Continued tidbits of info. about the "Avalon Region" ENJOY! The Path Of Our Ancestors: The sanctuary at Cape St. Mary's may be visited year-round and no permit is necessary. The Interpretation Centre is open from spring until fall and there are guides to answer your questions and to show you around. You can see Bird Rock through a huge window or through telescopes, and there are displays on the ecology and wildlife of "the Cape." The centre also hosts an annual summer concert series. Route 100 becomes Route 92 at Branch. This part of the coast was first settled by Irishmen with names like Nash, McGrath, Careen, Coffey, Doyle and Power who settled here to escape the famine and oppression in their land. Those surnames are familiar here today among the descendants of the original settlers. Not much has changed here since then. It's still a wonderland of rivers, lakes and silent hills and, of course, the barrens. Along the Cape Shore you'll find grazing sheep, brightly coloured houses, old churches and winding lanes, and an Irish air. As the residents say themselves, don't look for glitz here. Life is more personal. Drop in and chat over a cup of tea and learn the history of the area, how Irish settlers were lured here with the promise of a new beginning, or how Solo the pedlar made a fortune from a wrecked cargo of cotton thread. And of course this being Irish country, there's a gold story. Legend has it that a man named Andy Nash stumbled across a vein of gold while crossing the barrens on a very foggy day - and could never find it again! There's also a tale of buried treasure that supposedly lies in some long-forgotten nook, just waiting for an enterprising soul to come along and find it. The hospitality here is warm and genuine, and keeps visitors coming back. The language here is unique, and the music - oh, the music will break your heart and mend it again in the course of a song. Get out and roam the countryside. There are hidden secrets that are well worth finding, at the top of a hill or along a sandy shore. Pick partridge berries in late summer, or photograph a moose as it grazes by the roadside. At the northern end of Route 92, turn right onto a short unpaved section of Route 91 to Cataracts Provincial Park. This picnic park is built around a deep river gorge with two cascading waterfalls which are accessible by a system of walkways. The interesting natural scenic site attracted Newfoundland's first motoring tourist in the 1920s and still holds a fascination for visitors today. Back on the paved section of Route 91 you'll shortly come to the man-made salmon ladder on the Rocky River Falls. Learn more about salmon enhancement by taking a guided tour. The next community, Colinet, was probably named for one Andre Colenet, master of the French fishing vessel, Le Montaran in the 1760s. As early as 1723, John Masters and his partner Philip Watson had fishing premises at Colinet in the inner reaches of St. Mary's Bay. Heading east brings you to Route 90. Whether you drive north or south from here you're on Irish Loop Drive, but if you want to head back to Route 1, go north past Salmonier Nature Park. The Baccalieu Trail Pirates' Haunts & Classic Outports "Wherever you are, steer northwest for Baccalieu." This old sailors' proverb, minus the compass direction, is still good advice for today's traveller. Along Routes 80 and 70, and their offshoots, you'll find charming fishing villages, gorgeous coastal scenery, and a few surprises. There are several ways to access The Baccalieu Trail: from Route 60, or take Routes 75 or 80 from Route 1. But the southern end of the trail is Route 81, south of Route 1, in the farming community of Markland, probably the newest town on the trail. It was established during the desperate days of the Great Depression when, in an effort to make them self-sufficient, a number of families from St. John's were resettled into newly established agricultural communities. The largest of these was started in 1937 at Markland. The community still owes much of its success to farming and forestry. Farms were established here because of the area's sheltered location and longer growing season, the latter due to air turbulence among the rolling hills that keeps the cold autumn night air moving, preventing it from descending onto the lowland crops. You wouldn't expect to find a winery in Newfoundland, but there's one in Whitbourne (and others elsewhere). Rodrigues Winery makes wine from local blueberries and other berries for the Newfoundland and export markets. Whitbourne was the home of an early 20th-century Prime Minister of Newfoundland, Sir Robert Bond. An eloquent politician, he was perhaps Newfoundland's greatest statesman in the era when Newfoundland was a self-governing dominion. His reciprocity agreements with the United States, although foiled by political opponents, were the forerunners of current international fisheries policy and international trade agreements. North of Route 1, Route 81 merges into Route 80. Whaling and mink-ranching were once lucrative industries in this area, and there's a whaling and sealing museum in South Dildo that displays some of the artifacts discovered at Anderson's Cove, where a 4,00-5,000 year old Maritime Archaic Indian site has been discovered, and at Blaketown where a 1994 archaeological dig uncovered a previously unknown Beothuk site. It's believed John Guy traded with the Beothuks who lived here in the early 17th century because there is a trail across the peninsula connecting Blaketown and Cupids. Part of this Crout's Way Trail between Hopeall and Makinsons has been reconstructed as an overnight hiking adventure trail. There are two camping parks in Green's Harbour, including Backside Pond Park which has