Continued tidbits{part three{3} of the "Central Region" ENJOY! Exploits Valley: The Road to Leading Tickles This tour takes you along the banks of Newfoundland's longest river and into the scenic reaches of the Bay of Exploits. It's a treat for nature lovers, sportsmen, and people who enjoy the great outdoors. Branch off Route 1 onto Route 350, which takes you to Peterview and Peter's Arm, an area at the mouth of the Bay of Exploits considered to be the last hunting ground of the Beothuks. Nearby Botwood, which is 14 kilometres from Route 1, is the major shipping port in the Bay of Exploits. This former terminus of the narrow gauge Grand Falls Central Railway gained prominence as the shipping port for paper from Grand Falls and minerals from Buchans. But the real romance of Botwood is its association with flight. Sidney Cotton established an air survey company here in 1921. When transatlantic air service became technically feasible in the 1930s, Botwood was chosen as the site of a seaplane base. British Imperial Airways and Pan American Airways established the first transatlantic mail service in 1937, with Botwood the stopover between New York and Ireland. In 1939 the famed Yankee Clipper seaplane, or flying boat as it was known, inaugurated commercial passenger service across the Atlantic with Botwood as a stopover. During World War II, Botwood was a military base: its deep, protected harbour was easy to defend with coastal batteries. Famous personalities such as Bob Hope stopped by to entertain the troops. The tarmac for the old seaplane base is still there. Private seaplanes still use Botwood harbour. On display at the tarmac is an old Canso water bomber used to fight forest fires. The Canso is a converted World War II PBY submarine patrol aircraft. Next to the tarmac is the Botwood Heritage Centre, which tells the town's story through a series of exhibits in the former cottage hospital. At Northern Arm the highway takes two paths. Continue along Route 350 to Point Leamington, named for George Leamington Philips who came from Nova Scotia in 1890 to establish a water-turbine operated sawmill in the community, then called Southwest Arm. Leamington's sawmill was located on a river where Beothuks came each summer to catch salmon. Local lore holds that it was in the millstream that the Indians mounted the head of Joseph Rowsell, one of their arch-enemies who ended his life in a horrible ambush - literally paying for his aggression toward the Beothuks 'with his head.' At the end of Route 350 is Leading Tickles, which has a sandy beach. 'Tickle' refers to a saltwater strait, which is often difficult to navigate because of its narrowness or its treacherous tides. As you return along Route 350 you may want to take a side trip to Glovers Harbour, and south of Point Leamington another unpaved road goes to Pleasantview. This farming community was established in the 1860s to supply vegetables to the miners of Tilt Cove on the Baie Verte Peninsula. Exploits Valley: The Road to Fortune Harbour Back at Northern Arm, Route 352 will take you through coastal communities in the Bay of Exploits including Phillips Head, named for Joe Phillips, a miner/operator who came in search of iron ore. Here you can still see the remains of a strategic World War II gun battery that was placed here to defend Botwood. The old battery site provides a great view across the bay to Laurenceton. Point of Bay overlooks the Bay of Exploits and its many islands. The rounded shapes of some islands here and throughout Notre Dame Bay indicates their volcanic origin, and a number of copper mines once operated throughout the bay. On a geological formation known as the 'Wild Bight Volcanics,' there were at least five mines. Maritime Archaic Indians occupied some of these islands thousands of years ago, and were succeeded by Groswater and Dorset Eskimos, and then by the Beothuks. The Europeans soon found that the islands in the bay provided excellent access to cod and salmon, and also provided some protection from attacks by the Beothuks. The Beothuks were gradually squeezed out of their traditional coastal areas. Their occupation of the many islands in the bay is confirmed by at least 28 archaeological finds. After the Beothuks were displaced, the islands were occupied by settlers from Somerset and other parts of England, and prospered into the 20th century when setbacks in the fishery and a resettlement program prompted many people to abandon the islands for steadier work in the woods industries. Today, only one family occupies a house on an island in the bay year round, although some people go back to summer homes. Further