A Trip on the James Bay Road / Route de la Baie James

My friend Mike and I decided that this year the bike trip need a different destination, and so we decided to try the James Bay Road. All the pictures are posted at 2010 Summer - James Bay.

	Mike traveled from Kingston to Toronto on the Friday, and we headed north on the Saturday morning with a planned short day ending in North Bay. We decided to run up Hw 35 and have look at the Hawk Lake Log Chute, and that was cool. Got to North Bay, and checked into a little hotel called the Sunset Inn, and had a really great meal at their restaurant called The White Owl Bistro. The next morning, we headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast, and ended up pulling on the rain gear before we even hit the Highway.
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
We swung North-East on 63 a short ways, and crossed the Ottawa River into Quebec, where we picked up Hw 101. By mid morning we were out of the rain, and had a great ride up 101, which is a really pretty road, with a few sweeper, but mostly it is about the scenery, not crazy ridding. It just swings up and down over hills that peak out well over 300 meters, and then drop back down into nice little farming valleys. It was very pretty. Sometime that afternoon, we left the river valley and continued north on 101, then a short way east on Hw 117,  and then Hw 109 to Madagami. Had a rest stop and a great look at the country including all of the mining infrastructure from a really cool observation tower - I think we were on Hw 109 near Lac Malartic when we saw that - but not completely sure.
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
	We spent a quite night in Matagami, at the Hotel Matagami, which was clean with OK food. Early the next morning, we gassed up, including a small Jerry Can, and headed out for the run to Radission. We expected that we had to make it to Km 381 for gas, but when we stopped and checked in at the Info Center at  Km 6, we found out a new gas station was open somewhere around Km 232. Since we already had the Jerry Can, we gave that a pass and made the run to Km 381. As it turns our the big old BMW had tons of fuel, and the 2000 VFR made it - with 2 liters to spare. As we headed north, the country changed a lot. From just south of Matagami, wow, do things change. Just watching the true north arrive over that 700 km or so makes the trip well worth it.
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
Our first night in Radisson, we did not do so good for a Motel. The next morning, we check out, and checked into the Auberge Radisson - Bingo! For sure, this is the place to stay! Off we went for the bay - another good reason to stay at the Augerge is to get the good map - basically back to the Chisasibi road, 84 km to the end of the pavement, 3 km on gravel, turn left, 10-11 km of gravel - and Bingo - James Bay! Very cool - for me, the key reason for the trip!
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
	Back to Radisson, and it turns out we were in time for the bus tour of the power station - in French, but most of it you can figure out without being fluent. For instance, according to Hydro Quebec, of the three countries in North America (Quebec, Canada, the USA), only Quebec is truly green - because they generate all of their power with Hydro! Vive la Hydro Quebec!
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
The next two days were more great riding. Back to Madagami for overnight, and then down Hw109 to Amos, Hw 111, Hw 396, Hw 397, and then a long stretch on Hw 117. We got off of Hw 117 at Grand Remos, and picked up Hw 105 down into Hull. It turns out that Hw 105 is a fun ride - very scenic and a few twisty bits that are fun riding.
We stayed over at a Holiday Inn in Hull - worth mentioning because it was very nice and had a great view.
From 2010 Summer-JamesBay
So the next day, off we go headed for Kingston, where Mike lives and the official end of the trip. It turned out we needed to stop In Kanata and have a new rear put on the VFR. I guess all the construction on Hw 117 finished on the Metzler Z6 just a little sooner than planned. Had a good ride down through Smith Falls after that. Then, a nice dinner and a pleasent evening. Up bright and early on Saturday, go visit some friends in Kingston, and head home. Boom - 3764 kilometers latter, I am home. What a great trip. I recommend it!

A Trip To Paris

Kim and I just got back from a really fun trip to Paris. We both had a really good time, and enjoyed everything about the trip. Tons of pictures at 2010 Summer-Paris

The Flight

From 2010 Summer-Paris Air Canada did a good job. We were two hours late leaving Toronto for the the red-eye to Paris. That was just a good excuse to have a couple of extra drinks, which meant that I actually managed to sleep for a couple of hours. The trip back home left within minutes of the scheduled departure time, and the service was great. Between the two legs of the flight, I killed my iPod battery, and got to listen to a bunch of great music I had not had a chance to listen to for awhile. A funny think happened getting to the airport. The cab driver did not know how to use his terminal to do a credit transaction - he kept trying debit. So, eventually I am standing outside the cab with Kim inside trying to sort this out, the guy moves the cab, and drives right over my left foot. Thank God for high profile tires - while it hurt for a minute - no injury. I ended up running inside the airport and getting cash from an ATM.  One of several little technology glitches.

