Day 13 North Atlantic Air Museum
Since we missed the Air Museum the previous day Karen agreed that we could backtrack to Gander and visit the Mueseum. So we drove back to Gander. The Museum has a number of aircraft parked outside but all of them are in need of maintenance (paint and upkeep). The Expediter is painted in a ficticious RCAF colour scheme which bothers me. One surprise is the CF-101B aircraft actually has it's engines installed as well as the IR cone on it, normally they don't have engines and the IR cone is removed. That was a nice touch.
Inside the Museum is the story of the Gander Air Base being utilized as a point in the transfer of aircraft to Europe and return during WWII. Some nice displays but could be a lot better. I did enjoy the visit but it wasn't up to the standards I had hoped for. So back on the road to Bonavista.
Day 13 Gander to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse then Clarenville
We left the Museum and headed back whence we came towards Cape Bonavista and the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built between 1841 and 1843 and is now a Provincial Historic Site and Museum. Like always the drive took longer than expected especially after leaving the main highway. The trip to Cape Bonavista on the peninsula was interesting due to the varied topography and geology. It was a great day with sunshine and warm temperatures. The lighthouse appears on the horizon as you get close to it. A wonderful sight. The Province provides a good overview of the site at the museum and in the lighthouse proper, interpreters are available to explain what you are seeing and guide you to the top of the Lighthouse. The geology of the site is rough and rocky, a good example of the "Rock" with exposed sandstone, conglomerate and shale orinally deposted in river beds and salt water deltas.
After touring the site we left to head to our B&B in Clarenville, originally planning on taking the northern route back down the peninsula but deciding to save time by taking the same route back. The B&B in Clarenville was a museum onto itself. The owner/operator has the house filled with photos, household goods and momentos from her relatives over the years. She was a talker, like a lot of Newfoundlanders, and told us all about her family history and what was in the house. For our second to last night in Newfoundland this was another great stop.