Johanne Vallée, who is retired and hails from Laval, has been traveling in an RV with her partner Alain Bilodeau since 2007 for the autonomy it provides, as she enjoys visiting more wild places and exploring less traveled roads.

This summer, she traveled to Fermont via Route 389 with a couple of friends, Huguette Palardy and Gérard Lussier, a trip she was supposed to make in 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic. After two years of waiting, Johanne was very excited to get to know the iron city better with the company Aventure 52e parallèle, which offers the opportunity to discover the territory with residents who become, for the duration of the visit, tourist guides. She had the opportunity to meet Marilou, her partner Elie, and their little 2-month-old Adelaide one Sunday morning to take a walking tour of the wall and surrounding streets. This allowed her to better understand the dynamics of the city and its local residents. This was followed by a hike to La Croix du Mont Daviault, a popular spot among travelers. The five days spent in Fermont allowed her to discover a dynamic and wild city. She was very touched by the hospitality of the people there.

She then headed towards Labrador before reaching Blanc-Sablon. The changing landscape and the extended days are elements that fascinate the retired traveler.

"When driving towards Vieux-Fort, one feels a bit like being on the moon at times. There's a bit of fuzz on the rocks. It's impressive."

On the road, she encountered several tourists, including people from Europe, Manitoba, and Saguenay. Johanne feels that these kinds of wilder destinations are increasingly coveted, which she sees as good news for the development of local communities.

Since her departure, Johanne and her travel companions have been counting the number of animals or waterfalls they encounter on the road while trying to reconstruct the song from the TV show "La souris verte" sung by Louisette Dussault in the 1960s. So far, they've seen one waterfall, two bears, three hares, and four whales. They hope to reach ten, but above all, to remember this road trip for a long time, especially by looking at the stickers Johanne brought back as vacation souvenirs.