Howdy All,
Just a real quick update before I run out of battery. We are waiting at the ferry terminal to load for the crossing to Newfoundland. Soon we will see the Viking village. 🙂
Earlier today we visited Iona, NS and the Highland's Historic Village, talk about a tale of survival when the world as they knew it, ended. Sent to the new world almost nothing. Good thing they were such tough people!!
Not sure what wi-fi will be available on The Rock. I will write a post when I get home about the criminal fuel prices across our country, what a pile of steaming bs. It is okay, I am not bitter, lol. I will get back to that later.
I will post when I can,
Mountainman.
Howdy All,
We are in Newfoundland at the moment. We have made our apex of the Eastern leg of our trip. We have seen the Viking Settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows and have been to a Viking Feast dinner in St. Anthony's. The moose are plentiful, we saw not less than 17 in the first two days on the Rock. Yesterday in the blowing rain, during our drive to Rocky Harbour we did not notice any swamp donkeys, but I know my full attention was forced on keeping on the road, lol.
What am I learning while being on the road?? First point that jumps to my mind is that the vehicle must have some sort of order to the packing - what was that ol' saying....a place for everything and everything in its place. That works for me. Now the Tahoe is not perfecting in order, but we try very hard to keep items in the same general areas. The bungi cords on the rear most side windows has worked very well at keeping the pillows handy when making camp and for keeping some of the solar energy from heating the Tahoe too hot. Of course, so far on the Rock, too much heat has not been an issue. I caught a little of the weather channel last night and it sounds like a wee bit of a heat wave is happening out West. We hope some of that warmth is still there when we get back there. 🙂
I have now been through old technology for living and defence. For those in the prepping world who are trying to decide how to protect their family I suggest looking to the past for the answers. They had nothing, by our current standards, and yet they survived and some thrived. I promise to write a full account once I am back about my thoughts on the old fortresses and the Viking settlements. These old places have a lot of light to shed on planning for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. The people of the North-West arm of Newfoundland have a practice of having garden plots along the roads, including the highway. These plots are mainly left with only a fence for protection. Apparently, theft is not an issue - nor does it seem that there is an animal threat to their garden plots. It is very strange to see a garden plot alone, along a roadway miles from any town or building.
Old trades and practices. Home weaving. We have seen many types of home looms. The more complicated ones were at the Highland Village at Iona, NS; the simplest was at the Viking settlement. Remember, there were no markets to shop at. So, each family had to weave its own cloth from wool or flax. We also saw one needle knitting, very interesting.
That is it for now. We are slowly backtracking for the West. We depart Newfoundland on the day ferry on Saturday 21 July 2012.
Maybe our paths will cross. Denob we will be in Quebec soon!!
Cheers,
Mountainman.
Evenin'
I am finding a little time and a good wi-fi connection, finally.
We are now at Deer Lake, NL. Tomorrow will have us back near the Channel Port aux Basque. We have had a mixed bag of weather here on the Rock. Nice one day, rainy the next. Today was nice. We are back in the tent. We have the tarp strung from the Tahoe to provide some extra rain protection. The wet weather is expected to hit before morning.
We were at a Zodiac Boat tour today on Trout River Pond, Gros Morne National Park. I think I know why we do not see any postings from the Rock. They have to survive every winter. The town of Trout River is routinely cutoff from the world for 3 to 4 days at a time every winter. These people live a prepping lifestyle and get to use their skills and preparations every year. It would be nice to hear from these folks on the Forum, I bet they have a lot of knowledge that could many of us in our preps.
The Weather Network shows some crazy weather out there, I hope everyone is safe.
I will keep you posted when and where I can.
Mountainman.
Me again.
Fare thee well Newfoundland. On the morrow we sail off the Rock. It has been a very enjoyable visit. I look forward to returning in the future.
Our adventure will be travelling to PEI tomorrow after our ferry crossing to Nova Scotia.
I am not sure how much opportunity I will get in the near future to get back online. I hope the meeting Alberta goes very well tomorrow. I look forward to sharing what I have learned at meeting #4.
I will keep you posted when I can.
