On Saturday, April 18th., Clayt and I went to Eastport to spend a couple of days at his cabin, more to relax than anything in the way of major hikes. Hikes are a bit difficult this time of the year, as you have to contend with melting snow, strong Northerly winds, and just not what we like when we go out into the country. However, on this Saturday the sun was out and quite warm, with only a light breeze. So, we (I should say Clayt) decided we would go for a short hike. "Where are we going Clayt" says I. "Oh maybe Louis Hills in Terra Nova National Park". I thought, here we go again, another strenuous hike, up to our knees in wet snow, he sure likes to put me to the test. Anyway, I got a lunch together, and off we go. We passed the parking lot at Louis Hills and continued to the Trans Canada Highway and turned East. Ah, I thought, it will be an easy hike after all as I figured we would be going to Southwest Brook. We passed South West Brook, and now I was getting anxious to know where we were headed. "Clayt, where are we going" I asked. He replied "to the Blue Hills". I just about fainted, Louis Hills is only a child's hike compared to the Blue Hills. In the early years of Terra Nova National Park, there was a forest fire lookout tower at the top of Blue Hills. As a matter of fact, several years ago, Clayt and I hiked to the top and then climbed the ladder to the top of the tower. The view was spectacular. We had lunch there and was a most memorable one. We arrived at the entrance road to Blue Hills and the gate was across, so we had to hike. There was snow on the road, which didn't interfere with walking too bad, but you had to pick your way. As we started up, I knew that I was not dressed for such a hike, too much clothes. About a quarter of the way, Clayt, who somehow loves to be on a hill, spotted a small hill off to our left, and indicated it would be a good place to stop and have lunch. After travelling through some brush and bog, we climbed the hill and found a nice spot to have lunch. Lunch is always an important part of our hikes. There we sat, boiled the kettle for tea, and admired the beauty of nature, such as it was, around us. After lunch we returned to the cabin in Eastport. The picture below shows Clayt enjoying the moment
with the Blue Hills in the background.
Along the Clarenville Christmas parade route, we meet a lovely family, three beautiful kids, two Moms, and as a bonus, a grandmother, all enjoying the Christmas Parade, and attracted to the Gander Shrine Clubs mini-cars and bikes. Driving the car in the following paicture is Noble Aubrey Cooper and the Biker is Noble Geoff Tucker. The Gander Shrine Club participated in two parades that day, Clarenville at 10:00 a.m. and Gander at 6:00 p.m., making for a very long day. 
Noble Ralph Miller and his airplane ready for flight 
Noble Ev Green very much happier to have his
boiled in a pot with salt meat.....so good!
The day turned out to be also great for picture taking and below is a picture of Barb standing on one of the lookouts which provides a great view of the community and the coast. Other pictures shows a community plaque outlining the history of Greenspond, and the historic courthouse which was built in 1899. This community is worth the visit. We did get some lobsters, by taking a side trip to Eastport and then headed for home to put them in the pot. Boy! Some good.
. Ah "some good boy"! 
with the Blue Hills in the background.
for 2008. Noble Ev was cited for his long term commitment to the Shrine organization in promoting Shriners activities, and in particular his efforts in fund raising for the Shriners Childrens Hospitals for the care of burnt and crippled children. Noble Ev has been dedicated to his own Gander Shrine Club in twice taking on the roll of President. He has participated in all aspects of growing the membership of the Gander Shrine Club and support for the James Paton Memorial Hospital Shriners Outreach Clinic in Gander.
of the old Newfoundland Railway train, dubbed the "Newfie Bullet", because of the narrow gage track that it ran on, meant that the train had to travel at slower speeds than the standard gage track. In the background is the residence of the "Human Wind Gage", Lockie McDougal, who lived at "Wreckhouse" which was known for winds high enough to blow trains of the track. McDougal advised the Railway when it was too windy to pass through the Wreckhouse area. Also in the background are the beautiful Table Mountains, which of course helped to generate the high winds. This mural can be found on the Railway exhibit building in Port Aux Basques. 
