11/07: A Hidden Gem
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
When Ed checked in yesterday he was told that a 28 vehicle caravan was arriving on this morning's ferry. The ferry was late so Ed took some photos of the park before it was full.
The section we're in doesn't have a lot of trees but it has a great view across the valley and Zaph likes it here as there's grass to sit on. Tonight the park has a different look to it --- huge motor homes everywhere.
The park has developed a small newspaper that they give you when you check in. In it there is a write up with a couple of day trips. So, we decided to follow the one that took you to Rose Blanch, an out port at the end of the road traveling east from Channel-Port aux Basque.
First stop was the light house at Cape Ray (between Doyles and Channel-Port aux Basque). The lighthouse was built in 1871 and marks the southern tip of the French Shore.
It was a bit windy causing waves to crash onto the shore.
I thought the road from Cape Ray accessed the TCH (Trans Canada Highway) from two points, so we continued to drive east. The road changed to dirt, not a good sign, but we continued driving. After a couple of kilometers we ended up by the beach in J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park. We continued on a road by the shore where we saw this interesting building. A fellow on an ATV drove by and told us the road was block ahead. Turning around we drove back into the provincial park and out through the campground to the TCH. I even got to use the 4 wheel drive on the truck for a bit of the drive.
I think this is the Isle aux Morts River. Oh, it's foggy along this coast, it was sunny when we left Doyles.
Rose Blanche Lighthouse was built in 1871 using granite from a nearby quarry. The lighthouse was in use from 1873 to the 1940's. The lighting apparatus was supplied by Robert Louis Stevenson's father and uncle's engineering company in Scotland. It was reconstructed fully in 1999. Near the lighthouse is a trail, gift shop and fisherman museum. A nice place to spend a few hours.
The rocks at Diamond Cove are white and sparkley reminding you of diamonds. We stopped to take a photo near a house where a man was mowing the lawn. The man turned off his lawn mower and walked over to the truck, I rolled down the window not know what to expect. The man started asking me about our trip ... he then asked if we wanted some rocks and went to his backyard and brought us a couple. A little further down the road into the cove we saw this dock.
Lots of little islands, reminded me a bit of Georgian Bay.
The little town of Isle aux Morts is proud of George Harvey, his daughter Anne, son Tom and their dog Hairyman (a Newfoundland) who rescued the passengers of a sinking ship in 1928. The community centre is set up with a restaurant in it called Hairyman's Safe Haven Cafe (it also sells local crafts) --- they also use it for jam sessions and dances. We stopped to have a coffee and ended up having a bite to eat. The Harvey trail took us along the shore where we saw Bake-apple growing (it starts red looking like a raspberry and turns golden coloured when ripe and is tart to the taste). The photo on the right is a pitcher plant in full bloom.
About 20 kilometers north of Channel-Port aux Basque is an area called Wreckhouse. Winds have been recorded at 200 kilometers an hour and are capable of knocking rail cars off the track (in fact the winds did). Today the winds occasionally blow transport trucks off the road.
Back at the park enjoying the sunset.
The section we're in doesn't have a lot of trees but it has a great view across the valley and Zaph likes it here as there's grass to sit on. Tonight the park has a different look to it --- huge motor homes everywhere.
The park has developed a small newspaper that they give you when you check in. In it there is a write up with a couple of day trips. So, we decided to follow the one that took you to Rose Blanch, an out port at the end of the road traveling east from Channel-Port aux Basque.
First stop was the light house at Cape Ray (between Doyles and Channel-Port aux Basque). The lighthouse was built in 1871 and marks the southern tip of the French Shore.
It was a bit windy causing waves to crash onto the shore.
I thought the road from Cape Ray accessed the TCH (Trans Canada Highway) from two points, so we continued to drive east. The road changed to dirt, not a good sign, but we continued driving. After a couple of kilometers we ended up by the beach in J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park. We continued on a road by the shore where we saw this interesting building. A fellow on an ATV drove by and told us the road was block ahead. Turning around we drove back into the provincial park and out through the campground to the TCH. I even got to use the 4 wheel drive on the truck for a bit of the drive.
I think this is the Isle aux Morts River. Oh, it's foggy along this coast, it was sunny when we left Doyles.
Rose Blanche Lighthouse was built in 1871 using granite from a nearby quarry. The lighthouse was in use from 1873 to the 1940's. The lighting apparatus was supplied by Robert Louis Stevenson's father and uncle's engineering company in Scotland. It was reconstructed fully in 1999. Near the lighthouse is a trail, gift shop and fisherman museum. A nice place to spend a few hours.
The rocks at Diamond Cove are white and sparkley reminding you of diamonds. We stopped to take a photo near a house where a man was mowing the lawn. The man turned off his lawn mower and walked over to the truck, I rolled down the window not know what to expect. The man started asking me about our trip ... he then asked if we wanted some rocks and went to his backyard and brought us a couple. A little further down the road into the cove we saw this dock.
Lots of little islands, reminded me a bit of Georgian Bay.
The little town of Isle aux Morts is proud of George Harvey, his daughter Anne, son Tom and their dog Hairyman (a Newfoundland) who rescued the passengers of a sinking ship in 1928. The community centre is set up with a restaurant in it called Hairyman's Safe Haven Cafe (it also sells local crafts) --- they also use it for jam sessions and dances. We stopped to have a coffee and ended up having a bite to eat. The Harvey trail took us along the shore where we saw Bake-apple growing (it starts red looking like a raspberry and turns golden coloured when ripe and is tart to the taste). The photo on the right is a pitcher plant in full bloom.
About 20 kilometers north of Channel-Port aux Basque is an area called Wreckhouse. Winds have been recorded at 200 kilometers an hour and are capable of knocking rail cars off the track (in fact the winds did). Today the winds occasionally blow transport trucks off the road.
Back at the park enjoying the sunset.