We left Radisson, Quebec this morning and headed north up the James Bay Road with the intent to reach the end of the road at the massive LG-2 hydroelectric dam.  Unfortunately, our plans were scuttled just a few kilometers up the road where we were informed at a checkpoint that the road was no longer open to the public.  Begrudgingly we turned around and headed back south, turning east down the Trans-Taiga Road.  The Trans-Taiga heads north and east 666km into the wilderness of far northern Quebec.  Our first stop was at Sakami Lake,

followed by a view of the LG-3 dam in the distance.  Shortly after passing the dam, we stopped at the Robert Bourassa Reservoir where we had a picnic lunch while enjoying the view.

Next we stopped at the Pontois River, which apparently is French for “Corvette River” which makes me wonder if they sell Chevrolet Pontois’ in France…

A while further down the road we drove up to the top of a ridge where we were afforded a panoramic view of the astounding LG-4 dam.

Finally, we stopped at the Mirage Lodge alongside the Polaris River for the evening.

After a short hike along the river we had a tasty dinner from the lodge cafeteria before retiring.  Tomorrow we’ll drive as far towards the end of the Trans-Taiga as we can, gas permitting.  The end of the road is the furthest north you can drive in eastern North America, and the farthest you can drive from the nearest town anywhere in North America.  Based on the gas mileage we’ve been getting I believe we’ll have to turn back at Brisay about 100km shy of the end, but it should be exciting nevertheless.  On a separate note, how amazing is it that we have internet access here, 350km from the middle of nowhere??

Got an early start this morning, hitting the road at 7:30.  We tried to stop at the filling station in Nemaska, but it wasn’t open yet.  The next gas station was about 140 miles away, but we had just under half a tank left and figured we’d make it.  130 miles later, we discovered that we were about 1/2 gallon short.  A quick call ahead to the service station and about 20 minutes later a fiftyish gentleman rolled up in a pickup truck blaring Cyndi Lauper and bearing 5 gallons of gas.  After refueling we again headed north up the James Bay Road, first stopping at the Eastmain River where we took a short hike under the bridge to admire its award-winning architecture.

Next we took in the majestic waterfall on the Opinaca River where we had a tasty lunch of PB&J.

With our bellies refeuled we stopped to check out the culvert directing the Old Factory River under the James Bay Road.  The culvert is reputed to be the largest in the world.

Next we made quick stops at the quiet Miron Lake

and the large and beautiful Yasinski Lake.

Nearly at the terminus of the James Bay Road (But not quite!  We get there tomorrow morning…) we headed east on a spur out to Chisasibi where we stopped to admire the impressive LG-1 Hydroelectric Dam on the La Grande River before driving across it.

Once across the dam we made our way out to Longue Point on James Bay.  A little geography lesson:  James Bay is part of Hudson Bay, which is part of the Arctic Ocean.

After spending some time admiring the bay, we headed back to the James Bay Road and went north to Radisson where we are for the night after a TASTY dinner.  Check out the pictures from today to discover what a “Michigan Hot Hamburger” is.

We started the day with a quick trip to the grocery store for picnic lunch supplies and a fill-up at the gas station.  (The next place gas would be available wouldn’t be for 375km!)  From there we checked in at the beginning of the James Bay Road and began making our way north.  We stopped just a few kilometers north of Matagami to hike up to the top of Mt. Laurier where we enjoyed panaromic views of the Matagami area.

From there we made our way up to Matagami Lake where we spent a few minutes enjoying the scenery

before heading a little further along the road and checking out Oescapis Lake.

Next we hiked a short trail to the top of a ridge along the road to soak in the view,

before driving up to the Broadback River where we took a few short hikes along the banks of the river.

Just north of the Broadback River we stopped to take in the impressive rapids on the Rupert River.

A few kilometers further up the James Bay Road we headed east on the Route du Nord which turned out to be a pretty well groomed gravel road.  Several miles down the Route du Nord we stopped at the magnificent Boisrobert lake before pushing on to our destination for the night.

