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Old 07-29-2014, 02:31 PM   #21
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Paul, The day time crossing gets you in around 7 PM and the night crossing gets you in at 7AM. We usually take the midnight boat from NL and NS.

We never get a cabin. The cabins do go quick. The chairs are comfortable enough for us and we typically fall asleep rather quickly and sleep for most of the 6 hour crossing.

Reservations are made by length. Our tow vehicle and trailer were 30 feet long. They do measure as you come in.

Once the noon or midnight ferry leaves you can enter the ferry yard until your ferry leaves.
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Old 07-29-2014, 09:20 PM   #22
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Newfoundland linquistic question

Still undecided about the ferry, 7pm might be late, but if I make a reservation at a campsite, I should be OK.

The linguistic question is - what is the story with the Dildo Run Provincial Park? For those who are scratching their heads, that is the name. The only meaning of the word that I know is...

Note for any dirty old men lurking: only tasteful jokes on this forum, please!

A few minutes later I learned something: My 1987 12 pound Random House only has one meaning, but an older, 1979 Webster's Deluxe Unabridged has three, one of which is is "a refrain or nonsense word in old songs, often implying obscenity, [Obs.]" It has been already said on this forum how interesting the language of Newfoundland is.
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Old 08-03-2014, 06:36 PM   #23
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I am getting excited about our trip. Reserved the ferry for 8/25. We wanted the 1145h but on the day we wanted it they only run the 1800h and 2345h, so we do the 2345h the night before. Instead of spending the night outside of North Sydney, we'll sleep in the recliners on the upper deck. More time on the island.
The return via Labrador is going to be very interesting, I am finding all kinds of info on the web. Here is a link to something exiting - the message is: stay out of the way of the big trucks! http://www.cbc.ca/labradormorning/as...40-314904.html
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Old 08-03-2014, 07:17 PM   #24
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Paul, a couple of things first I don't recall seeing any big trucks on the Labrador highway until we reached Quebec where there were lumber trucks.

Dildo run is located on Virgin Arm, not kidding. We stayed there for a number of days. Very nice park. Do you plan to stay there? Doyle Sansome & Sons. It's right on the water on the way to Twillingate, a few miles from Dildo PP. A small family run place.
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Old 08-03-2014, 07:21 PM   #25
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Back to the big trucks.

The big trucks are on the ferry and subsequently on the TCH 1. They leave the ferry and most of them head towards St. Johns. There are a lot of passing lanes on the TCH 1 so the big trucks are not a problem. In Labrador I don't believe we saw a single 18 wheeler on the cross Labrador highway. The little ferry to Labrador from Newfoundland is small and probably could only handle a couple of 18 wheelers, the NS to NL ferry is loaded with them.
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Old 08-12-2014, 03:09 PM   #26
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Thanks

All good input and thanks!
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Old 09-16-2014, 08:45 AM   #27
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Many thanks for good advice

We got back from our three week trip to NL late Saturday. Thanks to good advise in this thread, especially Norm's, it was easier to decide on where to stay what to see.
The overnight ferry ride was not bad, but the prepaid recliners in the limited access area on the top deck were not worth the money. The seats on the lower deck were just as good. My Scamp and 4-door short bed Tacoma squeaked by under 30 feet, so I got a refund from what I prepaid. Docking in Port Aux Basques in fog and seeing the barren landscape gave us a hint of what it might be like. The big boats are stabilized and the voyage was smooth. Here is the list of places we stayed overnight:

Burgeo Sandbanks PP was special, worth the trip on a somewhat rough road, swam of the beach, the water was warm!
We stayed mostly in Provincial Parks, $9.50 for seniors with the green parks pass. No connections, but water always nearby, all have a dump station, showers and are meticulously maintained, including hiking trails with boardwalks.

Then Blow Me Down PP.

Dildo Run PP, many hikes in the Twillingate area and a side trip to Gander (North Atlantic Aviation Museum closed unfortunately - Sundays and Labor Day.)