Cheers,
Mountainman.
are you going to be in newfoundland this summer ? i live about an hour from st johns
are you going to be in newfoundland this summer ? i live about an hour from st johns
Sorry Oatesman,
I just left NFLD 2 days ago. I posted on the Nfld board a couple months ago that I was heading over, but I received no replies. Our time on the Rock was limited and we spent it exploring the Westside. We did not have enough time to visit the St. John's area. We hope to see more the next time we visit, just not sure when that will be.
I found the Newfoundlander to be hardy folk who get to practice what so many on this Forum preach. We need more input from the Rock and the people who live the lifestyle we want to achieve. I hope to read more of your posts in the future. I may be a little slow in responding as we have just under a month to go on this cross-Canada roadtrip.
Cheers,
Mountainman.
Update 23 July 2012
Borden-Carleton, PEI.
Morning All,
Another great campsite. The weather is holding well for us. We will depart PEI for NB this morning. Yesterday I tried to login from a public computer but forgot part of my password. I would have used the netbook but it was low on juice, lol.
Our trip continues and we are seeing a lot. To any out there that say you cannot survive in a tent, I challenge you by asking have you ever tried?? If you have the right tent and take care of it, you should be able to survive in a tent for many, many days. We are only using medium weight camping gear on this trip, so yes fluffy pillows are onboard. They travel behind bungies on the rear most side windows of the Tahoe. Our tent, Premier Trails - Clip Scout III if I remember correctly. This 4 pole geodesic dome tent has been with us since the mid-90's. It is strong in the snow and the wind. Some seams may need attention and some seal-action, but we are doing well. I have lost count of the number of times we have setup and taken down the tent on this trip alone. We are using summer type rectangular sleeping bags - too heavy to carry backpacking but fine for roadtrips. We also have our lightweight, hi-tech backpacking sleeping bags onboard incase we need them. We have a cooler onboard, and ice is usually purchased every other day, somedays daily. The tarp awning I built has served us well on the raining days. Sure is nice to have at least one dry spot to stand when taking down the tent and loading the Tahoe. We could have gone with the heavy camping gear - cabin tent or canvas wall tent, cots, chuckboxes, propane stove, lantern, etc; however, we did not need that level of self-sufficeincy (I know that is spelt wrong).
Denob and ICRCC I am getting closer to your parts of the woods. Hope to meet-up in the near future.
Til next time,
Mountainman.
Looking forward to it. 😀
Looking forward to it. 😀
When will you be in the Timmins area?
I will be up there this week, weekend in Halyburry area, then maybe back into Timmins or one of the other towns on the Mon/Tues.
Looking forward to it. 😀
When will you be in the Timmins area?
I will be up there this week, weekend in Halyburry area, then maybe back into Timmins or one of the other towns on the Mon/Tues.
WR I live in the Haileybury area. Any chance of getting together for a coffee?
I was going to email you closer to the time to connect!
Looking forward to it. 😀
When will you be in the Timmins area?
I will be up there this week, weekend in Halyburry area, then maybe back into Timmins or one of the other towns on the Mon/Tues.WR I live in the Haileybury area. Any chance of getting together for a coffee?
WildE & ICRCC,
We are currently in Chicoutimi, QC. The North Ontario leg looks like it will start on the 28th or 29th of July. We will be heading on Hwy 117 North from Montreal. Departing Quebec near Rouyn-Noranda. Heading for Hwy 11.
I have just had a look at the map, again, Matheson, ON; we will travel through. How long is that from Timmins?? I prefer to stay near Hwy 11 if possible.
I will try to update again later today.
Mountainman.
July 28 or 29th is good. Hwy 117 take you through Kirkland Lake to HWY 11 at Kenogami. There is a great restaurant called the Kenogami Inn. It is on the lake and right on HWY 11 at the bridge over the Kenogami river. This would be a great place for me to meet you. I would need a little heads up because it is a little over an hour drive for me.
ICRCC,
That sounds good. I will try to PM you before we leave QC. Failing that, I will give you a call.
I am driving my Maroon 98 Tahoe with 2 bikes on the rear cargo carrier. I will give you more details of our arrival soon.
Mountainman.
Update 26 July 2012.
We are now camped near Drummondville, QC. The meeting with Denob is set for tomorrow. Nice to meet some like-minded folks while on this trip.
I have spotted some semi-permanent tents at this campground. I am off to get some photos. I will post after this trip what I think these tents would be good for.
Tomorrow Montreal and then North!!!
Cheers,
Mountainman.