The Hotel

Kim spend hours finding a hotel that was "just right". I would have to say "Missioned Accomplished". We ended up at the Hotel Sevres Saint Germain, and it was great. Friendly staff, clean, good continental breakfast, perfect location, and a nice little air conditioned room with wireless and a little fridge. Perfect.

The Museums

Wow, what an amazing city for museums. You could spend weeks looking at museums. I am going to mention some highlights, but this list is far from exhaustive - there was so much to seee that impressed at all of the museums we visited.

We started out with a trip to the Musee d'Orsay. The architecture of this building is just amazing. It started its life as an old railway station, and has high vaulted concourses with tons of natural light. I think the highlights for me were Vincent Van Gogh's Self Portrait, and a statue called The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

From 2010 Summer-Paris Next, we walked past the Rodan Museem, and had a look at "The Thinker" in the garden. Just gorgeous. Unfortunately, we picked a day where the museum was closed, so all we saw was the gardens.

Then, we spent a few hours wandering around the Musee de l'Orangerie. Also very impressive. The ground floor is two galleries. Each gallery features 4 very large Monet painting of the famous lily pond and trees of his estate. For me, the lower level was the real treat. It features the collection of the famous collector Paul Guillaume. I really enjoyed that a lot

From 2010 Summer-Paris Last, and far from least, we spent about 5 1/2 hours doing a quick swing through about 50% of the Louvre. What an unbelievable place. Such a huge collection of amazing art. Tons of things to see and talk about. I guess, to pick just one - I have to mention Winged Victory of Samothrace. But, flick through the pictures posted - there are just tons of amazing things to see.

The City and its Landmarks What a great place to walk around. So much to see, so much great architecure. You see all kind of things that are just great, and it is so much fun to just walk - it is really a city built for walking.

From 2010 Summer-Paris The Tour Eiffel - well worth the 40 minute wait in line to ride up the elevator. I got some great photos - have a look.

From 2010 Summer-Paris The Arc de Triomphe is really impressive. After you climb the 284 stairs, you really appreciate the view.

From 2010 Summer-Paris Notre Dame is an amazing piece of architecture. Have a look at the pictures, but face it, you need to go there and see it to really appreciate it. Thank heavens, we decided to not climb the 400 stairs to the top of the stepple.

From 2010 Summer-Paris We went to Moulin Rouge, had a great dinner, and really enjoyed the show. Lots of fun!

From 2010 Summer-Paris Spent a few hours wondering around Montmartre - great places to see some art, get some food, and of course Sacre Couer

Food We had two really great meals, and one really good one. We also had some "Ahh" meals.

From 2010 Summer-Paris For sure, our best meal was at "Le Petit Zinc". A great seafood dinner - expensive and worth it. We shared this gigantic platter of different kinds of shell fish - including some little snails in the shell, and another kind of big snail in a shell - we had not tried these before - they were great. Also, oysters, clams, crab, mussells, shrimp, and likely something else I am forgetting. Really, Really Good!

From 2010 Summer-Paris We also had a really nice meal at le "Relais de l'Entrecote". They serve one dish - beef tenderloan with an amazing sauce, served with french fries and salad. You pick the wine and the desert you want to have with it. It was great.

We also had a nice meal at a place called "Le Rousseau". I had s steak with another yummy rich french sauce on it, and Kim had mussells with a cheese sauce baked on them. We really liked our meals.

Vimy Ridge

From 2010 Summer-Paris This was a very moving trip. The only side trip out of Paris, and well worth it. Truley something worth seeing.

