Oh shucks, the campgrounds are closed

Dear Reader, when last I left you, I was in a motel in Dease Lake. No campgrounds open there. Going outside this morning, I realized we actually were in a Hotel! There was a huge sign on the building saying so. I also noted that the gas station/bistro/grocery store is called “The Tin Rooster”; a white building with a red tin roof. So forgot to get a picture. As we were pulling out of the parking lot the workmen were already hammering.

Tofu and I had only traveled about 15 minutes down the rocky road, when I noticed a striking black bush to the left.. and then it started moving…

Yes! A real live black bear. Wow, it reminded me of old Moses and the burning bush. Like Moses, I said to myself, “I shall turn aside and see this great sight!” No wildlife signs or anything. Just a free wheeling, grass eating bear. He (she) sauntered out of sight, so we travelled another five minutes and guess what?

Another one. Honest, these are different bears. So that got me wondering if I would see my raven (you can tell this is getting personal) today. Then I was thinking maybe the raven became a bear for me today. While the wind was whistling through my head, I looked to my right and there were three raven, having a church meeting. I didn’t get a picture but I’ll pinky swear it’s the truth. On the third day, three ravens. Ooooh.

The road was improving, the mountains were receding, and then I stopped at a rest area and allowed myself to take a couple photos.

Yep, our next miles began to show the wildfire that had burned thousands of acres.

The next shot is entitled Fire and Ice, for all you Game of Thrones enthusiasts.

The last few days I’ve been on highway 37 (ha!), the Cassiar Highway (chuckle). Traffic was so light I have come up with a new definition for “Light traffic”. It’s when you encounter fewer than 10 cars in an hour: none of them in your lane and none of them on the side of the road. Light traffic means you better have plenty of gas in the tank, and a lot of confidence in your vehicle, cause there’s no people and no service for long stretches.

Finally, the Yukon! The motto is Larger than Life. Yes sister Patty, there was definitely a bump, when the road changed from British Columbia to the Yukon. We came down a hill and before us is the Alaskan Highway. A left turn heads us toward Whitehorse. For a few lies I’m thinking “What a great road!” Yes, the road broadened, wide shoulders, a center stripe, edge stripes on the outside of the lane. Room for bike riders… and yes, there have been bikes on the road. But during the last two days I have only seen one cyclist fully loaded with fenders and bags for long haul traveling.

And then the mountain ranges returned, and now there’s a caribou standing in the middle of the road!

I kept inching forward trying to get a better picture, But the caribou, finished eating clump of grass and sauntered to the right and jumped into the trees.

But let’s return to the really important topic of the road. I’ve learned a new version of the old game “Whack-A-Mole”. The game is the inverse of the old game. This game is like golf; the lower the score the better. I’m calling the game “Whack-A-Hole”. You do your best to dance around the potholes, and not fall in. Let’s face it, you’re going to whack into some of those potholes. They are everywhere. A few of them had me wondering if the wheels would keep rolling, gazing in my mirrors to see if I lost a hubcap. I played Whack-A-Hole on long stretches of the Alaskan Highway today.

When we arrived in Whitehorse (which is really interesting appearing town) I spent an hour trying to find an open campground/RV place. None are open. Their advertisements universally state they are open from May to October. LIARS! That’s a little extreme. I bet they’ll be open Memorial Day weekend. So there are quite a number of camping type people (including RVers) in the lobby of the Best Western, looking for a room. It’s just terrible that Tofu and I can’t spend the night shivering in the van. Instead we have a warm bed and a jacuzzi in our room. After 8 hours of Whack-A-Hole that jacuzzi might be an upside.

Hey, what’s with the sun? It looks like it’s 4pm out there. Guess I better take Tofu for a walk. She’s had a quiet day. Unfortunately, when I went into the motel, she decided she would fix her own dinner. She had quite a bit of beef jerky, and part of a protein bar before I got back in the car. I cut back on her kibbles. Oh please God, keep Tofu from throwing up all over the motel room tonight. If it be your will, I am willing to stay in a motel in Beaver Creek tomorrow, if there is one.

Good Afternoon everyone. I’m still really excited about this trip. Love, John