9/1
We got to Lab City and emailed what we had prepped. Got the tire fixed and all tires set at right pressure. So now we have 2 spares.
Also went to Tim Hortons before leaving town. This is the McDonalds of Canada. It is in virtually every town and their food is vastly superior to McDs, mostly sandwiches and wraps, but also good coffee and pastries.
Filled up with gas – which is now about $5 a gallon. Filled one propane bottle which was $40!!!!!!!! At home it would be around $12.
The drive eastward had been easy. Great road, virtually no traffic. I think we had a convoy of three trucks pass us and two pickups – all in 130 miles. No animals on this drive but we did see a lynx before Lab City this morning.
I haven’t mentioned people we are meeting, but it could be the most memorable part. They have been great.
Now, set up for the night at a rest stop on a river, sharing it with this Australian couple who have this strange looking, big tired, 4 wheel drive motorhome that they are taking around the world. They have a world map on the side showing where they have been. Oops, they just left. Lots of black flies to the point we don’t go outside without head net
Heating up left over clam fettuccini for dinner, then several games of Quixx, and bed. Life is still damn good.
9/2
We decided to press on (almost 200 miles) and arrived in Happy Valley-Goose Bay at 5PM, 30 minutes after the Info Center closed, and, they are closed tomorrow and Sunday – oh, probably Monday too – Labour Day. So, we were on our own to find a place to spend the night. I asked a bunch of people, finally this guy said to go up this road about 10 miles and gave us a name. I was really pessimistic about this and Adam is starting his 530 whining. We go about 15 miles and finally here comes a resort and RV park – different name but It is near perfect and we have wifi. I never would have thunk it.
There is a strong aurora forecast for tonight and relatively early so we are hoping. During the last one we had cloud cover. We were, as usual, way out in the boonies – but I could see light coming thru the overcast. I’m planning on using the iPhone 6 time lapse tonight – hope it works out.
Actually, as much as it feels like we are way north, in actuality we are only as far north as southeastern Alaska. And, here in Goose Bay is the furthest north we will be.
9/3
No aurora last night and it was clear – and cold – our first time temps dropped into the 30s.
This part of Labrador has a majority of First Nation people. We are going to a Heritage Museum today at a town that is about 30 miles from town. There are some very serious social issues and substance abuse problems here.
We will probably spend 3 days here – a lot to see. Then, once laundry is done, groceries bought, water bottles filled, pickup fueled, and extra gas tank full, we set off on the longest “no services” stretch – over 250 miles of gravel road to Port Hope Simpson, where we reach the east coast of Labrador. That stretch could take 3 days as gravel roads can be rough and really slow. Then another not so long stretch of gravel, followed by about 50 miles of paved road to the ferry.
I’ll get this off now. It is really great to have decent WIFI as there are so many things we have seen that we wanted to know about. Plus, we can find out what to do here since that info center is closed down.
We thank all you for sending emails and updates. Keep em coming.
Happy birthday to Jen today. We are missing a lot of them.
Love M n D
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