Looks like an incredibly serene place :)

The entire road north from Matagami was peaceful. This photo was taken approximately here:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=53.97375.....14&vpsrc=6
(for fun, zoom out a bit... this area is remote!) It's definitely worth the trip, and the road is surprisingly good. I went up there to get a tour of the Robert Bourassa plant, Canada's largest hydro-electric power generation station.

So where in the "frozen north" are you?

That is really awesome! My friend and I had this crazy idea that we would mountain bike to the Hudson Bay but had no idea on the roads or how we'd get supplies or anything like that. Would love the visit the area someday, though, especially the large islands north of there. I used to live along Lake Superior but now I reside in south central Alaska.

As far as I know, this is one of the few places where you can reach James Bay/Hudson Bay by vehicle. You might also be interested in Moosonee, which is accessible by train. Either way, you'd have to take the Trans-Canada Highway to Ontario or Quebec, then head north.

Biking there is certainly doable, but challenging. My former boss did a 75-day cross-Canada bike trip with Tour Du Canada recently. They handled all the logistics and meals... perhaps that type of trip might interest you?

I visited Alaska in 2003; it was a wonderful and scenic place, and I hope to get back there someday. Next time, I'll take the trailer and stay for a while!

Moosonee was one of the towns we figured we'd need to get to. Tour Du Canada sounds intriguing :) The other thing was that neither of us spoke French, and we weren't sure what kind of issues that would cause out in the really remote areas. Alaska is pretty scenic, though it can get quite quiet around these parts.

These days, you'll be fine without french... most people in Quebec (especially the younger generation) speak some English; bring a translation dictionary just in case. I've heard (but can't confirm) that the Cree speak more English than French, as they do not get along with the provincial government much.

Another road that you might like is the Trans-Labrador highway; apparently the new extension is built, meaning that you can drive from Baie Comeau to the Manicouagan generating station, to Labrador City, Happy Valley and end up at the ferry terminal at Red Bay:
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=b.....=51.438465,-64.59541&sspn=7.521164,23.269043&geocode=FXE47wIdnynv-ykraiX2nwmUTDFFebM7EaSAfw%3BFTvLJwMdX-EC_Cmh7fGadkv1TDFj0JRz1XxLMQ%3BFUyyLQMd-yhm_CmfM8br9Xp7TDFwfhk0rNwRvA%3BFehdFQMdrAOj_CmFt_t50iSBSzFvJe2AqmexoQ&vpsrc=0&mra=ls&t=m&z=6

If you *really* want remoteness, try the Trans-Taiga Road:
http://www.jamesbayroad.com/ttr/index.html
"At the far end you will be 745 km from the nearest town! This is the farthest you can get from a town on a road in North America"

Any other places on your "must see" list? Cape Breton Island is very scenic, but touristy. Seeing the polar bears at Churchill MB is on my to-do list, too.

Hmm, things I'd like to do but probably will never be able to would include Kayaking the islands along the northwest passage :) I need to travel the AlCan highway as well since I moved up here was via commercial airline. How much of Canada have you seen? Sounds like a lot! At least on the Eastern part.

In Canada, I've been to every province except Newfoundland/Labrador, but none of the territories yet. In the US, I've been down the west coast, the north-eastern bit, plus a few random states on business.