Another wet morning, more Black Spruce tundra and more gravel road brought us to the (twin .. adjacent?) towns of Goose Bay and Happy Valley. All the shops were closed, but fortunately not the gas station and visitors center. A further 30 kms north was the Town of North West River where we spent an informative couple of hours learning about the fur trade (at the Labrador Heritage Museum) and the ethnic origins of the peoples of the region (at the Labrador Interpretation Center). It is hard to credit but settlement of Labrador and its meager population of 51,000 owes its existence to the fur trade (or more accurately a fashion craze in Europe for felt hats made from beaver pelts). Approaching from the north and the Hudson Bay was the British strategy for gaining access to the furs of Canada in the face of French domination of the Quebec City region and the St Lawrence. North West River was a key stop along the fur trading routes as it has access to the sea via Lake Melville and the narrows near Rigolet. The Museum is housed in the old Hudson Bay Company store building and contained many artifacts from a way of life that is not all that distant for the folks of this town. As recently as the 1940s trapping fur was the main livelihood of many residents. We learned about tilts, small wooden buildings about the size of a 2-man tent, The trappers built these along their trap-line at 1-day intervals. We also learned about Mina Hubbard the wife of Leonidas Hubbard who (after a failed and fatal attempt by her husband) became the first European to map the interior of Labrador in 1905.

The group of young folks who explained the exhibits in the Museum were incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable, we thank them for their time and effort. Similarly we thank the two ladies at the Interpretation Center for their knowledge and time, and also for explaining some of the history of Labrador and how the name NewFoundland became NewFoundland-Labrador

Earlier in the day, on first arriving at Goose bay we stopped at the visitors center and made use of their excellent wifi to upload website updates, get emails and with the help of the friendly young lady staffing the center made ferry bookings to and from NewFoundland.

In the closing part of the day we started down highway 510. This road is named picturesquely Labradors Coastal Drive by the occasional signs along the way but, the very bumpy start to this gravel road and the sign that says (something like) Warning drivers no fuel for 396 km gives a slightly more intimidating impression. Also it should be said that in most places a coastal road is one that runs along the coast but the creative Labradorians have applied this description to a road that runs, very eventually, to the coast.