Newfoundland Day 1 - Signal Hill

 Taking a little break from last winters travels to bring you our most recent adventure.  2 weeks in Newfoundland.  If you are fond of rugged beauty, very few tourists, great food and local bubbly and friendly people, Newfoundland is a must visit.  The main problem is getting there.  It's basically a full day of travel, lots of sitting on planes and waiting in airports but the destination was more than worth it. 

We left Winnipeg airport Wednesday Aug 9 just before noon and arrived in St. John's at 9:30 local time with a short layover in Toronto.  The flight was uneventful which is just what we wanted.  We have not been on a plane for 17 years and Lori doesn't fly well.  Invariably her ears get plugged and often leads to a sinus infection.  No sinus infection this time however the usual plugged ears that took about a week to clear up.  No turbulence though so at least the nerves weren't frayed. 

Toronto Airport.  Don and Debbie, our travel companions, and Lori relaxing before boarding the flight to St. John's.

  After the horror stories about Pearson Airport and lost luggage from last summer we all took carry-ons, so no checked luggage to worry about.  We had rented houses through AirBnB and they all had laundry facilities. 

After checking in to our first home we headed over to Boston Pizza for a late meal and a little planning for the next day.  The weather forecast wasn't great but we needed to get some groceries and between rain showers planned to see some local attractions.

The next morning we went to the Bagel Cafe for brunch and loaded up on enough carbs to keep us going for the day.  First stop was The Rooms which is a museum that shows the history of Newfoundland and Labrador.  It has more information than we could absorb but is a great place to start off a trip.  Next up was a visit to Signal Hill Historic National Park which provided great views of St. John's, the harbour and a lighthouse at the harbours entrance.  While we didn't get much rain the fog kept rolling in and out and we went from some blue skies to zero visibility over and over again.  

A shot of downtown St John's from atop Signal Hill.
Lots of beautiful churches which I never really got a chance to shoot. 
The pink building on the left is The Rooms Museum. 

Protection for the harbour

Lori, Deb and Don lost in the fog

Shots of the harbour between fog banks rolling in and out. 

A couple shots of Cabot Tower which sits atop Beacon Hill. 
This is the location where Marconi received the first
transatlantic wireless message. 

Fort Amherst lighthouse across the inlet leading into St John's harbour

It was mostly shrouded in fog but occasionally it cleared up  

St John's harbour. 

  We left Signal Hill and headed over to Battery road to check out some of the colourful houses which we found out was common throughout Newfoundland.  Then it was back to our house to get ready for our boat tour the next day.  

I took about 2900 pictures so I will try to grind through them over the next week or 2.  Lots of Puffins pics coming.    

Chasing the snow on Bush Highway

What was a colder and wetter than normal Arizona winter brought a few snowfalls to the mountains.  We took a drive over to bush highway to catch some white stuff on the mountains 

I tried focus stacking for the first time on a few of these shots and not really happy with the way they turned out.  My technique and the software I'm using could both be at fault.  Will keep at it.  

Off for a few weeks as we fly east to get screeched-in.  First time that far east and really looking forward to it.  Catch you later. 

Bulldog Saddle Hike

 A few shots from the Bulldog Saddle hike with our new neighbours who happen to be from Winnipeg. 

Lori, Margo and Gary

Great view from the saddle

A field of poppies planted in an empty lot.  
The owner often parks old vehicles in the midst of the poppies
which gets lots of artists stopping to paint the scene.

BTA - Flowers & Hummingbirds

 A few up close and personal pictures of flowers and hummingbirds from Boyce Thompson Arboretum before moving on to other locations. 

Rose garden is almost done by the time we get to BTA
Just a few buds left

Reminds me of Mickey Mouse ears. 

Cardinals at BTA

Probably my best Cardinal shooting day ever.  I didn't get any in flight as they are just so darn fast but they sat nice and pretty for me.

Still have a few hummingbird and flower shots before moving on from Boyce Thompson Arboretum. 

Jumping forward to current events.  We are one week away from our departure for Newfoundland.  We are both pretty well packed and are checking out the weather.  I sold one of my old lenses and bought a new one.  A Tamron 50-400mm which should be a great travel lens and Im hoping for some closeups of some wildlife and perhaps an iceberg or two.  

Things keep cropping up though.  I was playing pickle ball a few weeks ago and then spent 8 hours in emergency.  Turns out I have a hernia.  Can still do most stuff.  I just have to be careful. I'm on a list for surgery but who knows how long that will take.

Lori has been having a problem with one of her teeth.  X-Rays at her dentist weren't conclusive so she had a CT Scan and is now scheduled for a root canal tomorrow.

I think we are just going to stay indoors and wrap ourselves in bubble wrap until our departure.  

BTA Fall Foliage Nov 30/22

 Boyce Thompson Arboretum is one of our favourite places and almost every year we have purchased memberships.  It's only a 20 minute drive from our resort and a great place for bird watching (more on that in a later blog) and catching the changing seasons.

There are only a few places to get some really good shots of the fall colours.  One is Arnett Canyon which is just down the road and the other is BTA.

Lori and Sue standing guard on the suspension bridge

Gecko out sunbathing

An oasis in the desert

Hiking buds

Perfect spot for a picnic

That's it for the fall colours. Next up are some shots of Cardinals.