The Land that God gave to Cain?
Located smack drab in the center of Labrador, part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the double community of Happy Valley - Goose Bay may seem like the most boring place on Earth to some, but is in fact a nice place to live (well, for a time, at least). In the nine months I have lived here, I have grown to love the place, and remember my time there fondly.
Home to over 6,500 residents, nearly one third of the total population of Labrador, the town is a quiet place, especially in winter, when training is suspended, people move elsewhere and snow is falling at enormous rates. It get's cold, too, but it's a dry coldness, even nice when there is no wind, but deadly when there is. The wind chill factor can easily make the actual temperature drop to -40 degrees Celsius or more. Cars are left turned on when shopping, or connected to a heating system to prevent starting problems. And car-theft is virtually unheard of when the only way out is the Translabradorian Highway, and the next towns are hours away.
The economic center of the community is without doubt the 5 Wing Air Base used by international Air Forces to conduct low-level flying training missions impossible to perform anywhere else. Since the airbase was built over 50 years ago, it has been the single largest economic engine in all of Labrador, providing jobs for most of the local population and it ensures the future of the region's economy. During World War II, Goose Bay was a major staging point for the US Strategic Air Command for flights across the Atlantic Ocean. At that time, more than 16,000 Americans lived at the base, but these times are long gone. Today, the Americans train elsewhere, the last having left 1991. Today, the British, Italian, Dutch and German Air Forces train along with their Canadian hosts. The Wing also serves as a NORAD CF-18 deployed operating base and airfield supporting a mix of aviation activities, military and civilian, in north-eastern Canada.
It can be a peaceful place, where moose and muskrat say goodnight, but if this kind of quiet is something for you, it is quite beautiful. I also never saw the stars as clearly as I did when I was stationed there with the german Luftwaffe. No light pollution whatsoever. Driving through the snow in a skidoo is also great fun. The best way into the community is by way of flying into the small civilian airport. And when you are there, and are able to access the military compound (there were no security checks at all when I was there), be sure to drink some imported german beer and eat some German food at the Deutsches Haus, my former place of work during my tour of duty.
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