Ferry reservations done late last night, we were finally able to get into bed. We were boondocking, ie squatting, at the local beach park that was posted no camping. No one bothered us though. In 3 years, this is the first time we have boondocked. We aren’t much into Walmart parking lots.
I think there are more critical issues for the town to deal with than us boondocking, and probably tonight will be full of evacuees anyway.
This will be the second time this summer that this little town has hosted fire evacuees. The last time was by 700 people from Churchill Falls. It’s a lot to take on. Our grandson’s girlfriend was evacuated through here a month ago when she was interning for the summer at Churchill Falls. Do I detect a family pattern?
A woman walking by just told us they are expecting to more than double the population, 9600 people!. I asked where they were going to put them all… the arena, the local community College, gyms, churches… anything they can do to help.
Our friend from yesterday dropped by again this morning. I think we are a curiosity. We talked about the gasoline problem. He said he didn’t understand the lineups at the pumps. Is it just hoarding? There should not be a gas shortage. Gasoline is shipped to Happy Valley-Goose Bay via tanker twice a year. There is always a lot of gas available, and prices are constant based on the price of gas at arrival time. It doesn’t fluctuate, and no price gouging. By the way, gas was cheaper in Goose Bay than anywhere along here. All because one company, Woodward, brings it in and controls the price. There’s no competition, and they keep it low. They buy low and share it with their customers.
We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. I think the mayor of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is hoping for some serious rain. It has been hot and dry here, which contributes to the forest fire situation. The one at Labrador City is moving fast and out of control.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/wabush-labrador-city-fire-threat-1.7261579
The Starlink has paid for itself today.
We did have things in town we wanted to visit, especially the museum at the Airforce base. The base was built by Canada for Canadian / UK airforce in 1941/42. The US had joint occupancy after that. It was strategically important because of its location and still is. It’s construction also helped unite all the communities in central / southern Labrador.
I’m just going to post photos of the exhibit signs.
We started the trek back to Port Hope-Simpson late morning. 5 hours of the same scenery we saw yesterday. I have to admit it’s very eerie to be on roads with so little traffic. I counted between 60-70 vehicles yesterday for a 250 mile stretch in both directions. Today I counted only 40.
On our way out of Goose Bay, emergency vehicles were stationed at the intersection of the hwy to warn people about travelling further west. On the other side was a welcoming station for the evacuees coming from Labrador city. It all looked very organized. Lots of vehicles coming into town from the west as we headed east.
We found a lovely little park on the Alexis River that has free camping. No services.
You just never know do you, about what oppprtunities life offers or the people you meet? This quiet little stop turns out to be the fishing metropolis. We have been having a delightful time talking to the fishermen who have since come here for an evening fish. They are fishing for sea run Brook trout that spawn in the smaller brooks that feed into this larger river. The fishermen here are from the ‘island’ and are here for a week of fishing. One of them warned us not to walk too far. Bears have been spotted nearby.
The other couple we have been chatting with are from Germany. Their vehicle is quite distinctive and we have been following them around for about a week now. They pulled into this spot about an hour ago. I decided it was time we talked to them. They have a vehicle the same size as ours that they shipped from Germany to Halifax about 3 months ago. It sounds as though they will be in North America for about a year. They have no particular agenda and go where they want. Heading to western Canada, they will move back and forth across the US border to satisfy visa requirements. Once they get to western Canada next fall, they will head south to Baja California (Mexico) for the winter.
What we thought was going to be a quiet, lonely evening has turned out to be quite the opposite.
Someone just came by and gave us a bag of iceberg ice for our drinks. We now have 3 small blocks of iceberg ice in our freezer! How cool is that.
Louise and Brian McLeod Travel Blog 
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