Cape Cod Rocks

Myself and Colleen stayed at Joe Mackay’s cabin for a couple of days before continuing on to Churchill Falls. Mr.and Mrs. Mackay were great hosts. They were also great cooks and prepared some delicious meals of caribou roast, partridge soup, rabbit and moose.

Ray drove us down to Muskrat Falls. We walked over the side of the hill to the top of the falls. There were patches of snow on the trail and the ground was soft. Ray supplied us with rubber boots to keep our feet dry. The roar of the falls was deafening. It was at a point where the Churchill River narrowed between two hills and cascaded over the rocks. The falls was not that high but the river was so narrow millions of gallons of water flowed through this gulch with a terrific force. “So this is part of the Lower Churchill” I thought. “What a source of hydro development.”

We sat on a rock above the falls and the mist from the falls felt like a light rain. It was very refreshing. Colleen stood up on the rock, her long blond hair blowing in the wind. I looked at her and smiled “What a beautiful woman.”

Ray took some pictures. We continued to the top of the falls and walked around some rocks, where the river widened. It looked like a large lake above the falls. Ray took us back by a different route along the beach. At that point the river looked about a mile wide. There were a couple of canoes and some old caribou bones washed up on the beach. Colleen stopped and looked at the antlers. Ray looked out on the water with his binoculars. He pointed at two canoes moving toward them. We stopped and waited until the canoes landed on the beach. It was the couple that we met on an earlier trip to Labrador.

Myself and Ray talked to the two canoers for about fifteen minutes while Colleen looked on in amazement. The two canoes contained hunting supplies, camping and fishing gear. One of the men showed them a fish about four feet long. They talked for a few more minutes shook hands and continued on to the truck.

We drove past Joe’s cabin and continued up the road toward Churchill until we came to a turn off in the road. The charred remains of burnt trees showed where a large forest fire had burnt over the area. A sign said Gull Island. We turned off the main road and continued down toward the river. The four wheel drive bounced all over the road. We came to a washout which Ray navigated around and stopped on the bank of the river.

Ray took out two fishing rods and guided me downstream to a pool just below the rapids. Colleen stayed by the truck and watched for a few minutes. Then she walked up the side of the hill, following an old caribou trail, and looked down on the river. She could see for miles. She surveyed the country through the binoculars and watched while Ray and I caught a couple of fish. She noticed a couple of geese downstream. She swung the binoculars around to survey a marsh and saw three caribou feeding on the edge of a pond.

We got back to the truck with three nice fish. Ray rummaged through his knapsack, dug out some potatoes, onions, the Coleman stove, utensils, and started to prepare a meal while I made a shelter to protect us from the wind. A few minutes later Colleen came back and we enjoyed a meal fit for a king.

Ken Smith arrived at Joe’s cabin a few minutes after Ray. We were unpacking the truck when Ken pulled up to the cabin. They went inside and Joe produced bottle of rum and a couple bottles of homemade wine. Mrs. Mackay put out some caribou sausages and grilled salmon. Joe took out his guitar and fiddle. Ray got out his accordion and they started playing The Northern Lights of Labrador. Ken looked at myself and Colleen and said, “Enjoy yourself. Don’t you party too hard. We are leaving for Churchill Falls early in the morning.”

There was a mist rising from the river creating pockets of fog in the valleys as we drove up the road. As we climbed the hills, the fog disappeared. We looked down on the river flowing through the valley and could see the hills surrounding Goose Bay and where the river narrowed forming Muskrat Falls. There was a look out at the top of the hill. Ken stopped the truck and we got out to take some pictures. We could see where Lower Brook ran into the larger river.

“What a beautiful view,” Colleen said. “So this is part of the mighty Churchill River. What a beautiful country.”

We continued on and passed Gull Island and went around a turn where we started climbing Pope’s Hill. Ken explained that this was new part of the road and he pointed toward a trail that went straight up the hill. “That’s the old part there. They call this Pope’s Hill because the people driving down from Churchill said the Rosary and prayers before they drove down it,” he laughed.

We were well above sea level and there was snow on the side of the road and in the woods. we continued on pass Cache River and an hour later, arrived at Mitchum River, fifty kilometers from Churchill Falls.

We arrived in Churchill Falls before noon, made arrangements for a tour of the hydro plant at two, then went to the hotel for lunch. A tour guide picked us up at the hotel in a Hydro van and drove us through the town.We stopped and went inside a building where we watched a film on the development of the Churchill Falls Hydro Project and then continued on to finish the tour of the plant.

The complex, one thousand feet underground, contained eleven penstocks, a powerhouse, a transformer gallery, a surge chamber and two-tail race tunnels extending one and a half miles underground to the river. The underground power house was one of the largest in the world, containing eleven generating units. Two men in an instrument filled computer room, controlled the facility, including the water control structures located on the surface. Two other men controlled the underground powerhouse.

The Churchill Falls hydro plant supplied most of the hydro for the north eastern seaboard of the United States. Churchill Falls was one of the largest single power stations on the western hemisphere. The tour of the plant took three hours. We went to the hotel, had our supper and continued on to Labrador City.