The last stop planned for today is at Sandy Pond. We want to do the two mile loop along the pond, hopefully before the sun sets. Surprisingly when we arrive there is only one more car in the parking lot and even those people are soon gone so we have the lake and the trail to ourselves.
We choose one direction and on we go. This part of the trail follows the shore but it is closed in places so we have to avoid the closures. We think it is due to the fact that it is closing for the season but we are not sure. But still there are great views over the pond, we really enjoy them.
With the closures behind us we can enjoy the trail, the boardwalk is in great shape and we find dragonflies and damselflies along the way as well as a few fish.
On this stretch there are a few interesting birds, the top one being the White-throated Sparrow which is our first one ever. It is quite showy and we like it quite a lot but after a while it gives up shadowing us and moves on so we do the same.
Soon we reach the other side of the pond and find the requisite red chairs in a scenic location. We take photos on them and around them and then move on, it seems we will be able to make it around the pond before the sun sets which would be great.
The area around the trail is quite marshy and therefore there are some purple pitcher plants in the mix including flowers which are quite special to see.
We continue on the trail through the forest and then we hear a wolf howl. We freeze in place, are there even wolves here, did we misheard? And then we understand and rush to a viewpoint of the shore, there is a loon on the lake and that is what we head, phew. And no, there are no wolves in Newfoundland anymore.
And on we go exploring the beautiful forest and area, looking for birds and mammals. While there are no wolves there can be bears so we keep an eye out for them, it would be fun to see them but from a distance.
We find a Canada Jay on top of tree that is watching us and we in turn are watching it for a while before crossing the creek on the third side of the pond as we slowly turn back towards the parking lot.
Here we notice a few animal trails, we assume moose which also would be scary to meet close up. On the other side we enter a skeleton forest, quite spooky in the setting sun but nothing bad is happening so we proceed carefully.
In this section we meet a Hermit Thrush and Golden-Crowned Kinglets, all of them preparing for the night. We watch them for a while and then we arrive back at the parking lot, it is time to move on we still have a lot of driving ahead of us.
But before the long drive, one more stop at the National Park Visitor Center. We just want to see how it looks so we explore the area around it for a while, there is a nice lake with a few bats above us helping with the insects.
We also cross the very long bridge to the trailhead that we wanted to take but it is too dark so we just look at the trail and then return to the car. It is now a four hour drive to our lodging and it is 7:30 PM so we will arrive quite late. On the way we stop to buy something to eat from Horton’s and to fill up our car but otherwise it is a straight drive to the other side of the island. We also meet a moose on the way but both us and him escape unharmed. We arrive at the lodging around 12AM and then fall asleep as we are quite tired and again tomorrow we have a lot planned.
