About halfway I was approached by an elderly chap who was waiting on the side of the track. Turned out he was Ralph Hilliard, a friend of Phil Taylor who sold Lady to me. He lived nearby in Cape Anguille, and had come specially down to the rail bed to search us out....(photo to follow)
In Doyles I was being hosted by the Osmonds, not the Salt Lake City crowd but Carol's parents Harvey and Shirley. A warm welcome awaited me, though my heart sank slightly when I saw the beautiful lawn where Lady was to be tethered, and I hoped she would not inflict too much damage pacing around. We had an entertaining diversion when the neighbours called to say that Lady had escaped and was in the garden opposite - the reason soon became clear!.....
Saturday June 21st and the day that Lady and I reached our goal of Port aux Basques! Another really beautiful ride, this time mainly along the coast.
Past St Andrews..
We reach Wreckhouse..
which has achieved dubious notoriety as the location with the highest winds in Newfoundland, not from the sea but sweeping down from the inland mountains, to the extent that railway carriages were blown off the track, and even today high sided vehicles are blown off the road. Happily I was only blown away by the awesome mountain scenery cloaked in mist.
The Newfoundland Railway employed a gentleman known as McDougall who had an uncanny ability to forecast the wind conditions and advise the trains whether to run the gauntlet at Wreckhouse. His house still stood until recently but is now gone, presumably wrecked.
What passes for a spruce tree at Wreckhouse...
More stunning coastal scenery - between sea and lagoon...
We made good time and reached the outskirts of Port aux Basques mid afternoon. Gordon Mathews guided me through the suburbs to his red barn sited in a scenic position on a windy headland - this was Lady's hotel for the next couple of nights, and she could graze in the paddock outside during the day...
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