Newfoundland - Part 1

Once we crossed from Maine into Canada, we headed directly to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, for the ferry to Newfoundland.   We wanted to be in Newfoundland while icebergs were plentiful along its northern and eastern coasts. Our plan is to spend much more time exploring New Brunswick and Nova Scotia after returning from Newfoundland.  After taking the ferry to Channel-Port Aux Basques in Newfoundland, we spent 3 nights at Grand Codroy RV Park to explore some of the south-west portions of the island.

Cape Anguille Lighthouse

Rose Blanche Lighthouse

This lighthouse was constructed in 1873 using locally quarried granite.  After falling into ruin, restoration began in 1966 and the restored lighthouse reopened in 1999.

A view of the coastline from the lighthouse

The harbor and town of Rose Blanche

On our return trip we stopped to view Barachois Falls.

Along the trail to the falls, we saw lots of pitcher plants.

Nearby we found some Cottongrass.

Along the road we found this colorful old tugboat pulled up onto the beach.

Salem

After Memorial Day weekend, we spent a couple of days in Salem, Massachusetts.  Our primary reason for stopping was some follow-up genealogical research for Barbara.  While we were there, we camped at Winter Island City Park which is right on Salem Harbor.

A view of the Dragon Wagon in our campsite

The view out our front window

John Upton, Barbara's first ancestor in this country, is believed to have arrived in 1635 and settled near Salem.  He became very prosperous and acquired quite a bit of farm land.

On this photo of a reproduction of an old map, I've marked where  John Upton built a house on one of his pieces of land.  Upton's Hill is named after him.

This house is believed to have replaced John Upton's original house sometime after 1676.

This old cemetery in the common of Lynnfield may be the location where John Upton was buried.

Steamtown

We spent  Memorial Day weekend in the Pocono Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania.  Since it was fairly close by, we decided to visit Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania operated by the National Park Service.  Steamtown focuses on the era of steam locomotives.

Baldwin Locomotive Works #26 built 1929

Illinois Central #790 built in 1903

A view of the restored turntable and roundhouse

A small switching engine built in 1927

A view inside the roundhouse of filled and empty work stalls

Central New Jersey Bucyrus Crane

Built in 1918 with a lift capacity of 150 tons

We liked the "character" of this 1914 locomotive.

A rare steam rotary snowplow
Built in 1898 and operated until 1965

This is one of the eight remaining Union Pacific "Big Boy" engines.  They were used to pull freight over the western Continental Divide.  These were some of the largest and most powerful steam engines ever built.
Total weight 1,250,000 lbs, overall length 132 ft. 9 ¹⁄₄ in., 6,290 hp.

In the parking lot we spotted this beautifully restored Willys MB,
grandfather of Jeeps.

Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival

On May 18-21 we attended the May 2017 iteration of the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival held at the Granite Hill Campground near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Below is a video composed of several clips from just a few of the performers we were able to see.