Newfoundland - The fog finally found us!

We think that autumn is a great time to visit the Canadian Maritimes. We had lots of blue-sky days with comfortably cool temperatures to enjoy the outdoors. We were outside enjoying another pretty day when Mark told Cooper that he took this picture of him and Denisa because "you both are so cute." Cooper really didn't like that reason, so he came back with, "We're not cute! We're adorable!" Well all-righty, Denisa liked that retort!

We were outside playing games with Cooper, looking out over their backyard lake and the clear views of the city of St. John's.

But before we left Newfoundland, we also got to experience some of its fog. That's the same backyard view that we enjoyed in the picture above, but this day we were fogged in.

When the lake views are foggy, the ocean views are even worse.

The fog usually happens in the morning, and the day we visited Cabot's Tower it was especially foggy.

In our walk down the path from the top of Signal Hill, we couldn't see the harbor right below us because of the fog.

It would have been very hard to fire a cannon at the approaching enemy ship if you couldn't even see that ship in the fog!

On another day, we made a second drive to Quidi Vidi village, but the picturesque views we enjoyed the first time were lost in the fog. It's a good thing the fish and chips (and the best tartar sauce in the province) were so good even on a foggy day.

One day the skies were clear in the city, but it was completely fogged-in when we made the after-school drive to Cape Spear about 8 miles away. As we started our hike at Cape Spear, we were greeted by the ominous bellow of the resident fog horn.

Denisa likes lighthouses, so she didn't let a little fog keep her from getting a lighthouse picture at Cape Spear. 

This is the most easterly point of North America, and there are actually two lighthouses guarding this point. We got a foggy picture of the one built in 1955 (above) and the older one from 1836 (below). This older lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland. Both lighthouses are built on the high cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean, but the fog prevented us from seeing the water at all.

Cape Spear has been used as a military outpost for years, with interesting fortified tunnels that make beautifully-echoed acoustics when you sing while walking through them. Guess how we know that?

We walked by some of the armaments still in place from World War II,

as well as the jail cells that kept villainous intruders in place.

We watched as the storms causing the fog were bringing big waves to this coast.

We found our last set of red adirondack chairs at this most easterly point of North America, but the fog kept us from seeing the best views that these chairs usually provide.

Just as we were about to leave, the fog started to lift. So Mark and Denisa climbed that long flight of stairs to get a clearer view of the newer lighthouse and the ocean below it.

From here we could see the rugged coastline, and the foggy outline of the old lighthouse behind Mark.

Cape Spear is a beautiful place even with some lingering fog.

On the way back to the city, we stopped at a viewpoint to watch the big waves crashing on the rocks.

Some of us watched from a tall cliff at a safe distance . . .

while others scrambled to the farthest rocky outcropping where the big waves were sending sprays of water into the air high over their heads.

What a beautiful view of the North Atlantic churning against the rocks! We are witnessing more of God's wonders today!

This is our last official outing here in Newfoundland. While planning the trip we were supposed to take last year, Denisa had made a list of things we wanted to see and experience in this beautiful province. All the boxes have been checked beside all the items on her list. We've had a great trip, even if the fog finally found us at the end.