Today is Canada Day. Today marks 140 years since the birth of Canada, and Canada refers to it as the fourth of July in the United States.
Breakfast should have been available at 6:30. We were there with the other guests at 7. Since there was a little rain, the owner drove us into his truck, pick up, so he had to make three trips to deliver us all. My wife and I went first. Our luggage was left by the bed and breakfast, which will be delivered to the station that evening.
The polar princess, operated by Two Bay Tours, leaves at 8. After our tickets were exchanged for a boarding pass, we were ready for boarding. Rachel *, the guide, took a couple of photos of us on the dock with the boat. The polar princess is 65 feet long, with 100 passengers. Today there are only 13. A good amount, since there is a lot of space. There are maps of the river, so we can see the route to the mouth of the river Musoni, at the entrance to the James Bay. There we turn, because a large boat is required to obtain a special license to go to the bay.
Departure took place at 7:50, after all the guests were on board. The seats were in the style of a stand with a table between two seats, like in a restaurant. Upon return, we watched the movie. Try to guess the name available at the end. The river bank is mostly trees with several beaches. The water is brown or brackish. In Musoni there is a community and one on the island of Muses Factory. About 3,000 people live in Musonin, and this is about 85% of the Cree. Moose Factory, on the island, has a population of about 2500 people, mostly Cree. A high school and a small college are located in Musoni, and the hospital is in the Museum. I did not find out why this is called a factory, but there were the first white people on the island who established trade with the Cree; people of the first nation of this region. More on the island later.
One fact really fascinated me. After the “freezing” begins in November, the river is frozen by Christmas, allowing traffic, including trucks, to pass through the river. I find it hard to believe, but on the river at that time there is at least four feet of ice sufficient to support movement.
We were told in bed and breakfast that the river of ice, which extends about 300 miles to the north, makes it easier to travel in this area. They add about a foot of water to this icy road to make a frozen traveling bed. In winter, they can deliver supplies to the north along this road. Last winter, the area received only a few centimeters of snow. Low humidity makes the cold less extreme when the temperature drops to -40 ° C. I found out that you double the Celsius number and then add 30 to get closer to Fahrenheit. Here, double negative 40 Celsius equal negative 80, then you add 30 for negative 50 Fahrenheit. Remember that this is an approximation.
There were many pots on dirt roads in Musoni while we were there. The owner at the bed and breakfast said that when he starts to freeze, he washes his truck and he stays clean all winter! Although no salt was added to the roads, I noticed that dirt on the small bridge fell off to the sides, where it was common in winter. While in the summer all cars were dirty with dirt roads. The roads are really smooth when they freeze.
Children on the island come to school on the Polar Express before "Freezing" and after the "Spring Break". With the river frozen, they ride the school bus. During freezing and destruction, a helicopter is used, the cost of which is charged by the government. Sometimes, in the bottom 48, we think the weather is bad!
* Changed name