C'est Fini Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. We had fun. If you get a chance - go to Paris

Basement Reno - The Beginning

Back in March, we got an energy evaluation done - as it turns out, about two weeks before the program got cancelled.  So, we have some government funding to help with a few things I really wanted to do anyway. My honey Kim is actively on-board - at least for the basic renovation package. So, the plan is to blow some more insulation into the attic, but an air tight insert in to the fireplace on the main floor, and insulate the basement walls and the headers. So, will make the phone call and get the attic insulation and the air tight installation started - will do that this week - right after Victoria Day.

This weekend, Kate and I - with big logistical support from Kim- got going on the tear down in the basement. Not sure what your basement is like, but mine is full of stuff - both good stuff and stuff that should have been thrown out. We made good progress. Step 1 was to get all the good stuff in the back room over to one side of the room, and create two piles of garbage in the backroom. Step 2 was to empty the front room - moving all of the good stuff to the back room. We got a good start - photos are at http://picasaweb.google.ca/sandy.alexcameron/2010Reno#

From 2010 Reno

Bone Suckin' Ham Stir Fry

A couple of years ago, my buddy Gary in NC gave me a bottle of Bone Suckin' Habanero Sauce, which Kim and I loved. We have been watching for it to show up somewhere here in Toronto, but so far no luck. We did get a jar of the Bone Suckin' BBQ Sauce, and have been keeping it around waiting for an excuse to use it. Tonight we did a strange stir fry, and I thought it was worth writing down - it was really tasty.

• Cube up about a cup of ham
• Cut up a head of broccoli. Small pieces. I always peal the steam and cut that into carrot sticks as well as using the flower
• Slice up about a half of a Spanish onion
• Slice up about half of a zucchini
• Slice up about half of a red pepper
• Crush about 4 cloves of garlic
• Slice up a big handful of mushrooms
• A nice big handful of bean sprouts
• Set the BBQ sauce handy
• Get whatever oil you like to stir fry with - I like grape-seed oil

Time to start cookin!

• Toss the crushed garlic, some oil, and the ham  in the wok, stir fry until it starts to brown, remove from wok and set aside
• Add a little more oil, toss in the vegetables - holding off the mushrooms and and bean sprouts - and stir fry until they are close to al dente - then toss in the mushrooms, and keep stirring until they are close
• Throw in the sprouts and the ham, and add about half of the 16 oz jar of BBQ sauce. Keep stirring for about a minute.

If you like spicy, then either spice up the above by adding something - or if your honey is in the mood for sweet - then leave like the above.

In my case, I then added a bit of Uncle Big's Killer Hot Sauce - just a bit mind you - to my serving, and that was the finishing touch!

So there you go! BBQ stir fry - for something a little different.

Mercury & Venus in Conjunction

From 2010 Spring Venus&Mercury

I got NASA - Sunset Planet Alert message the other day, and have been watching for Mercury. I have watched the stars all of my life, and have seen all of the naked eye planets before - except for Mercury. Mercury is tough to find for an urban guy like me - low and dim means invisible in the city unless you have a good marker. There is no better marker than Venus!

So Kim and I headed up Royal York, and stood on the overpass over the Gardner, where I knew we would get a good view to the West-North-West, and we waited.

From 2010 Spring Venus&Mercury

Once it started to get dark, maybe 20 minutes after sunset, we saw Venus appear. That is always easy to find in a city sky. The photo's do not really do it justice. As you already know if you watch this type of thing, I think you could see Venus in the night sky from the middle of the new strip in Las Vegas - it is that bright.

From 2010 Spring Venus&Mercury

Even though it was easy to find, I was glad to see that as per my sky map check earlier in the evening, we had good clearance above the horizon, and I was therefore very hopeful we would get Mercury as well!

So we waited awhile, and Bingo! Mercury popped out of the haze!

From 2010 Spring Venus&Mercury

We were very pleased. Lots more photos in the album - click below and enjoy. No doubt lots of better photos out there - but hey - we had fun.

2010 Spring Venus&Mercury

Mustang Gas Tank Filling Problem Solved

From 2008 Spring

I bought a 2007 Ford Mustang V-6 back in 2007, and I love the car. But, one thing that really has irritated me is that it can be a real PIA to fill the gas tank. The darned pump shut off will just start shutting off the pump, and you need to restart and fill at less than half speed. Just a huge pain.

