I depart for my week long road trip to James Bay Canada in less than 24 hours.
This is a chance to just get away, see something new, and have some time without work, friends, family, or a leaky house. Nothing but me, the road, and 16GB of tunes. Oh! And a camera, can't forget that! This is also a great, last chance to see some of the rivers that are due to be dammed for new hydro electric projects in their wild state.
The route is expected to be:
Day 1: Newark, DE -> Ottawa, ON, Canada
Day 2: Ottawa -> Matagami
Days 3-4: James Bay Road to Radison and Chisasibi, Quebec including a tour of the big hydro plant
Remainder: make my way south, possibly diverting to the east North Road or other, paved, roads to Montreal or Quebec City.
The Google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 005859&z=4
Details about the James Bay Road, North Road, and region can be found here:
http://www.jamesbayroad.com/
Some of this is route is very remote and beyond the reach of cellular service. However, I borrowed SPOT satellite beacon from a member (er, that is, "Madam President") of my motorcycle club. You can watch a real time track as I carry on. The SPOT will send a "ping" about every 10 minutes, and I have a fist full of AA batteries to keep this gizmo alive. The trace can be watched at:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl ... 6pqqvNdMiZ
NOTE: If you see a "Help" or "911" message on there... worry. The 911 message should automatically call the rescue services. Help will be used for non life-threatening problems (vehicle breakdown, etc.).
The weather in Northern Canada in August is a crap shoot. It's nominally the month with the least rain, but the forecast is pretty wet for the next few days. I am prepared for bad weather, so this is more of nuisance than a show stopper. Here's a link to local weather conditions:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... ct=WEATHER
Honestly, I am more worried about mosquitoes and black flies. Late summer should be past the peak skeeter season, but I am equipped with DEET and a head-net anyway.
So... I'll post pics and a trip report once I am back, but until then, the road awaits.
Fritz