We wound up here in Nemaska around dinner time so we quickly checked into our hotel and grabbed dinner at the small restaurant contained therein.  Nemaska is a small Cree village on the picturesque banks of Lac Champion, so after dinner we took a brief stroll by the lake before retiring for the evening.

Tomorrow we head back to the James Bay Road which will take us all the way north to Chisasibi, a small Cree village on James Bay (Hudson Bay) before we reach Radisson (the town, not the hotel) for the evening.

Spent a few minutes in the morning checking at the North Bay shoreline of Lake Nipissing, then it was further north and further north.  Stopped for lunch in Rouyn-Noranda in Quebec where we had a delicious brunch at Bienvenue Chez-Ouefs before pushing off further north.  Had a little run-in with Dudley Do Right near Cadillac, Quebec where I was informed that 120kph is too fast, but nevertheless made it up to Lac Paradis which is colored an unnatural emerald green by minerals present in the water.   We had just arrived and were admiring the lake and taking pictures when a drunken native showed up to run off whoever just landed on “his” lake in a seaplane — after repeatedly reassuring him it was not our plane, we decided it was best to move on.  A short drive from Lac Paradis we arrived in Matagami, our pit stop for the evening.  We quickly checked into our dilapidated motel (still better than this place!) and took a hike in a nearby city park which included an observation tower atop a hill which afforded a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and some picturesque rapids on the Bell River.  Recharged with some pizza from the restaurant in town.  I’m sure it has a name, but…it’s the only restaurant in town.  Tomorrow, we finally begin to make our way up the James Bay Road, eventually reaching Hudson Bay.

This year it’s remote northeastern Canada.  First we’re heading up the James Bay Road to Hudson Bay, then out the Trans-Taiga Road to Caniapiscau before returning south to Saguenay.  From there we’ll head northeast through Labrador to the Atlantic coast, then down through Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,  and New Brunswick before crossing back into the U.S. and heading home through New England.  Nothing much to report today, just a long day of driving.  Left home about 9am and grabbed lunch in Lima at Kewpee Burgers, which is always tasty.  After that it was burning up the roads, stopping only for gas and poutine until we reached North Bay, Ontario where were are for the night.  Tomorrow morning we’ll poke around North Bay for a bit before heading north to Matagami where we’ll get prepared for our run up the James Bay Road.

Tired and sunburned, so I’ll keep it brief.  Started the day with a hearty breakfast at the Union Street Diner where I enjoyed a concoction with a biscuit base topped with scrambled eggs topped with sausage gravy topped with cheese.  Delicious.  Hit the festival grounds by about 10:00 and planted our chairs at the main stage where we caught Samantha Crain before moving over to the Porch Stage where we saw an excellent show from Duke Jr. & The Smokey Boots.  Then we headed back to the main stage where we saw a scorching set from Lydia Loveless.  While her band broke down their equipment we snuck over to see Moon High before catching the end of Southeast Engine’s show.  Those Darlins were scheduled to play again today, this time on the main stage, but evidently one of them suffered a broken arm last night and they were unable to play.  In their stead we saw a nice bluesy/rocakbilly set from a fun band called Woody Pines.  We settled in at the main stage for the rest of the evening where we saw fantastic shows from country music legends Billy Joe Shaver and Loretta Lynn.  Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings capped off the evening with a dizzyingly energetic show of old-school soul.

En route to Nelsonville, we made it all the way to Mt. Orab before having to swerve off the road to try out a new BBQ place.   I just can’t pass up a sign promising “Real Pit BBQ.”  The BBQ place turned out to be “Still Smokin’ Barbecue” where we tried out the brisket, ribs, slaw, mac-n-cheese, beans, and cornbread.   The meat was tender, but still gave me something to chew on as I pondered the deep pink smoke ring that spoke of a long slumber in the smoker.  The owner of the place chatted us up as we ate, so we learned that he was using half pecan and half apple wood to smoke his ‘cue.  Pass on the sauce at Still Smokin’ — you don’t need it and it was a little thick and way too sweet for my tastes.

