the pier. It was as though the staff said "cue the moose", as Chevy Chase did with the deer in Funny Farm. Life is good!

After the hike out we headed north for the long four hour trek to
St. Anthony. The first portion of the Viking Trail is a coastal drive with the mountains rising east of the highway. It's a scenic trip through the rest of Gros Morne and the many coves and bays along the way. Further north, the mountains subside and barrens and bogs/marshlands rule. We went full on, and made the trip in about 3:30 minutes. I really felt like I could reach out and grab Labrador at several points, but that trip will have to wait!

The night before Janie had made a reservation at Lighthouse Cottages in St. Anthony, located on the west side of the harbour. Initially we drove by the cottages, as they are attached to a convenience store (that sold soft ice cream and cold beer... how cool is that) and don't exactly fit the cottage profile. However, once inside we found what could only be described as an excellent accommodation!!! Great layout, huge bathroom, clean and fresh linens, and a sorely needed washer and dryer! Janie is all set to nominate "Donna" from Lighthouse Cottages, the lady who processed our registration, as "Nicest Newfoundlander of 2013"! We were definitely in business!

Also cool was the cottage we reserved was located one driveway away from a memorial that consisted of two interpretive panels and one retired Canso Water Bomber. Way cool... as we had skipped the opportunity to see this type of plane when we bypassed Gander. She was parked roadside, and in great shape after seeing active service fighting forest fires in Newfoundland. Wish I could have gotten inside!!! Can you say karma?

I think we all began to feel, at this point, like we were coming to the end of our trip, maybe due to being at the furthest point from home... and perhaps Monica especially. This was noted after she mentioned to Janie that she had been wondering when we were getting to Steve and Jen's (who live in CT and are often the last part of our trips in the USA). At the end of Day 8 we settled in to an evening BBQ of pork chops and veggies, snacks from the convenience store and cold beer. And my bed was sooooo comfy! Cheers...