Are you Ready for a
Participants
line their
vehicles up
for the 2012
Maine-Quebec
Caravan.
Picture yourself driving along
a snow covered road in the warmth
of your own vehicle, surrounded by
old and new friends on a trip to
the World’s largest winter carnival!
Along the way you are apt to see a
variety of wildlife as well as huge
trucks transporting product from
deep in the North Maine Woods.
The Maine-Quebec Caravan’s history goes back to
1957 when a group of Aroostook County people departed
in early February to “blaze a road” through the North
Maine Woods to Quebec. The date coincided with the
Quebec Carnival which had started just three years earlier.
Twenty or so travelers were in the first group that undertook the trek which followed the American Realty Road
to Clayton Lake. From there the roads were nothing more
than skidder trails. The caravan was outfitted with emergency gear and some support vehicles, including a Sno-cat
snowmobile. Part of the route was over newly bulldozed
roads. Over the next few years the caravan became an annual event that at one point saw close to 200 participants.
Caravans in the 1950s and 60s were met with police
escorts, and participants were traditionally guests of the
City of Quebec and the Quebec Winter Carnival.
This trip has made
many headlines over
the years, particularly
during the early years
when blizzards struck
during both the 1959
and 1960 caravans.
The weather even
prompted this cartoon
in the Bangor Daily
News in 1960.
Past accounts
indicate that these
caravan trips have
provided many
adventures. The
1959 caravan
had 92 people
and 32 vehicles.
Due to storms
and impassable
roads, only 2 cars initially made it to Quebec City. Other
vehicles arrived the next day. Along the way caravan
members came upon a family from Quebec whose car had
been marooned in the fierce storm. The driver was found
unconscious, draped over a guard rail in minus 26 degree
weather. From all accounts that can be found, it appears
the driver survived.