After our long drive from Gros Morne National Park, Tom and I arrived at North Twillingate Island just before sunset. We found a perfect boondocking site just across the bridge from South Twillingate Island.
Boondocking in Twillingate
Tom and I had been driving most of the day and didn't actually expect to make it as far as Twillingate. So, when we arrived just before sunset, we were happy to find any decent spot to boondock. The place we found was perfect! It was in a dirt parking lot behind Stage Head Pub with beautiful views of the cove. We parked right along the water's edge where Aly could stretch out before her 5th nap of the day.
It happened to be intermission at the dinner theater across the bridge where our friends were seeing a show. They immediately recognized our rig and crazy dog. Before we knew it, we were all enjoying a drink on the deck of Stage Head Pub. The weather and views were great... until Tom's food arrived and the seagulls started dive-bombing us. After a near miss, we moved inside to enjoy the rest of the evening from the safety of an enclosed building.
While parked in town, we walked around and explored some of the shops. We loved our convenient boondocking site and intended to return the next night after visiting Long Point Lighthouse at the north end of the island.
You can view a few photos from our boondocking in the town of Twillingate on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
Visiting Long Point Lighthouse
After a relaxing morning at our beautiful boondocking site in Twillingate, Tom and I drove north to the end of Route 340 to visit the Long Point Lighthouse. We hiked trails near the lighthouse to see if from different viewpoints. It was perfect weather for viewing the beautiful cliffs and coves surrounding the lighthouse. Sunny and warm but a little breezy to keep it from being too hot.
Dogs are allowed on the trails and even in the museum but Tom preferred to take Aly on the trails while I toured the museum and the lighthouse. Along with my tour guide, I climbed 52 steps to the top of the lighthouse. That's not much of a climb but the closer we got to the top, the hotter and stuffier the air. I took a few pictures and was ready to get back down to cooler air. I walked through the museum exhibits and took some pictures but I didn't linger. A tour bus had just pulled up and the building was filling with people... too warm and stuffy on this beautiful day.
I rejoined Tom and Aly after they hiked the trails on the east side of the Lighthouse. From the lookouts on the west side of the lighthouse we could see many more hiking trails. Unlike the trails on the east side, these were less forested and presumably less buggy. Most insects only annoy Tom but they bite me... a lot! And, I was still recovering from my last round of black fly bites. But, I was willing to give it a try.
As we followed a trail down to Sleepy Cove, I hiked fast through a few lush areas to avoid the bugs. Once I reached the open areas near the cliffs, the breeze minimized the bugs and was very enjoyable. When we reached Sleepy Cove, we noticed a lot of people and campers near the water. It seemed to be a campground. We had excellent cell reception at that location, thanks to the cell town on the cliff with the lighthouse. With a quick look on iOverlander, Tom discovered that we were looking at an abondonded campground that is now used for boondocking. Excellent! We hiked back up to the lighthouse and drove our truck down the road a few minutes to our new boondocking site!
You can view a few photos from our visit to Long Point Lighthouse on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
Boondocking at Sea Breeze Park
Sea Breeze Park is, apparently, an abandoned campground. We didn't see any signs with the name but it's still listed in Google Maps. It seems that it couldn't have been abandoned for too long because the small cottages on site have relatively new paint. Before becoming a campground, this area was a copper mine. Some of the old equipment is still scattered throughout the park. It's a beautiful location with easy access to swim in Sleepy Cove and hike the surrounding trails. I would have loved to kayak there but the trail down to the cove was a bit steeper than we wanted for hauling the kayaks. It would have been doable but not fun... especially get them back up the hill.
You can view a few photos from our boondocking site at Sea Breeze park on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the image below.
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