quebec moose hunting lodges
Fermont is a unique company mining town. The company built a five to six story wall, over two – thirds of a mile in length to reduce the winds from the North. In this wall are apartments for over 600 people, a hotel with 123 rooms, a commercial center with different stores, a recreation center with swimming pool, gymnasium, curling rink etc., the town school, hospital, and city hall.
At the tourist center we met the most delightful and informative department of tourism representative, Julie Marcotte. She not only represents Fermont, but also Scheffering, hundreds of miles to the North. This was once another prosperous mining town, but has been closed for a number of years. The only access is by rail or airplane. The most exciting activity there is the caribou hunt of the George River herd, one of the largest in the world. She works with the aboriginal people of two villages. One village speaks English and their own language, while the other speaks French and their own language. Even being next door neighbors to each other, they cannot communicate with each other. Even more ironic is that one tribe is filthy rich, while the other is dirt poor. The rich ones signed the James Bay Treaty many years ago. She is working with them, trying to help them rediscover their identities. The elders forgot what they knew, the middle aged don’t care about anything but materialism, and the young want to learn but don’t know from whom they can find the information. Julie is trying to give them proper direction.
I wanted to get a picture of the town. To do so I had to climb a 300+ foot hill, Mount Daviault, to get a panoramic view. The climb was well worth the effort. Wild blueberries grew in abundance. Guess what we had for breakfast with our porridge? We stayed overnight in the parking lot by the trail and saw an abbreviated version of the aurora borealis (northern lights) through the rain.
Fermont has a very active Moose Lodge, over 600 members. I went there, but everyone there spoke only French. Julie said that both she and her parents were members and was very surprised that we were too. She said that they are very active and have events throughout the year, which are open to the entire population.
I failed to mention that Fermont is predominantly a company town; not quite as much as Churchill Falls, but close. The mine had a choice of closing one of its pits in 1985. They chose the one at Red Lake and bulldozed the town of Gagnon. The residents of Gagnon moved to Fermont. Fermont has no cemetery. When, or if, people die, they are buried somewhere else, usually from where they were born.
Thursday, September 04, 2003
We started driving down RTE 389 in PQ. We first passed Wright Mountain, the present iron mine for the community. The site extends for miles. The road turns from paved to gravel and is that way until Gagnon. Gagnon, once a town built for 8,000 people, but only housing 4,500 in its prime was leveled in 1985. The only surviving edifices are the church bells (now in Fermont) and the Arena now in Godbout. You know you have arrived when the pavement which started again at Red Lake now becomes a divided highway extending about one mile with a sidewalk on one side. Nature has taken over the rest of the land. I don’t know who uses the sidewalk now. Perhaps, the three bears from Goldilocks fame, taking their daily stroll.
The road becomes gravel again for 176 K. It passes through the Groulx Mountains and by the second largest meteor crater in the world, Manicouagan. The crater is thirty-six miles in diameter and has an island in its center. The only way to view the entire crater is via airplane. Even climbing into the Groulx Mountains will give only a partial view of the crater. It is that huge. The water in the crater now is the reservoir for Manix 5 of Hydro Quebec. The Johnson dam of Manix 5 is one of the largest type in the world. Yet it does not produce even close the amount of power which the one at Churchill Falls produces. Once again the road becomes paved until Baie Comeau. Along the way you also pass by Manix 3 (not visible from the road), and Manix 2, which we had previously toured a couple of months ago. Tours of the mines and the power plants end the Friday before Labor Day and the resume on June 24 of the next year.
We arrived at Baie Comeau at 5:30, filled Boss with fuel at a bargain price of $0.69.9 per liter or $2.80 per gallon. On the road we had just traveled, the price was just under $4.00 per gallon. In Newfoundland we averaged about $3.40 per gallon. Fuel is very expensive up here.
About the Author:
John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. He has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Fermont, PQ-The City in a Wall
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