International Peace Gardens

The International Peace Gardens straddle the border between the United States and Canada between North Dakota and Manitoba.

 It was dedicated in 1932: TO GOD IN HIS GLORY, we two nations dedicate this garden and pledge ourselves that as long as men shall live, we will not take up arms against one another.

The Civilian Conservation Corps did most of the early construction.

There are 2300 acres to explore. We started our exploration on the Canadian side which is forested with water features and more natural in nature, taking the loop twice during our visit. In some ways I preferred the wild areas with the trees and birds.  However, the formal gardens are beautiful and I enjoyed walking around to see everything.

We saw an immature northern flicker as well as adult northern flickers.  We tried to stop for every bird and I enjoyed seeing birds near our picnic table at lunchtime.

Around the formal garden ponds there were many Northern Leopard Frogs.

The Interpretive Center and Conservatory had a good gift shop, restaurant as well as cactus and succulents from around the world.

The formal gardens were a delight to explore.   I talked to someone who visits every year. He told me the plantings are unique every year. He also told me that the Peace Towers in the background of the first photo have deteriorated and will be removed at some point.

I could not leave without stopping to photograph the floral clock. We spent half our day here and considered it well spent.

Cape Spear Light

Cape Spear in Newfoundland is considered the most eastern point in North America.   At night you can look across the bay and see the lights of the capital city,  St. John.

The tall lighthouse on Cape Spear was built in 1955 and uses the dioptric lens from the original.

The original lighthouse began operation in 1836 in this small square building.  It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador. A stone light tower was built inside to support the lantern room in 1850 after a storm lifted one side of the lighthouse several inches off the foundation. The original light came from a lighthouse from Scotland and used seven Argand burners with curved reflectors. The lamps and reflectors were on a metal frame which rotated to produce 17-second flash of light followed by 43 seconds of darkness.   The first fuel was sperm whale oil and seal oil, acetylene in 1916 and eventually electricity in 1930.  The original curved reflectors were replaced by a dioptric lens system in 1912.  A foghorn was added in 1878.

This was the second lighthouse in Newfoundland.  The first light was placed at Fort Amherst, the entrance to St. John's harbor in 1810.

Today, the interior has been restored to the period of 1839 and is open to the public, giving visitors a glimpse of the life of a light keeper.  Generations of the Cantwell family lived and worked at Cape Spear for over 150 years, maintaining this vital light for the mariners. A detailed history of the Cantwell family and the Cape Spear Light can be found at the Lighthouse Friends website.

I loved the parlor. I can really image the lightkeeper and his family spending time here.

The flag room housed the marine signal flags, an easy and universal way for ships and lighthouses to communicate important messages. 

Cape Spear is also a great place to watch for birds and whales.  During the summer, it is possible to see shearwaters such as Manx shearwater, Sooty shearwater, and Greater shearwater which are usually only seen far out at sea.  Other bird species such as murres, razorbills, skuas, and jaegers may be seen as well. While the humpback whale is the most commonly sighted whale, minke and fin whales are also seen.  Other marine mammals such as beaked dolphins, porpoises, harbor seals, and otters have also been spotted.

The Arches Provincial Park

August 20, 2009

As we headed south from St. Anthony, we came across this small provincial park.  Lighting wasn't great with the cloud covered, sunless sky. I shot for HDR hoping I could create a good memory photo since I knew we couldn't stay around this location long enough to get a sunrise or sunset setting. 

While the main attraction is this wonderful set of sea arches, the rest of the beach is also lovely.  

These wind sculpted, dead trees tell the story of strong winds and a harsh climate.

Newfoundland's Crown Land

I was fascinated by the small gardens that we saw along the roads in northern Newfoundland. These gardens were not next to someone's house our field, rather they were right next to the road. When I asked local people, it turns out that the best soil for gardens is where soil was brought in to build the roads. This land is "crown land," land owned by federal or provincial governments. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia only 11% of Canada's land is in private hands, 41% is federal crown land and 48% is provincial crown land. Newfoundland has the highest percentage of crown land with 95% being owned by the government. Among the permitted uses in northern Newfoundland are these gardens that provide needed produce during the short growing season.



Picturesque and well kept, the primary crop seems to be potatoes, but some of the larger plots had a mix of garden vegetables. In a place where it is not easy to get fresh produce, these gardens are an important part of the food supply here.

There also seems to be a certain amount of wood gathering permitted.

I suspect that it takes a lot of hard work to live in northern Newfoundland, but I really appreciate a lifestyle that manages to find ways to live off the land using the resources available-fish, wood, native berries, and these lovely gardens.

