Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

French-Acadian farming and fishing village

On our way to Gros Morne, signs are calling to us so we do a short detour into the village of Stephenville. There is a super old, totally neglected warehouse building on the side of the road on the way into town where we happen to pull over for directions of where to park. We notice the spray painting and have a laugh...job prospects might not be too good for this graduate. 

Cass 2025...too funny

Mummers Christmas Tree

We walk the streets a bit and end up in a store called 'Arlims'. The lady working there is so kind and fills us in on 'Mummers' plus a few other Newfoundland traditions. Mummers is a traditional Christmas house-visiting custom here in Newfoundland where groups of people dress up in disguises - using mismatched clothes and a pillowcase over their heads to hide their identities. They visit neighbours unannounced and ask 'Any mummers 'lowed in?' They dance, play music and let hosts guess who they are. Sounds like a fun tradition to us :) 

The lady in Arlims says they keep their Christmas tree up all year long and on it hangs cards with funny Newfoundland saying on them like: 'Who Knit You?' - meaning who are your parents? or where are you from. She asks us to pick a card and have our picture taken for their Facebook Page. So sweet and sure enough we are indeed on their FB page now. 

UNESCO Site

It is after 5 by the time we pull into Gros Morne National Park. We make a stop at the visitors centre and get information and maps of the area. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its rare geological history, landscapes and dramatic fjords. 

The day has been long getting here so we spend the night figuring out what we'll see in this vast outdoor recreation area. Unfortunately our weather forecast isn't great. We'll see what happens.