Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Another good reason to drive 50 mph:  you don’t have to worry about passing many people…  Since April 15 we have driven 720 miles from Big Bend to Houston, and 3,688 miles from Baytown to Teslin, Yukon. That’s 4,408 miles.  So far we’ve only passed 2 or 3 (depending on how you count) vehicles:  the first was in Big Horn Sheep Canyon, Colorado (a gorgeous place).  We passed a new Corvette that was doing 30 mph.  (GO 1 ton truck camper!!!)  The second was an over-sized tractor-trailer going up a steep mountain pass.  But he zoomed back by us ½ mile after we topped the peak.  (Bob doesn’t think that one should count…)  The third was today.  We passed an old motor home going up a steep mountain.  (And we never saw him again.)

            After a day of rest at Toad River Lodge and RV Park, today day began nice and early.  We awakened around 4:45 and were in the car and driving by 5:20.  It’s hard to sleep in the daylight – and it was already daylight when we awakened.  We passed some wild something, feeding on the side of the road, that could have been caribou.  I managed one picture, we’ll see if they’re identifiable.  Then, just an hour or so further on, there was a small herd of buffalo – 15 - 20 plus two calves.  Bob got a couple of good pictures of them on the phone’s camera.

Since there is no phone coverage today, we haven’t been able to post on facebook.   And, to top it off, the camera’s battery charger seems to be on the blink.  When Ruthine put the fresh battery in the camera, it only lasted for a few pictures before it, too, went dead.  And the charger, itself, gives a blinking red light rather than the steady red that means it’s charging.  Bad luck, but, “oh, well…”

We have come through Watson Lake where the “Sign Post Forest” is healthy and alive.  Interesting that such a display exists just because there was one homesick GI back in 1942 who posted a mileage sign saying how far it was to his home town when they were building the highway.  The "Sign Post Forest" now has over 10,000 signs.  A lot of them look like people have gone back home, acquired “city limit” signs from their area, and sent or brought them back up here.  Toka and Steve told us they erected a sign in honor of her dad who helped build the highway.  We love it!

The part of the Alaskan Highway that we are driving on right now along the Rancheria River toward the Swift River was plotted out by a bush pilot in 1942.  He, and his airplane, saved highway engineers hundreds of miles of highway construction by plotting the route from the air.

We stopped just past Watson Lake for our noontime nap.  We slept for about an hour before Ruthine was rudely awakened by laying her hand in moisture.  It seems that while we were slumbering peacefully, it began to rain and the water found it’s way into the camper by way of the skylight.  Uh-oh…  Bob climbed up on the roof and found a large puddle of water over the skylight.  We decided to drive on and blow the water off, since we really couldn’t do anything else to get rid of it.

Now, we have been driving through heavy (at least to us) snowfall for the last hour.  Ruthine has tried to take pictures of it with the phone, but it doesn’t do justice to the huge flakes that are flying into our faces as we drive along.  Good thing the truck has a windshield.  The Milepost says that the Cassier Mountain Range on our left is beautiful.  Judging from what we’ve seen before today, it is.  However, right now the weather hangs too heavy in the sky, and the mountains are not visible.  We can see the Rancheria River running along the side of the highway in places – and it IS beautiful.

The snow has stopped, the sky is still overcast, and we are at the Continental Divide.  Snow is laying in piles on the side of the road, in the forest under the trees, and alongside the river as we cross it.  Beautiful!  Bob says he likes the Yukon much better than the rest of Canada – there are more porta-potties up here…  We count our blessings where we find them.

 It is now 5 pm Pacific Time.  We have arrived at Teslin, Yukon Territory, are plugged in, and are charging all batteries – even the one for the camera seems to be doing its job.   Dinner was hamburgers in the on-site restaurant.  Bob is figuring out our tomorrow’s journey – he says that it’s possible we could arrive at the Alaska border tomorrow, about 310 miles from here.  Ruthine is getting ready to play FarmVille.  And tonight will most likely be an early to bed night.