After the brief detour, we were back on the road and headed east on 32.  Once we hit Athens we checked into our hotel before heading over to Miller’s Chicken for dinner.  Miller’s Chicken is a little hole-in-the-wall dive that serves up really tasty fried chicken.  The Colonel would be jealous, nothing more really need be said.  After shoving more chicken down our gullets than was advisable we made the short drive up to Nelsonville and headed into the festival.  The festival grounds are on the campus of Hocking College and were really quite beautiful.  We spent some time wandering around, checking out the eats and chotchkes for sale before tucking into the “No-Fi” stage.  The “No-Fi” stage turned out to be a tiny one-room log cabin that could seat about 20 where artists would play acoustic sets.  We checked out a couple of tunes from Liz Pahl before grabbing a couple brews and heading to the main stage to see fellow Cincinnatians The Buffalo Killers.  The Buffalo Killers are a three piece band who turned in a solid set of 70′s style folk rock.  After they finished up we made our way over to the “Porch Stage” which is, fittingly enough, a porch on a log cabin.  Playing there was “Those Darlins” who immediately captured our attention with a high-energy set that was like a 60′s girl band managed by Sid Vicious.  They’ll be playing again tomorrow on the main stage, so we’ll be sure to check them out again.  Next we made our way back to the main stage where we caught about half of the Detroit Cobras show and stuck around for a raucous set of funky soul from Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.  After they wound down we headed over to catch a few songs from The Ragbirds, then caught the end of a strange spectacle going on in the “No-Fi” cabin by Missoula Oblongata.  We capped off the night by listening to some kind of awful racket from a “band” called Weedghost and hung around for a couple of numbers from the unusually instrumented Man Man before heading back to the hotel to get some rest before a full day of music tomorrow.

I really meant to write up the previous two days in Paris as they happened, but…more on that later. Sunday we started the day at Notre Dame, which was especially impressive as services were in progress and organ music filled the cathedral. From there we walked around the area, exploring several churches, Pont Neuf, the Latin Quarter, the oldest tree in Paris, etc. etc. We stopped for lunch in the Latin Quarter where I had an absolutely delectable duck confit. After lunch we got a little lost before finally finding our way to the Orsay Museum, which has the best collection of impressionist paintings in the world, along with a large collection of sculpture. After all the walking we’d done that day we decided to briefly return to our hotel to rest before heading out to dinner. I noticed as we were walking to dinner that, very suddenly, I was no longer particularly hungry. By the time we’d sat down to eat, I was beginning to feel slightly ill. I had only a few bites of food and hurriedly paid the bill and scurried back to our hotel, thankfully only a few blocks away. I then proceeded to spend the rest of that night emptying my body of pretty much everything in it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it turns out I probably had come down with Norovirus. I felt a little better in the morning and allowed myself to be dragged around the Louvre where we saw all kinds of things, notable among them the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. After a quick nap I was feeling much more myself and took a walk down to Trocadero to view the Eiffel Tower. From there we hopped on a Seine river cruise and then headed up to the top of the Eiffel tower. After returning to the ground, I was actually feeling just a little bit hungry and was able to choke down about half a hot dog and a bottle of water before returning to the hotel for the night. This morning we arrived at the airport to find our flight closed, so we’re at an airport hotel waiting for our new flight in the morning.

We arrived back in London today where we took the Eurostar train to Paris, which took only 2.5 hours — way better than flying, plus we got to through the Chunnel. Before I get into our evening in Paris, I thought I’d talk a bit about our cruise in general. We cruised aboard the MS Marco Polo, a relatively small cruise ship, holding about 750 passengers and 350 crew. The small size is what enabled it to get into some of the more exotic ports of call we visited and also served to make the entire experience more intimate. It wasn’t long before you starting seeing lots of familiar faces, both onboard and ashore, and we also got to know several members of the crew pretty well over the course of the cruise. Since this was a cruise leaving from and returning to London, the vast majority of the cruise guests were English, with a smattering of Scottish and Welsh. As best we could tell, there were two other couples from the U.S., one Canadian couple, and a group from South Africa. We also met a guy who was actually from Orkney, so he joined the cruise there in Kirkwall and departed in Lerwick — certainly convenient for him! We also learned that cruising is primarily a retirement activity for Brits, which meant that, other than a handful of children aboard, we were the youngest guests by an average of at least 30 years. It was like a floating nursing home. Canes, walkers, and wheelchairs were everywhere. Another cruise member commented, “I’ll wager fewer finish this cruise than started it!”