Trout River in the Gros Morne NP, bought the National Park pass, also saved some money that way.

Berry Hill Campground, north side of the bay in the NP, Norris Point Marine Station aquarium has two blue lobsters and one albino lobster. That is two in two million, and one in ten million!

On to the north, stop at Port Aux Choix NHS, very interesting, all the way to Pistolet Bay PP, very interesting area, side trips to L'Anse Aux Meadows, St. Anthony and Conche. The Norseman restaurant and art gallery were great, even the food was a piece of art!

To the St. Barbe ferry one day earlier than reservation, which was forfeited, but only $10. Camped at Pinware River PP, beautiful beaches.

Next day stopped at Red Bay NHS, a Basque whaling exhibit. Start of gravel roads. Had a flat tire, the truck pressure sensor lit up and I stopped before any damage was done and patched it without removing it. Now I am buying one of those sensors for the Scamp before the next trip! Not enough gravel on this section of the road, the sharp gravel bits are thinly spread on the road bed. Got gas at Port Hope Simpson, the attendant clicked the nozzle once topping it off, but I should have grabbed it and filled up to the real top of the filling neck. The next 243 miles to Goose Bay was gravel, (no flat tires), hilly and head wind, and the last 20 km the gauge was reading EMPTY. I only told my dear copilot when we reached the gas station about it, she would have gone nuts had she known. I was a little nervous myself. Free camping at a defunct camping area Wilburn Bay Camping.

On to Churchill Falls, well paved road, the western end of it is being worked on now (paving). A huge hydro power line is being built here, to take power to Newfoundland. After lunch on to Labrador City, camped at Duley Family Campground. Huge iron mines (quarries) in this area.

Next day snow in the morning, slush on the roads, slow going. Then dry roads and some dirt roads. Manic Cinq (Manicouagan 5) dam is quite impressive, thankfully the 18% grade was short. On to Baie Comeau, Camping de la Mer.

Last day all the way to Vermont, a long day.

Newfoundland and Labrador were beautiful, special, the people were lovely. It would be easy to fall in love with Newfoundland, or in Newfoundland!
The roads in Labrador are being worked on, so it will get easier to go there in the future. The advantage of traveling so late in the season is that many potholes are being fixed over the summer. Northern Quebec mountains are also spectacular. The weather was changing, a few days of hard wind and pouring rain, but most were beautiful, perfect for hiking and exploring. Traffic was light, especially after Labor Day. Very few trucks in Labrador and Quebec. No problems finding gas except that one section between Port Hope Simpson and Goose Bay. They need one gas pump at the turn off to Cartwright.

The Scamp made it well, thanks to many ruggedization projects I have done, most after the trip to Chaco Canyon, NM. Only a few little things on the list now. No leaks even driving in heavy rain, I guess keeping the window weep holes and channels clean did the trick.
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Old 09-16-2014, 10:54 AM   #28
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Sounds like a great trip. I'm feeling ready to return.

We haven't driven the road around Lake Melville since it wasn't open.



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Old 09-16-2014, 12:34 PM   #29
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Chaco Canyon

Chaco Canyon, another one of my favorite places, sort of like Newfoundland, quiet and very interesting.

What was the road like from Port Hope Simpson to Happy Valley? Was there anything on that section?
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Old 09-16-2014, 03:40 PM   #30
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The 285 km from the turn off to Cartwright to Happy Valley is well laid out, but there is pretty much nothing going on there. The road conditions were better than the section east of Port Hope Simpson, but variable quality. Just a few hunting(?) shacks along that whole stretch. After we got west some distance from the Cartwright turn off, there was an interesting change of geology, from the barrens with huge boulders on bare rock to sand dunes and river rounded rocks. Many road cuts were through what had to be huge sand dunes, now covered with vegetation. Not many big mountains, it is the "flat" part of Labrador. I surmise there had to be a huge glacial lake and rivers that dried up.
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