The camping area we huddled down for the night was quite pretty in the daylight. It, however was a long night as it was hot all night; it never really cooled down. So we wanted to sleep with the windows open but then the swarms arrived in full frenzy. If we closed the windows, it felt very oven-like, very sweltering. It my first time at feeling truly claustrophobic in our camper set up. It would get so hot, so we’d open the window, sometimes just a little to let some air in, and just a bugs, or fully open to let in more as we had to debate what was worse. Death by heat or death by mosquito. We survived but it was a restless night overall.
Since we arrived at dark it was hard to see what was what. The lots were big and there wasn’t anyone close. A truck camper but no truck along with a boat sat through the woods, another truck, and another camper in different directions. A large camper pulled out this AM about when we did. It was called Lac de Vielle and it was a rustic campground (no bathrooms, water, or anything!). We didn’t drive around the campground to explore it further. We noted they opened at 7 but no one was there when we left about 7:15 and it was locked up tight. So we left. We will get their phone number at some point and mail them a check I guess! There was a tall wooden structure we can only speculate on what its intention is. It is stairs and a a walled platform at the top. We think maybe to keep bears away from food?? Since there wasn’t anyone there we couldn’t ask.
The drive didn’t take as long as we thought it would , our goal Matagami, the last “real” road before the James Bay Highway. It was a beautiful drive, LOTS of trees and signs for log trucks. The log trucks are frequent but don’t carry giant logs but smaller ones and the trucks really zoom by. Canada is a major paper manufacturer!
We also noted signs for snowmobiles; snowmobiling is a big draw anywhere in Canada! Roads just led off into the trees, some paved, some overgrown, some rock. Some signage of where they went, some not. We just assumed all trees and logging as you couldn’t see beyond the trees. Val D’Or is a biggish town and there suddenly appeared what looked like a HUGE mining operation. It turns out it was a huge mining operation, but not coal, but rather zinc, copper, and lithium! Many of these towns are small, and have limited gas stations and conveniences we take for granted!
One sign along the highway stated Maple Mine. Hmmmm. One, as we got closer to Matagami, boasted Mine Matagami. The Maple Mine is actually a gold mine! I was surprise at that, and the Matagami one was for zinc and copper. Northeast Canada especially has a huge mining economy, lots of ore!
We topped off the gas and wondered if we should go ahead and start our “remote” road journey. This is a paved road and will land at a town called Radisson and it lies above the 53rd parallel. The road ENDS here! Other towns further north are along the coast and require boats or planes. At Radisson we will take a left to go to Chisasbibii, a small town on James Bay, part of Hudson Bay, part of the Arctic Ocean. Woo Hoo!!
Since this is so remote and before we started, it is suggested we “sign” in at the information center. She asked questions and made comments, like, “Do you have a full tank of gas?” “There isn’t cell service after about 40 kilometers, even though some towns may have a little.” She gave us a list of all the places we could stop, along with their kilometers traveled. We weren’t going to start until tomorrow but we got such an early start we decided to drive a few kilometers this afternoon, to the first and last civilized campground. It has showers! Bathrooms! Some electricity based on the number of large campers parked here. We got a nice spot and were immediately bombarded by bugs, LARGE flies, tons of mosquitoes, and more! It was hot again today (95 ish) so we opted to put our canopy up to keep us in additional shade. It is a shady spot but not total. We got to use our screen walls today!! WOW! Great decision to buy those walls! It kept most of the bugs out but some still snuck in, sneaky buggers. We did bring along some yard Off, to spray on ground and that helped, for awhile.
Our site is just up the path from a lake. When Andrew checked us in, he asked about kayaking on the lake and the host said the lake is pretty big and so the waves were really big. He said we could wait them out and once they settled down we could go out and fish. We opted for a walk. It has a small tan sand beach along the edge. We wondered if they bring in sand? Or if it could be natural. It doesn’t seem likely, but we’ll have to ask on our way out. They had picnic tables all along where we walked and you could tell those that called this their second home as there were rubber rafts and kayaks tucked into the trees, as well as lawn chairs and buckets of toys! The sky grew darker and darker and as we headed back we got rained on. The bug spray worked fine until the rain washed it off and then we were fresh meat again. And we opened up our map app to see where our blue dot was in comparison to the world, and it is not just a big lake, it is a HUGE HUGE HUGE lake, starting now even below Matagami and extending way beyond here! We are now further north than any state of the contiguous USA.
We had just settled under the canopy when the sky opened up and it poured down! Hail, too!! The canopy was shifting this way and that, the rain even making its way in through our screen. We waited it out and then had to spray the ground again. It seems to be holding up for now.
We took showers and did some “wash,” hanging it out on our clothesline since the storms seem to be over for now. The temperature dropped but the bugs are still rampant. After showers, it took Skin So Soft AND extra DEET Off to keep them a little at bay. But, if you miss even just one spot, they KNOW!! Jeez!! This will be our world for a few days!!
I was sitting in my chair before the rain when we had a quick visitor. A chipmunk darted from under the truck and bounced off one side of the screen (Ooops, he didn’t see that!) before heading back from whence he came. Apparently he also came to visit Andrew while I was showering!! We open our 10 x 10 canopy and put maybe 18” or so over the back of the truck so it is to the ground except right next to the truck. So the little critter and a few smart flying insects still make their way in. But it is keeping most at bay for now. The temps look great for tomorrow.
And Andrew’s chipmunk friend keeps popping out from under the truck!
Simple supper soon, and perhaps a bike ride or a book! I’ve never read Anne of Green Gables, ever, and feel perhaps I should. :)
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