I went back to the dealer, and I asked them to look for any recall notices, or a blocked breather tube, or anything like that. No Joy - nothing that they knew about. I noticed a number of articles on the internet, and even a review in the Toronto Star back in 2009 (sorry - can not find the link) where people complained about this, but I could not find a solution.

What really bugged me was that sometimes it filled just fine, and other times it was just terrible. I also noticed that it did not matter which gas station I stopped at - the same station was sometime OK, and sometimes it did not work.

Then, one day, I happened to notice that at most gas stations, the "pad" by the pumps tends to be just a touch higher than the tarmac leading up to the pad. I also noticed that when I park with the rear wheels on the pad, and the front end sticking our on to the tarmac, I always get a good easy fill - no screwing around required!

I figured this out back in the late fall of 2009 - and decided to wait to make sure I had it diagnosed correctly. It sure seems like I do. As long as you park to fill with the nose just slightly lower than the tail, it fills perfectly.

I have no clue why this is the case. But, it sure works for me. I hope this tip helps someone else.

QC Ski Trip - Le Massif for two more days

From 2010 Winter

We enjoyed Le Massif so much on Tuesday, that we ended up back there both Thursday and again today (Friday).

Thursday was without a doubt the cream day. The weather was perfect, no crowds to speak of, and bright-bright sunshine - perfect!

From 2010 Winter

Got on the mountain fairly early and had a couple of great runs before we stopped for coffee. After coffee, Kate feel hard enough that she hurt her right shoulder. But she sat out one run, and then skied the rest of the day - way to tough it out honey!

From 2010 Winter

Friday, we woke up with a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground and a forecast that said to expect more snow through the day. That made the call to go to Le Massif again really easy - we had thought about Ste-Anne for a 2nd day, but the possibility of more new snow at Le Massif was to much to resist! So, off we went for a 3rd day at Le Massif. Today, Feb 19th, is the fourth anniversary of the day I shattered my leg at Fernie, and that thought was with me off and on through the morning. In fact, after really screwing up one run, I said to Kate, "Coffee time", and declared a break. After that, I settled down and skied well. We skied a few short blacks both Thursday and Friday, but we were content with the blues and the greens for the most part.

From 2010 Winter

A great trip, I am sure we will be back, and the next time, I think we will plan the trip with the view of spending most of the time at Le Massif. We talked to a couple of people who mentioned that Baie-Saint-Paulis a great place to stay, close to the moutain, and some good package deals!

From 2010 Winter

QC Ski Trip - Stoneham

We had a nice quiet morning, I posted about yesterday, and we punched out for the short drive to Stoneham around 1015, and were on the hill by about 1130.


I clearly felt this was the third place mountain, and after thinking about it, Kate agrees. We were staying off of stuff posted black, and that might have been a mistake here. I think this was mostly "Ontario Black", which we are both comfortable on, and if we had tried some of the black earlier in the day, we might have opened up part of the mountain, and been a little less bored at the end of the day.

All in all, a very pretty mountain, and worth a look if you have time. But Massif is where we are headed back to tomorrow, and I doubt we will see Stoneham again this trip.

From 2010 Winter

QC Ski Trip - Le Massif

Tuesday morning started a little slow. We were both tired after the first day at Mont Ste-Anne. So, we left the hotel a little late, and the drive to Le massif was a little longer than expected. Light snow falling for most of the drive - I bet that the scenery would have been amazing with better light.

From 2010 Winter

We arrived at the mountain around 1015, and were skiing before 1100. It was covered with really nice snow. We both commented that it was the best snow we had seen all winter. The mountain is advertised as having four tows - but one of those is just a short t-bar at the summit between two of the chairs. The chair on the west end was serving all blacks, and neither of us was up for that, so we skied the other two chairs.

From 2010 Winter

We had a really great time. Some really great long blues and even some greens that were OK to finish the run on, or coast down on for a change of pace, or a bit of a break. All in all, just a great day. I think we will hit that mountain again before the end of the week.

From 2010 Winter

After we got back to the hotel, we rested up a bit, and then went downtown to the old city for awhile. Very pretty. It is nearly 30 years since I was in QC, and I enjoyed wandering around - although the drive in was a PIA - we were not really sure where we were going, and for sure a tough city to drive in if you do not know where you are going. We had a great dinner at a little pub where we could watch the Olympics while we ate, so that was nice as well.

