One of my favorite outports in Newfoundland is Grandois on the Northern Peninsula.  It is not a resettled community, though does have an abandoned fish plant.  Over the years I’ve road-tripped there a handful of times.  It’s one of those end of the road places I love.  And I’ve yet to see another human while walking around there.  In 2016, I was beat from traveling. I’d driven into Croque, but skipped driving further to Grandois, even though it was only 8km away.  And so, two years later with more determination, I finally drove the unpaved road from Croque to Grandois, which only took me about 20 minutes.  Croque, by the way, was once the headquarters for the French Navy.

As a photographer (and explorer), I am ever fascinated by old, abandoned human infrastructure.  And Grandois certainly had that.   Inside one of the abandoned houses, I walked around and took photos.  And then I walked and walked to the other side of town, where an old, crumbling slip with a few boat wrecks upon it, caving into time.  The town was dead quiet and very remote.  Not an  ATV in sight!  It looked like there were more wrecked boats than useable ones.  Grandois had a nice-looking church, but the door was locked.  I was hoping I could find someone to take me out to Fischot Islands.  But not a soul in sight.  The French Shore placards here and there were old and not easy to read any more.  Well, the old fish plant was still open, so I walked inside and was surprised to see a lot of hockey equipment.   A few hours after my arrival, I took off down the rubbly road.

In 2022, again I found myself driving down the endless, unpaved, potholed road to Croque leaving a veritable dust storm behind me.  It was 19km from the main road. There in Croque, while walking I met Leo Hunt, who was also walking, and soon his wife Mary.  Leo kindly offered me a beer.  We talked for a while on his outside deck overlooking the sea.  They used to live in the NorthWest Territories.  He’d worked on ships all his life out there and even up and down the US coast.  The old place in front of the deck used to be the general store and the other places stages no longer used.  He said he’d offered to buy the store from the owner but the owner had said he’d rather die than sell it.  Leo said, “the place will rot and crumble since the owner never uses it.”

Anyhow, from there, I drove once again to Grandois and once again dreaming of Fischot Islands.  Snow was still on the ground, and it was June.  A couple of icebergs stood in the distance.  I walked all over, taking many photos.  The beauty was mesmerizing.  A small old wooden boat stood alone on land by the water with the old fish plant in the background.  How not to find solitary beauty in that?  And so, off I drove back to Croque.  Soon I shall be going back yet again to Grandois…

G. Tod Slone Barnstable, MA