Day 74
It turns out that Stephenville was the site of the U.S. Harmon Air Force Base from about 1940 to 1965. It seems that half the towns buildings are the former base’s buildings, including the former Harmon Theater where we saw the play last night. The guard house to enter the base is still there (see photo). The runway there is 10,000 feet long and was an alternate landing site for the space shuttle, not Gander as I earlier believed. We hiked the Fossil Trees of Blanche Brook Trail to view the 300 million year old petrified trees that have been re-exposed by the natural erosion of Blanche Brook. The trail was poorly marked or maintained but we did manage to see 2 of the fossils. Next we hiked the Gravels Walking Trail in nearby Port au Port. The coastal trail passes several small coves with hoodoo formations. The scenery was fantastic as was the trail which took us an hour and a half. Back to the coach and we departed Stephenville continuing our southward journey. We drove to Upper Ferry and did the Wetlands Trail in the Codroy Valley. The trail advertises many water fowl and other birds. We saw a disappointing 2 birds, a robin and a nuthatch. Continued south and found a pullout at a lovely spot just before 6:00. A perfect place for dinner and an overnight - with beautiful views of the Long Mountain Range on the east and the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the west. After dinner we took a hike and watched a beautiful sunset during which the realization that we will miss this place when we depart in only a couple of days.
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