Dinner each night was in the Waldorf restaurant which served a five or six course meal. Every night. The food, as put by one of our tablemates, was “never bad, always good, never spectacular.” Seating in the restaurant was assigned and, with the exception of one evening, everyone sat at the same table each night. That turned out to be nice as we were able to get to know the two couples we ate with quite well. One couple was English, and the others were sheep farmers from Wales. There was a more casual restaurant aboard the ship that had buffets for breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner. We would usually take breakfast there — four course breakfasts seemed too much, but generally preferred to get lunch ashore when possible and dinner in the Waldorf.

Entertainment aboard the ship was a highlight. Each night there was a stage performance of some kind — singing and dancing, violin concerts, etc. In one of the bars there was also a “cabaret” each night, which apparently means glorified karaoke. Basically, a few of the crew members each night would sing songs. They were professional singers, so karaoke might be exaggerating a bit….even so it was a blast, mostly because of the charisma of the singers who goofed their way through everything from Motown to ABBA to The BeeGees to Michael Jackson. Most of the crew was Russian/Eastern European, including some of the entertainment staff, which led to some amusing moments. My favorite undoubtedly was hearing “Achy Breaky Heart” crooned out in a thick Russian accent. There was also bingo, “game shows,” lectures, and on and on. Despite the ship being rather small, there was never a shortage of things to do.

Anyway, back to Paris. After arriving at Gare du Nord, we took a cab to our hotel near the Ecole Militaire and Eiffel Tower. After quickly settling in, we took the subway to Montmartre where we had a look around the Sacre Coeur before having a bite to eat then returning to the Sacre Coeur to look out over Paris after dark. I should take a minute to talk about Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. For those who haven’t been there, Montmartre is a neighborhood on a hill overlook Paris, and the Sacre Coeur is at the top of the hill. The nearest subway station to the Sacre Coeur is Abbesses. I don’t know what Abbesses means in French, but I’m convinced it means “The Abyss” because it is about 10 stories underground. I estimate that because I lost count about the same time I lost my breath climbing up all those stairs. Of course, there’s an elevator, but there was a big line waiting for it and we figured we could walk it, thinking there would be only a few flights of stairs. So, wheezing and gasping we finally made it to the top and emerged into the middle of Montmartre. From there it should be a short walk to the Sacre Coeur, which it was. Straight up. Probably another 10 stories worth of stairs further along, in danger of cardiac arrest, we finally arrived at the Sacre Coeur where I could stop clutching at my chest and enjoy the magnificent view.

We’ll be in Paris for two more days, flying out on Tuesday. The enormous backlog of pictures I couldn’t upload the last two weeks are uploading as I type. I won’t have time to caption them, so you’ll all just have to guess what you’re looking at. Sorry Jonas, still no nudity.

Yesterday we arrived in Tórshavn, capital of the Faroe Islands. After walking around the town for a bit and having an absolutely delicious lunch (I’ll upload a picture of my sandwich later) we boarded a tour bus which took us across the only bridge across the Atlantic Ocean to Saksun where we visited an old stone church and Duvugardur, a 17th century farm. We also stopped to view the highest waterfall in Faroe, but due to a recent drought, it was more of a dribble and not much to see. After returning to the boat, we traveled overnight to Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands. At Lerwick, we visited Fort Charlotte and the Shetland Museum and Archives before doing some shopping, picking up some woolen items made from the fabulous Shetland wool. Sadly, we had but a few short hours in Lerwick before we had to take the ship’s tender back aboard and depart. Tomorow we’ll be at sea with no ports of call so I’ll take the time to descibe the ship, it’s crew, and our fellow travelers. We get back to London the day after tomorrow where we’ll board the Eurostar to take us down to Paris.