Tuesday, August 20, 2019
We woke up to clouds and showers. After a late breakfast (cereal and toast with blueberry jam), we continued our ramble up the Northern Peninsula coast along highway 430 that obtained a new moniker, The Viking Highway. We went through light showers on and off and at times, I was attentively attempting to avoid both potholes and puddles of water.
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| The Historic Marjorie Bridge and Thrombolites Ahead! |
We exited the highway in Flower’s Cove ensnared by the siren call of Thrombolites. We parked in a gravel parking lot and, despite Jane’s calf injury, began our slow pilgrimage along a well maintained trail. Along the trail, we crossed the historic Marjorie Bridge. We knew it was Marjorie Bridge by the white lettering on the red roof that read “Marjorie’s Bridge” accompanied by a large arrow pointing toward the Thrombolites. The bridge was constructed in the early 1900s and, at the time, was the only overland access to travel to and from Flower’s Cove and the surrounding communities. As we progressed, our hearts raced faster with each sign we passed along the way declaring yet fewer feet to the Thrombolites. And then, there they were. What a site to behold! We spent awhile soaking in the ambience surrounded by Thrombolites. Such rapture! We finally pulled ourselves away and sought shelter from the wind in a nearby building as our heart rates slowly returned to normal. Then, we grudgingly retraced our route and solemnly ate lunch in the RV before proceeding.
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| The Anticipation Builds |
Okay, for the unhip uninformed reader (where have you been all your life?), Thrombolites are geologic structures created by some of earth’s most primitive life forms. These organisms are believed to have been the only form of life from 3.5 billion to 650 million years ago. Thrombolites (meaning clotted structures) are large bun shaped Cambrian mounds weathering out of flat lying dolostones. The resulting structures were the growth form of millions of unicellular algae and bacteria. These organisms are thought to have thrived in the tidal and subtidal zones of a warm, very salty sea, some being exposed at low tide and covered at high tide.
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| Jane vibing with the Thrombolites |
Thrombolites are very, very rare but are also present in Shark Bay, Western Australia. In 2001, Jane and I passed by there while traveling to the Ningaloo Reef. We didn’t have time to stop to visit the Thrombolites on that trip and have had to endure the sorrow and regret of that failure all these years. But now, our lives are finally fulfilled.
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| Typical Example of Very, Very Rare Thrombolites |
After lunch, we proceeded to the Viking RV Park near Quirpon with only one quick fuel replenishment stop. The weather had slightly improved as we set up. Our site is very close to the laundry room so we took advantage and put a couple of loads in the washer. In the meantime, we dropped the Murphy bed so Jane could rest her leg after the Thrombolite excursion. After feeding the dryer twice ($2.50 each – two loonies & two quarters), we hauled all the clothes to the RV, hung the damp clothes, opened all the windows, and turned on all the fans. Famished from our Thrombolite expedition, we enjoyed a hearty and breezy dinner of leftover stir-fry that had improved with age. We had some time to spare, so Jane randomly chose another puzzle from the 12 pack and we spent the evening puzzling with a classic rock channel streaming through the interior RV speakers. As the evening cooled and more rain came, we started turning off fans and shutting windows. We fell asleep to rain pattering on the RV roof.
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| Puzzle #5 – One Missing Piece |