We got up around 8am and went up for breakfast in the restaurant. The waitress was very friendly and service was quick. Following breakfast, we got gas. Because we had been through the mud coming up to Labrador City, our car was really dirty so Bob asked the attendant if they had a carwash in Churchill Falls. She just laughed.
We headed out of town around 10am. We weren't concerned about the later start because the deskclerk at Churhill Falls had already booked a room for us for tonight in Happy Valley.
The deskclerk the night before had suggested we take the road where the "V" is going out of town to get a sense of how high we are and that there was a nice view from the bottom. We found the "V" and headed down the road. It was a gravel road that led down by the water. Above us we could see the massive power lines coming out from the power plant. She was right that it was a pretty spot. Coming back up the road towards the highway, I noticed a sign that I thought was an Interpretive centre, but when Bob backed up , it was actually an interdenominational cemetery.
After visiting the lake, we started our journey along the second half of the trans-Labador Highway. The road was very similar to the road before. The trip was fairly uneventful and we drove in a peaceful silence, stopping periodically for short breaks. Our constant companions were the massive power lines that followed the road all day.
About 20 km outside of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, we saw a sign for Muscrat Falls, so decided to take it. Muscrat Falls is a 15 metre waterfall on the lower Churchill River. We followed the gravel road several kilometres until we came to a locked gate. There was a court injunction on the gate barring any access to the site without permission. Apparently there has been an ongoing court battle since 2011 regarding this construction and the risks to the environment.
We arrived in Happy Valley-Goose Bay around 2:30pm and headed for the tourist info. We got information about a ferry "cruise" that starts tomorrow for five days, but when I phoned to see if they had any space, I found out there was a waiting list.
We then started looking for our hotel and must have passed it because we arrived at the Northern Hotel 2. Because we were unsure which hotel we had been booked into, we decided to go in and see if this was the one. The deskclerk was delightful. He could not find our reservation, but said he would check to see if we were registered at the other Northern Hotel in town. Apparently we are not. So....the big question is.. Where are we registered? The only information we had was the hotel name and a comfirmation number. The clerk, Jeet, said that there is another Northern Hotel in St. Anthony NS, and offered to check that for us...and YES, that's where we are registered. Go figure. There is no way on earth we could get there, not that we wanted to anyway. I have no clue how the registration got there instead of here. Jeet asked them to cancel that reservation and he registered us at Northern Hotel 2 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He went out of his way to accomodate us and to help figure out what had gone wrong. It turns out he has only been in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for three weeks, and has recently immigrated from India. We had some delightful conversation and exchanged emails. Perhaps if he ever makes it out west, he will connect with us.
While we were trying to sort all this out, there was another couple patiently waiting to be served. It turns out he is military and has just completed three years in China and has just been posted to Goose Bay. They have only been here three months. We had a great conversation about growing up and being in the military.
Once we were settled in our room, we relaxed for awhile and then around 6pm went down to the restaurant in the hotel - a Jungle Jim's. We are now back in our room for an early evening, planning the next step of our journey.
Hotel: Northern Hotel 2
Temp: Sunny and hot - 27c
Distance: 309km
Mileage: 7.8 L/100km
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