This blog is about part 1 of my 20,000+ mile car-camping trip with my dogs from DC to Alaska via Labrador. Part 1, in 2011, was to the end of the road in northeastern North America in Labrador and then on to Quebec and Ontario, 7609 miles. Part 2, which took place in 2012, picked up where Part 1 left off in Ontario and was supposed to extend to Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies, but Leben, my male German shepherd, became paralyzed on the trip so we cut it short. We will finish the journey in 2013, when we will return to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Day 5, August 24, Wednesday, 197 miles

Day 5, August 24, Wednesday, 197 miles

Today, we drove from Mt. Carleton in New Brunswick to Matane, Quebec, 197 miles. I am amazed at how empty the roads are here. What a great park this is. The dogs cannot get enough of all the strange smells they encounter every time they leap from the Defender.

Last night and the night before at Peaks Kenny, the temperature was in the high 30s. I had to pull out my winter sleeping bag.

When I got to Matane at 430, the supposed "seaside" camp next to the ferry" I had a reservation in was nothing more than a treeless, RV parking lot, miles from the ferry, overlooking nothing. I drove right on by it and found a wonderful campsite on the Matane River closer to the ferry, which I have to get up at 330 to catch tomorrow.

The Defender performed beautifully today. The temp gauge was frozen at 47, normal. I think my problem self corrected, with a little help from all those hills and my inadvertently letting the air bubbles escape when I checked the coolant levels. Score one for good fortune on this trip.

Tomorrow we head for Baie Commeau Quebec and the start of the 9-day drive through Labrador, about 1300 miles. The first 200 miles to labrador City will be back roads with a hard surface. After that, all but 120 miles of the rest will be dirt and gravel, with services between 150 and 250 miles apart. Really wild country up here.

Ed

P.S.

This word-processing program I use on the iPad makes corrections for me and inevitably it s wrong. Sorry for any typos or ambiguities.

P.S.S. I will not ave Internet till tomorrow evening.
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