Day 29 August 21, 2026 Baie-Comeau Quebec to Relais-Gabriel Quebec 195.6 miles
The day started out partly cloudy and stayed that way all day. Very thankful for that because part of today’s route will be on gravel road.
We started the day with a fuel stop which is usually not a big deal. Usually just people asking to take a photo. A father and small son did that. Then for some reason the gas pump didn’t seem to work so Rob went into the store. The clerk set the pump for $20 regular gas. Two problems wth that. We needed more than $20 and we wanted premium. So when Rob pushed the premium button the pump made an annoying sound. The clerk tried to solve the problem from inside but that didn’t work. Finally two women came out and eventually determined that Rob needed to push the regulator button. That worked but only gave us $20 worth of gas. Rob had to go back in and go through it again. Never had that much trouble before.
Then we made a stop at the big IGA store. Well that is really upscale. They had lots more choices of everything. The store is arranged quite differently too. The cold cases and frozen food go in a zigzag formation and separate the produce bakery and deli from the rest of the store. We also determined that finding the cookies is difficult when you don’t know the French word for it.
When we got back out to the car Connie reached for her phone in her pocket. It wasn’t there. She left it in the shopping cart. Both of us went back in the store looking for it. We finally went to the service counter and asked if they could announce about it. Thankfully someone had already turned it into lost and found. Oh what a relief.
Finally we are ready to head out of town. For many miles the road is in really great shape. The pavement has a pink tint to it. The cuts in the mountain for the road to go through are quite impressive. This project cost them a lot of time and money.
We came close to a huge hydro electric dam. The power lines headed out from there are numerous and tall. The trees under the lines have all been removed.
Something dead is laying on the opposite side of the road. Two crows and a vulture are working on the carcass. The vulture is smaller than some breeds, but the head is still ugly.
The route so far has had some steep up and down hill grades. Anywhere from 7% to 12% are common. Luckily most of them are not real long. Rob got lots of practice shifting.
The wind is blowing harder than it has for the last few days. That really affects the driving and gas mileage.
Once again lakes are everywhere. Some are more like ponds but some are much bigger. Still don’t see any water craft on them. Don’t see anyone fishing from the shore either.
Oh my gosh we came to an even bigger dam. It’s called the Daniel-Johnson Dam. It has 13 arches and is the world’s tallest multiple arch dam. It stands 702 feet tall and 4311 feet long. The road is very close to the base of the dam so it really looks massive. A hairpin turn is close to one end of the dam. That is immediately followed by a 17% uphill climb. Well we had to slow down so much for the turn the woodie didn’t have enough power to get up that incline. It was all Rob could do to hold the car in place and not roll back down. A heavy duty vehicle stopped but he was not allowed to pull us because of the insurance. He said he would turn around and talk to his boss. Connie then got out the tire chocks and put them behind the woodie’s four tires. Then we waited. During the wait a gentleman from Labrador City stopped and offered to pull us up the hill. Just before we pulled out the first man returned with a front loader to do the same. We went to a turn out at the top of the hill and disconnected. We also poured in one of jerrycans because we knew we didn’t have adequate fuel to reach the next fuel point.
The up and down hills continued but luckily none of the rest were as tall. We were able to make it up and down the remainder of the way without assistance. Sometimes it was very slowly. We were both glad to see Relais-Gabriel. That is not a town. It is a gas station and small restaurant with a few rooms for rent above the restaurant. We have one of those rooms reserved. It was small like a room in a cheap Japanese hotel.
Two ladies are in the area with their dogs. One is a young lady with a big dog who is in her camper for the night on the way for a vacation. The other turned out to be the mother of the men running everything. She had a very small dog. Connie thought about dog snatching but she knows how fast the woodie can go.
Our room has two twin beds, small sink and a small night stand with a lamp. The room feels cool and the heater doesn’t seem to do much. Don’t know what they do in the winter. The shared bathroom is down the hall.
We decided to eat here rather than use food in the trailer. We ordered two of their hamburgers with everything on them. The process was interesting to watch. The smashed burger must have been at least 8 ounces. The cook also toasted the buns. He added cheese pickles, tomatoes, onions, mustard, ketchup and lettuce. Then he topped it off with a gherkin pickle on a wooden stick stuck on top. It was so tall we could not bite into it. We each ate half and got a go box for the remainder. That will be a good lunch tomorrow. Two groups of other patrons were there for dinner. All were having a great time.
When we returned to the room it still felt cold so Rob asked for two more blankets. The extra cover made all the difference. We felt so warm and cozy all night.
Spoffords Travel 