We have recently
returned from a fun weekend in St John's as we had tickets for a
Buddy Wassisname concert. We bought a tape of their music during our
first visit to Newfoundland in 1997 and have enjoyed their music ever
since. The trip there was fine but we had a very 'interesting'
journey home.
We left Dunfield at
around 7.30 am on a bright sunny morning although it was a tad
chilly, at -12 degrees. It got colder as we moved east with the
thermometer in the car showing an outside temp of -23! yes that's a
minus sign in front of the number! The roads were clear of both snow
and traffic and while the fir trees were laden down with snow the
bare branches of the deciduous trees were heavily laden with ice and
when the sunlight hit them they sparkled and twinkled as if they were
lit with flashing LED lights. The frozen ponds and lakes also looked
like they were sprinkled with diamonds. It was so beautiful!
We arrived in St John's
and did the few chores we had to do and then checked into our
accommodation for the evening. While we had been driving down the
radio had been giving regular weather updates and a big storm was due
to cross the east coast of Newfoundland over night bringing strong
winds and blizzard conditions. We checked with our landlady to see if
the flat was available should we need to stay another night, luckily
it was so we had a fall-back position if we needed to stay. Most
modern Canadian houses have huge basements, the same size as the
house but partially submerged. They have windows at ground level
which let in light and are above head height from inside. Many people
convert their basements into family rooms or in this case self
contained accommodation. We had a very nice queen bed room, bathroom
with bath and shower, fully equipped kitchen and lounge with leather
sofa and big TV and Wi-Fi. All this for $70 a night, much cheaper
than a 2 star hotel and far more comfy!
When it looked like we
may have to stay another night because of weather we popped into the
supermarket for emergency supplies. Then it was time to head off to
the Buddy Wasisname concert. It was held in a local ice rink called
the Mount Pearl Glacier.
 |
| Buddy Wasisname and the other fellas...and us. |
We had a wonderful time enjoying traditional
Newfie folk music, jigs and comedy songs. We laughed all through the
2 hour show, then afterward we were able to meet with the fellas and
have a chat. They were amazed we had come so far to see them! We left
the Glacier wondering if we would be able to drive home, the wind was
certainly up and blowing loose snow across the streets, but we made
it back safe and sound.
Next morning there was
a blizzard warning out and the radio was telling everyone to stay
home! We treated it as if we were heading out on an ocean trip, Alan
even got GRIB files down to check the weather which clearly showed a
big storm cell off the east coast with very strong winds. Eventually
after some umming and aahing we decided to try it and see, knowing we
could come back if it was too bad. We left about 11 am on Saturday
morning and St John's was like a ghost town! Our hosts had dug the
car out for us (even though we had thought to bring the snow shovel
with us!) we inched our way on to the main road. The wind was very
strong and blowing snow everywhere, although no fresh snow was
falling. There were snow drifts about 10 feet high on either side of
the streets from 2 previous storms and where the snow plough had
cleared the roads earlier. We nearly turned back trying to get onto
the Trans Canada highway as there was a steep ramp covered in snow
and vehicles were struggling to get up and going sideways! All we had
to do was get down though, and we decided gravity would help with
that so we went for it! Once on the highway the road was mainly
clear, although strong winds would send swirling snow across the
highway especially in the open stretches of road. If it had been
snowing, visibility would have been zero.
We made it to
Clarenville OK in slower than usual time but then it was time to get
off the highway and the country roads were not as good. They were
covered in snow and ice so we dropped the speed and crept along very
sedately.
 |
| You can see the snow being blown across the road |
The wind was picking up and by the time we made it to
Dunfield it was blowing about 50 knots and light snow was falling so
we had made it back just in time. We were very glad we had the snow
shovel in the car as snow had drifted halfway up across the front
door and we had to dig our way back in!
We have stayed snuggled
warm and toasty indoors watching the exciting weather in comfort.
 |
| He like lying on his side! |
We are being storm
bashed and very glad we don't have to go anywhere. There is huge surf
and big rollers crashing on our beach as the winds are out of the
east. It has got warmer and is now 3-4 degrees positive! This has
brought rain rather than snow and so much of it is melting and
turning to slush.
A large seal lolloped
ashore this morning, so graceful in the water, so ungainly on land,
so Alan braved the weather to take photos. I think he just wanted a
break from the rough seas:) (the seal, not Alan). It's is the only
living thing we have seen for days!
We
may venture out tomorrow for supplies.
