"Thanks for not being a stereotype!"

Today I woke up with one thing in mind: get the hell out of Fermont! Second on that list was tear across the 20k to Labrador City and go to the Horton's there. It's a sad state of affairs when you're excited about the food at a Tim's, but at least I know there was some form of health inspection there. As is typical, Ross had other plans in mind, and instead of the speedy escape from hell I'd hoped for, he took us on a tour of the city. Let's see, there was snow, a lot of snow, and a crap ton of snow. We even stopped at a snow mountain, an artificial mound that they build every winter with the excess snow from the town. The workers seemed awfully confused by the idiots in tiny cars watching them dump snow over a cliff. Then we saw a big truck. I guess it's a mining truck. I didn't bother to get out of the car to learn more, I just wanted some caffeine.

Did I mention how shady this place was?

Unless it was filled with coffee, I had zero interest.

 Finally we hit the road out of town and within minutes were over the border. The first thing you'll notice about the people of Labrador is that they speak English. The second thing you'll notice is that they're REALLY frigging friendly! We were pulling into a spot at the Horton's the same time as a guy coming from the other row. He saw us, waved us in, and just backed up into a different spot. People smiled and said hello and held doors for us. I didn't have to try to interpret things or use charades to order my food. It was wonderful! Also wonderful: my Bagel BELT. That's Bacon, egg, lettuce, and tomato, plus cheese, and dammit it was tasty! I started eating it so quickly, my deprived stomach couldn't keep up and it hit me like a ton of bricks. First cup of coffee in 3 days was also music to my brain.

So long, Queebs!

I saw this sign several places in Lab City. I guess the selling of cars is a big problem there.

Since we really didn't have far to drive, we decided to attempt a side route that headed toward Esker. It would take us the same latitude as Radisson, when we went to Hudson Bay, but there was no way of knowing if it had been plowed or not. We saw the turn off and figured we'd go until we couldn't. For some reason we let the RWD car take the lead, and we in the Landy followed. Brian looked like he was having lots of fun drifting around the bends. Right up until we nearly collided with a massive plow. I have video of all this, but the crappy internet here is making the upload take forever. You'll have to wait a day.

We continued on a ways and Blaine got out to have some fun with Brian on the ride back. I took over the Landy and Sarah's back got some relief courtesy of our air-ride suspension. The group split in two, those looking to have some fun and those that just didn't want to crash. I think I did a decent job of steering the boat around in the snow and nearly keeping up with Brian. When we reached the end, Carl pulled in behind me and thanked me for not being a stereotype. I asked if that was in reference to being in an SUV or my gender, and he said the latter. That's right, pal, girls can drive, too! While we waited for the last two cars to catch up, Blaine decided to chance eating one of the rather stale pastries. A few bites in he realized the error of his ways and chucked it into the snow. In a way, I feel like a missionary, converting the local wildlife with my zeppole for the Feast of St. Joseph. One little bird noticed them, and took a bite. You could clearly see his little bird tastebuds go crazy as it was unlike the usual dead things he has to scavenge for in this winter wasteland. Then his little bird friend appeared and a turf war broke out as their first introduction to sugar blew their minds.

Best day of my bird life EVER!

"I'm Carl, and I'll be your guide to Labrador today."

After that, it was a very bumpy but boring ride into Churchill Falls. We had stayed here in 2007, and I'm pretty sure not one thing has changed. This is the hotel/grocery store/library/post office/restaurant building and gets a lot of traffic. Some locals noticed Dave pull in and said "Look! A MINI!" I said more were coming and we started chatting. Did I mention how friendly the people are here? They were interested in where we were from, what we'd seen, where we were heading, and of course, if we'd toured the hydro plant. As I took the tour last time, I elected to pass as did Blaine, but the rest of the group was going later. We checked in to our smoke free rooms and met in the restaurant for a quick dinner before they had to take off. It's kind of nice to just have a night to relax and do nothing. Tomorrow is our longest day, as we pass through Happy Valley/Goose Bay and move on to Port Hope Simpson.