| Newfoundland 2003 |
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| Wednesday December 31, 2003 -- 11:30am We're on the road to St. John's - only about an hour behind schedule. I'll continue with our Flat Rock adventure... at least until I get too car sick to write. We turned off the road and made our way across a field and beyond the few little summer homes. We wandered around for a bit on the high hills, Aaron marvelling at the quad-friendly terrain, while I bit my tongue and refrained from ranting about subjects such as environmental destruction. |
| From up on the high hills, we could see paths below, and I decided we should follow them. We crawled down the steep, shale-covered hill and found our way to a narrow path. Soon we appeared to be on what used to be the road over there. We talked about what it must have been like to drive a cart and horse over it. I found sea urchin shells brought up by gulls and picked them apart, noticing how the green shells are decorated so finely and how they fit together like puzzle pieces so perfectly. |
| I followed the grass path until the grass got narrower and until it finally disappeared entirely, giving way to the loose shale. Above me towered the huge curve of "the big tolt." I discovered two huge chunks of quartz there, and then found that they contained crystals. Aaron and I spent a long time breaking up the larger chunks and collecting crystals. Aaron got a couple of really nice, large ones. I had less luck, but was also less aggressive in my hunt. I felt destructive, and a bit like a jewel thief. The strangest thing was that, deep inside the quartz chunks, I found bits of spider web, then, amazingly, little tiny live spiders! Aaron became hungry and restless, and I (although obsessed with the crystals) also knew it was time to go. So we made our way back up the big hill (ugh) and found a quad trail to follow back to the road. We were back home by 3:00. Aaron had a couple of bags of crab legs he got from his friend Sean, so they had those for supper, while I scavenged for deviled eggs and potato salad. Later, Mom, Dad, Dad Noel and I all drove out to Port de Grave to see the lights. |
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| Looking down the cliff into the ocean |
| One of the chunks of quartz, with a sea urchin shell for size reference. |