We drove about 20 miles up to the very northern tip of Newfoundland this morning to visit the archeological discovery of the first Viking settlement in North America. The National Historic Site is one of the main visitor destinations in northern Newfoundland and does a great job of educating its guests. 
We arrived to find two moose grazing nearby, a nice distraction to start off the day!
L’Anse aux Meadows (Pond of Meadows, or “Latsa Medders”, as our young Newfoundland guide told us the locals pronounce it) provides a strategic view of the Straits of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and Labrador. The eight buildings’ location looks out across the Strait to Labrador. Several commemorative sculptures and plaques decorate the site but the “Meeting of Two Worlds is the most impressive. Developed by two artists, one in Sweden and the other in Newfoundland/Labrador, the two parts join perfectly to symbolize the first contact of the two cultures.
The story of its discovery by historian Dr Helge Ingstad and his wife archeologist Anne Stine Ingstad is a fascinating tale of research of ancient Norse Sagas and actual searching by ship of the Maritime Coast from New Brunswick to Labrador. The pair finally met local fisherman George Decker who knew of grassy mounds at L’Anse aux Meadows that locals assumed were burial grounds of native peoples. Their discovery was the final proof of the Norse being the first to discover North America and the area was researched for 12 years by the Ingstads and Parks Canada. 
The actual discovery has been recovered with dirt and sod for preservation and a replica of five of the buildings constructed nearby as part of the site.
We then visited Norstead, a private replica of a Viking Village and Port of Trade, nearby that had a beautiful Viking trade ship, the Scorri, that had been built in Maine, transported to Greenland, and then sailed back to L’Anse aux Meadows to demonstrate the skill of the Norse sailors. While Norstead takes a great deal of license with the actual facts known about L’Anse aux Meadows we enjoyed poking around for awhile. We then had lunch and headed back to St Anthony this afternoon to get access to the internet, make some calls, and visit the Grenfell Properties in town.
English by birth Dr Wilfred Grenfell came to Labrador in 1892 as part of the Royal National Mission to the Deep Sea Fisherman who served the cod fishery of the area. Grenfell also had deep Christian beliefs that he shared as he traveled about Labrador ending to the medical needs of the families there and trying to ease the hard life they led. Grenfell was an active outdoorsman who wrote many books of his exploits in Labrador, formed many organizations to help local residents, was knighted and given world-wide recognition for his efforts
Eventually the Grenfell Mission established nursing stations along the Labrador Coast, built hospitals, served residents with hospital ships and aircraft, and provided education as well as helping the fisherman fend for themselves with coops and marketing. 
The Newfoundland/Labrador Regional Medical Center in St Anthony became recognized as the leading health provider on the Island and was replaced by the Dr Charles S Curtis Memorial Hospital in 1938 that included beautiful murals in the lobby that were commissioned in 1966 from Montreal artist Jordi Bennett. 
The murals commemorate the generations of residents of the Coasts of Newfoundland/Labrador and Dr Charles Curtis of Massachusetts who devoted 40 years to managing the hospital and the Grenfell Association.
We returned to the motorhome early and are enjoying a relaxing night after several days of hard-paced exploring.