a saltwater pond and beach that make it a grand spot for a refreshing swim. A hiking trail within the park boundaries gives you a chance to investigate the area. Heart's Content is where the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was landed in 1866. The community served as a major cable relay station for over a century. Visit the old Cable Station, which has been preserved and is now open to the public during the summer months as a Provincial Historic Site. The Cable Station is a special hit with people interested in communications. It seems like all you have to do is turn on the equipment and begin sending and receiving messages. There are informative displays on the various cables, the changes in technology during the life of the station and some of the people involved in developing long-distance telegraphy. The entire area has a preoccupation with the "heart" for just beyond Heart's Content lie Heart's Delight-Islington and Heart's Desire. And be sure to drop in at the one time pirate haunt of Turks Cove just past New Perlican. As you drive through this area of rolling hills and forests, you pass through a number of picturesque fishing communities such as Winterton. On the outskirts of this settlement there is a municipal park bordering a freshwater lake. There's good trout fishing on this end of the peninsula. Hook up with a local guide for the best places to wet a line. Along this entire route, the small outports retain an ageless look. Near the road, ponies graze in grassy meadows which still contain sod-covered root cellars. At New Chelsea you may want to relax on the beach in this peaceful valley setting. New Melbourne is a tiny community located on a forested part of the moody seacoast. Old Perlican, near the northern tip of the trail, was first settled in the 1600s and is a good place to see whales from shore. The most northerly community on the trail is Grates Cove. According to legend, John Cabot landed here and carved an inscription in a rock. In the 1960s people posing as historians from Memorial University removed the rock. Its whereabouts remain unknown. But each year residents celebrate "Cabot Rock" festival. Look around the community and you'll see gardens with rock walls. Once a common site in Newfoundland, they remain in large numbers only in this community and have been declared a National Historic Site. At Redhead Cove, where Route 80 merges into Route 70, you'll see by the colour of the cliffs where the community got its name. Offshore, Baccalieu Island bears witness to the potential menace of the North Atlantic. The wrecks of more than a dozen ships lie under the waters that surround the island. Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve has 11 species of seabirds nesting there, making it the most diverse seabird colony in the province. The island hosts 3.3 million pairs of Leach's Storm Petrels, and thousands of puffins and black-legged kittiwakes and other birds each summer. The foxes that share the island with the birds rarely go hungry. Continue on Route 70 to Bay de Verde. This once-isolated community was originally settled by planters, colonists who were trying to avoid French raiders in the 1600s. This rugged area is a mere 70 kms from St. John's by sea. There's an interpretation centre devoted to the nearby ecological reserve (see below) in the town. Just above the town, at Bears Cove, you can take the short hiking trail to the scenic lookout that offers a spectacular view of the surrounding seascape. Some of the most beautiful coastal scenery is found just beyond here in Lower Island Cove and surrounding communities. The hilly gardens of this area and the towering cliffs along the shores of Conception Bay provide ideal subjects for photographs. A few kilometres along is Northern Bay Sands Park, an ideal seaside vacation spot within easy access of a number of colourful settlements on the peninsula. The park has camp and trailer sites for extended stays. At one end of the sandy beach, a river flows into the Atlantic, its rocky banks forming a natural freshwater pool. This is a great place for beach combing or taking it easy. Nearby Western Bay is the birthplace of one of Canada's most widely respected poets, E.J. Pratt. This is a National Historic Site with a plaque that commemorates his life and work next to the Post Office on Route 70. Continuing south, you come to a series of attractive little communities, including Blackhead where the first Methodist church in Canada was erected in 1769. The plaque marking this Historic Site is near an ancient cemetery which is well worth a visit by people interested in the early history of the province and in the establishment of Methodism in Canada. A few kilometres up the coast is Salmon Cove Sands, a sheltered beach with a grassy picnic area. There are several distinctive large rocks in the cove and a variety of shorebirds which make ideal photographic subjects. There are extensive stretches of water shallow enough for children to wade and play in safety. In Victoria you'll find an unusual attraction. The Hydro Electric Development there is a Registered Historic Site. The plant came on stream in 1904, making it the second major hydro electric project in Newfoundland. The Victoria station is now a museum that displays some of the earliest equipment in Canada. It is open daily during July and August - and it still produces electricity. Carbonear is another town with a fascinating history. In 1696, it was burned to the ground by the French, but the inhabitants retreated to a small fortified island in the harbour and successfully defended it against capture. Carbonear Island has been designated a National Historic Site to mark its colourful military past. To be continued: