I mentioned that we were sleeping at Tim Hortons last night, and it worked out perfectly. That’s the great thing about a VW Westfalia… the small footprint lets you stop just about anywhere. Since this Tim’s was open 24 hours, we didn’t expect to encounter any issues, and we didn’t.
Morning
We had a long day of driving ahead of us, so it was all hands on deck. Gros Morne was nearly 4 hours away, and considering that we only drive 90kph, we would need that full 4 hours, plus time for breaks. But first, a breakfast of oatmeal with dates.
Meeting again at Canadian Tire Gas+
On the way, to St. John’s, we stopped for a night in Grand Falls-Windsor and got some water from the nice people at the local Canadian Tire gas station. We needed gas on our way back to the ferry, so we again stopped at the same gas station. We actually wanted to find a station along the highway, but Google was telling us that the nearest station was the Canadian Tire one.
The wife was working on her own today, and we chatted about our time in St. John’s. Her and her husband are such nice people. If you need gas anywhere near Grand Falls-Windsor, make sure to stop by the Canadian Tire gas station across from the Walmart.
She even gave Ethan a bag of candy as a parting gift.
Afternoon
The rest of the day was spent on the road, getting out to Gros Morne. Throughout this long drive, Ethan was very good. It’s not easy for anyone to drive long distances without many breaks, so we’re proud of him for handling the drive like a champ.
The drive was a very windy one, as the weather was shifting between sun, clouds, showers and strong winds. When we finally arrived in Gros Morne, it reminded us of driving up to Whistler along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. It was certainly nice, though.
Another van from BC… via China!
At one of the scenic view points, we noticed a minivan with BC plates. We were more surprised to find out it was an old retired couple from China who had rented the van in BC. They drove up to Fairbanks, Alaska(!), across the Yukon, then all the way out to St. John’s, NL.
They told us they’ve driven over 13,000km and that they did a 32 state trip across the US last year. They also mentioned how they sleep in the van for a few days, then check into a motel for a night. We were so impressed by their stamina, enthusiasm for travel and how nice they were. We’ve gotten an invitation to visit them in China.
We also managed to find another set of the Canada 150 red chairs that Juju Jr. could even get close to.
One final stop at Lobster Cove Lighthouse and we had to head toward Port Aux Basque and the ferry terminal.
Evening
This was probably the most difficult drive, so far, as the wind was quite horrendous. Along the way, the full moon was quite a sight because there is so little light pollution out in the middle of Newfoundland. We enjoyed the somewhat clear skies while they lasted because it soon got very dark.
And we were running low on gas.
The distances between gas stations is rather far. We planned on stopping for the night in Corner Brook at the Walmart, but decided to keep going because we could see on Google Maps that there were a few gas stations along the way. We also thought we could stop at another 24hr Tim Hortons.
We were wrong about the gas stations.
The stations on Google Maps didn’t exist. One had recently closed down, and another was simply a bunch of trees along the highway. Not good. Our last chance for gas was an Irwin station we stopped at on our way from the ferry when we first got to Newfoundland.
Unfortunately, it was CLOSED!
I saw lights on and people still inside so I went and asked if we could buy some gas. We had less than a quarter tank left and I didn’t feel confident that we could make it the 94km to Port Aux Basques and the Tim Hortons there.
Luckily, the manager was kind and let us fuel up. They had just closed a few minutes before we arrived and were finishing their paperwork before heading home. Whew!
We decided to make dinner here before driving the rest of the way. It would be at least 10:30pm before we could get to Tim Hortons, so food was necessary.
No ferry service
I called the ferry company, Marine Atlantic, to ask about reservations for Saturday morning. I was told that due to high winds, there was a possibility the sailing would be canceled. Unfortunately, it was and we had to book a Saturday evening ferry, instead.
But we still needed to make it to Tim Hortons to camp for the night, so it was back on the road.
Fog… A lot of fog
With gas to make the trip to Tim Hortons and full bellies, we were feeling pretty good… until we encountered fog. We were following a semi-truck and letting it lead the way, but soon after, the fog became so thick that I couldn’t see more than 6 or 7 feet in front of the van.
That meant I had to drive about 40kph because it was pitch black and we had been warned many times about moose. Luckily, there weren’t any moose, and after about 20 minutes, the fog cleared and we were back at full speed.
Thankfully, we arrived safely at Tim Hortons and were able to camp for the night. There is still a chance the Saturday night ferry will be cancelled, so we’ll have to see what happens in the morning.
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