FORTY-FOUR DAYS, FORTY-FOUR
MEMORIES
July 23rd to September 4th, 2019
Wisconsin to New England, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador,
Quebec, Ontario and back home to Wisconsin
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And a Comment: We enjoy geocaching on our trips. You will see references to GC codes in some of the write-ups below. If you are interested in seeing more about these geocaches, go to geocaching.com and enter the code number in the search field.
Ohio's oldest geocacheOldest state/province geocaches are high on our "To Find" list. Ohio's was close to our route and sounded interesting. Found a parking spot for our truck-camper and started the very nice walk to the cache. On the way in, we noted a large patch of blackberries which we decided would be a definite stop on our way out. Unfortunately, we did not have a container with us. But never fear, Canoecolt (aka Sharon) is here! She took off her hat, lined it with leaves and the picking began. Enjoyed the berries for a couple days! Ah, the things you find beside the geocache while geocaching!
Canoeing with friends...Lunch stop on Farmington River, Connecticut
some river geocaches...Ghostly Looking (GC7ARR7) on Farmington River
wildlife... Farmington River
obstacles...Wood River, Rhode Island
and historyCanoed Massachusetts' Concord River and passed under historic Minuteman Bridge at Minuteman Park. It was a time for reflection.
Machias River, MaineThe Machias River had an easy and reasonable canoe rental/shuttle and a takeout were we could park our camper and leave the canoe when done. Very nice river.
We are in New BrunswickPulled over to look at the map, had to get a picture of the moose and then stayed awhile to listen to an accordion festival.
New Brunswick's oldest geocache (GC760) It is in here somewhere!
Crossing the Confederation BridgeThe 8-mile long Confederation Bridge crossing the Northunberland Strait opened in 1997. Interestingly, there is no toll when crossing from New Brunswick to P.E.I., but you pay a toll when going the opposite direction.
Habitat for HumanityWe long wanted to participate in a Habitat for Humanity build. When we learned that Ken Caissie, a friend from the 2011 David Thompson Brigade, was leading the first build on the Lennox Island Mi'kmaq First Nation, we applied and were accepted. As a result, we experienced a most fulfilling, meaningful and rewarding week. It will forever be part of us.
"Work""Work". We worked hard, but it did not feel like work. Some of the crew had done this before, so they jumped right in. For about half of us, some or all of it was new. But with the willing help of the veterans, we learned and contributed. Jamie McKay, the site leader, went beyond code requirements to make sure the house would be energy efficient...joints were double caulked and extreme care was required to be sure all windows and doors were properly installed and weather proofed.
CommunitiesThe Habitat for Humanity build was more than building a house and working as a team. We also learned about the communities and the cultures. Ken Caissie's ancestors immigrated to the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick area in the 1660-1670's. They moved to P.E.I. in the late 1800's. He was born and raised in Miscouche, P.E.I. You could not ask for a better guide. We ate at an Afghani Restaurant in Charlottetown...an immigrant for whom Habitat for Humanity built a home, through hard work eventually owned the restaurant where we ate. We visited the sea side fishing village of Victoria. We ate at an Acadian restaurant and toured the Acadian museum in Miscouche. We went to a Drum and Bagpipe historical musical at The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts in Summerside.
TEAM THREE ISLANDSDuring the Habitat for Humanity build, the eighteen-person Team Three Islands stayed at the very nice Bayside Resort. The team name comes from the fact that the project was on Lennox Island which is part of Prince Edward Island which is part of Turtle Island, the Mi’kmaq name for North America. We were a team in every sense of the word from the time we met at the University of Prince Edward Island dorms...then on the work site...visiting local attractions...relaxing at the cabins. The team was special and not the norm when groups of strangers come together like this.
American GoldfinchSpotted this beauty while hiking in Nova Scotia's Battery Provincial Park
Securing ferry at Argentia, NewfoundlandWe took the night ferry from North Sydney, NS to Argentia. Fun watching them retrieve the mooring lines and secure the ferry.
