Killed time before 10:30 Mass at nearby Stephenville. A surprise- a fairly big town and the church was larger and more modern than any we've visited in the Maritimes before. They had a baptism of two baby girls, one of whom was awake and alert, seeming to enjoy the whole event. After church we found a "family restaurant" to get breakfast, but it was already lunchtime so we had burgers for breakfast. Only about 2 hours to Grand Codroy campground, same one we stayed at our first night in Nfld. We're dragging our feet. Would have taken the ferry to Nova Scotia tonight but couldn't get reservations until Monday night.
It was the third good weather day in a row, but tomorrow is expected to be rainy. So after setting up camp we took a bike ride along the Codroy River to its mouth and back the other side, just 17 miles. This river valley is the only place in Newfoundland where there has been extensive agriculture, but even here there is little now; a few hayfields and one dairy we saw. Good to get on the bike. Been a while, though there haven't been any good opportunities until today.
Raining this evening.
21 giant motor homes in an organized caravan pulled in to this campground about 7 p.m., presumably having arrived on the ferry this afternoon. Not my style, but I'm no one to denigrate someone else's fun.
This region looked wild when we arrived two weeks ago, but after what we've seen in the meantime, it looks pretty tame now. Newfoundland is still a sleepy province. Oil, hydro, road construction, and until recently iron ore, provide economic stimulus, but the jobs are far away. The surprise is that the little fishing towns have mostly survived. Cod fishing has been dead for over twenty years, but the fishermen have switched to other fisheries, and I think government welfare also helps them.
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