L'Anse Amour Historic Site and Point Amour LIghthouse

As we travelled south along the coast of Labrador, we had seen the L'Anse Amour historic site on the map. Since I am really interested in early man sites, this one captured my attention because it dates to 7500 years ago. As with many early man sites, there is not a lot to see - this was a special burial mound of an adolescent boy - special because there seems to have much ceremony related with the burial: The body was buried in a deep and wide pit, fires burned, food was cooked and weapons and tools were placed as offerings in the grave. A large stone was placed on the boy's back and a large mound of rocks were placed over the grave. The archaeologists believe that the elaborate detail of this burial means that this young man either had a special role or association with the tribe or there was something significant about his death. The site has been excavated and the human remains have been removed. Since the grave has been reconstructed, it loses a little of its historical sense for me - I always marvel when I see things still remaining from human activity so long ago.

I also knew I had a light house to enjoy - the Point Amour Lighthouse.

It was an overcast afternoon, and it looked like there was an event going on in one of the buildings. Lighthouses always need electricity so I explored trying to find a camera angle to minimize the distracting wires. As I was photographing I heard a noise coming from the sea, a harumph! I glanced over and a minke whale was feeding just off the shoreline, gracefully surfacing to breath. I was shooting with my landscape lens, so I didn't try to photograph the whale. Instead, I just enjoyed the magic of the moment, the quiet evening, the peaceful sea, and the amazing whale as it moved off into the distance.



I came back the next morning. The clouds were still covering the sky, but the light and clouds were still different than the evening before. While the whale was no longer hanging around, this lighthouse is still a peaceful and beautiful place to sit and enjoy the beauty around you.

Crab Pots

One of the main industries and certainly the oldest industry in Labrador is fishing.

I wanted to see what I could do artistically with these crab pots that we were seeing so frequently.



I was hoping to capture both texture and abstract ideas.



The colors are subtle, including the rusty frame.



And I was also trying to find views that would work as marine still lifes.



For many reasons, the fishermen in Labrador and Newfoundland face difficult challenges - declining catches, over fishing, fishing from foreign nations, and recession caused slower demand. I suspect that being a fisherman has always been a physically demanding profession, but for many reasons, I hope that the small fishermen in this area can find a way to continue this traditional way of life.

Bakeapples!

We had noticed a number of cars parked along the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. There were usually no people in sight. We wondered about it, but couldn't think of a good explanation. As we were enjoying our picnic lunch, we saw a lady coming back to her car carrying a plastic container and wearing high topped water proof boots. It was bakeapple season! And she was gracious enough even in a year that was not a good crop of bakeapples to give us a sample. She warned us that they were better with sugar. As we travelled through Labrador and Newfoundland, I took every opportunity to try bakeapples - bakeapple sunday, bakeapple cobbler, and bakeapple jam.

Bakeapples are orange berries in the bramble family (raspberries, blackberries) that grow in bogs, coastal marshes, and moors in far northern climates. In Scandinavia they are known as cloudberries. They grow in the Nordic countries, a few places in the moors of Britain and Ireland, Canada, Alaska, northern Minnesota, New Hampshire, Main and even a few on Long Island, New York. They don't propagate well, so if you don't live near an area where they grow wild, you are not likely to run across them. They require both male and female plants to create the berries from the blooms.

One source said they only produce one berry per plant which would certainly make them harder to get outside their growing areas.

We found them to be mild in flavor, slightly tart. We enjoyed them wild and fresh, but we also enjoyed the ice cream sauces, the jellies, and the baked products.

The Dark Tickle Company carries bakeapple jam that can be ordered and shipped. $15.00 is the minimum shipping charge for up to $25.00 worth of jam.

I brought home some small jars of jelly and jam for some of my friends, but I put them in a "safe" place. I can hardly wait till they come out of hiding so I can pass them around.

South from Cartwright

While there was a long string of cars leaving the ferry at the beginning of the road south from Cartwright, everyone travelled at their own rate. We were not in a big hurry, so before long we had the road to ourselves. I loved the local greeting!



This fish trap reminded me of one's we had seen on our Alaska trip.



This stretch of road is dotted with small fishing villages to visit. I was amazed at the ingenuity and use of local materials. Note the wooden platform boat ramp. We did not see much concrete up here.



I was fascinate by the nets hanging out to dry.



We were on the Islands and Coves loop. We saw these wooden sleds everywhere. So much of the land is "crown" land. People are allowed to cut wood on crown land and they leave the piles of wood, properly labeled, near where it is cut. Then in the winter, they make runs with these sleds to bring wood back home.



