The Grand Codroy Wildlife Museum is worth a special stop to anyone traveling between Port Aux Basque and points north.  We were impressed by a notice stating that every exhibit was a result of road kill, a natural accident, or hunting for food.  With more than 300 animals, the largest display in Newfoundland, none of the birds nor animals was killed for sport or for display.  The musuem is run by Lydia Fudge and her taxidermist husband, Rodney.  They also provide a picnic and play area with a petting zoo. The exhibits are arranged in diorama style natural settings.   Someof the unique items are a 22-lb. lobster which has been judged as being 125 years old.  There is also a blue lobster...the occurance of a blue is one in 4 million.   Suzanne kept going back to look at two baby (4-month) black bears, which were hit by a car.  Cubs that age are seldom seen.  They look so much like cute puppies that it's hard to believe they would have grown to 300 - 700 lbs.   There's a 1500 lb. bull moose, as well as a moose calf - only 2 or 3 weeks old but already up to my chest.   Lydia told us that they would be getting a 489 lb. leatherback sea turtle which got tangled in fishing nets and drowned.  This turtle is an endangered species so seldom seen but one that large is really rare.

We stepped out of the museum into a deluge of rain but decided to press on.    Most of the trip up TCH 1 to Stephenville was on roads under construction - and sometimes nearly under water...and with no shoulders.  It got pretty tricky a few times when we met oncoming big rigs or trucks.  The scenery was spectacular though....imagine what it would have been if we could have seen more of it!   Stephenville advertised a WalMart with an adjoining mall...maybe this would be a good mall walking day... so we took that exit, noting a nearby campground.  Half an hour later we walked out of WalMart with a half dozen items we hadn't known we needed (that's the WalMart way, right?) and saw a hint of clear sky and a little tiny ray of sunlight in the distance.  We dumped (well, almost) the Aliner at the campground and headed out for a circle tour around the Port au Port Peninsula.

The loop around the peninsula is known as the French Ancester's Route in honor of the days of the French fishing fleets whose fishermen settled the coast. The cliffs, inlets, and small villages were amazing. There were stacks of lobster traps along the ocean and behind the houses along the way, testifying to the primary industry here now....  many of the homes were decorated with bright colors along the end of the peninsula...   then we drove out to the end of a narrow strip of land, 23 km long, bordered by the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the left and the Port au Port Bay on the right. Rough, deserted road, but well worth the trip.

Back in Stephenville, we bought a CD of folk songs by a Newfoundland group and had spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner.  It's raining again, of course.  Tomorrow we move up to the Gros Morne National Heritage Park...