LABRADOR – LABRADOR TO QUEBEC TO LABRADOR AGAIN.
Day 136 – When we got up this morning, it was still windy and raining, but not hurricane or tropical storm strength. Around 11 a.m. the sun came out & it was back to normal – the wind decreased some and no more rain. We went to Wi-Fi Central & looked at the weather; we decided to pack up & leave for Quebec.
158 miles, (4:00), 42293-42451
We departed Pinware River Provincial Park at 11:50 a.m. after taking a final picture of the view from the campground & feeling thankful that we were safe. It was 50 degrees & partly cloudy with some wind. We drove south on Route 510, a journey we’ve made often since we’ve been here. We saw no signs of significant damage. We took a picture of L’Anse au Clair as we came down the hill. Right after L’Anse au Clair, we left Labrador & entered Quebec.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
Soon after entering Quebec, you reach the turn-off for the ferry terminal in Blanc Sablon. The ferry still was not back in operation. Then we were traveling south in Quebec where we’d never gone before. We were heading for a campground that was supposedly in a town called Vieux Fort at the end of the road. Any towns along the short section of the northeastern coast of Quebec, below where the road stops, are serviced only by boat or plane. And there are very few towns along the road, also.
The scenery was awesome. The road wound between the hills and at times came right to the shore. There were beautiful beaches with no one on them. Rocky cliffs, waterfalls, islands off-shore, and the road got narrower as we went farther south. We saw very few vehicles & even less civilization. At times the hills & rocks were bare & it almost took on the look of a desolate moonscape. I saw a whale swimming in the Strait, but couldn’t get a picture in time.
We drove about an hour, then reached Vieux Fort. There had been no road signs advertising a campground (as far as we know since what few signs there were, were in French). We drove to the end of the road – it ended at the water at the town fishing dock. We had lunch there in the RV and waited until we saw someone we could ask for directions, hoping he spoke English. He did. And there was no campground, never had been a campground there. But he said we could park at the “top of that big hill over there”, taking Rob off to the side & pointing up to the top of a tall rocky hill. We decided to go back the way we came, and not take the chance of high winds & being so exposed at the top of the hill. It would’ve had a lovely view, though.
We enjoyed the drive north back to Labrador, taking the time to really enjoy the Quebec scenery. We want to go back down there & explore the little towns that we passed: Salmon Bay, Riviere Saint Paul, Brador, Middle Bay, Fond-de-la-Baie, Bonne Esperance & Vieux Fort, some with no more than a couple of buildings in them. Depending on the weather & when we’d be able to get a ferry reservation, we hoped to have a couple of days free to do so.
We arrived at the Northern Light Inn & RV Park in L’Anse au Clair, Labrador, at 3:50 p.m. It was 51 degrees & partly cloudy. There were 14 campsites; only one was occupied. We set up in site #12, full hook-ups, 30 AMPs, water & sewer – what a luxury – $34.50 per night, Canadian currency. This campground mostly gets the ferry travelers as it’s only 5 minutes from the ferry terminal in Quebec. A perfect stopover before leaving the next day or when just arriving from Newfoundland. AND we have internet & phone connections and can finally post the blog & respond to texts & get up-to-date weather forecasts. We called Greco Pizza Express to inquire about what kind of pizza we could get for dinner, and they said you could get a 9”, 12”, 15”, or party-sized pizza. That was around 4:30 p.m. We called back to order when we were hungry (about 6:30), and we were told they were out of 9”, 12”, and only had one 15” dough left – due to the ferry not running, they had not received their ingredient order. We got the last 15” pizza. We thought it was interesting how much the ferry’s not running made a difference on things in a small town in Labrador. Tomorrow we’ll check into when the ferry will be back up & running.
Northern Light RV Park, L’Anse au Clair, LB
Northern Light RV Park, L’Anse au Clair, LB
Site 12, Northern Light RV Park, L’Anse au Clair, LB