The end of the road

The lonely highway

Highway 39 is a lonely stretch of highway running east-west, close to the 50th parallel in northern Manitoba. Starting near Grass River Provincial Park, about a two-hour drive north of The Pas, Highway 39 runs for 164km to Ponton. In Ponton, Highway 39 ends, but the road continues northeast as Highway 6, which eventually leads you to the small mining town of Thompson. The road runs out in Thompson, but you can take a 16-hour train ride to Churchill on the edge of the great Hudson Bay. 

We did not get that far, but it felt like it as we drove the long stretch of Highway 39 with only a few cars passing us. Gazing out the (bug covered) windows at the flat, boreal landscape with nothing but jack pine and tamarack trees zooming by, it seemed like we were heading to the end of the earth. 

My father was born and raised in the long-abandoned gold mining town of Herb Lake (or as the locals still call it, Herbtown). To get to Herb Lake, you must drive about 120km along Highway 39 to the ghost town of Wekusko, then turn north and travel another 20km or so along a gravel road to the small community of Herb Lake Landing. From there, if you want to visit the ghost town of Herb Lake, you will either need a boat in the summer, or a snowmobile in the winter. 

The dirt road into Herb Lake Landing

We didn’t go to Herb Lake, either. My father’s only living sibling, my uncle, lived at the end of the road at Herb Lake Landing for years, and my grandparents lived up the road. My aunt and her husband lived there, too. They all moved to The Landing from Herbtown after the mines shut down in the mid-1950’s and the town died. My grandparents are long gone, and so are my aunt and her husband. My uncle no longer lives in Herb Lake Landing, but my cousin (his daughter) now lives in the home my uncle built - not far from the house my grandfather built. My family’s blood runs deep in these woods. 

Sunset on Wekusko (Herb) Lake

A feast on the balcony

Another view of the lake

D and I spent several days visiting the family at Herb Lake Landing. The bugs weren’t as bad there as at Clearwater Lake and the weather was pleasant, which allowed for long afternoons sitting on the patio overlooking Wekusko (the Cree word for Herb) Lake and long walks to visit family friends in the community. I even wandered through my grandparent’s old home, which has sat empty for years. 

My grandparents cottage

On the inside, much as I remember

Sadly, my cousin has decided to sell the home my uncle built after this summer is over. She and her husband are moving closer to Winnipeg, to a town that her brother and her parents (my uncle and aunt) have all moved to. And the house my grandfather built? I've been told that my aunt’s son (who owns the property the house sits on) plans to tear it down, as it is full of asbestos and cannot be renovated for habitation. 

So many endings.