The small fishing villages are just so photogenic! I love the beautiful white frame houses and the small communities.



This is Fox Harbor Labrador.



We were thrilled to see an iceberg in the bay.

Ferry - Happy Valley/Goose Bay to Cartwright

I love ferries! We've ridden short ones and long ones. I love being outside on the open water seeing what there is to see!

The weather was nice and mild as we left the harbor, so except for dinner time, I spent the rest of the daylight hours on the deck enjoying the clouds, the rainbow, and the sunset.

As we left the doc, the sun was peaking out behind some clouds above the horizon.



The clouds in front of the boat were also beautiful. I was taking photos in almost every direction.



When this rainbow first began to form it was very faint and very small. Henry and I were even debating whether it was really a rainbo



While it stayed small for awhile, it began to grow until it became this beautiful wide arc!



I love the tranquility of being aboard a ship at sunset. No chores are staring you in the face demanding attention. You are free to enjoy the salt air, the beautiful clouds, the vibrant colors as the sun sinks below the horizon - an ever changing scene. My camera stayed glued to my eye as a I tried to capture the beauty I was seeing.



Even after the sun had left the sky, the clouds were still mesmerizing. Henry pointed out this "angel."



As a Texas gal, I was glad to see the road runner in the sky!



We were pleasantly surprised to find that the ferry had wireless internet. I had started playing Farmville on this trip, and it was nice to be able to havest my "crops" before they withered.

We had checked on the possibilities for accommodations. There were 2 and 4 people cabins. While there was a four person one available where we would have both had a lower bunk, I thought it was too expensive. So we chose the dormitory style bunks. Each of these "dormitory rooms" slept 16 people in plywood bunks with mattresses and curtains. There was even a light above your bunk for reading. While some people might find the small cozy bunks claustrophobic, I only spent time there sleeping, so it was fine for me. Henry stayed up much later enjoying being out on the deck looking at the stars. He visited with one gentleman who was taking the ferry to see his village one last time before the ferry service ends. When Henry got back to the dorm room, the lights were out, and he chose not to climb up into a bunk in the dark - sleeping instead on one of the sleeping chairs in one of the lounges surrounded by other passengers who had chosen to sleep there.

It was a calm passage and morning came quickly.

Canada's North Woods

The road through northern Quebec and Labrador goes through some really pretty boreal forests with bogs, ponds, and streams. As a photographer on a road trip, I found myself frustrated because I was seeing pretty landscapes, but under dull gray skies and unfavorable lighting. We weren't in our camper and there were not many places to stay even if we had had time to linger in this wilderness. But I found myself wanting to capture this subtle beauty with my camera.

I took this first shot more as a memory photo. I suspect it was handheld (if you look close, it slightly motion blurred). The setting was pretty, but the lighting not favorable. But I wanted memory photos if nothing else. I actually think this is at Gagnon, a town that ceased to exist. All that is left are some paved roads, an island dividing the road into four lanes, curbs, sidwalks, and parking lots. The buildings are long gone. Considering that the road is gravel before and after Gagnon, it really makes you wonder what happened. When we got back to Texas, we googled Gagnon and discovered that when the nearby mine shut down, the town was dismantled. In retrospect, I should have taken more pictures around Gagnon, lighting or no lighting, because it was interesting and poignant.



As we neared Churchill Falls late in the afternoon, the sky cleared and I knew I had a chance to get some photographs. We got our accomodations taken care of and headed back along the road where I had seen some ponds that might make good reflecting pools for the sunset.

I could tell that the scene was going to difficult to capture the beauty I was seeing. Straight photography would make me choose between the delicately colored sky and the details in the forest and the pool.



So i carefully shot for HDR - shooting sequences of three or more exposures to capture the beautiful delicate colors in the sky and the beauty of the pond. In post processing I needed to go beyond the Photomatics and Photoshop's high dynamic range mreges, because there was a breeze and the combined images had blurred tamarack trees. By choosing an exposure that was close, I could go in, select trees that were not motion blurred and place them where they belonged in the composition, giving me a scene that was true to what I had seen, but what straight photography couldn't produce.



Finding another possibility in this group of ponds, ordinary photography with one exposure produced this:



Shooting multiple exposures, combining them, some artistic filters from Topaz produced an image much more like what my eye enjoyed.




I was so pleased when we woke up to sunny skies. I finally had an opportunity to capture the feel of northern Canada with this shot at Ozzie's Brook, east of Churchill Falls.