Gander, Newfoundland

July 5, 2017  Wednesday

We took our time enjoying the morning before getting underway and traveling to Gander.  It is a little foggy out and cold.  We left mid-morning and got back on the road.  Before long we were on the TCH 1 heading west.  This is the only big highway on the island and is mostly only two lanes.  Since the hills are big those usually have climbing lanes.  At one point we were in our one lane going down a hill when all of a sudden a big 18-wheeler comes roaring past us using the passing lane for the on-coming traffic to pass us.  That’s the craziest thing we’ve seen on the road here.  It helps that there is not that much traffic.  We did also run into construction on the road right near a provincial park I thought about visiting.  So happy we didn’t try to maneuver around all that.

We did finally make it to Gander and got to the campground just fine.  It’s located on the northside of the town just off the road we will take north on Friday.  The campground is the Country Inn RV Park and Cabins.  It is pothole heaven.  Nothing but slow here.  We had a campsite right near the pavilion and picnic area.  It’s pretty popular as it’s the only campground near here.  There is a bird in the trees near our site which has a strange call.  Never heard anything like it.  That bird calls all day long!

Once set up we drove into town and found the Visitor’s Center.  The young woman working there was very sweet and very helpful.  She gave us a map and showed us a few things to see.  We went down the road to The North Atlantic Aviation Museum.  It’s just a little building with a couple of old planes sitting outside.  I thought it would be some huge thing but I was wrong.  All the exhibits are in one big room.  There was lots of history about how Gander was settled.  It all revolved around the need for an airport.  There was a need for a location for refueling aircraft which did not have the ability to fly transatlantic.  The first scheduled landing of aircraft was in 1938.  Gander’s international airport is also known as the airport which landed many jets when all flights were grounded and no aircraft was allowed in US airspace on September 11, 2001.  The town’s population increased about 6,500 once all the jets had landed.  All the passengers and crews were taken care of by the people of Gander until all flights into the US were again allowed.  In the Aviation Museum there is a great exhibit on September 11^th with audio of controllers and pilots transmissions on that day.  There is also a board posting many letters from US citizens and US school children thanking the people of Gander for their kindness and hospitality at that time.  From the museum we drove to the airport and went inside.  It’s very small and a few arrivals and departures that day.

For dinner we went to Bistro on Roe.  I found it recommended on Trip Advisor so we thought it would be good.  It is a very nice restaurant...white table cloths and such.  I had pork tenderloin with carrots, parsnips, spinach and kale served along with fingerling potatoes.  Delicious!!

With a full stomach and tired feet we decided to end the day.  Don’t know what’s left to see tomorrow but we will figure it out in the morning.