Along the trail to oldest Beautiful scenic hike with a significant elevation change.
Puffin ColonyStopped at two colonies. Saw hundreds of puffins and a couple whales to boot.
Bonavista LighthouseIt is the fourth oldest lighthouse in Newfoundland which operated from 1843 to 1962. It is now a museum but had closed for the day when we arrived.
At Bonavista LighthouseIt was wet and windy BUT there was a geocache there (GCGBBJ).
Coastal Village of Keels Took a road along the Atlantic Ocean. It lead us to Keels (population 51) and surprise, surprise, an interesting geological geocache (GC89JBX and we were the first to find it!).
Tera Nova National ParkA 154 sq. mi. park with many outdoor activities. Beautiful.
Humpback Whale Skelton So many interesting things learned like a female whale can lose 6 to 8 tons in weight during the winter and a baby whale will drink about 100 gallons of milk a day!
Ferry to Blanc-SablonWe were first in line to get off the ferry from St. Barbe, Newfoundland to Blanc Sablon, Quebec, just a few miles from Labrador. The camper was our home for the entire trip except when participating in the Habitat for Humanity build and on the Labrador coast ferry.
Red Bay, LabradorDepressions are from Basque whale oil rendering pits on Settlers Island. They were used between 1550 and the early 1600's.
Pod of dolphins Seen on ten-minute boat ride to Settlers Island.
Trans-Labrador HighwayHuge amounts of rock are being moved to construct the highway through bogs, rough terrain and over rivers and streams.
fill up close and personal...Scrambling down a completed fill in search of a geocache.
Nunatsiavut Freighter Ferry The ferry runs from Goose Bay to Nain and back carrying freight, local passengers and tourists (priority in that order) to the mainly Innu and Inuit communities along the cost. Stops were made at Rigolet (population ~ 310), Makkovik (~361), Postville (~180), Hopedale (~583), the dock serving Natuashish (~936) and Nain (~1,126). Passengers could leave the ferry at each stop, but it was your responsibility to be back on the ferry when it left. There are no roads connecting these communities to each other or to other parts of Labrador. (Labrador is about the same size as the state of Arizona and has a population of ~30,000, about the size of Kingman, Arizona.) Fantastic adventure.
The freight...The ferry stopped at each community on the way up and again on the return trip. The cargo might be a semi-trailer or smaller items placed in blue boxes by passengers at a previous port. Cargo destined for the port we were stopped at was unloaded and any cargo destined for other ports on the route was loaded. Once done and the load was secured, the ferry left on the next leg of its journey.
the coast...Traveling up the remote Labrador east coast gave us a small glimpse of the life lived by the residents. We saw icebergs, people getting goods delivered once a week during the summer, small villages where ATV's were the main mode of summer transportation and skidoos in winter, a fishing trawler unloading its catch at the dock. In 2019-2019, Makkovik had to put tape on the telephone lines so skidoos would not run into them!
the people...We met many people on the ferry from many different backgrounds. We pasted three buildings which were the only man-made things in sight. A lady told us about growing up there. Families from the coastal towns were "commuting" and we learned about them and their homes...Sabina took a particular liking to Sharon. Fellow tourists shared stories. When we arrived at Nain, we thought we saw a familiar face...it was Dave Greene from the 2008 David Thompson Brigade...he and a friend had just finished canoeing across Labrador ending in Nain.
Canoeing Labrador's Goose RiverWe did a round trip paddle on the Goose River starting from our campsite at Welbourne Bay Campground on Lake Melville. The current was strong but we were able to canoe upstream for a while. We saw a black bear walking on shore going in the same direction as us. When it reached a sandy point in the water, it walked out and swam across the river. Kept our distance and took pictures. Once it was gone, we continued up stream.
Canada JayStopped for a geocache (GC34XM7)/stretch-your-legs break and were welcomed by this feathered friend that landed on our hood before we had turned the engine off. It continued to fly close to us and several times landed within a few feet of us. As we were leaving, we saw it sitting in a tree across the road. We stopped and opened the window to take one last picture and it flew straight at us trying to land on the rear view mirror! What do you do now???
