Our boys are old enough now to stay at
home with confidence so we took the
RTT from our expedition trailer and
mounted it on our 60 series Land Cruiser.
This was the best decision for us since
it allowed us to be nimble and quick to
achieve what was going to be a journey of
7700km (4800 miles) on one of the most
isolated roads in eastern Canada.
Our adventure started early in the
morning while I led the Land Cruiser
along the north side of the majestic
St-Lawrence River. The first few
hundred kilometers were very familiar
to me since I used to drive them often
for work, but it is quite different once
we passed the city of Quebec. We left
the St-Lawrence Valley to enter the
Canadian Shield. The road starts to
climb to a much more mountainous
landscape allowing us to admire the
river below. It is very pleasant to
appreciate this huge waterway which
is an important passage for convoy
merchandise on the way to the center of
America, up through the Great Lakes,
which widens more and more to the
ocean hundreds of miles downstream.
After a ferry crossing on the vast
Saguenay River Fjord and a few more
hours, we stopped in the city of Baie-
Comeau to fill up our diesel tank for the
first time since we left. It's important
to fill up here because fuel will become
much more expensive due to the
remoteness of the next gas station. We
were able to make it 500 miles on our
first tank with a fully loaded rig. Oh
how I love driving a diesel-powered
Land Cruiser!
We then headed north on the infamous
Route 389 which is widely known for
those hundreds of curves where many
people experience road sickness. First
built to the edification of the Manic-5
Dam (Daniel-Johnson-Dam) 133 miles
from Baie-Comeau, this road eventually
stretches to access the province of
Newfoundland from the north via a
ferry, 1,060 miles further, where it takes
the name of Trans-Labrador Hwy. The
dam is amazing and worth a Google
search if you're not able to make the
trek to Quebec to see it in person.
Before visiting the dam, we needed to
set up camp for the first night by the
Manicouagan River. The Manic-5 Dam
is the largest multi-vaulted dam in the
world. Route 389 passes next to the dam
and the stately stature of it is striking.
Behind this dam's height of 542', there
is the Manicouagan Reservoir around
one of the largest meteoric craters on
earth, also called the Eye of Quebec,
which is perfectly visible from space.
This first night was a real clash from
our ordinary daily work occupation.
A new moon and very little city light
saturation submerged us in a dark sky
filled with stars. Even Mars presented
itself to us in all its brilliance. From
that point, Mars became an element of
reference making it possible for us to
locate ourselves each night, in space,
throughout our journey.
We enjoyed our breakfast while
watching the early morning pink sky
reflecting off the river, which was
quickly covered with mist as soon as the
sun rose above the mountain. There was
something magical and calming about
seeing this haze settle right on the river.
Having done a trip to the James
Bay last summer (Toyota Trails Mar/
TOYOTA TRAILS
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