north on Route 352 are Cottrell's Cove, Fortune Harbour, and Fleury Bight, which is at the end of a short unpaved road. Fortune Harbour was the site of a copper mining operation in the 19th century. To visit communities at the head of the Bay of Exploits, return to Route 1. Norris Arm is on Route 352. People flocked to this area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work in the logging industry. Before Lewisporte was developed, it was the only town in Notre Dame Bay connected to the railway. There's a beautiful view across the bay to Norris Arm North, which is also known as Alderburn. To reach the north side, return to Route 1 and drive east to the turnoff. The Kittiwake Coast: The Road to the Isles The Road to the Isles takes you into the scenic reaches and islands of Notre Dame Bay. It also connects with The Islands Experience and The Kittiwake Coast - The Road to the Shore. The Visitor Information Centre at Notre Dame Junction, near the intersection of Route 1 and Route 340, is a good place to start. Here you can obtain information on the ferries to Fogo Island and Change Island, plus find out where the icebergs are. Before taking Route 340, you can take a break at Notre Dame Provincial Park, just east of Notre Dame Junction on Route 1. It's a good spot for a picnic because there are two children's playgrounds and water sports. The park is situated in a grove of birch and aspen and is a pleasant daytime or overnight stop. Head back to Notre Dame Junction and drive to Lewisporte, 11 kilometres from Route 1. It's a service town and where you can catch a ferry to Labrador. The town has a very suburban feel despite its location on the shores of Notre Dame Bay. Lewisporte is named for Lewis Miller, an enterprising Scotsman who operated a logging company in central Newfoundland. Millertown, another community in this region, is also named for him. As in many rural communities, a main hub of activity is the Women's Institute. Here, the institute operates the Museum By The Bay and the craft shop. The museum's artifacts reflect life in earlier times and include Beothuk arrowheads. Among its most interesting displays are naval architecture plans from the 1805 era, including drawings for a yacht built for the Prince of Denmark and King George III's yacht, Royal Sovereign. The craft shop, which has a year-round Christmas display, is one of five stops on an All Around the Circle craft tour, with the title taken from a line in a Newfoundland folk song. The other stops are in Twillingate, New World Island, and Gander. Just down the street from the museum is a train park with the biggest snowplow you'll probably see anywhere. It was attached to the front of the train for trips through exposed areas of the interior that were infamous for their deep snowdrifts. The town's first settlers are also commemorated here on Main Street. Robert and Elizabeth Woolfrey moved here from Moreton's Harbour in 1876 to establish a church and school. She died that year and her husband died the following year. The town also has a marina and a municipal park, and during the first weekend in July hosts the Mussel Bed Soiree. While in this area be sure to visit Laurenceton at the end of Route 341. This farming community is opposite Phillip's Head on the other side of the Bay of Exploits and was another point in the coastal defence chain during World War II. Today, it's a very quiet community with some of the sweetest air you'll ever smell. While driving through this area you'll notice firewood cut and stacked near the roads. Take a closer look. Many stacks are in unique patterns that are expressions of the personalities of their owners. The patterns are also identifiable marks of ownership. North of Lewisporte, Route 342 leads through Embree and Mason's Cove to Little Burnt Bay. This is a good area, in season, to buy lobster. Back on Route 340, head east through Campbellton and along the coast of Indian Arm. There's a lookout at Indian Cove Neck where you can relax on a sandy beach or hunt the waters for mussels. This is a beautiful area in the fall when the leaves turn red and orange and yellow. Route 343 takes you up a little peninsula to the farming community of Comfort Cove, which also has a small bird sanctuary. Returning to Route 340, you will soon arrive at Boyd's Cove. This was the site of a major Beothuk encampment and is now the location of a new Beothuk interpretation centre. Excavation at the site has shed new light on this tribe. Boyd's Cove was a major Beothuk coastal community between 1650 and 1720, a time when few Europeans ventured onto this part of the Newfoundland coast.