Chruchill FallsLabrador’s Churchill River has a major power generating station near the town of Churchill Falls. The dam controls the flow below the power station and the river is now just a trickle of what it used to be. There have been four dam releases in the last thirty years. We happened to be there during the fourth, the previous one was in 2005. Churchill Falls was magnificent. And it was only flowing at 10% of the pre-dam construction volume!
A peaceful night's campingIn Canada you can camp anywhere on Crown lands and other non-private lands that are not posted or restricted. During our trip, we camped at rest areas, public parking lots, on access roads for power line maintenance and public and private campgrounds. Here we camped in a cemetery parking lot.
Quebec Highwy 389Much has been written about the Trans-Labrador Highway. However, with paving of the 775 mile highway from west of Labrador City to its southern end near L’Anse-au-Clair scheduled to be completed by 2021, we did not encounter many of the problems previously associated with the road. We did have trouble finding potable water for our camper and had to buy bottle water in Goose Bay. The ‘interesting’ section was Quebec 389 south from the Labrador border to Baie-Comeau. We encountered single lane bridges, narrow roads and heavy truck traffic on this 352 mile drive. Enjoyed it but you had to stay particularly alert at all times.
And other back roads of QuebecPart of our trip planning is looking for interesting geocaches to find. Spotted a series of puzzle cache near Baie-Comeau and solved a few of them. The calculated coordinates showed this geocache to be along secondary roads so we decided to search for it (GC719A0). Little did we realize how ‘secondary’ the road was. The find was made and we retraced our way back to the main road. Do love these out of the way geocaches.
It rained HARD!Driving Quebec 138 south along the St. Lawrence River required taking a ferry across the Saguenay River in Tadoussac. During the 10-minute ride we saw a squall coming in from the west. It held off until we got to Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park just up the hill from the ferry. And then the rain came down in buckets. Just as quickly, the squall moved on and the sky was clear.
After the rain stopped, we hiked down to the observation area to see if there were any whales in the area. Disappointed at not seeing any and ready to leave, a pod of beluga whales made their appearance. Oh the need for patience! (We also found geocache GC1JDFD here.)
18% grade to Les Eboulements, QuebecSteep grades were encounter as we drove down Quebec 389 and along the St. Lawrence; this was the steepest.
St Joseph of the RiverWe stopped at several churches on our trip, particularly in Quebec with it's many historic ones. St. Joseph is a Presbyterian Church in Les Eboulements and its alter was unique and beautiful. Later in the day we visited St. Anne de Beaupre where in 1658 the original chapel was built on land donated to the Catholic Church by Etienne de Lessard.
Bethune-Thompson House Williamstown, OntarioDavid Thompson and Charlotte Small have been a part of our lives for many years. We were married along the Blaeberry River they descended in 1807. We participated in the 2008 David Thompson Brigade and 2011 David Thompson Columbia Brigade. On that brigade we landed at Ft. Astoria 200 years to the day Thompson landed. We have visited Ile a la Crosse where Charlotte was born and raised and where David and Charlotte were married on June 10, 1799. And we have visited their grave sites in Mount Royal Cemetery. Visiting the house where they lived filled in another piece of the puzzle. To be in the room where David worked on his maps, to see the settee that David and Charlotte gave their daughter and to just sit and take in the surroundings was very special.
Canadian Canoe Museum, Peterborough, OntarioWe spent a few hours visiting the museum, it should have been a day or more. Can’t imagine what the new museum will be like with over 600 canoes on display. The Haida dug-out pictured was commissioned in 1967 by Kirk Wipper who founded the museum. No canoe of this type had been built within living memory. The canoe was built and how traditional Haida canoes are being built again. (Haida canoe information from the Collection section of the Canadian Canoe Museum website.) Such is the nature and impact of this amazing museum.