Wednesday morning, we are both stiff. So, we are going to rest this morning, and then head to Stoneham to get there for noon - and ski a half day!

QC Ski Trip - Mont Saint Anne

Sunday 2010-02-14 was a travel day. Kate and I hopped in Sally, and away we went - off to Quebec City for a weeks skiing. The drive went smoothly, and we make the trip in about 9 hours - good weather, good traffic, and not many stops.

Just past Montreal, we went past Monte Saint-Hiliare, which is a neat looking mountain in the middle of a plain. Besides, that not much to report about the drive.

We checked in to the hotel I had booked in QC, had a quiet evening, and we were up and at this morning and off to Mont Saint Anne! We were on the mountain about 0915, which is a good early start for us. Based on the weather forecast, we had been expecting fairly warm, and maybe a bit mushy! But - what we got was pretty much perfect - I would say about -10° C, and nice and crisp!

From 2010 Winter

So, off we went. We started on the south chair, and had a really great morning. All blue, and really nice. Then, over on to the north side for a few runs. Some nice terrain, but it was icy - so we really did not stay there for long. Then back to the south side, and over to the gondola at the west end of the south side. Some nice stuff over there, and we skied that for a fairly long time - in particular, we really liked Le Gross Vallon - a really nice blue 2327 meters long, with 625 meters of vertical
As we started to get tired in the mid-afternoon, we moved back to the south-east end where we had started, and did one last tough run right down the chair line on La Tourmente, then switched out to some of the easy green and blue off of that chair.
Last run of the day was about 1430. Kate ended up on her butt a couple of times, and I was also fading. So, we called it a day and headed for the barn! That was a great mountain. I expect we will need to get back before the end of the week!
Lots more photos at:

2010 Winter

Rest In Peace Scott Hartley

I found out a few hours ago that my friend Scott Hartley drowned last night in a snowmobile accident at Redstone Lake.

I have know Scott Hartley since sometime in the very early 1970s. By the late 70s, I was in my early 20s, he was in his early teens, and we had become friends. One of the first times I remember hanging around with him, I had taken some vacation and was at my parents cottage at Redstone Lake cutting down a big old maple tree. He would come over and hang around with me and help while I worked away on this project. I can tell you a lot of good stories about hanging around with Scott. For several years, Scott, Blaine "Tiger" Kocott, and I had a lot of fun together - both summer and winter.

I can remember a lot of sled rides, boat rides, campfires, and four-wheeling which involved a ton of fun. Unfortunately, I can also remember more than a few times when we were all involved in some fairly unsafe behavior.  I think that this is the time to remember a good friend, and to remember that all of us who were friends over the years have exercised bad judgement. I for one can not help thinking that many of us from those days dodged a few bullets, and that this could have been any of us.

When I think of Scott, I remember a guy with an infectious laugh, and a guy who was always willing to kick in on a job that needed to get done. I remember him grabbing chain saws, shovels, buckets, or what ever other tools were needed and getting it done. I remember some good times working on the road to the cottage together.

One time, in the mid 1980s, me and two friends (Brian and Gina) skied into the cottage in the dark (full moon) on a Friday night. This was before the day of the groomed trail into the cottage, let alone a plowed road. I had arranged with Scott to meet us with his sled and pull in a sleigh full of stuff for us. Scott was there, and made it happen. By the Sunday morning, we had a full blizzard going. Scott showed up with a buddy, I forget who, and helped us get back out of the 3 1/2 mile cottage road in a ton of new snow. Without his help, we would have been in a bit of a mess. I can tell more stories like that - about a helpful friend - those are the stories about Scott Hartley I want to remember tonight.

Some time in the mid-1990s, we started to drift apart. I was not going to the cottage quite as much, and we just did  not see each other anymore. When we sold the family cottage in 2000 and stopped going to Redstone Lake except for the very occasional trip, I don't think I saw Scott again.

But, I still think of him as a friend. I was very sad to hear about his passing. I wish his family and close friends the best in this sad time, and I hope we can all remember the good things about Scott.

Rest in peace Scott Hartley, you were my friend, and I am sad to see you go.

Sandy Cameron
2010-01-02