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The truck of choice in Labrador and Newfoundland
Here is where these things belong, not in the Harris Teeter parking lot.This entry is dedicated to Mike Parker who turns 57 today (June 5). Happy Birthday Mike !
You were right. There is nothing there. But for a few bear, a caribou and porcupine, today's trip across most of Labrador to the Atlantic Coast at Happy Valley/Goose Bay was uneventful. The road is smooth and empty. It rises and falls from a low of 200 to a high of 450 m above sea level. The stunted Northern forest seems to have little topsoil and humus to support it. With a long, smooth, empty road ahead and no-one in my field of vision, I did what any red blooded biker would do and let it rip… Of course, it wasn’t long before I went over a hill and faced a large incoming Royal Canadian Mounted Police car. The cop was very decent. Stopped me, carded me, lectured me, and let me get on my way without the expected ticket. I love Canada. He was so good. He actually convinced me to go slow. “Take it down a couple of notches” he said, "drive in 5th gear". I subsequently read a true story by a long time resident of Labrador explaining why he
Cutting along the Trans Labrador Hwy
Doesn't look like there is much holding those trees down... liked to go out to an island in his old slow boat -- he was “enjoying the going along”. I now motor along considerably slower, enjoying the view rather than the adrenaline.
Nalcor is all over Goose Bay as well. They are building the Muskrat Falls dam on the Churchill River, a few km from town. A controversy has arisen surrounding the possibility of methyl mercury contamination of the fish in its reservoir, and hence poisoning downstream fishermen who turn out to be mainly Inuit. A grandmother from the Inuit group has been sent to prison for demonstrating. The evidence is apparently not clear, and the company resists an expensive topsoil cleansing operation. The argument smoulders.
Nothing I had read had told me that, because of the impact of the spending on the Dam project, Happy Valley/Goose Bay has become the economic center of Labrador. I found a large hospital, lots of shops, mechanics, hardware stores and hotels. They even have a Tim Horton’s coffee shop -- the only one to be found in Labrador. All I had been expecting had been a large airport that used to house planes from the Strategic Air Command, and serve as
A beautiful empty highway
Perfect for long distance bikers. a stop for transatlantic flights in trouble. The place is humming, and should be for another few years. The Muskrat Falls project is due to keep spending until 2020.
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Ellie
non-member comment
Thank you Mr Policeman!