Gander and Twillingate
Aug. 19-21, 2012

Gander has an interesting history. Up until the late 1930s there was nothing here but woods. It was decided to build an airport here for refuelling transatlantic flights between Europe and the U.S. During WWII it was a major refuelling stop for military flights heading to Europe. The city of Gander developed as a place for airport workers to live.






Just east of the city and near the end of one of the airport runways is the Silent Witness Memorial. In 1985, a U.S. military flight carrying 248 U.S. servicemen returning from the Sinai peninsula and a crew of 8 landed for refuelling. Just after taking off it crashed at this location, killing all 256 people on board. It is the worst air disaster in Canadian history. The memorial was built to honor those who died here.  Seeing it is a moving experience.








The North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander chronicles the history of Gander and its airport. Particularly interesting was the role of Gander during the 9/11 crisis, when U.S. and Canadian airspace was shut down and flights in the U.S. and crossing the Atlantic to the U.S. were diverted to the nearest available airport. Within a period of a few hours 42 flights landed at Gander bringing 6,700 people to this small city of 10,000. The people of Gander and surrounding communities took the people into their homes and took care of them until the U.S. airspace was re-opened and their flights could resume.  It was a great outpouring of support for people suddenly stranded far from their homes.







After Gander we headed north to Twillingate. On the way we spotted this takeout restaurant specializing in seafood. We decided to stop for dinner and wound up staying the night parked behind her restaurant. The food was excellent and we appreciated being to boondock at her restaurant. So, if you are in the area, stop in at the SFL Lobster Pool and Takeout in Hilllgrade, Notre Dame Bay; you won't be disappointed.








Twillingate is a pretty little fishing village on Notre Dame Bay.









Another view of Twillingate.








The lighthouse at Lookout Point stands at the entrance to the Twillingate cove.








We decided to take a whale watching boat tour. After cruising for about an hour we came upon this minke whale who put on quite a show for us.








Minke whales are about 25 - 30 feet long, and don't show their tail fins at the start of a dive like the humpback whales do. What you see is an arching body and the dorsal fin as the whale dives. Getting a good picture of them is not easy since they don't come up out of the water very much. 







Another shot of a minke whale starting its dive.