Sheppardville to Deer Lake to Corner Brook, NL
Traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk
139 km
Clear skies, brief gusts of winds, warmed up to 19 ºC
“Do you know if there are any gas stations up ahead?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. Headed there for the first time myself.”
It started out as a gorgeous day, the highway was perfect as were the skies, the weather held all day. We were running low on water (or so I thought until we got to the first gas station) and unlike the usual enthuasiastic vehicle-inhabiting humans who honk their horns for support, this duo slowed down to ask me this question.
I’d often heard of Newfoundland as being this place with vast distances between gas stops. That a good practice is to carry some spare fuel in a jug in your trunk. They didn’t seem stranded on the highway, so I’m hoping they made it to their destination alright.
We had a terrifically long day, the weather suited us just fine, lots of uphills (a few right towards the end), plenty of downhills, and for the fourth time on this adventure have a roof over our heads. Days like today are the price we pay for moving along leisurely earlier but by the time we leave Corner Brook tomorrow, we’ll be slightly ahead of where we thought we’d be. It’ll come out in the wash by the end of the trip but for now, I’m celebrating with one of those mini-Nutella cups.
It was the warmest day so far and the first one in which I took off my long johns. Such freedom! There are objects of interest which I cannot explain like the cover image of this post.
We are a few days away from leaving this island, this first province, and there are so many corners and coasts which we’ve had to rush past. I’ve been asked a few times now about the scope of this project. It is, in the grand scheme of things, maybe even in the not so grand scheme of things, tiny. To consider yourself a masterful story-collector is presumptious at best, especially when you are young. If we can collect more than one sincere, authentic, local, untold, possibly hidden, tale every month, I’ll be exceedingly happy. So far, just like our geographical coordinates, we are ahead of schedule.
Going to miss this place and how widely all the drivers steer clear of us. Among other things.
