24 August 2019, Saturday

Again it rains most of the night. By morning it’s looking like the clouds are undecided as to whether to rain some more or clear out. The weather report is promising sun. While we are waiting for the clouds to make a decision, we drive to Woody Point again. It’s a small community on the shore of the South Arm of Bonne Bay. On yesterday’s advice from the warden we are seeking out the studio of Christine Koch (pronounced K-‘long O’-S-H.) She creates beautiful prints with northern themes, particularly of the area around Gros Morne. She has also been a guest artist on scientific expeditions to Torngat and on ice cutters.

Christine shows us how she creates her prints and asks about our travels. When she hears that O is interested in geology she calls her husband, Greg who is a geologist, to join the conversation. Greg gives O lots of suggestions about texts, places to see and where to find samples of mantle rock outside park boundaries. He also suggests we do the zodiac tour of Trout River Pond. There is a point on the tour where you can actually see the Moho, the boundary between mantle and crust.

Chris and Greg suggest boardwalked path above Woody Point that traverses a bog as an easy hike for a recovering broken ankle. They point out we may find the rocks O is seeking along the way. We say goodby to Christine and Greg and thank them for all the information. I pick up one of Chris’ brochures. We might want to order one or two of her prints when we get home.

We drive down the road to a spot where O thinks he might be able to access tableland rocks. Before stopping here, we pause at the shore and watch Caspian Terns fishing. Another bird to add to our life list. I stay with Vincent to read while O seeks his mantle rocks so as not to slow him down. He returns after a bit with a chunk of mantle rock, a few pieces of serpentinite, and a smile. Then we drive up to the high school where the bog walk begins. The clouds have cleared for the most part and a fresh breeze blows. The path is lovely. As we walk we pass many of our bog flower friends – cinquefoil, bottlebrush, fields of pitcher plants (we’ve never seen so many together in one spot), tamarack, butterwort and sweet gale. We also find more specimens of mantle rock (peridotite) and serpentinite.

By the time we finish our walk it’s past our dinner time so we head into Woody Point to The Old Loft Restaurant where we enjoy a delicious meal of fresh cod. We finally get a chance to see the view from the lookout near Trout River Pond campground on our way back to camp.